I’ve just arranged to have all my stuff shipped from New Jersey to California via UPS. Let me tell you a little about my experience:
I’ve got 2 shipments… 150 lbs of computer equipment being shipped to my apartment. It’s going 2 day air because such packages are usually treated kinder in the UPS system. Cost: about $350. I’ve also got 1,100 lbs of stuff being shipped directly Ground to a storage space in San Francisco for about $700. Total cost: about $1,100.
I found that any other option would have cost two to four times as much. If you can find cheaper, please tell me! PODS would cost a cheap $200/month for the storage space but $3,000 to ship it cross country. Movers charge $0.50-$1.00 per mile…. * 3,200 miles is expensive. It would have been nice if a mobile storage unit company like PODS would work with a rail line to get the cost of a long haul shipment down.
Packing boxes for UPS is much different than packing boxes for moving. It takes quite a bit longer and is quite a pain in the neck. 50 boxes all carefully packed with cushioning and styrofoam peanuts. Ugh.
To accept the packages at the storage space, I’m going to have to sit there and wait all day for them. But it’s better than finding 1,200 lbs of stuff at the door of my second story apartment! Not all storage spaces will let UPS pull up to their loading dock.
June 2nd, 2006 at 2:30 pm
Hi there,
Your post came up via google (”moving & UPS”). I was just wondering how this worked out for your last summer. I will be moving from California to Michigan (around 1 bedroom apt’s worth of stuff, but no furniture other than TV) at the end of this month, and the cheapest way seems to be: get rid of as much stuff as I can and then mail it all with UPS. Then, drive my car with a few things that are important/leftover. Did you end up using UPS? Was anything damaged? Would you do the same again?
Thanks a bunch in advance!!
-Catherine
June 2nd, 2006 at 4:52 pm
A friend of mine used package express via Amtrak, ansd UPS for breakables, Media Mail for books. I am in MA and heading to California and pretty much purging lots of stuff, selling books via Amazon. A mathematician friend said it costs about five dollars a pound to move stuff (that was in 98)–so the question is can youreplace it for less than five a pound…your mileage may vary. Good luck! It is such an adventure!
June 2nd, 2006 at 4:54 pm
I am so glad you helped me downsize to a laptop! : D
June 4th, 2006 at 2:48 pm
Bathes: Thanks! Unfortunately Amtrak package express doesn’t have a Bay Area shipping station :( I wonder if there’s another cheap yet realiable shipping option.. Good luck on your move!
June 4th, 2006 at 5:11 pm
Uhaul and truck rentals were incredibly costly, for coast to coast moves–simply due to higher fuel prices. There are some pod prices a bit lower than Lee paid, but they may not head out to where you are headed.
June 5th, 2006 at 10:22 am
Bathes, what’s the name of those container services you’ve been thinking of? PODS, Something Door-To-Door, and…. oh.. the one that Aaron and Shani used. $1,800 coast to coast for 1 container. That’s likely the best deal around.
I found that my move via UPS worked great. Though packing for UPS is a lot more time consuming than packing for movers… every package must be “UPS dropable”… cushioning etc. Just imagine how you pack a box to haul out to a moving truck vs how you pack a box to go in the mail.
If
June 5th, 2006 at 10:32 am
doortodoor.com and Upack or something similar. I queried on move/ Uhaul/Penske and got a pile of unsolicitated information. I am considering a steamer or oceanliner and one of those elegant bon voyage parties, a steamer trunk, a row of servants to serve me champagne, keep my hat dusted, and my gloves white…a beautiful semi-victorian dress, and an exceptionally broad hat aka “insert your favorite period novel here” or just like “Out of Africa.” My apologies for the frivolities. The move has gone to my head and I am saying farewell to my Victorian furniture. Sigh. The steamer trunk was sold two seasons back. Sigh.
June 5th, 2006 at 11:28 am
Check out Movingscam.com.
And U-Pack moving containers.
I haven’t researched these at all. Note that I found Movingscam because I googled “upack” and turned it up so there might be a -big- problem with the company. Tell me about your research!
June 5th, 2006 at 11:30 am
PS. Don’t forget your mosquito netting if you go through the Panama canal!