IntlMOVE – International Movers

Different shippers are looking for different services.
Some only want “bare bones” service, meaning, they want to do as much as possible themselves
They do not want packing.
They want to do “self load”
They usually will ask for Door to Port only service.

At the other end are those shippers requiring “full service”
They are only interested in Door to Door service with full packing.

International Movers cater for different requirements; some choose to offer “bare bones” services, some will only offer “full service” and other will offer “bare bones” or “full service” and anything in between.

There is nothing wrong with shippers choosing what level of service they want, as long as they understand what they need to do themselves.
There is nothing wrong with companies offering different service levels, as long as their quotes clearly state what is included and what is excluded from their price.

It is up to you, the shipper, to correctly compare the quotes you receive.
If you do not understand the differences, the terminology used, what is included and what is excluded in each quote, comparing them can be an impossible task.
Choosing according to the $ number only can mean choosing the most expensive solution.

Let’s cover the main points step by step:

Shipment volume
All quotes must be for same shipment volume.
If your shipment is for less than container load – LCL, determine what your shipment volume is in CFT and get all quotes for exactly same volume.
If your shipment is for a full container load – FCL, request all quotes for same container size, being a 20FTor 40FT or 40 High Cube

Service Type
Most common are Door to Door service or Door to Port service
The service type must be identical when comparing quotes.
You cannot compare the cost of a Door to Door service to a much lower cost of a Door to Port service.
You must add all possible destination costs (customs clearance, terminal handling charge and delivery) to the Door to Port quote.

Packing
A full packing service means the International Mover will provide all of the packing materials required for box packing and furniture wrapping and will professionally prepare all of your items for international shipping.
A packed by owner service means that you are responsible for professionally preparing your items for international shipping.
In order to compare a full packing service to a packed by owner service, the company offering the lower cost packed by owner service, should provide their additional charges in case full packing is wanted or needed.
This charge should be per CFT for LCL or per container size for FCL, and will enable you to make the correct adjustment when comparing their quote to the full packing included quote.

Terminal Handling Charges
When comparing a quote that includes terminal handling charges to one that excludes them, request an estimate of such charges.
In many countries these charges are small, in some they are firm and can be included in the quote, but there are countries like Brazil, were these charges can be thousands of dollars.

Covering the above four points will take you a long way in correctly comparing prices of quotes you received.

As a last note:
Price is always important, but price is not everything.
If you are shipping personal belongings with a sentimental value, not measurable by $ value, your choice should be based on trust and reliability, not price.
Our advice, forget the internet and its “giga byte” of advertising.
Do not choose a company according to their skills and success in “Internet Marketing”.
Check the operation of your prospective International Mover.
Visit their warehouse and satisfy yourself that you are entrusting your worldly possessions to the correct company.
If you cannot do it, ask someone you know and whose judgment you respect to do it for you.
As the old saying goes, “seeing is believing”.