Best shipping methods to Oahu (fit in, sales, rent)

[jncsolis]

Aloha,

We have commented before on this site but always about the Puna area on the Big Island. It figures, we did all this research, etc and we end up moving to Oahu. My husband got a job offer he couldn't pass up. We will be out there in the near future and we are looking for any recommendations on who or what would be good to use for shipping our things. We won't be taking much with us. Just personal things. We'll be replacing everything else when we get there. Any suggestions would be great!

Mahalo!
jncsolis

[cynmkolohe]

Matson

Town and Country Moving and Storage Hawaii - Residential Moves | Commercial Moves | Big Island | Maui | Oahu | Home | http://www.tcmovers.com

The above links are for two companies that offer moving services, but it sounds like you may be able to get away with bringing as much with you on your plane trip as possible and boxing up the rest and mailing it.

When I first moved to Hawaii, my employer covered my expenses up to a certain amount for shipping personal items, so I went to a Mailboxes, Etc. type of business and had a small table packed, plus 5 other large boxes of items that were must-haves. I did a bit of traveling before my flight to HI (max-ed out the luggage allowance), and my boxed arrived about 3 days after I did. No problems. But having the boxes packed professionally was a very smart move, I think.

There are several posts on this forum that discuss the moves others have made and their experiences....hope this helps!

[joker816]

matson is your best bet. you can rent shipping containers. there not much.

[TN2HI]

We used the Post Office for all of our clothes, pictures, etc. You can mail a box, up to 70 lbs and 108 inches (height + around... we used 20x20x20 which adds to 100 inches), for about $50 depending on the weight. We mailed about 15 boxes for $600. Keep in mind, this price is Parcel Post which can take about 3-5 weeks to arrive.

[jncsolis]

We appreciate the responses to this question. We've read other posts about shipping as well on other threads in the past. That helped out a lot. We will definitely be looking into Matson. We've already checked out some of the others.

However, we might be able to get by using the post office. I figured it was going to take a few weeks. Just about everything we are taking with us should fit into the same boxes TN2HI mentioned. One good thing about a move like this, you get rid of all the "treasures" aka junk you thought you just had to keep!

[surfergirlie]

Did you find out what the best method cost was to ship few personal items to Oahu? Like yourself I'm not bringing much.

[from nv]

Your best bet is to get a mailbox at a UPS Store. You can then ship anything and everything from the mainland over, by USPS, UPS, or FedEx. They will keep it til you arrive at no additional charge. Also keep in mind that Oahu now has 5 Costcos and 4 WalMarts, which definitely makes it easier to leave stuff behind when you move. If you're looking at a good way to get items once on the island, or just while you're waiting for your own stuff to arrive, check out OahuFreeAndSaleItems. It's located on Yahoo Groups and at no cost to join. You can request items and sell items as well. If you're looking at getting rid of unwanted items, you should be able to find a similar group in the area in which you live now. Good Luck!

[Joliefille]

Originally Posted by from nv

Your best bet is to get a mailbox at a UPS Store. You can then ship anything and everything from the mainland over, by USPS, UPS, or FedEx. They will keep it til you arrive at no additional charge. Also keep in mind that Oahu now has 5 Costcos and 4 WalMarts, which definitely makes it easier to leave stuff behind when you move. If you're looking at a good way to get items once on the island, or just while you're waiting for your own stuff to arrive, check out OahuFreeAndSaleItems. It's located on Yahoo Groups and at no cost to join. You can request items and sell items as well. If you're looking at getting rid of unwanted items, you should be able to find a similar group in the area in which you live now. Good Luck!

Not to mention Target & Pier One!

[hotzcatz]

Oahu has garage sales all year round, so why pay retail? There is a huge amount of folks always moving over and moving away again so there's always good stuff changing hands. There is no extra space on Oahu so when someone gets a new chair or new dining room set, the old one has to go.

For shipping, check the prices at each shipper's online site before deciding between UPS, FedEX, USPS, etc. I've generally found that the post office wins hands down between them and the other sites. But, it's easy enough to check. If you don't have an address to mail it to, send it to yourself "general delivery" to a post office near where you will be.

The absolute cheapest U.S. mail rate is "media mail" which is great for books, DVD's, CD's and such. If they open the package and find anything - even a pencil - in there that isn't "media" then they will charge a higher rate for shipping and they do check occasionally.

Also, if there is a relative who has a bit of attic space or an old shed available, putting a couple of boxes of stuff you really like but don't want to ship in there might be a good idea. Most folks move back to the mainland after awhile so having your stuff back then might be nice. Also, if you have a handy relative, you can box up your stuff and make an inventory list noting what is in which box and then numbering the boxes, you can then ask your relatives to send you things later.

[surfergirlie]

Originally Posted by surfergirlie

Did you find out what the best method cost was to ship few personal items to Oahu? Like yourself I'm not bringing much.

No I am still boxing up my things and getting ready to ship. I haven't decided who to use yet.