Shipping empty suitcases internationally
 

Mrs c and I are visiting Chicago, Seattle and Amarillo next month. CHI and SEA are carry-on friendly, but our final stop in AMA is seeing her parents - ie bringing lots of stuff back.

Options seem to be:
1. Buy a couple of $50 suitcases in AMA.
2. Ship a couple of empties to AMA, to await our arrival.

Problem with (1) is that's what we did when she moved here, we've got more brand new suitcases cluttering up the premises than we've got people to give them away to and I really don't want to buy more. Problem with (2) is that UPS wants slightly more than the cost of the suitcases to ship them.

So, does anybody know a dirt cheap way to get suitcases from the UK to the US? Or should we just resign ourselves to making a thrift store happy?

I try to only do carry-on as well, but couldn't you just check the suitcases and bring them along with you? It might be worth the small hassle to save the $$ (and avoid buying new luggage!) especially since it sounds like you only have carry-on otherwise.

If it's not worth the hassle of bringing them with you, buy them there and donate them when you get back to the local thrift shop.

Buy suitcases in Amarillo
 

I am a fan of buying a new Cheap suitcase or duffle for the return trip home. I do it all the time. Rarely have I paid over over $25 for one. Maybe have your wife's parent scout out a cheap one before your arrival. That of course would depend on their personalities and if they would like doing that sort of thing. Then "resign" yourselves to immediately donate it when you get home. My problem sometimes is that I sometimes don't get rid of them quickly enough and they take up much needed, extra valuable closet space. Good luck.

I wouldn't bother with buying extra cases. If you go to the local Kinkos you can buy their largest box and some packing peanuts for a few dollars. I'd tape it all up and strengthen the corners and edges with duct tape. Having done it across the atlantic once I'd be comfortable doing it again.

Why not take it one step further and UPS back the box instead of checking it. Or ship back your dirty laundry and free up space in the suitcases you took with clothing for your purchases. Probably less chance of damage.

Couple of reasons:
1. Not purchases, wife's stuff stored at her parents'.
2. UK customs will stitch you up for import duty if you ship stuff home, not if you bring it with you. This despite the fact that she has an effectively unlimited allowance as a new immigrant (for now, it runs out after a while).

I think I'm leaning towards the "buy more cases and give them away" plan. USA_flyer's box idea seems reasonable, but I did it once myself and got into a world of hurt, so I'll probably steer clear.

For the trip to your destination, put one of your filled suitcases inside a bigger suitcase and carry/check that. and then separate/fill at your destination. :) I dunno how well this would actually work :)

If you have that many suitcases, how about holding a garage sale for the excess ones? @:-)

Twice I've traveled with empty duffle bags stuffed inside an empty suitcase - worked fine. In general, I prefer soft duffles to suitcases because they take so much less room to store.

Why not just ship it Air Cargo via any airline that flies to the destination?

Less hassle that way as they ship by weight not by dimension.

Sanosuke!

The cheap suitcase idea is probably your best bet if you've been burnt with the box idea before. I can't imagine how though :confused:

Three words: British Airways Heathrow.

If you do this frequently, go someplace like Marshalls that have a large number of random sized suitcases, and get a bunch of big ones that will nest. For soft stuff on return(clothing), we carry a duffle type bag.

I did too. Piece of cake :p