In the self-pack method of moving, the person who is moving is responsible for packing their own goods and putting them in the ocean container. Using this approach, as opposed to hiring a moving company to do all the work for you, reduces the cost a great deal. Carex Shipping, for example, will deliver the ocean container to the person’s home, where the individual will take on the responsibility of loading it with their goods. Once it is ready to go, Carex will pick it up and deliver it to one of their USA ports, where it will ship out to the individual’s international destination of choice.

“People are usually quite surprised at how affordable a self-pack route to moving overseas can be,” explains Mike S, of Carex Shipping (www.carexshipping.com). “When you take out the middle man, you save a lot of money, which is something we can all get used to.”

Once the goods reach the intended international destination, the ocean container is delivered to the person’s new home, where they will be responsible for unloading. When that process is finished, the company will again retrieve the ocean container. This self-pack process is more desirable to many because, in addition to the savings, they can be more hands-on with their valuables.

Carex Shipping has several ports of departure in the USA, including Los Angeles, New York, Houston, Miami, Baltimore, Savannah and many others. International destinations to which they ship include Australia, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, New Zealand, and Europe. Their service also assists people with customs clearances and handling of all documentation.

In addition to household moves, the company ships passenger vehicles, motorcycles, boats, and more. They are licensed and bonded through the Federal Maritime Commission.

“Moving overseas is a lot cheaper when you get more involved in packing and loading your items,” adds Mike. “We have been saving money for people who go this route for over a decade.”

Technorati Tags: household goods moving, moving overseas, overseas moving, relocating overseas, self-pack moving

What is the difference, you ask? When people think about international shipping companies they usually think about corporations that can move packages and pallets with industrial products for businesses. They assume that when it comes to relocating your home overseas only moving companies can assist. This can’t be further from the truth.

loading household goods in ocean container

When it comes to international shipping of commercial cargo or household goods there are only 2 ways to move it: by ocean or by air. So regardless of which company provides this service your goods will eventually end up inside the ocean container or inside the aircargo crate. International moving companies are useful when the customers want the full-service: from the wrapping of their household items and furniture to delivering and unpacking all goods at the new location overseas. These services are very labor intensive and usually result in thousands of dollars billed by the overseas relocation company.

For those who move overseas on a budget – working directly with an international shipping company can result in substantial savings:

1. First of all, you need to be willing to organize the packing and loading of your household goods yourself. Buying supplies from a packaging store and doing all wrapping and boxing yourself will cut down your moving expense by a lot.
2. International shipper can have the empty ocean container delivered to your home for loading. At this stage you need to pack your household goods and furniture inside the container. This can easily be accomplished with the help from some strong friends or even by hiring a couple of guys from a local moving company.
3. Overseas shipping cost is where you get the most savings by using an overseas shipper directly. As a matter of fact, lots of moving companies do not have their own contracts with the ocean vessel operators and they subcontract this part of the move to other international shipping companies. Naturally, overseas movers add very handsome profits for their troubles.
4. Once the container reaches the port overseas the international mover will most likely have the container unloaded and reload your goods into one of their moving trucks to make the final door delivery. Again, this involves an unnecessary labor expense which adds to your total cost. An international shipping company can arrange for the delivery of the container directly to your new home and you can organize unpacking yourself.
5. Many of moving companies will try to scare the customers by telling them that only professional movers can load household goods and furniture inside the containers in order to avoid problems with Customs. This is simply not true. Any international shipping company will make sure that all required shipping documents are properly issued and filed with Customs in the country of origin and destination.

If you decided to relocate overseas and your employer is not paying the bill or your budget is limited – don’t think that international mover is your only choice. Working with an international shipping company that has experience in transporting household goods and furniture overseas will result in keeping your expenses in control. Our company has helped hundreds of customers to relocate from USA to countries abroad by using a very cost-efficient set up and eliminating movers altogether.

Technorati Tags: container shipping, household goods moving, overseas moving, relocating overseas

* The move was due to the job relocation and the employer was paying the whole bill. They requested that customer doesn’t have any out of pocket expenses. Customer wanted to drop off his vehicles and household goods at an export loading warehouse in Dallas, TX and then pick them up from the warehouse in Guatemala City.

* First challenge was to find an export packing warehouse in Dallas that was experienced in loading vehicles. Most of the warehouses that we use for automobiles loading are located near the major ocean ports. While Dallas has a lot of general cargo warehouses – finding the one that had the knowledge how to properly secure vehicles inside the ocean container took some time.

* Second challenge was to find a reliable company in Guatemala City that can provide professional unloading services and customs clearance. Since Carex Shipping is a member of a large network of international freight forwarders this task wasn’t too complicated. When providing destination service in a foreign country having a reliable shipping agent is very crucial.

* Another issue we had to deal with was right at the time of delivery of the vehicles to the warehouse in Dallas. It is a requirement of all ocean vessel carriers that when shipping vehicles inside the container the gas must be drained and batteries disconnected. This requirement prevents the vehicles from being considered as “Hazardous Cargo”. We always inform our customers about this rule. The car was delivered by customer with more a quarter of gas in the tank. The receiving clerk at the warehouse advised us that the car needs to be taken to the dealership and have them professionally remove the fuel and clean the tank (and incur $500 extra charge). There’s a much simpler way to do it: the automobile can just be left running until it runs out of fuel and stalls. This is sufficient to comply with the requirement of the ocean vessel operators.

* Another issue was with the documents. According to US Customs rules an original vehicle title must be presented for vehicle export clearance. Our customer was still paying his bank loan so naturally his bank was holding the original title. Usually in this situation the bank must provide the Letter of Authorization to export the vehicle plus a Notarized copy of the title. However, when the documents were submitted to US Customs – they said it wasn’t enough. They needed to have the document from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles stating that the title information matches their records. Basically, US Customs wanted a proof from a government agency stating that the original cannot be provided but the copy of the title is valid. This task required lots of phone calls and e-mail exchanges but we managed to get the documents cleared with Customs office just before the vessel departure.

* The last challenge would be to clear the shipment with the Customs in Guatemala upon the container arrival, pay the assessed import duties and fees and make the vehicle and household goods available for the pick up by the customer.

Relocating from USA to another country can be very stressful and challenging. Employing the help of a professional international shipping company such as Carex Shipping can save a lot of time and headache but make sure you allow plenty of time to prepare for your move and follow the instructions supplied by your overseas shipper.

Technorati Tags: relocating overseas, shipping vehicles internationally

Here’s a brief description of this process and how our overseas moving company usually helps people to relocate to another country.

1. Start your preparation early. I’d suggest to start making arrangements at least one month prior to your move. Check on the import regulations of the country you’re moving to see what items you can and can’t bring. Pay a special attention to the importation of motor vehicles. (We maintain a database on Customs regulations throughout the world – so send us a quick note and we’ll forward it to you.)

2. Request the container moving quotes from international moving companies. Containers come in 2 sizes: 20′ shipping container (20′ x 8′ x 8′) and 40′ shipping container (40′ x 8′ x 8′). If you don’t have too much furniture – a 20′ shipping container will suffice for you household goods overseas move. Get everything packed, boxed and prepared for the loading day.

3. Book the container delivery to your home or apartment complex. Some cities may require permits for having the container parked on the street next your house. Please, check with your city hall if it applies to you. Now, when the ocean container arrives to your door you have 2 options: you can do a “live load” which means that the truck driver will be waiting until you pack the container. Trucking companies usually offer first 2 hours for free but start charging extra after 2 hours. You can also opt to have the “drop & pull” option which means that the shipping container will be left at your house and you’ll have 2-4 days to pack it. This is OK if you reside within a large metro area. However, if you live quite far away then “drop & pull” option will cost you more money because the trucking company will have to make 2 long trips to your home.

4. Loading the container with your furniture and household goods. As you can see the shipping container sits on the chassis (wheels frame) about 4 feet above the ground. There are no ramps that come with ocean containers. So you’ll need to figure out the way to load the heavy stuff in. You can rent a ramp or use a bunch of large wooden boards or pallets. Remember that loading the container is your responsibility (truck driver won’t be assisting you). If you have strong friends or neighbors – get them involved! You can also hire a couple of guys from a local moving company to help pack the container. Keep an itemized list of all your household goods.

5. Once the container is loaded for overseas shipping our international shipping company will proceed with moving it to the port of export, getting it loaded on the container ship and delivering to your destination overseas. At this time we recommend getting the marine insurance coverage for your container with household goods. You will receive the ocean bill of lading (this is the official transport document) and certificate of moving insurance from our company.

6. Once the container arrives to the port overseas we’ll put you in touch with a local shipping agent to help you with the customs clearance and delivery. Once again you can arrange for the container to be unloaded at the port and then hire a moving company to deliver your household goods and furniture to your new home. Or (as with loading) you can arrange for the ocean container to be delivered to your door and unpack it by your means.

While this type of overseas moving service requires more work from your side, it can cut down the cost of international moving by more than 50%. If you’re interested in utilizing “self-pack” overseas relocation service – please, use the contact form on this page to send us a request.

Technorati Tags: container shipping, household goods moving, moving insurance, moving overseas

And so, how do you decide which moving service to use?

Many would prefer to go with the speed. A sound abroad moving service has to be able to deliver your household goods on schedule. In order to execute this, they might provide you with a specific promotional package which would allow them to accelerate the delivery. We all can confess how we do not in truth have any time to do the things that we need to, right? All right, by employing the foreign moving help which offers the quickest service then you’ll be able to make certain that you can manage your time in good order.

Some folks will go with location. It’s frequently better to engage an overseas mover which is stationed within your destination. This spares a lot of transfer cost. It likewise helps with the speed since people who are long-familiar with the destination could deliver the goods faster. There’s also the matter of the transport costs. Numerous overseas relocators may have associations with people at your country of destination. This implies that you will be able to save up on the price of moving.

Some people get going with the perks. There are some overseas moving companies which attempt to appeal to a lot of customers by proposing many add-ons when you charter their company. People may get side-tracked by a promo and they might wind up paying tons of hard currency in order to get something free. That is just asking to be scammed.

A lot of people proceed with reputation. It’s frequently the case that global moving companies get hired merely because they produce more advertising. If you go this route, you may finish up with a genuinely high quality moving service which fulfills its reputation. Nonetheless, somebody can just as well end up spending an unnecessarily big amount of money in order to pay for the moving company’s brand.

In the same respect, be aware of cases when an overseas mover asks you to pay a suspiciously low amount of deposit. You want to make certain that you can entrust these guys since many others have already went through having their belongings confined for ransom. Some companies out there will give you a low-ball rate quote when you are still negotiating but then turn around and stick you with a ludicrously higher charge when the time arrives to deliver your stuff. Don’t fall a victim to this scam. You need to choose your worldwide moving services carefully.

Additional measure that people use to evaluate a moving provider is technical favorable position. People need to be sure that they are capable to track their shipment until it arrives to the final destination. They call for technological superiority since this holds the confidence that everything will be managed correctly.

Picking out an oversea moving service could be rather challenging. Because of this, you need to rely on some kind of standard. By adopting these few tips and finding out as much as you are able to about the different companies, you can make this action a painless one.

Our website provides moving insurance rates and services when you’re relocating nationwide or overseas. Protect your assets with All Risk or Total Loss coverage. Instant online quotes and certificates on insurance for moving personal items, household goods, furniture, art, cars, motorcycles, boats, etc.

Technorati Tags: cargo insurance, overseas moving