Hi Liam and other nomads,
Some notes and then some questions about UpackWeShip—would love to know if others think there is a better deal out there.
We are looking to move back in April to Ireland from Washington DC. And after looking at this site, are leaning towards UpackWeShip. We got on their website and then called them. Learned some interesting things.
1. They offer three sizes of shipment, pallet, U crate and container. Its all clear on the site, but what’s not clear is that you should pack up with your own materials (from Walmart or online) beforehand and know how many pallets or u crates you need. If you don’t use one, you lose the deposit and if you need to order more than you originally asked for you have to pay extra shipping (e.g. $250 per u crate).
2. The sizes for the u crates are outside dimensions, but not inside. E.g. when they say 1 u crate has 100 sq feet, inside it can only store 81 sq. Feet. I only found that out by asking. Though its somewhere deep in their site, they say.
3. It takes about 6 weeks for them to ship.
With all that in mind, and we have about 250 cubic feet to ship, we are Thinking we will go with these guys and get three U crates which will cost us $4050 all in plus insurance. Do folks think that is a good deal?
Things i liked about them: (1) its a family business and Natalie, one of the family was clear with all her answers on the phone, (2) the website is very transparent, (3) no hidden charges that I can see, (4) we pack ourselves and can take all the time we need, (5) I think (think) its pretty good value for what we are trying to move.
Hi Paul
I can't remember off hand the size or cost of my shipment so it'd hard for me to say good deal or not. Have you priced it out with other companies? That market is very competitive. I'm not sure if COVID has impacted movement of goods overseas, but I bet there's still plenty to choose from.
I like this 'u crates' idea. Mostly because you pack it all in yourself, and everything in the crate is yours. My things were boxed up on pallets, and then thrown on a container with who knows what else.
Does the insurance cover the full cost of replacement, i.e. the value you're claiming? There must be some limit there.
Regarding timing, can they provide examples of that timeline? You may have read here or elsewhere of the multi-month wait for personal belongings to show up. The goods could go through other EU ports first before arrival in Ireland. At some point there's a tradeoff, between waiting for something to show up, and just re-buying it. I used that to help me decide on what I wanted to bring with me. There are some things you just can't live without for 6+ weeks.
Thanks for sharing the info. I hope you'll update us as time progresses.
I will check into that more. Starting to do some comparison shopping/shipping now. Will be back to you.
Hi Paul,
Thanks for providing the intel. Curious as to how your search for a shipping provider is going. We have just started the process and it seems to be a quagmire.
John