While it’s important to find a quality overseas moving company, it is also important to find affordable international shipping that meets your shipping budget. NY International Shipping has been around long enough to know that you don’t have to sacrifice quality in order to find the best and most economical overseas shipping rates and services.

Determining Your International Shipping Budget

To figure out exactly what you need to look for in terms of affordable international shipping rates, it’s probably best to begin by determining your overseas shipping budget. Your overseas moving budget will help you determine which international shipping companies to consider. There are many factors that can influence overseas moving rates, so NY International Shipping has created a brief list of some of the most important ones:

  • The total weight or volume of the goods you’ll be shipping overseas
  • The country you are moving to may influence your overseas shipping rates as some countries are more expensive to send to due to different factors. It’s important to find affordable international shipping companies that specialize in transporting goods overseas so that they ship your goods efficiently and successfully. Some of the factors that influence cost based on the countries you are shipping from and to include:
  • How easy it is to ship to your destination country
  • How frequently shipments go there
  • How much total volume the company ships on average to your destination country. More shipments mean more consolidations, which can translate to better and more frequent shipments in general
  • Moving dates. All overseas movers have peak periods.
  • The ease with which international shipping companies can access your current home.
  • Your overseas packing and unpacking requirements

Again, you should expect to pay higher rates during peak international shipping times, even with affordable international shipping companies. The international shipping industry is typically the busiest during:

  • Summer (October and April tend to be the best in terms of economical shipping)
  • Holidays
  • End of each month
  • Weekends

While planning your international shipping budget, remember to factor in:

  • Hotel room(s)
  • Car rental
  • Utilities fees for shutting off existing and starting new services
  • Tip (even affordable movers deserve a reasonable tip)

Tips for Achieving Affordable International Shipping

Here are some of the most effective tips NY International Shipping has to assist you in making your overseas move more affordable:

  1. Pack yourself – Assuming you don’t have anything that requires specialty packing, consider packing your goods yourself for your international relocation.
  2. Save on moving supplies – Reduce the overall costs of your shipping supplies by doing the following
  • Ask friends that have recently moved overseas what they used so that you don’t over-purchase or under-purchase shipping supplies
  • Use recycled newspaper or bubble wrap to cushion inexpensive items
  • Use worn out blankets and sheets to pad inexpensive goods rather than purchasing moving blankets.
  1. Remain flexible – The more flexible you are about when you move and how you go about doing it, the more likely you are to achieve affordable shipping overseas. Avoid peak times of year to move, such as those mentioned above.
  2. Reduce your volume – Make a list of everything you have and notate things you don’t really need to take. Throw away or donate items you no longer use or want prior to moving to reduce the volume of your shipment. This will enable you to achieve more affordable international shipping rates. After all, it is better to ship less and have the ability to choose a more established, specialized overseas moving company than to revert to choosing an overseas moving company of lesser quality.
  3. Negotiate – Try to negotiate the total cost of your overseas move or ask the international moving company you plan to use if they have any coupons or promotions you could take advantage of.
  4. Choose economical overseas moving services – Though door-to-door moving service is typically the most common moving service as it all-inclusive—packing, shipping, materials, etc.—you may want to consider checking to see if there is a local warehouse near your home where you could drop your already-packed shipment off. Or you could consider warehouse delivery or curbside delivery. In terms of warehouse delivery, you will have to pick your shipment up yourself rather than having it delivered to your door. Curbside delivery means that you’ll need to unload your shipment from the curbside near your new home. If neither of these options may seem appealing or feasible to you, you can always consider packing things yourself instead of having them packed for you. Perhaps then you may find door pick up more affordable.

If you have questions regarding affordable international shipping or if you’d like to discuss economical overseas relocation options, contact NY International Shipping for more information.

Written by Einat Mazafi
Einat Mazafi is the owner of NY International Shipping, an International Shipping and moving company based in New York. She is also a specialist in providing the best relocation solutions to clients worldwide.