How did you movers ship your stuff? (San Francisco, Ontario: how much, buying)

[Deconstrukt]

So I will be moving to San Francisco by next month if all goes well, now I don't want to buy a brand new computer when I get there, as far as I know my only option is to ship it.

Now, it's a medium sized Case, and I will be shipping it from Ontario TO California so some shipping fees my sadly apply.

What's the best way to do this? UPS? FedEx?

I know a UPS store near my house, maybe they'll package and ship it for me? I have heard bad stories from both FedEx and UPS though when it comes to shipping computers.

I'm traveling by plane, has anyone ran into a similar issue?

[Natural510]

I shipped mine via UPS and had no problems. It wasn't cheap, but it was cheaper than buying a new one altogether.

[Deconstrukt]

Originally Posted by Natural510

I shipped mine via UPS and had no problems. It wasn't cheap, but it was cheaper than buying a new one altogether.

may I ask how much?

[mayorhaggar]

Well if you're in Canada the fees are really going to be different than if you're shipping it from one US state to another. I shipped a computer from California to Florida a few years ago with UPS and it was fine. I had the original box for it but no packing, so I got a bunch of styrofoam pieces from other packages and a bunch of bubble wrap and stuffed it around the comptuer so it was really padded and wouldn't move a lot during shipping. It was like $80 I think, and it was a pretty small desktop.

[Natural510]

Originally Posted by Deconstrukt

may I ask how much?

It was well over $200, if I remember correctly, but I also shipped the monitor, which in retrospect wasn't worth it. It would be more from Canada...you can try approximating the dimensions & weight and get an estimate on the UPS website.

[Isebiel]

I shipped my iMac via FedEx, in the original packaging. ~$40.

[Deconstrukt]

I guess the price tag isn't an issue, 200 dollars vs 900 dollars for a brand new PC.

I just hope it gets there in one piece :P

thanks for the info

[California Vagabond]

Many, many years ago, I secured a temp help holiday gig at UPS. Occasionally I dealt with the public, but mostly I loaded the trucks, and worked around others loading trucks. And since then I have never put any faith in a 'fragile' sticker on a box. At all. Assume the worst, when you ship. Pack it with the expectation that it will be hurled across the truck, no matter how many 'fragile' or 'handle with care' stickers it has, and you may actually get it in one piece.

The loaders deal with thousands and thousands and thousands of packages. Folks work fast and hard at UPS. They're expected to. They're under a lot of pressure to get those trucks loaded and out the door. And they're under no pressure to pay attention to 'fragile' stickers, or at least weren't when I was there.

Those are my two cents. Make the packaging as close to bulletproof as you can. If you don't think you'll damage the computer inside by throwing the box five feet, it may emerge intact.

[Deconstrukt]

Thanks for the tip, I think I'll take out some key parts from the inside (Video Card, Ram, ect) and just take it with me on the plane.

[gone down south]

I agree with the Vagabond, your computer is going to take a beating. You might consider putting it in a suitcase and taking it on the flight with you. Pick up a new monitor at Frys when you get here, and you're golden.