Posted on 08/24/2009 9:12:01 PM PDT by Jo Nuvark
Is it heavy or is it fragile?
I’d suggest he search around and find a super reputable company and pay for it in a container type shipment. Pay the movers to come and box it up in a wood frame crate and cart it away.
Not exactly cheap but was reliable for me. Insurance is vital.
Alternately, he could ship things by post or by air. Air is certainly going to be more expensive but he might have half a cubic meter or some such of stuff he’d need rather soon that should go by air.
Evergreen conglomerate may have a shipping company. They seem to be reasonably reliable as an airline but I wouldn’t know about their shipping. They sure have a LOT of container ships. Given the slow down in international trade, I’d think that competition would have driven prices down. Just a guess.
He could save a small amount by boxing most stuff up himself an letting them crate it all together. But they won’t insure stuff they don’t box, usually.
Personally, he may well be better off in Asia. But really, as you know, wherever God has him is best.
I just think that parts of Asia will be more habitable longer than much of the USA in coming ‘festivities.’
Of course, I’ve been wrong before . . . but it’s been a persistent impression for the last 15 or more years.
Container shipping is probably as cheap as its ever going to get. He wouldn’t need a whole container either. How does someone find a container-share program?
Thanks Quix... He’s Gijin (sp) and his wife is Haifu.
Not good to raise kids there.
It’s mostly books, CD’s and some cookware
that can’t be duped in the U.S.
Any ideas?
He’s trying to find a container shipper that’s reputable or recommended. Not that easy as they must originate from Kyoto.
OK... He says is gaijin and haafu. Sheesh!
Ahhhhh . . .
Taiwan is much better on such scores . . . Taipei American School is tops in a list of ways and the international community is quite accepting as are many of the locals . . . though I don’t know that any place is 100% ideal in all contexts on such scores.
Anyone out there in international exports? (Think
James Bond.) My son needs some help with a container
shipping service from Kyoto to Olympia, Washington.
That isn’t enough for a whole container. That sounds like 1/10th of a container. For items like that which can be easily split up, it may be better to ship in small boxes. Some friends who were shipping books TO Japan have gotten a “library or book rate” from the post office. They got large mail bags and then packed the books into boxes that could fit in the bag. It took a few weeks to get the shipment, but it was cheap for something as heavy as books. Whether or not that is available in Japan, I can’t say. Keep in mind that containers will have extra freight and port fees.
Taipei... Yes. We have family living there
and going to school. He’s a missionary. Right
now he’s in China, but returning to after summer.
Great suggestion. He’s reading the thread.
Here is general info, but it is from US and not to US. But still useful I think.
http://www.shippinginternational.com/faqs.htm
The port fees coming into the US are higher than you might think. I had some stuff shipped from Italy and it was twice what I expected to pay. Plus they only would accept a cashier’s check from a US bank and no other form of payment.
Could he ship UPS or Fedex from Kyoto?
This webpage mentions individual mailbag deliveries of books by sea from Japan. It includes a phone number at the homepage for questions. Delivery time 1 to 3 months.
http://search.post.japanpost.jp/cgi-charge/index.php?lang=_en
“Could he ship UPS or Fedex from Kyoto?”
Sure. If he can afford it. I’ve shipped items in boxes 1m cubed weighing about 60 lbs from europe with express carriers and it cost several hundred dollars, not including the additional fees. Books will cost a small fortune by express carriers. Better to use regular mail I think since you don’t need the stuff that soon. The cookware, is something else entirely and if it something special and fragile, I would get it insured separately and ship it separately. However, I have known someone who also shipped cookware back to Japan by the mailbag system.
best of luck, bring souvenirs .... did I spell that right?
Chopstix or fans?
Sometimes it is worth spending the money hiring a company to pack and ship for you and handle the port and customs paperwork, and this may be one of those times, particularly if he is pressed for time. I don’t know anyone in Kyoto (lovely city, by the way), but I know people in Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo and maybe one of them can recommend what to do.
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