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By Rajkamal Rao
Go to The Move
How would you know which container would fit you best? You don’t want to select a 20 foot container and realize later that you fell short. Nor do you want to select a 40 foot container only to find out that you chose something too big.
The best way is to get a free, no-obligation packing and moving estimate from a full-service shipper. Call a reputed company in your city which has experience in international moves to come home and give you an estimate. [To find a list of movers registered with the US Department of Transportation, visit https://www.protectyourmove.gov. Other western countries will also have similar listings.]
When the company agent visits, walk him through your entire home and point him to all the items you would like shipped. These agents are experts at being able to look at an item and visually estimate its dimensions. They carry tablets with applications that let them calculate the approximate weight of each item - and finally, the volume and weight of your entire shipment. One agent estimated that we would get to 97 boxes by the time we were packed. On D-Day, we counted 101 boxes.
Within a few days, you can expect a formal estimate from the agent which includes a detailed, item by item listing of your shipment showing volume, the number and type of moving boxes used and the total weight. In the attached picture - a real estimate - the agent has calculated that the total weight is 8,155 lbs with a volume of 1,048 cft. This leads the agent to conclude that a 20 ft. container should do.
So competitive is the shipping business that the agent will do all of this analysis absolutely free. And he will often dispense with free tips and advice - these can become valuable pointers for you later - all in the hope of winning your business.
But the problem of standardization remains. If your shipping volume is too large for a 20 ft. container but too small for a 40 ft. container, you are forced to pay for a 40 ft. container (and a lot of “air” space). There are some strategies that you can use to avoid paying for the 40 ft. container but these depend upon the volume of your shipment overage.
For example, if your shipment is 100 cft more than that which can fit a 20 ft. container, you could ship this overage through a commercial freight forwarder specializing in international relocations. This forwarder will combine your items with items from other families (who are shipping to the same destination as you) to fill up a container - and then ship the entire container. The cost per cu.ft can be as high as 8-10 times the price of the entire 20 ft. container, but your overall cost would likely be lesser than the 40 ft. container.
Another option for small overages is to take them with you when you fly. If a family of four is flying, you will collectively have 400 lbs of free checked bag allowance on most foreign carriers. Suppose your overage weighs 150 lbs, you could pack it into three shipping boxes each of 50 lbs. Make sure that the total linear dimension of each box (i.e. length plus height plus width) does not exceed 62 inches. Check with your airline for more details. In some cases, it may even be worth to pay your airline extra checked baggage fees rather than ship through a forwarder.
The last option for small overages is to go back to your shipping list and pare down items to only those that will fit a 20 ft. container. Do you really need to ship that box of old college notebooks that you haven’t touched in over 10 years? This rationale is easily the most efficient and cost effective. It is amazing what people think they need at some future date which drives them to pack more - and what people can easily do without.
By Rajkamal Rao
Go to The Move
How would you know which container would fit you best? You don’t want to select a 20 foot container and realize later that you fell short. Nor do you want to select a 40 foot container only to find out that you chose something too big.
The best way is to get a free, no-obligation packing and moving estimate from a full-service shipper. Call a reputed company in your city which has experience in international moves to come home and give you an estimate. [To find a list of movers registered with the US Department of Transportation, visit https://www.protectyourmove.gov. Other western countries will also have similar listings.]
When the company agent visits, walk him through your entire home and point him to all the items you would like shipped. These agents are experts at being able to look at an item and visually estimate its dimensions. They carry tablets with applications that let them calculate the approximate weight of each item - and finally, the volume and weight of your entire shipment. One agent estimated that we would get to 97 boxes by the time we were packed. On D-Day, we counted 101 boxes.
Within a few days, you can expect a formal estimate from the agent which includes a detailed, item by item listing of your shipment showing volume, the number and type of moving boxes used and the total weight. In the attached picture - a real estimate - the agent has calculated that the total weight is 8,155 lbs with a volume of 1,048 cft. This leads the agent to conclude that a 20 ft. container should do.
So competitive is the shipping business that the agent will do all of this analysis absolutely free. And he will often dispense with free tips and advice - these can become valuable pointers for you later - all in the hope of winning your business.
But the problem of standardization remains. If your shipping volume is too large for a 20 ft. container but too small for a 40 ft. container, you are forced to pay for a 40 ft. container (and a lot of “air” space). There are some strategies that you can use to avoid paying for the 40 ft. container but these depend upon the volume of your shipment overage.
For example, if your shipment is 100 cft more than that which can fit a 20 ft. container, you could ship this overage through a commercial freight forwarder specializing in international relocations. This forwarder will combine your items with items from other families (who are shipping to the same destination as you) to fill up a container - and then ship the entire container. The cost per cu.ft can be as high as 8-10 times the price of the entire 20 ft. container, but your overall cost would likely be lesser than the 40 ft. container.
Another option for small overages is to take them with you when you fly. If a family of four is flying, you will collectively have 400 lbs of free checked bag allowance on most foreign carriers. Suppose your overage weighs 150 lbs, you could pack it into three shipping boxes each of 50 lbs. Make sure that the total linear dimension of each box (i.e. length plus height plus width) does not exceed 62 inches. Check with your airline for more details. In some cases, it may even be worth to pay your airline extra checked baggage fees rather than ship through a forwarder.
The last option for small overages is to go back to your shipping list and pare down items to only those that will fit a 20 ft. container. Do you really need to ship that box of old college notebooks that you haven’t touched in over 10 years? This rationale is easily the most efficient and cost effective. It is amazing what people think they need at some future date which drives them to pack more - and what people can easily do without.
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