Shipping a desk US to Europe

[Mantra]

Hi to all!!!
I'd love kindred spirits' advice, tips and ideas on shipping a desk I have sitting in Atlanta to Belgium/Europe where I live. I was in Hot lanta last summer for a recording and ended up not using the desk because it needed work and buying pres for the job was a wiser investment. I left the desk there and would like to ship it home now. Has anyone done this before or does anyone know somebody who has experience with this? Do I ship by boat or plane? Any specialised companies? What about costs, customs,.... It's a Harrison Pro 7 desk with a power supply. You can pm me or email to mantraworld@hotmail.com. Thanks a million.

[Mantra]

At this point I'm looking for someone in the Atlanta area (where my desk sits) who can put the desk and power supply in a case. By that I don't mean a flight case like the ones used to secure desks that are used all the time (with wheels, handles,.....). Just a case that will enable the desk to survive an air freight trip from Atlanta to Brussels. Someone out there has a case like this or knows someone? I'll pay.

[C.Lambrechts]

I would suggest you hire a professional transport company to care of the shipping.

I hired a local company in the US one time to do the packing and had these people take care of the transport :

http://www.shippinginternational.com...1&page_id=home

The costs ended up being quite reasonable considering the value and the size of the goods I had to ship. cost me round 1.000$. I had it picked up by a transporter over here and delivered to my door.


By boat takes a couple of months but at least it is affordable ... UPS or the likes will probably cost you as much as you payed for the desk in the first place.

You can also contact the Antwerp harbor and explain them what you want to do ... that's how I did it and they were very helpfull with it.

What desk is it btw ?


good luck.

btw :

customs are cleared by the shipping company. You will have to provide them with an invoice or some statement of value concerning the goods (the desk in this case). Accordingly you will have to pay importation tax. keeping the declared value low will limit imprt taxes but the other side of the medal is that insurance wise you loose in case something goes wrong. Those shipping companies offer insurance and the cost is neglectable so I'd advise to take it.

[C.Lambrechts]

It wasn't a desk but it had to be cased and some of the stuff was at least as fragile.

[Mantra]

Originally posted by C.Lambrechts
It wasn't a desk but it had to be cased and some of the stuff was at least as fragile.

Did you get a quote for shipping it by boat? I see you're from Ans. I have a couple of friends out there somewhere. Sacha and Philippe Renotte (Philou). Know 'em?

[pramrod]

try soundmoves- they are high end and deal with international shipping issues all the time. maybe their at soundmoves.com? good luck- prammy

[teknopro]

1. contact a franshise company named "Craters and Freighters". These folks are wonderful and can crate anything properly for shipment.
2. contact Horizon Entertainment Cargo (they have a dock in Atlanta) www.horizonentertainmentcargo.com
They will take care of getting it overseas. Brian Beckerman in Atlanta or John Greenstreet at the Chicago office will take good care of it. PLEASE, tell them Rolff sent you, (thats me).

I recommend going by boat, mostly because of size and weight. You'll pay ythough the nose to fly it!

[Mantra]

I want to thank everyone who has made a suggestion here. I have contacted every company mentioned above and hope to bring 'Harry' home soon . Thanks again!!

[C.Lambrechts]

let us know how it worked out.

[Mantra]

Well, the first quotes I received were from Craters & Freighters from Marrietta Atlanta and it's something I can definitely live with. $700 to pick up the items, crate them and ship them to Brussels airport where I can go pick them up. I'm now waiting for their ocean quotes which should be even better. Right? I've been contacted by all other companies but haven't received their quotes yet. Thanks again for all the suggestions and I'll keep you posted. Cheers,
Peter

[Fletcher]

Unless the desk is in pretty rough shape, I seriously don't think I would put it on a boat... but it's your desk.

Crated and air freighted for $700!! This is either a very small desk or you hit the air freight quote lottery!!

[sonare]

Don't forget the friendly Customs people and what THEY will want to release it.

Rich

[Mantra]

Originally posted by Fletcher


Crated and air freighted for $700!! This is either a very small desk or you hit the air freight quote lottery!!

It's not the biggest but not the smallest either. It's a Harrison Pro 7 that weighs in at about 350 lbs PS included.

[C.Lambrechts]

700 definately is a good price by air and I would go for that. I don't completely share Fletcher's opinion concerning shipping by boat. The packing is important of course and it's not the kind of thing that gets picked up and thrown around easy. I've had good experiences with boat transports. Not a desk but fragile things nevertheless. And it all worked out just fine. BUT ... he has a point

[Mantra]

Ok. The desk arrived yesterday in the exact shape it was in when I left Atlanta last year. All the individual items were securely packed and protected and then put in one big wooden box for extra protection. The company I used is called 'Craters and Freighters' and they have offices in several big US cities. Based on this recent experience I highly recommend them for people with needs similar to mine. I got the (awesome) quote very quickly, they were very friendly and hands on. I want to thank everyone who has made a contribution in stearing me in the right direction. Thanks alot!!

[C.Lambrechts]

cool ... thanks for the update and 'happy ending'