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Frequently Asked Questions

1. What times can I deliver my boxes to a terminal?
2. Can I deliver furniture with my boxes to a terminal?
3. What do I need in order to deliver to one of your terminals?
4. How should I Pack my stuff?
5. Where are you?
6. What's the difference between to port and to door?
7. What do I need to know if I load my own container?
8. What are my insurance options?
9. What payment options do you have?
10. Do I need to complete a customs form?
11. What are the Customs Regulations?
12. Any Do's n Don'ts for shipping?
13. Can I download docs?
14. What if my shipment is larger than expected?
15. What if my shipment is smaller than expected?
16. Do you ship Cars n Bikes, boats n planes?
17. How do I save Money?
18. What are the Pros and Cons of Self Packing my items?
19. How big is 100 cubic feet?
20. How do I work out cubic feet?
21. Does weight make any difference?
22. Where do I get boxes and packing materials?
23. How many hours do I have to load my own container?
24. Is my quote fully inclusive?
25. What's the difference between baggage and shared container service?
26. When do I pay?
27. What if I don't have an address yet at the destination?
28. How much lead time do you need?
29. Do you work weekends?
30. Can I load a motorcycle or car in a shipping container?
31. Are the UBox's waterproof?
32. Do the shipping containers have tie downs?
33. Can I track my shipment?
34. Why are you cheaper than others?
35. Your competitor says they have to pack our items otherwise we will get into trouble with customs overseas?
36. I have a cheaper price from someone else but it's to a terminal only and not to door?
37. How do I book?
38. Why do you seem to have 2 names?
39. Are you licensed and bonded?
40. Will you collect from my 2nd floor apartment?
41. Do you do packing?
42. I saw some negative as well as positive reports on the internet, please explain?

1. What times can I deliver my boxes to a terminal?

   Normal times are Monday to Friday, 9am - 5 pm

2. Can I deliver furniture with my boxes to a terminal?

   Small furniture items yes but make sure you pack them in plenty of bubble wrap and cardboard.

3. What do I need in order to deliver to one of your terminals?

   When you complete our online booking form we will email you by return a confirmation, contract, labels and a booking number. Make sure everything is well packed, have your name and booking number on every piece, number your pieces e.g. Box 1 of 5, 2 of 5, 3 of 5. Also you must make up a packing list and give a copy to the terminal as well as to us. Packing list needs to say for example: Box 1 Toys, Box 2 bedding, box 3 Kitchenware etc.

4. How should I Pack my stuff?

   Use new moving boxes available at most self storage places, tape up well top and bottom, pack breakables in bubble wrap, make sure your name & destination is on every carton. The most important thing is make your boxes full and tight, do not leave air space in your box otherwise when other boxes are stacked on top of it, the one underneath will collapse.

5. Where are you?

   We are in Charleston SC. We have a large office and warehouse facility here. Why not drop off your items here and meet us and look around Charleston (great city!)

6. What's the difference between to port and to door?

   To port means its pre paid to the docks at the destination. You will have to arrange customs clearance and collection of your shipment from a local warehouse. You will have to pay customs, and local port fees which for a small shipment can be $200-$700. If the quote says to door then the price includes customs clearance, local port fees and delivery to the residence.

7. What do I need to know if I load my own container?

   Well you need somewhere to park it like a large driveway or check to see if you are allowed to keep it on the road. The container will be on a chassis (with wheels) and around 4 foot from the ground so you need to hire or make a loading ramp or have enough help to pass everything up into the shipping container. You also need to know that by packing and loading your own container you will be saving between $2500 and $5000 in packing charges! More loading tips, click here.

8. What are my insurance options?

   Click here to see your options.

9. What payment options do you have?

   We accept checks by fax or email if drawn on a US bank, or you can mail a check, wire transfer or you can pay online with MasterCard or Visa. For credit card payments we charge a 5% handling fee.

10. Do I need to complete a customs form?

    Yes you will need to. We have the most popular ones available on email or click here.

11. What are the Customs Regulations?

    Every Country has their own but most destinations are ok with your personal items if you are moving to that Country and all the items are more than 6 months old. Most countries will tax you on alcohol and cigarettes so it's normally not worth sending in your shipment. Check with your local consulate or embassy for the Countries customs regulations or click here for customs information.

12. Any Do's n Don'ts for shipping?

    Many! Don't pack any opened bottles. Don't pack anything hazardous including cleaning materials. Don't use an unlicensed company with a cheap rate. If the price sounds too good to be true it isn't! We ship large volumes and therefore get slightly better rates and keep overheads low, therefore our prices are really good. If you find a rate much lower than ours, be very careful, there are a lot of cowboy operators that will give you a very cheap price and once they have your things they will find an excuse for doubling your price. Do use licensed professionals. Make sure your boxes are all packed tight and well taped shut. Make sure your name is on all pieces. Do use a lot of bubble wrap. Click here for more packing info.

13. Can I download forms?

    Yes we have quite a few here on this site, look under the heading Tools.

14. What if my shipment is larger than expected?

    We have to charge you on the volume you use so if 100 cubic feet was quoted at $900 and your shipment measures at 125 cubic feet then we will charge you $9.00 multiplied by 125 = $1125

15. What if my shipment is smaller than expected?

    We will charge you less as per above in reverse but some destinations do have a minimum volume.

16. Do you ship Cars n Bikes, boats n planes?

    Yes all the time out of Charleston where we have the facilities to do this. Cheapest way of shipping is drive your machine to us in Charleston.

17. How do I save Money?

    Do your own packing, and deliver to one of our 87 receiving terminals or for bigger discounts, drop off European shipments at our main shipping terminal in Charleston SC or Los Angeles for our Australia, New Zealand and India services

18. What are the Pros and Cons of Self Packing my items?

    Pro's are you save money and if you take your time doing a little at a time using plenty of bubble wrap and packing paper you can pack like a pro and sometimes even better as you know more than a packing company what is precious to you. It also means you don't have strange people in your house and you can have a good cleanout while you pack. The Cons, however, are its hard work and we can't give you the same insurance coverage as if it was professionally packed. Click here for insurance options.

19. How big is 100 cubic feet?

    About 20 plastic totes, 45 small boxes, 20 large boxes, about 16 large suitcases. Use our volume calculator to help you.

20. How do I work out cubic feet?

    Stack all your boxes together to make a large cube. Measure the longest, widest and highest points in inches. Multiply the 3 dimensions together then divide by 1728. That gives you cubic feet.

21. Does weight make any difference?

    If dieting yes, if shipping with UpakWeShip usually no except for our baggage services have a 50lb max weight per box!

22. Where do I get boxes and packing materials?

    The best place is your local self storage place. They normally sell good quality boxes, bubble wrap, bags for sofas and chairs, tape and packing paper. Also Staples sell good quality plastic file storage boxes which are great for shipping (they have a hinged blue lid) as well as other packing supplies, also U-haul stores, Lowes and Home Depot sell Moving blankets and other supplies for packing.

23. How many hours do I have to load my own container?

    We have what's called a "live load" trucking service where you get 2 hours free and thereafter while the trucker waits its $95 per hour waiting time. Or a "drop and pick" trucking service where we can drop the container at your residence one day and collect 24 or 48 hours later. This is normally twice the price as the trucker has to make 2 trips. This isn't so bad if you live within 50 miles of the local terminal or port but can get expensive if you live far away from a port of inland container terminal.

24. Is my quote fully inclusive?

    Our rates to door include all known or definite charges. However if you want delivery above the 2nd floor, have bad access where a truck cannot get anywhere close to your residence, we need to get parking permits or you live on yellow or red lines or no parking zone, you have items less than 6 months old that involve duties and taxes or wine, spirits, cigarettes in your shipment, you receive a random customs inspection or your shipment or container gets x rayed by Customs either in the USA or overseas there will be extra fees charged at destination before your shipment is delivered.

25. What's the difference between baggage and shared container service?

    Both baggage and shared container shipments go into the shipping container and are cleared through customs. The difference is baggage is delivered to the curbside by one man and the shared container service is delivered by 2 men into your first floor residence.

26. When do I pay?

    We do not charge a deposit but we will email you an invoice at the time of loading for containers and UBox services and as soon as we receive the shipment and confirmed the measurements for all the other services. We cannot let items leave the country until invoices are paid in full.

27. What if I don't have an address yet at the destination?

    This is quite common and as long as we have a contact address so we can get hold of you that's fine. You can email us or our local overseas office at a later date with the actual delivery address.

28. How much lead time do you need?

    Normally a week's notice is good but it's nice to have a bit longer if you can give us more. If you are shipping anything motorized we need 2 weeks' notice. If you have procrastinated or leaving in a hurry we can often arrange things in 24 hours at no extra charge but we do prefer a week's notice if you can please.

29. Do you work weekends?

    No sorry we don't.

30. Can I load a motorcycle or car in a shipping container?

    Yes you can. We suggest you hire a wrecker truck so that you can drive your machine onto the wrecker truck and then when the wrecker reverses his truck up to the container you just reverse into the container. Always have the engine near the doors of the container and block n brace the wheels and use 4 ratchet straps to tie down from the axle by the wheel to the tie hooks in the container.

31. Are the UBox's waterproof?

    No they are made of wood and are more like weather resistant but we will shortly have plastic covers that you can purchase to waterproof your UBox.

32. Do the shipping containers have tie downs?

    Yes in each corner on the floor and ceiling

33. Can I track my shipment?

    Yes on our home page click on UTrack and enter your booking number. Once you have the vessel name you can often track the voyage by going to the shipping line's web site for the latest information and eta or the vessel at the port.

34. Why are you cheaper than others?

    Having been in business since 1988 we have built up a large customer base and probably ship more to Europe, Australia, India and New Zealand than anyone else so we keep our containers and trucks full therefore allowing us to operate at discounted rates all year round. We also keep overheads low, have our own operations overseas and therefore have complete control of our costs and don't have to rely on other companies with their own profit margins. Unlike a lot of the competition, we specialize in small shipments and often have no minimum charges to contend with.

35. Your competitor says they have to pack our items otherwise we will get into trouble with customs overseas?

    This is an old wife's tale so that they can make lots of money sending in cheap labor to pack up your belongings in your house. Truth is with our system, documentation and security checks even though you have packed your items yourself, your shipment is no more at risk than if local mover packed your boxes for you. Customs and Security agencies will now often X- Ray your shipment or the container in which it has been loaded so they can see what is in the boxes whoever packed it.

36. I have a cheaper price from someone else but it's to a terminal only and not to door?

    Be very careful of these quotes, you get a very cheap price up front but when you get to your destination you can find yourself paying double the original quote before you are allowed to collect your boxes from the terminal.

37. How do I book?

    Click on the BOOK NOW link on your quote, home page of the website or click here. Complete the online form, click submit and we will come back to you with a booking confirmation, labels, customs forms, contract and other instructions all on email. It doesn't matter if you don't know how many boxes you have or you don't know the insurance value or delivery address. You can email us extra information later but at least we can start working on the paperwork between us and getting the process started between us. Everything we do is on email between us so we have an electronic file with a record of all discussions. We are very nearly a paperless office; we use the latest cloud systems for all our accounting, database and communications therefore allowing us a very secure, reliable, fast system that we can access from anywhere 24/7.

38. Why do you seem to have 2 names?

    Our main company here in North America and Europe is EuroUSA Shipping and UPakWeShip is a division with its own dedicated employees set up to offer its customers a reliable, no thrills budget way of International Moving. EuroUSA's offices handle many Commercial full service, Corporate, Military and Trade shipments for regular customers.

39. Are you licensed and bonded?

    Yes we have Errors, Omissions and liability insurance as well as a license issued by The Federal Maritime Commission and a $50,000 forwarder bond for UPakWeShip number 020288F and $125,000 forwarder and NVOCC bond for EuroUSA Shipping Inc number 020099NF

40. Will you collect from my 2nd floor apartment?

    Our normal published collection rates are for ground floor hand out your boxes at your front door. Drivers are not normally licensed or allowed to go into a residence.

41. Do you do packing?

    UPakWeShip does not but our full service moving division does. Email budd@eurousa.us for an International moving quote including packing and unpacking.

42. I saw some negative as well as positive reports on the internet, please explain?

    Don't believe everything you read on the internet. Unfortunately people will complain on the internet a lot more than giving a company or service a compliment! Also some competitors will actually pretend they are customers and make up complaints so that another company looks bad. Lastly, some of these complaints / scam warning sites are not nonprofit companies!! They make their money on the internet by getting donations from moving companies they recommend or by charging large sums to get a complaint deleted from their site.