Shipping cross-country tips needed
 

Thanks for response to my earlier question regarding loding during my cross-country trip.

A side-track question: since I am moving from NY to CA, I need to ship quite a bits of stuff (primarily books, desktop, CDs, etc approx 15 boxes- no furniture) cross the country. Wondering if you have any tips on shipping inexpensively. USPS? UPS? Fedex? Moving company?

Any info. is highly appreciated.

Check the 'printed matter' rate at the postoffice to ship your books - it's a wonderful deal for sending books internationally.

if you have over ~100lbs, I would recommend going with Roadway or another freight carrier. At that point they will generally get cheaper than UPS or another courrier. You can drop boxes off at a Roadway depot (they are in decently sized cities and airports often) and they will put it on a skid, shrink wrap it, and load it on a truck. It then travels by truck to your destination.
Edit: Read about the books. I have a family member who is a major used book dealer. He always sends his pickups by Roadway if they are over 100lbs. Very reliable and safe, even if you only have a few boxes.

I moved from MD to CA three years ago. Pack all the books and other media up and send it book rate at the post office. For the rest of the stuff, either use Roadway or find a freight forwarder in your area (if you want them to pick it up). A freight forwarder in my area arranged small truck pick up on both ends -- handled the packing and palletizing of my stuff -- and did it for about 1/2 of what the moving companies wanted. Only downside is that is took a week longer than expected (snowstorm + it had to wait a few extra days for them to have a full consolidated load).

How can I find "freight forwarder"
 

Thank you, dbuckho! So how can I find "freight forwarder" in my area? I am in upstate New York. Thank again!

Don't go with UPS. I did and it was a FORTUNE!!! :mad:

I used UPS Ground a few years ago from upstate NY to NYC, and it was ~$20 for a box of books & papers or a large box of clothes. I have no idea whether it's similar prices for across the country.

Also check craigslist - people are often driving cars/vans and might be willing to transport boxes.

As another comparison, check Greyhound - http://www.shipgreyhound.com/

I have not used them, but they may be cheaper than UPS or Roadway (or they may not).

Even domestically.. the rate is called "Media Mail". It's extremely cheap, but only for books and magazines.

Last time I moved cross country, what I didn't pack in suitcases and fly out, I shipped USPS parcel post and media mail.

Suitcases! Will you have friends visiting you who would be willing to check a suitcase or box (or two) of your stuff for you?

Also, you might look into UPS or FedEx ground rates if you (or a friend) works for a big company which gets a significant discount.

Oh, and if you know someone who works for JetBlue, I know their employees get a big discount for FedEx, but it might only be for express service and not ground...

USPS theft
 

My parents just moved from LA to Houston and they shipped a couple of boxes via USPS parcel post. The boxes arrived today but one of them had some of its content stolen: 2 embroidery paintings, some framed pictures and our diplomas. Even weirder was the fact that there were strange clothes stuffed into that box. Even though these objects are not expensive, they definitely have high emotional values. Is there anything we can do? Do you know how we can file a complaint or force them to open an investigation?

Thanks!

I recently returned to California from Tennessee, where I had an older iMac I needed to bring along. I brought it to a FedEx Kinko's where they packed and shipped the computer for a total of about $50. If you're not in a rush, ground shipping is the least expensive. I also had it insured. FedEx is definitely the way to go for shipping fragile/important items because its safer and they know how to pack your specific items.

There really is no inexpensive way to move cross country. I think the "cheapest" way to move is get Penske truck and drive yourself.

Or if you have very little stuff, you can drive a Hertz car one-way. I enjoyed having a Volvo wagon for moving half my stuff a few summers ago!

Also try freightquote.com. They do a sidestep.com type comparison of freight quotes. Since you have so many boxes a pallet price through them may be the cheapest route.

Moving Companies: Any Stand-outs in Washington DC Area?
 

Sorry to hijack this thread but can anyone make strong recommendations for long-haul reputable companies in the Washington D.C. area? It appears everyone cautions against the high rates of the big name companies. Any other recommendations are welcomed.