Shipping Personal Items after POE

[daphoknee 4]

Hi everyone,

Our plan is to move in August, leaving us the rest of June and all of July to dot all i's and cross all the t's for cellphone bills, finances, etc. We will be crossing over in our cars, we might be each driving our own and filling them up to the brim. I highly doubt I can fit my life into a tiny Celica so I do plan on shipping more personal items to Florida after my POE. Has anyone gone that route? If so, did you use Canada Post or the other couriers?

Thanks!

[NikLR 13,220]

You have up to 10 years to get and ship your stuff.

You can look into the uhaul pods or other moving companies. The normal moving companies do it by weight so if you can take down essentials and heavy things like books with you, that would be ideal. Or else you can store it until such a time as you can go back for it as well.

[Cliff&Liz 10]

I shipped my hockey equipment to Orlando via FedEx cost me around $300

[ValPrime 1]

I am doing that lovely drive next week in a uhaul from Montreal to Florida, lol. We looked into moving companies and they were all so expensive. Good luck and welcome to Florida when you get here

[Fayeara 8]

I've shipped stuff via Canada Post before. it's kinda pricey, as they go by the size of the box and weight. it was around 300$ I think for two boxes with clothes and dvds.

[Autumnal 25]

Canada Post is expensive and, at times, slow. Make sure that you really gauge the weight and packing materials of anything you ship through them, though you'll still probably save a fortune over FedUp and the other mainstream couriers. Another option you might look for, depending on how far you have to go, is commercial or freight services. These take a bit more digging around -- I know Greyhound famously does it -- but you might be able to send an awkward-sized item or a heavy box for much less the cost if you're willing to wait a bit. I'm pretty sure there are reviews and websites out there to long-distance ground shipping of this sort.

My strategy was to take the largest, heaviest, bulkiest, and most precious items in the car. It may even behoove you to rent a larger car/vehicle or tow something (though on a Celica, I'm not sure towing is the hottest idea) like a tiny U-haul trailer for things that don't quite fit in the trunk. Your gas mileage isn't going to be quite so good, but for the comfort of keeping your Dyson, a prized collection of porcelain figurines, or your gaming rig and fancy desk intact, I'd consider the money to be pretty well invested. Another nice thing - you can usually find really good rates online for rentals from U-Haul and Budget if you shop around for coupons, apply AAA/CAA discounts, YMCA discounts (seriously!), and other options. I found my Costco membership of all things entitled me to an upgrade with a rental car, so if you go midsize to full-size, you can be driving in comfort.

A few things that may be worth comparing:

1. Value of item vs cost of replacement - is it worth it to ship this? Can you buy it new/better?

2. Necessity - do you need it right now? Can you wait until someone comes to visit?

3. Sentimentality - if it's priceless, it should be in the car.

4. Weight - very bulky, heavy stuff sucks to ship. It's expensive.

5. Size - per weight. Odd/large objects are sometimes best taken with you.