Moving small amount of freight??

If you use USPS - prepare to wait a while. It's been about 3 weeks so far and none of my boxes are here yet. I wonder if they'll ever be.

USPS seems to work IF YOU PAY FOR TRACKING information. Otherwise it's a toss-up with large packages with USPS with no rhyme or reason as to when they show up.

I did pay for tracking - all my packages have delivery confirmation on them, and the "more important" ones are also insured.
All I get for the tracking is the same record saying my packages were "accepted" by the origination post office 3 weeks ago.
So tracking and insurance don't seem to make a whole lot of difference.
I wonder when may be a good time to go make a claim to USPS. 4 weeks?

br1k, if it gives you any hope, the boxes I shipped this summer via USPS parcel post and media mail, all insured with delivery confirmation, took up to 3.5 weeks to arrive, but I eventually received every last one. Of course, the ones that took the longest were the ones I needed most. 😛

For what it is worth, we've been shipping packages to St. Croix by US Postal Service using Priority Delivery several times a year for the past 8 years, all have gotten there in 3 to 4 days. We ask for Delivery Confirmation so we can track the packages. Most recent shipment was last Monday, all were there on Wednesday. Priority costs more but they get there quickly.

For my packages priority would cost so much it would be easier to just buy all new stuff 🙂

Priority took me 4-5 days. Parcel post I was told 4-6 weeks but usually 4.

To STJ, Priority takes (for my orders anyway) 7-12 days on average and for Parcel Post 6-8 weeks.

Pia

BP man if you're near a port city that ships here, barrels may be the way to go. I've shipped four barrels here and so far so good. Once they leave the port they take about a week to get here. Just a thought.

If you're shipping from the west coast all packages I get from there can take twice as long for some reason.

BP Man, I'm re-reading your original post and I can't tell whether you are asking us if it's cheaper to get a small container vs USPS. If that is your question, it depends somewhat on your location, but when I compared my own costs in shipping from VA to STJ, USPS was way cheaper. We're talking hundreds of dollars instead of more than a thousand. The only thing with USPS is, you have a somewhat greater risk that you may never see your things again.

The value of insurance really lies more in ensuring that your packages finish their trip at your destination. If there is a loss, you can make an insurance claim on USPS insured parcels only if you have receipts or appraisals to prove the value of what was in your boxes, as well as an inventory sheet for each box. Thus a box of clothes or books, for example, might cost you $$$ to replace but you probably wouldn't be able to make much of a claim about it with the PO, unless you are meticulous about saving receipts and are a much more organized packer than 99% of us. 🙂

How much is a 20' container delivered to the usvi from Florida?
I have 7 pallets i need to ship soon(could be packed to 4).

Amazing. All the boxes I shipped on Oct. 26th arrived today (according to tracking, I didn't have a chance to pick them up yet).
Boxes I sent on Oct. 21st are NOT here though. I wonder what that means.

Hey Dun,
I got a quote of 247.00 to ship 4 Pallets from Atlants to STX vs. 1000.00 for a 20' container... lots cheaper, and that was from Tropical.

BP Man

Hey Dun,
I got a quote of 247.00 to ship 4 Pallets from Atlants to STX vs. 1000.00 for a 20' container... lots cheaper, and that was from Tropical.

BP Man

Does Tropical sail out of Atlanta?
If not, there is ground shipping involved, did the quote include ground?
The quote I got from Tropical was 1266.16 for 392 cf.Kearny N.J to STT.
I`m NOT a shipping guru, but it seems since a 20' container has 1360 cubic feet, I`m getting screwed!

Hey BP man, what was the Cf(cubic feet) of your shipment(check your bill of lading).
Thanks,
Don

a 20' container shipped from palm Beach Fl to stx on tropical is almost $2000..without any other fees...

Dun I just have 240cft of stuff and its store merchandise which ships cheaper than houshold goods. Why? I don'y know. And yes I did make a mistakethats price was from palm beach not Atlanta. Sorry...They have not gave me my ground quote yet. The lady told me that a 20' container started at $1000 and went up from there with all the fees and etc. She told me the pallets would be cheaper for me.
Question: If I ship my Jeep can it go in the container with my goods?

How large a box will USPS allow? Depending on your goods- you may need a small container.

What was the shipping class(I want to save $$ too!).
My items are packaging for store merchandise, if a word makes a difference...

My sea shipment quote is 392 CF #5000 $1266 (from west Palm)
Origin is New Jersey, so I`ll need to trruck/rail it from there.

Yes store merchandise is $2.88 per cft and household goods are $4.33 cft. If thats correct from my memory.lol
Does anyone know if your vehicle can go in an container?

USPS package restrictions:

Weight cannot exceed 70 pounds.
Length + girth (distance around the thickest part of the package) cannot exceed 108 inches. (Parcel Post cannot exceed 130 inches.)

Lauren917 mentioned sharing a container with her car last April and I PMed her for any details about it. Here is her response:

I used a shipping company, so they came to my house and picked up all my boxes in a regular moving truck. I dropped the car off at their warehouse a couple days later. They then packed the container (I didn't see them do it) but they said they were putting the car in first, disconnecting the battery, and blocking it (assuming they meant the tires). I know the car went in first because we have a big mark on the back bumper from where it was rubbing on the container.... There were other companies that I spoke to that said I could load the container myself, but I didn't feel like renting a flatbed to get the car in there, etc....

So, it was at least possible when she did. This also my plan when I finally make my move.
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