Mailing stuff from USA to Australia without breaking the bank
October 20, 2019 5:31 PM Subscribe
What are some cost-effective ways to ship about 80lb/36kg of miscellaneous items from USA to Australia? I don't need them immediately, budget's the larger factor.
Before I left the US a few years ago I left some things in storage with a friend. We're finally at the point where we've culled what isn't needed and are ready to ship. Even then, there's still a lot, and trying to figure out what's cost-effective is tricky.
Based on my initial calculations, shipping the whole thing as is will cost me around $500 at the least, often into the thousands. There are a couple of budget options but they tend to top out at 60/70lb, and USPS also has a weight limit. We don't have a container for it yet so I don't have those measurements available for a more precise calculation.
Everything I could find promises about a week's delivery time, but I'm willing to wait longer if it means it's cheaper (I mean, I did wait years). I've used sea mail before in the other direction which took a couple of months but that seems to no longer be an option. I don't know anyone who's going from Virginia, USA to Melbourne, Australia anytime soon - I might be heading Stateside myself next year but I'll likely be in the wrong coast and also I'd have a baggage limit.
The things that seem to be heaviest are a Dreamcast and a bunch of books. I'm trying to get a list of the books to see if they're replaceable here, but given Australian book prices and availability I doubt it. Otherwise it's papers, memorabilia, and clothes mostly. I'm open to multiple shipments if it means it's cheaper too.
Any suggestions are welcome!
Before I left the US a few years ago I left some things in storage with a friend. We're finally at the point where we've culled what isn't needed and are ready to ship. Even then, there's still a lot, and trying to figure out what's cost-effective is tricky.
Based on my initial calculations, shipping the whole thing as is will cost me around $500 at the least, often into the thousands. There are a couple of budget options but they tend to top out at 60/70lb, and USPS also has a weight limit. We don't have a container for it yet so I don't have those measurements available for a more precise calculation.
Everything I could find promises about a week's delivery time, but I'm willing to wait longer if it means it's cheaper (I mean, I did wait years). I've used sea mail before in the other direction which took a couple of months but that seems to no longer be an option. I don't know anyone who's going from Virginia, USA to Melbourne, Australia anytime soon - I might be heading Stateside myself next year but I'll likely be in the wrong coast and also I'd have a baggage limit.
The things that seem to be heaviest are a Dreamcast and a bunch of books. I'm trying to get a list of the books to see if they're replaceable here, but given Australian book prices and availability I doubt it. Otherwise it's papers, memorabilia, and clothes mostly. I'm open to multiple shipments if it means it's cheaper too.
Any suggestions are welcome!
I missed your last question! I'd get a few quotes from international moving companies. When we moved from the US to AU we used Rainers Overseas movers and had a good experience. There's no volume limit and it should be no problem to do a small load. It took about 8 weeks to arrive.
I really hate how expensive books are here. We took ours too.
Good luck!
posted by jrobin276 at 12:34 AM on October 21, 2019
I really hate how expensive books are here. We took ours too.
Good luck!
posted by jrobin276 at 12:34 AM on October 21, 2019
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posted by divabat at 5:37 PM on October 20, 2019 [1 favorite]