Moving companys

How much stuff do you want to bring? Get a catalog from ULINE. The sell large crates mounted on pallets. The crates made out of either wood or extra heavy card board. They are designed for ocean shipping. Large wooden crates are $200 each.

Another option is to have a business that specializes in packing and crating stuff pack your belongings.

If you decide you want to bring lots and lots of stuff then you can hire a commercial mover. They will pack your stuff in a metal container, truck it to Florida where it will be loaded on a boat to the USVI.

Any way you do it will be expensive. You will have to pay the truck freight to the port, which is usually Florida, then the ocean freight to the USVI. A rule of thumb is figure $2.50 per cubic foot just for the ocean freight. I have used Econacaribe for less than container loads and have been satisfied with their service.

Once it arrives in the VI you will have to pay use tax and duties on the goods depending on its value and country or orgin.

The US Post Office is the best deal, figure about $0.50 per pound. Of course you can't ship furniture using the Post Office.

As for your automobile seach this board for extensive information on this subject. Figure that it will cost you at least $2,000 to bring a car from the mainland and get it on the road in the USVI.

Jim

Thanks Jim. I had no idea it would be that expensive. Another option I quess would be to worry about the car and essentials and leave the other stuff in storage and bring it down little by little.
Ronda J

I have been arranging our move for the last month and I for one feel I am gettin ripped of by state side moving companies. We are only bringing a couch , a love seat, 1 bed, 2 dressers, clothes books tv tv stand and misc. I am leaving 3/4 ths of our belongings in storage to be shipped later. I am getting quotes of 5 to 10k to get it down there. I think that is outrageous given the fact that everything we are bringing fits in a single container
Please tell me there is a reasonable moving company out there?

A quick question are the import taxed as much as some of the moving companies are saying?

Crys

Have ya'll tried Lee Fleming with Managed Freight? We came from Arkansas and brought 1500 sq. ft. of furniture and one car and it was less than $9K...and a lot of your price will depend on whether you have a 20' or 40' container. For everything we had, we could have packed it in a 20' but overestimated (we had GREAT stateside packers). Lee arranged with our local crew in Arkansas as to when the container would come in and all of the details...it was really much easier than we anticipated. Lee shot straight...we can't speak any more highly of him.

expeditor@managedfreight.com

888.820.8475

Do a search on this board as well under "container" or something similar and you will come up with tons of info.

The Viking Corporation on STT is excellent too. We recently used them for our long distance move. They are fast, thorough, organized, and extremely reliable. They have been in business on STT for nearly 30 years and have an excellent reputation. Their number is 340.776.1536.

You definitely should talk to several companies, and see who you feel most comfortable with. Price is obviously an important factor, but IMHO it is also important to "interview" prospective moving companies to get a feel for their attentiveness, competence, and reliability.

We used Lee Fleming also and he was wonderful - and saved us a bunch of money, time, headaches, etc. We've heard horror stories from other folks who went other ways. www.managedfreight.com

Jim,

I was wondering if that $200.00 you mentioned included shipping or just to buy the container? Sorry if there is an obvious answer, but I haven't looked into the shipping prices too much.

Thanks in advance!

Pink

Definitely interview as many companies as you can. Ask about their commitment to having the movers/packers arrive on time -- if they get delayed, they tend to rush trough the packing and a lot of items can be damaged. If you want to insure your items (recommended), ask to receive the insurance inventory and valuation forms early enough for you to fill out with care and actual knowledge of replacement values -- we actually had one company tell us their policy was to have you complete the forms while their movers were packing!

Also, if you live near the East Coast, you can ship your stuff from a closer port instead of having it trucked to south Florida. We lived in DC and had out shipper use the Baltimore port, and the shorter driving distance saved us some money.

I'm not surprised by the $5k-$10k costs at all, dependig on where you're from and what companies you talk with. I almlost hate to tell you that it may actually end up being more than that unless you're incredibly good at estimating the number and type of boxes you'll need and/or have great packers.

Moving here is not a cheap undertaking -- that's why we all keep advising people to invest in a PMV where you live as residents, not tourists, before you sell off, pack up, and ship your life to the USVI.

--HC

That is the price for a 58 x 42 x 46 wooden crate on a pallet. It holds approx 65 cubic feet. Shipping by a freight consolidator from Miami would be at least another $170.

Jim

As I understand it, a large part of the reason it is so expensive to move things to the VI is because there are relatively few shipping companies that service the Caribbean (i.e., very little competition = much higher prices). I am told that shipping things to Europe is less expensive than shipping to the VI because there are many more companies that service Europe (which, of course, makes sense).

BTW, we used Crowley to ship our cars and again had a great experience. There is a lady who works at the Port Everglades office, Shelby Spurlock, who is extraordinarily patient and kind. She can definitely help guide you through the process should you use the Crowley, Port Everglades location to ship your vehicles.

As has been mentioned on this board many times, use the US Postal Service to ship as much as you possibly can.

I shipped 40 boxes from Michigan via USPS (and in the process realized that I needed to have my head examined for sending so much stuff). Every single one of those boxes arrived safe and sound. The boxes I sent Priority arrived within three days and the boxes I sent Parcel Post arrived within 17 days.

Bottom line though, moving to the VI is expensive and there is no real way to get around it unfortunately....................