Shipping Furniture - where do I start? Any Advice?

I have never shipped furniture and would appreciate some advice from those with experience. Thank you!

 

How far away?
How big?
What's your budget ?
Do you have professional packers in your area.?

 

How far? I have no idea. It hasn't been purchased yet. No budget, buyer pays for shipping. Pieces to be listed, dining tables, side tables hutches, all types of chairs, curios and wall shelves.

 

Unless it is quite remarkable stuff it is likely to cost more to ship than it is worth.

It may seem that the buyer pays the shipping but it is really the seller.

I argue this thus. The piece is worth $100, we'll assume a local buyer and a distant buyer would both agree on this. The distant buyer faced with a $50 bill for delivery will offer $50, so they pay the gross value they put on the piece. You get half the money you would have locally, if you could find a buyer there.

You'd need someone dumb enough to totally disregard the cost of shipping to get the same price for your item, and anyone that dumb has usually been cleaned out by earlier ill considered purchases, if they ever had any money to start with.

Therefore budget is important. I'd make it local collection only, or consign the lot to a local auction house. That way you'd only have to pay for one van journey.

If the value is modest and you live somewhere very isolated, and you simply have to get rid of the stuff, the least cost option may to break it up and burn it where it stands (more or less, you can move it outside).

When faced with this situation recently the most economical solution was to give it all away. The incidental costs of selling the stuff would have been more than it would have fetched.

 

Thank you AF. I do sell the less expensive pieces locally. I have a few pieces that have a much higher value that seem to sell at decent prices online.

 

I tried to figure out here where you are to no avail so perhaps the new arrivals at Mars will need furniture.....
This being unlikely I will guess the USA.
Though not fully trustworthy, search out some packers and shippers in your area and YELP them or just go online and search reviews. If there are other biz you are familiar with, with similar needs, ask them who they use.
I used to ship fragile signage and Yellow Freight was the best for cost and no issues but this has been awhile.
Rontra is great but I've no idea if they are all around the country. They would pick up & pack, or pick up my crates, and ship out by air freight.
The point is shipping biz are familiar with stuff so can give you an idea. Tell them what it is, guess the weight packed and get a price the furthest away in the US from you...or wherever you are.
If these pick up pack it for you it is their liability not yours. If you pack it...well...
Explain exactly in the sales info in that it is only an estimate. If they want it they will work with you and/or set up their own methods to get it.

 

There has to be about a thousand packers/shippers in the Boston area. Any dealers nearby you might know well enough to ask? Or, if you have really great, unusual, rare pieces you might try what I've seen others do - BUYER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ARRANGING PICKUP AND SHIPPING. That puts all liabilities in the buyer's pocket. In any case, best of luck with your furniture.

 

I have tried to offer to ship some higher end furniture but, in every case, the cost was prohibitive to the buyer. I got quotes from both Craters and Freighters and Transit Systems. I have packed and shipped some smaller pieces myself with no problem via FedEx or UPS. I have received some things via Greyhound that came fairly inexpensively and fared well in transit. Some surprisingly large things can go this way. According to the Greyhound site: "The maximum weight per package is 100 pounds. The maximum dimensions that we can accommodate are 30" H x 47" W x 82" L"

http://www.shipgreyhound.com/e/pages/Home.aspx

 

Hi,
When I was selling the cheapest shipper was TRC out of Tulsa. They came packed up and delivered at the cheapest rate. They only did the lower 48 states. Don't know if they are still in business but back in the 90s they were the best.
greg

 

No matter who arranges the shipping (seller or buyer) the seller has to be absolutely sure to get a freight/fracking/transaction number from the shipper upon pickup (after full payment of course). Using that number the seller will be able to confirm delivery since 99% of shipping concerns are now "on-line" view-able.

Be certain to ascertain whether or not delivery includes unloading the freight, to the door or further, whether or not a lift gate is required, etc. Even if the seller does not arrange for the shipping, the seller can avoid a lot of unpleasantness by asking the questions a clueless buyer will not.

We have sold a lot of furniture and very large art pieces and while our initial instinct was "Buyer is responsible for shipping arrangements" and washing our hands of the process, we found that monitoring it and assisting any way possible made the process much smoother. It was a bit more work, but the items in question usually had a selling price of over 1k.

 

I don't know if it's relevant for shipping furniture, but U-Haul's website has a section devoted to locating local help from third party companies for different shipping-related needs. The companies are rated, including comments.

I used it for getting help unloading a truck, and the company I went with had great ratings and everything went very smoothly.

http://www.uhaul.com/MovingHelp/