Korean Job Discussion Forums

[beison]

Greetings all,

What might be the cheapest method for shipping a medium-large quantity of things FROM the us TO Korea?

When I left korea to return to the states a few years back, i simply shipped stuff via the slow boat for a relatively low cost. Is this a possiblity coming back to america?

Also depending on the cost of everything, we might just rent a portion of a container... Can you reserve like 10% of a container? Are there any shipping agents that provide this service?
Things that might get shipped are bikes, snowboard, outdoor gear, TV, pots/pans and living supplies. Obviously if it's too expensive then the list of things will be reduced based on the relative cost of replacement vs the cost of transport.

Thanks for any info ya'll might have.

[laynamarya]

The US no longer allows slow boat shipping; everything is by air now and crazy expensive. The best option I've seen so far is shipping through a luggage forwarding company. But it's still several hundred dollars for all my books, around three or four boxes.

My husband works in the shipping industry, and says there's no cheaper options unless you have a business or a connection to the military.

[beison]

hmm that's too bad.

Do you know what the process of using the luggage forwarding company would be? Do they accept pallets? would it make more sense to treat it like luggage, or like small commercial freight?
I have contacts that might be able to help put me in contact with freight forwarding agents, but typically they would only deal with larger "container sized" shipments. I wouldn't mind paying a few hundred to ship all our necessary things over, however if it is just for a few boxes of books...
I guess basically, do you have any further information of how the luggage forwarding company works?

thanks

[KimchiNinja]

I used Hanjin, shipped one room full of stuff, I think it took up two pallets. They were great with communication and took care with the fragile stuff. Door to door delivery. It cost money, but seemed a reasonable price.

[beison]

hmmm Kimchininja, that seems to be near what I'd be looking to do.

Could you share if it was in the 1-500 range, or the 500-1000 range? More?

Thanks

[jjajangmyun]

I'm also curious about this. How much did you pay for how much stuff and from where, KimchiNinja?

[PRagic]

https://www.usps.com/business/manage-global-shipping.htm

That took 2 seconds...

[radcon]

[beison]

Very true-- that's not what I was asking about

[Died By Bear]

In the shipping/logistics community, there are people who work in capacity of freight forwarders. We used one of them out of LA that packed our stuff about 10 feet high on three big pallets. We shared a 40 ft container, pretty sure it was Hanjin. $2000-2200 and that was a discount because wife knew the forwarder.


It's called less than container load (LCL).

http://www.homeshipping.com/

For LCL, pack boxes conservatively and record the contents of each box. Tape and wrap the outside of each box generously. The boxes will take quite a beating.

Write to and from addresses on multiple places on each box.



Here's a website that gets you familiar with the terms, etc. 40� Container: Length: 39' 1" x Width: 7' 6" x Height: 7' 8" (2,376 cu. ft.)

http://www.universalcargo.com/household-shipping-guide/

Please note, UCM does not offer LCL (Less than Container Load) Shipping for Household Goods and Personal Effects.

[javis]

[PRagic]

They can ship it, or you can just as easily do a search for an international shipping company. If you're shipping bulk, as in a major household, you'll get a quote in weight. In general, each room has an estimable weight. Best to work as local as possible, get several estimates, and then decide.

My bad for sifting through the OP too quickly. 8 out of 10 times, people come on here looking for advice when they could just as easily big up, find out something on their own, and THEN ask whether or not what theyve found is viable or a rip off.

[PRagic]

For example, the excellent info provided by Died byBear could have been gleaned from the net prior to asking on here. To each their own. Maybe someone pissed in my Wheaties today.

[Died By Bear]

[createasaurus21]

I didn't bother to read the entire thread so excuse me if I'm repeating what's already been said.

The U.S. Postal Service doesn't provide their cheap sea freight shipping option anymore. I think they changed this about two years ago because they were not making any money from the service.

You can go through a freight forwarder but it will be expensive if it's just a personal shipment.

LCL = less container load
FCL = full container load

Try one of those logistics bidding sites where companies compete to bid to ship your items.