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I wonder if anyone has any experience with using a freight forwarding company, shipping boxes from Seattle to Honolulu.
Way back in the early 90's when I moved from Hawaii to Seattle, it cost me about $167 to ship a pallet of boxes, about four to five feet high. It wasn't a whole lot, not really.
I read a blog where someone shipped a pallet of goods six-feet high, less than 1000 pounds and it cost about $650. What if I had half the size? Would it cost about $325?
If anyone has any experience with this, please share the details. It's Sunday and I just can't get hold of anyone! I'm desperate to hear of some actual rates and experiences.
Looks like I found a company that will ship my car WITH belongings in it. I'm going with this company. It's the same to ship goods via USPS versus this company. Items are not insured, but car is. Eh, why not? Saves me money on gas to get the boxes to the post office.
P.S. A freight forwarder company quoted me about $500 for 5 foot high pallet, weighing about 400~500 pounds. It was about $270 for a 2-1/2 foot high pallet.
Frieght Forwarders simple get a container and fill it as much as possible with mixed items. Since their cost is just a few dollars below your cost for the same container, they don't make money if they can't get paying cargo to fill the conatiner. If you read the post on shipping, usually when you hear about these weeks or month delays past the date they originally said, its because they use a frieght forwarder who has to hold that container until they have enough paying cargo to make their money. Cubic foot to cubic foot, your paying more with a frieght forwarder but your only paying for what you use.
As for shipping cars with goods inside, that depends on if your shipping a vehicle or your shipping cargo. vehicles must be empty and can not have any stuff insoide. cargo is cargo and it could be a vehcile with cloths inside or a printing press with golf balls. They don't care. But if they are shipping avehicle and said its alright to have stuff inside, I would get that in writing.
Thank you for your advice, PacificFlights. It seems I can't get anything in writing with anyone, aside from a release to ship the vehicle from my lienholder. My automobile insurance insures the vehicle, so I think it'll be okay.
Once my truck gets to Honolulu, I will let you all know. It ships in less than 2 weeks. Oh my. And I leave in less than 2 months. YIKES! I'm not ready (with packing).
They didn't actually tell me it was okay. They neither encouraged it, nor did discouraged it. They just told me the goods would *not* be insured. I would rather suggest one send their vehicle via Matson and their goods via USPS or through a freight forwarding company. I know it's not much information, but I'd rather not encourage people to ship this way if there are other options. That's lame. I know. I'm sorry.
Location: Was in Western New York but now in Hilo Hawaii
1,234 posts, read 4,572,847 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by IslandGirlGoingHome
Hi, pjozh:
They didn't actually tell me it was okay. They neither encouraged it, nor did discouraged it. They just told me the goods would *not* be insured. I would rather suggest one send their vehicle via Matson and their goods via USPS or through a freight forwarding company. I know it's not much information, but I'd rather not encourage people to ship this way if there are other options. That's lame. I know. I'm sorry.
I do not know of any shipping co that will allow anything in the car at all.
the only way you can put your belongings in your car is if you put that said car in a container ten ship it. If you put things in your car and do not disclose it to lets say Matsonʻs then the said items will never make it to Hawaii unless you re buy them in craigslist. something to think about.
I would not ship any goods in a car. It is very routine for things to be stolen from cars and the cars are sitting on the dock waiting to be shipped for a long time. The items in the car will not be secure at all. You could put low value stuff not worth stealing in the cars, though, but don't be surprised if it's been gone through before you see it again.
Years ago I shipped a VW bug over from the mainland. It had painted rims and a brand new tire on the spare painted rim. When the bug arrived in Honolulu, the spare tire was an old worn out bald tire yet it was on the rim which had been painted to match the others. Someone had access and time enough to get out the spare tire, change the tires on the rim and replace it in the vehicle before it was shipped.
For books and other "media" the U.S. Post office "media rate" is really reasonable. You could also check their parcel post rates.
In Honolulu, they have some self-loading containers with "mixed freight". You take your boxes there and put them in a small container called a "G-van". It's about eight feet by eight feet. Then that is shipped and at the other end either you or someone you shipped it to goes to get it out of the container. That is the least expensive way to ship things inter-island, I don't know if they have something similar between the islands and the mainland.
I am trying to ship my 2008 Audi A4 and household goods from Honolulu to Vancouver, B.C. Canada. The quote I received so far was from 6 to 8,000! Is there anyone who could direct me to a company that is less expensive? I also have a 5'3" grand piano and bedroom furniture, so I would probably need a full container.
The posted tariff for automobiles from the west coast to Hawai'i is about $1,100. Pasha takes about a week in transit on a posted schedule, the others 2-3 weeks on a "whenever" schedule. None of them allows ANYTHING to be inside the vehicle.
If you put your vehicle inside a container and pack the container with household goods, they will charge you for the container PLUS the $1,100 tariff, so that makes no sense at all.
I would be very, very leery of a freight forwarder who says you can pack goods inside the vehicle, or who charges less than the posted tariff. It could be a real crap shoot. One guy I know did that a couple of years ago and his car made the long, slow ocean trip lashed down to the deck of a "tramp steamer." The car had corrosion and needed electrical repairs once it arrived, and the contents were soaked and ruined.
Trust me, if there were a RELIABLE way to get around the major shippers on this, everyone would be doing it.
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And I leave in less than 2 months. YIKES! I'm not ready (with packing). 
something to think about.
