Shipping Container from HK to Boston USA

[FastForward]

Hi All,
My wife is a painter and we'll have a fairly large amount of artwork to ship when we relocate to the USA this fall. I was wondering if anyone had experience shipping large objects like this. We were hoping to fill part of a shipping container (perhaps share one with someone else?) unless there are better options. These items don't have to ship in a hurry, but they should be in good condition upon arrival.

Thanks!

[dammer]

Hi FastForward,

Came across your thread as I'm also looking at options to ship personal stuff (books, clothes, etc) from Hong Kong to Boston, and wondered if you have received any recs on/off-line since?

I've reached out to other networks as well and will let you know if I find any good one. My stuff needs to get out in the week of Jun 3, 2013, so I should be able find a solution then if you haven't heard from anyone.

Cheers.

[FastForward]

Thanks Dammer,
I haven't really had time to sort it out yet, but it's on our to-do list. I think you need to move fast if you want to get your things shipped next week. I'll definitely let you know if I hear anything.

And good luck in Boston!

[mrsgunsnroses]

You can ship it as a partload in a container on LCL basis, only transit time would be longer than using one full container. How much personal stuff do you guys have? How much cbm? You can check with sm freight forwarders and they can make an offer to you. If you have valuable stuff to ship, such as artwork, you better make sure to ensure signing up for a transport insurance which really doesnt cost much!! Hope this helps.

[Raccon]

Just get a moving company and tell them what you want to ship, how you want it to be protected (boxes, bubble wrap, wooden crates etc.) and that you want it shipped by sea. You don't need to worry about the container arrangement and all the paper work, they will take care of that and provide you a door to door service.
Insurance is optional, something like 3-5% of the total value I believe; must insure entire shipment, partially is not possible. Shop around for best offer.

[mrsgunsnroses]

Yes moving companies also do it fo multiple 1000's of USD, very expensive, as they know that usually your company would pay for it, this is true, BUT it is certainly more convenient. Some freight forwarders also offer their services to private persons, not only to exporters and importers. If you find one, they will be much cheaper, also door to dopr service and the cost should be 1/3 or 1/4 even of what you pay via a moving company.

[dammer]

Thanks all!

I've made some prelim enquiries and it appears that moving companies are indeed significantly more expensive than the "shipping" companies. Would you have some recs?

As a reference point, I provided the same quote of 3x30kg boxes to SevenSeas and Santa Fe, the former quoted approx. HKD3,000 whereas the latter HKD20,000, which is way above my reservation price..

[mrsgunsnroses]

Try with companies like e.g. Schenker, DHL, Kuehne & Nagel, DSV, SDV, Geodis, CEVA. Some may not do shipments for individuals due to company policy, but some do.