When you need to get your personal belongings from one country to another, you have a range of options to make it as easy as possible for your specific situation. Overseas shipping is suitable for moving the entire contents of a large house or just some boxes. To find the best way to ship your personal belongings overseas and to get the best shipping quote, it helps to know some of the basics. The two main decisions you’ll face are sea versus air versus land and what portion of a container you’ll need.
Overseas Shipping Via Sea, Air or Land?
How you send your shipment will, in part, determine your shipping quote. Where your shipment is going will also determine which option is best for you. Not all options are practical or even available for every possible destination in the world. If you are moving outside Europe, you are realistically choosing between sea and air shipping.
Two key things to consider when deciding which method of overseas shipping is best for you are the weight of your shipment and how quickly you need it. Air is much faster, but also more expensive. If you are shipping a few boxes of clothing and other basics, air shipping makes sense. When you are moving most of the furniture from your former home along with children’s toys, dishes, pots and pans, some sports and exercise equipment and the like, sea shipping is a much better choice.
What if You Don’t Need a Full Shipping Container?
Many people find they have more things than can be sent in a few boxes but not enough to fill a whole shipping container. These containers can be from 20 to 45 feet long! The contents of an average three bedroom home will fit into a 20 foot shipping container. But what if you have less? Or more?
In the shipping industry, we talk about full container loads (FCL) and less than full container loads (LCL). When a container is shared between different parties, that is also known as groupage. This is a great way to ship a large amount of stuff when you don’t have a full container’s worth of belongings to send. Your items won’t get mixed up with other customer’s items because we place each order on pallets and wrap it with specialised heavy duty plastic wrap. This also helps prevent any damage to your items.
One last thing can have an impact on your shipping quote. Depending on your individual situation, you might want to have your items delivered to your door or you might prefer to collect them at the port yourself.
At Spratt Personal Shipping, we’re happy to talk you through all of these options to find the best solution for your specific needs. If you’re planning an overseas move, we’re here to help and make sure that getting your belongings from here to there is easy and hassle-free.
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