Moving Cross Country how do I ship my books ?

[TeddieMercede]

Can't do the drive, dont think I can trust my valuables with my shipping company, anybody else have any ideas as to the easiest and safest way to get this done ? Obviously priority #1 is my books get there safe and sound. Would appreciate it if anybody who has any info or has done this before could help me out.

 

I plan on moving from the east to west coast, probably around 10-15 CGC size boxes.

[OldGuy]

Crate them up. Use reinforced wooden crates and send them via shipping co. of your choice.

[MK Ultra]

When I shipped a bunch of my games from Fl. to NJ I boxed them up and used FedEx. No problems. Use lots of packaging materials, perhaps double box them? Mark them as fragile, do not shake.

[Aces]

Rent a U-Haul.

Never let them leave your site.

[nik]

You leaving already

[MutantKeys]

Rent a U-Haul.

Never let them leave your site.

[TeddieMercede]

Dont think the U Haul truck is gonna work for me. Dont have the time nor inclination to do that drive. Anybody else with any ideas ? So far wooden crates.

[Mac Man]

I'd first recommend put a layer of plastic grocery bags on top of the magazines before putting the lid on them. Then, tape the boxes shut. Next, wrap each box in a thick blanket before boxing it up in your crates for shipping. I used this technique when shipping a number of my valuable cross-country, and it worked remarkably well.

[NSPhillips]

Also, you could find a very specific looking stamp and stamp around where you seal the boxes (like half on the box, half on the tape) so you know they haven't been tampered with.

[TeddieMercede]

Thanks for all the help guys, the wooden crates along with the method Mac Man has recommended makes sense to me. I could then send the crate with my shipping company with the rest of my stuff. Packed in that manner I figure it cant be so bad and eliminate most of the danger from mishandling by these guys. Good idea/bad idea ?

[bigfiver69]

I recently shipped my war comic collection (15 short boxes) 3000 km when we moved.

 

Unless money is no object, you pretty much have to use your movers. However, you can do a lot to minimize the risk. Here's what I did, and I had ABSOLUTELY NO DAMAGE WHATSOEVER. The books arrived safe and sound, and this even after 6 weeks of storage by the movers:

 

1. Bag and board everything. If you can use mylar and fullbacks all the better. If not, double board the books for extra rigidity.

 

2. Pack the books fairly tightly in their comic boxes.Get small-bubble bubble wrap and put a sheet on either side, and then more on the tops. Anything to minimize movement.

 

3. Tape the boxes shut and shrink wrap them, or wrap in contractors garbage bags.

 

4. Place that box in slightly larger box, packed with more bubble wrap, tape shut an shrink wrap the outer box.

 

5. Mark everything fragile, and load the boxes in the middle of the truck.

 

 

IMPORTANT - itemize the contents of each box, and get an appraisal from a local, reputable shop. Then, insure for 150% of the book value, just in case.

 

That's what I did, and it worked out fine. Good luck!

Shep

[gacguy]

Thanks for all the help guys, the wooden crates along with the method Mac Man has recommended makes sense to me. I could then send the crate with my shipping company with the rest of my stuff. Packed in that manner I figure it cant be so bad and eliminate most of the danger from mishandling by these guys. Good idea/bad idea ?

 

That's definitely the way to go. If possible try to get a hold of some good condition wooden pallets, then put your crates together on the pallet. Secure everything to the pallet to keep everything together and prevent shifting. The cost of shipping the crates with something like fedex or ups freight would likely be several thousand dollars, so if you can fit it in with the rest of your stuff, it's just easier.