# Would appreciate hearing about packing your own container



## MoonlitKnight

Hello,
My move to France is cruising right along, but one of the things causing me some anxiety is the actual packing and shipping of my household things. I have gone around and around about what I can leave behind and what I can take, and done the math, and I want to take more than I could fit into the "lift van" options that some moving companies have.
My question is this:
If I go with UpakWeShip, the cost of the container is quite reasonable, I had a good conversation with their rep, and I feel comfortable packing my own stuff. However another moving company, very, very nice folks, said the containers that are packed by the owner (PBO) get flagged before shipping, then are scrutinized by customs and can incur additional costs into the thousands because they go through the entire shipment and look at everything. These additional costs then negate any savings gained by going with the self-pack company.
Has anyone moved a container to France and packed it themselves? Any advice or thoughts?
I've had a LOT of shipping quotes with a huge difference in costs, so I'm hoping to get some real world stories.
Thank you in advance!


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## TomMM

Can’t help with specifics but have you thought about what you really need to bring?


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## MoonlitKnight

TomMM said:


> Can’t help with specifics but have you thought about what you really need to bring?


Thank you for your kind help. Yes.


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## TomMM

I only mention it because I’ll be moving to Paris in 2 weeks and took a look at my things and either donated them or put them in the trash. It was quite liberating !


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## suein56

MoonlitKnight said:


> Hello,
> My move to France is cruising right along, but one of the things causing me some anxiety is the actual packing and shipping of my household things. I have gone around and around about what I want to take .. *and I want to take more than I could fit into the "lift van" options that some moving companies have.*


As you have a certain time frame within which to move your personal belongings to France would you consider putting some things in storage in the US, things you believe you want to keep but are not 100% sure whether they are going to fit into your new lifestyle or not ?
Leaving you just bringing over the things you really can't live without.


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## travertine

We are currently shipping our goods from Canada to France. I considered UPakWeShip partly because of the opportunity to self pack. I've previously packed a 20' container. But we decided not to use them for a variety of reasons including the customs issue. This was reinforced by a couple of moving companies, which I know have a vested interest, but I felt that I was getting genuine advice. In the end I opted to have a full pack and ship service which enabled the company to verify the contents of the shipment. This will hopefully smooth the way through customs in Europe. However, as I didn't have enough stuff for a full 20' container, my goods are being shipped as 'groupage' which means my boxes and furniture will be bundled into a shipping container with someone else's goods that also happen to be going to Europe. If the other goods are deemed to be suspicious, then my shipment will also get delayed at customs, although not necessarily inspected, and I will be up for storage costs associated with the delay. I can't see any way of guaranteeing this won't happen but one can at least minimise the chances. Random inspections are another matter. With global shipping still being unpredictable and covid still part of the equation, I opted for reduced risk and less effort on my part while I was selling a condo even if it meant a higher cost.


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## Bevdeforges

MoonlitKnight said:


> the containers that are packed by the owner (PBO) get flagged before shipping, then are scrutinized by customs and can incur additional costs into the thousands because they go through the entire shipment and look at everything. These additional costs then negate any savings gained by going with the self-pack company.


To be honest, I suspect that may be true to a certain extent - but then again, consider the source of that information. I haven't packed my own move, but I did have some large articles shipped to me from the US so that I had to clear them through Customs myself. That process isn't free of costs, even if there are no Customs or VAT charges involved (in my case, I was shipping items inherited from my mother). 

Shipping household goods in connection with a move/relocation is generally free of Customs charges, as long as you have your documents in place (passport, visa, shipping list, etc.) and your stuff arrives within the one-year window. VAT may be charged on new purchases if indicated on the packing list - or on items that seem to be "suspiciously" under valued on the list. And, don't forget the need to go to the port of entry for your shipment when it arrives to clear it if you are shipping using a shipper who does not provide for customs clearance. It may all go smoothly, but then again, maybe not, if you are trying to do it all yourself.

The couple of international moves I've done, I was glad to have used a real moving company - precisely for the customs clearance facility - and for the insurance factor (at the time, movers would only insure declared items packed by the movers), as I knew too many folks who had lost or damaged items in the course of a big move like that. I was lucky in that regard, though one item in that "inheritance" shipment did go missing (through no particular fault of the shipper) and I did get some consideration from the shipper on the cost of the shipment.


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## rynd2it

MoonlitKnight said:


> Hello,
> My move to France is cruising right along, but one of the things causing me some anxiety is the actual packing and shipping of my household things. I have gone around and around about what I can leave behind and what I can take, and done the math, and I want to take more than I could fit into the "lift van" options that some moving companies have.
> My question is this:
> If I go with UpakWeShip, the cost of the container is quite reasonable, I had a good conversation with their rep, and I feel comfortable packing my own stuff. However another moving company, very, very nice folks, said the containers that are packed by the owner (PBO) get flagged before shipping, then are scrutinized by customs and can incur additional costs into the thousands because they go through the entire shipment and look at everything. These additional costs then negate any savings gained by going with the self-pack company.
> Has anyone moved a container to France and packed it themselves? Any advice or thoughts?
> I've had a LOT of shipping quotes with a huge difference in costs, so I'm hoping to get some real world stories.
> Thank you in advance!


One thing to be aware of if you pack your own stuff - even just some of it. Moving companies will mark anything you pack as PBO (Packed by Owner) and these items are NOT covered by insurance for damages, only total loss. So if the box you packed goes missing you can claim, if it gets dropped and your best china gets broken, tough!
Having moved by container from the US to France and also by moving van from France to UK and back all I would add is choose your moving company carefully; it's not all about price but quality of packing, inventory documentation and unpacking. You should pick a company in the US that has a solid relationship with the French company that will actually deliver and unpack and therefore you have one point of contact, not multiple contacts with finger-pointing


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## Peasant

MoonlitKnight said:


> ...However another moving company, very, very nice folks, said the containers that are packed by the owner (PBO) get flagged before shipping, then are scrutinized by customs and can incur additional costs into the thousands because they go through the entire shipment and look at everything. These additional costs then negate any savings gained by going with the self-pack company.


The second shipper sounds like he's trying to rip you off by supplying bad information. I packed the two containers that my wife and I shipped (Nebraska to Lyon)) with NO additional charges beyond what was originally quoted by UPakWeShip. My daughter and her husband had the same experience shipping two self-packed containers from Denver to London. I have recommended UPakWeShip to a number of people and nobody has ever mentioned any additional costs beyond what was quoted.


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## MoonlitKnight

Thank you all for your kind replies. I sincerely appreciate hearing others' experiences. 
After a lot of thought and time, I know I am only taking things that would be prohibitively expensive to replace when I live in France (custom built bicycle, CD and vinyl record collection, high end cookware, for example) I'm not taking most of my furniture, dishes, all my canning and freezing equipment, gardening tools, etc. So, while I appreciate the kind words of those who have said "just leave everything behind," that's just not my reality. 
As I understand it, UpakWeShip handles all of the customs clearance, I'm not trying to cut costs on that as I don't think it's something I would be able to do myself at all. 
I'm just trying, essentially, to decrease the cost of shipping from 27k to 10k - container shipping has gone up considerably in the last year, and I hope others will be able to share their self-packing experience with me.


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## TomMM

My reality was that I had 100s of books/CDs/DVDs/Albums from over the years. When it came time to planning the move I decided I wanted a clean slate and donated everything to the library. The only item I am bringing is a bike.


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