Tips to Hire an International Mover
If you are moving overseas to pursue another career, study abroad, retire or any for any other reason it is desirable that you take your possessions with you. Everyone likes to be surrounded by their own belongings. There are a few ways to bring your beloved items with you. One of these ways is to bring them with you in your luggage when you fly to your destination country. Assuming that you are not transporting illegal items, there are limitations to the items that you can bring with you in this manner.
This can be an overwhelming task but not when you hire the right international moving company to ship your personal effects overseas. They will handle the tasks of packing, picking up, transporting, shipping filing appropriate paperwork and delivering your belongings overseas. There are a lot of international moving companies out there and not all are equal in quality of service nor have the ability to get the task done right.
How would you choose the best international mover?
The first tip when hiring an international moving company is to check whether they have the legal license to ship your belongings overseas. Some moving companies do not have the proper license required to move your belongings overseas. If you choose one of these companies, when something goes wrong, you will have no recourse and worse yet, may never see your personal belongings. To see if they are a legitimate international moving company, you should check out their license.
The next tip is to compare prices with other moving companies. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Are they offering the exact same service? Are they offering a quote based on the same volume? What are the normal costs involved in an international move? By gathering price information from the market, you will be able to save and plan your budget ahead of time.
Don’t wait until the last minute to place your order. There is a lot of paperwork and scheduling that goes into planning an international move and you cannot expect a professional company to handle your shipment properly if you give them a day or two days notice. This is a completely unreasonable time frame. The price quoted is based on the volume of your shipment. You can estimate your volume easily yourself. Your international mover can provide the tools and assistance for you to determine the volume of your shipment.
How does this moving company handle unexpected problems? Are they responsive to your questions? Do they answer you promptly? Do they advise you promptly if there are any additional costs incurred on the day of pick up? Maybe you didn’t pack everything and needed them to pack some items for you. Maybe you added some items at the last minute and this may cause an increase in your shipment’s volume. How will the international moving company keep you informed of the status of your shipment? Email is one of the best, most effective forms of communication today. This form of communication between you and the international mover who is handling your shipment is easy, inexpensive and quick.
Ask your international moving company about insurance. Insurance can provide you peace of mind. Purchasing insurance is generally recommended although it is optional. Insurance cost is generally calculated as percentage times your declared value. You assign a realistic, replacement value to the items in your shipment.
Relocating to another country is no trouble, if you let a professional international moving company take care of all of the details of moving your personal belongings from your home to your new home in your new destination country with care and professionalism.

I would like to begin the planning my relocation to South Africa as early as possible and one of the greta unknowns for me is a ballpark fugure to move my belongings. I will not be moving any furniture. I will be moving a television (flat screen) and a fairly large collection of art (mostly paintings and small sculptures/masks) in addition to some books , clothes and a few CDs.
I do not expect this to weigh more than 2000 lbs but planning ahead is necessary.
Thanks for your guidance.
Dear James
It is always good to start planning your International Move a few months ahead
I personally have fond memories about Johannesburg, South Africa as I lived there for 18 years (Norwood and Inanda)
I see you already submited a request for a quote via Google, our application will “pick it up” and you will be contacted by one of IntlMOVE move consultants within a day
Contact will be done by email and a follow up by phone
Please check your in box, especially if you have a “spam” control
Thank you for considering IntlMOVE for your move to South Africa
David
You mention that an international mover should be legally licensed to handle your move. What license should an international mover possess?
Hi
International Mover must be licensed by the Federal Meritine Commission (FMC)
Best to check the FMC web site to verify that the company you consider is licensed
You will find a link to the FMC official web site on our Home page
David
Hi
You must protect your furniture by wrapping them with corrugated cardboard, shrink wrap is not enough.
My best advise to you is to leave it to the professional and if you consider shipping household goods overseas, place your order for a full packing service. In the long run, you will not regret doing it.
David
Hi, my wife and I are going to be moving to Costa Rica in April and are looking for a quote to move our things. We have e-mailed several shipping companies and to date non have responded. Please contact us as soon as possible. We would like to send most of our things. One question I have is do you think it would be cheaper to ship it to the Pacific side in Puntarenas and then truck it over to the Carribean side? Our to ship it from L.A. to Limon. Thanks. I look forward to hearing from you. My # is 760-505-1751
Hi Christian
I see you also filled in the “request for a quote”.
One of IntlMOVE move advisors will contact you by phone or email within 48 hours.