Job Discussion Forums

tvik · Joined: 18 Apr 2006 Posts: 371 Location: here

i want to bring back a bunch of heavy books and things from canada. does anyone know anything about this.
i have heard that the boat is cheap.

justme · Joined: 18 May 2004 Posts: 1944 Location: Istanbul

Cheap(er), but veeeery slow. And there's a good chance you'll never see them again.

But don't get talked into shipping them at the book rate-- it's cheap, but the guy at the US postal service told me they tend to assume it's missionary material and you're even more unlikely to ever see it again.

Shalana · Joined: 08 Oct 2006 Posts: 150 Location: Istanbul

I agree, it will be cheaper, not cheap. I shipped two boxes, both less than 10 kg in weight by ship from the Czech Republic to Istanbul and paid 948 Kč for each box. This is about 90 dollars U.S. and it may take a month for them to get there. So, if you are shipping heavy books, expect to pay for the weight.

Laura777 · Joined: 13 Apr 2004 Posts: 101 Location: Istanbul Turkey

I also want to ship from the states to here. I have about 12 boxes of stuff and must maalesef have it shipped. Thought to do the boat route or something like that.

If I find any good suggestions I will post them. Please post any ideas which are not outrageously cost prohibitive. Cool

Absolutely in the red this month. no pun intended. Rolling Eyes

Really dont want to lose the last of my worldly possessions.

Shalana · Joined: 08 Oct 2006 Posts: 150 Location: Istanbul

You might want to check out storage places in the U.S. to ship your stuff overseas. I know the place I have my stuff stored at in Washington will ship stuff overseas via ship. I was qouted 1,200 U.S. to ship two boxes each measuring 40 inches by 40 inches by 40 inches. For cost, it was a matter of space and not weight.

justme · Joined: 18 May 2004 Posts: 1944 Location: Istanbul

ALso, check the cost of shipping versus the cost of extra pieces of luggage on the plane. I think it's about $120 per piece, and some airlines will give a bit of a discount if you pay online ahead of time. It's not cheap, really, but it increases your chance of seeing your stuff again, in one piece...

Another option is joining on a container on a ship.

You might also try searching the mymerhaba forums-- there's a lot of info about shipping there...

yaramaz · Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 12:52 pm Post subject:

Well, 120usd seems a tad cheaper than 1200usd. 40 inches by 40 inches by 40 inches is how big? 80cm cubed? Not so big. Hope the contents are worth 1200. Gold, maybe?

Laura777 · Joined: 13 Apr 2004 Posts: 101 Location: Istanbul Turkey

When you say ship them in suitcase baggage do the airlines allow that these days? Only baggage or do I need to travel with them.

It seems that it may be the cheapest for me to fly there and pack them here.

I wish wish wish I had brought everything with me the first time.

Shalana · Joined: 08 Oct 2006 Posts: 150 Location: Istanbul

It is specific to each airline. You will need to call them. When I came over, I was allowed two check on bags and one carry on bag at no extra charge. The check on bags could weigh up to 50 pounds and the carry on up to 40 pounds. Extra check in bags were 125 U.S. I also had a large box which was an extra 125 and could be up to 70 pounds, but the dimensions {height plus length plus width} had to be 62 inches or less. The dimensions for the checked bags was the same as for the box. The dimensions for the carry on bag were smaller.

yaramaz · Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 7:59 am Post subject:

I've found KLM, Lufthansa, and Emirates to be quite useful regarding excess baggage-- I haven't actually gone over the weight limit yet but when I was planning to leave last year, they were the airlines that were (verbally, at least) the most receptive.

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

All this talk of pounds and inches. I only think in kilos and cm. I don't understand.
I once flew emirates into Istanbul with 70 kg- double the allowance. They didnt charge any extra.

Shalana · Joined: 08 Oct 2006 Posts: 150 Location: Istanbul

You were lucky dmb. I will be coming from the Czech Republic to Istanbul soon on Czech Airlines and they are much stricter about weight than when I came from the USA to CZ.

They do not care how many bags I check - only that all bags combined do not go over 23 kg. I can go up to 32 kg to the tune of 5 Euros per kg over the 23 kg limit. So. I have had to throw stuff away and ship a couple of boxes ahead to try to keep to this restriction.

Turkish Airlines was even stricter - they limit you to 20kg of weight for checked bags.

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

Wow that's strict. Last month I flew back from the UK and the limit with klm was 32kg. I weighed in at only 29 kg..... should have bought a few more books, bacon and tandoori paste.

EDIT

I could have written anything there- HP sauce, branston pickle, etc....

What do you think about tandoori bacon? yum

Laura777 · Joined: 13 Apr 2004 Posts: 101 Location: Istanbul Turkey

When I first came here I had about 7 pieces of luggage and I was charged for the extra baggage per pound. 2.2 pounds is approximately 1 kilo. I paid about 400 dollars for the extra baggage I was shocked.

When I lived in another country before it was so easy to ship things via mail. What is the big problem with Turkish shipping and mail.

Its so frustrating!! Rolling Eyes

justme · Joined: 18 May 2004 Posts: 1944 Location: Istanbul

I agree! What's even ore frustrating is that year to year, airlines keep decreasing their baggage allowances. Why do they have to do that? Is it just another way of nickel and diming us? Granted those of us going to and from the US get bigger allowances than those going to the UK, but it really pisses me off that after paying $1500+ for a plane ticket, they place these ridiculous limits on the amount of stuff you can take.