Info: shipping boxes to Beijing

[Johnny20270]

Might be of interest for UK people.

 

I was curious on how much it would cost to ship boxes to Beijing and rang a few a few shipping companies here.  Companies like “Ship my Bag” and others (not just singling them out) charge silly prices. About £150 - £160 for a 25kg large suitcase size. 

 

Shipping companies seem to charge £117 and a 50cm x 50cm x 50cm, 35Kg box and 46day wait but only deliver to a depot in Beijing. (3 boxes are about £112 each). The cheapest I could find was a company in UK that have a 1m3 minimum size so about 8 boxes @ 50cm cubed for £430

 

However, I did a search on www.lastminute.co.uk for flight prices and it’s definitely worth considering looking at the airlines' website at their extra baggage cost.   

 

BA charge £50, Finnair charge ~£40, Air china: £130, Virgin £120. All allow up to 10 bags, weight 23kg, dimensions 158cm (length + breath + height ) so same as a box mentioned earlier, just less weight

 

so

1 Picking the cheapest airline such as Air china generally may cost extra in the long run

2. Shipping costs are one way only whereas for the flights the extra cost is for return flight too

 

Not sure if a 'bag' on airlines can be a 'box' as well. I presume so!

[Michael C]

 

This time last year I shipped 8 extra bags with Finnair to Beijing from Spain for €60- a piece. If memory serves me right it would have been €10 cheaper had I done it wholly over the phone. Maximum length was 158cm and weight 23kg. One oversize bag, my cinema screen, went without much bother. My employer urged me not to send the packages by container to Beijing, so for small quantities of luggage air-freighting the stuff was the correct choice. 

[Johnny20270]

yup I want to take my desktop. Have a custom built high spec machine and 32in HD moniter. Great for movies!

 

Michael, did you take a suitcase or actual box. I am wondering how to ship my PC, Side panels of my case are made of glass. Was thinking to just use a cardboard box, load of bubble wrap and get that tape with the words FRAGILE printed on it.

[imron]

Was thinking to just use a cardboard box, load of bubble wrap and get that tape with the words FRAGILE printed on it.

I remember reading somewhere that flatscreen LCDs shouldn't be transported flat - not good for the screen because the center has no support and the constant vibrations and bumping can cause cracking and discolouration.  Not sure how relevant that may or may not be for you, but might be worth checking your manual to see if they say anything about it.

[Michael C]

 

I had forwarded a scissor-action, pull-up 100" screen for a projector, i.e. .250cmx18cmx18cm @ 12kg.

 

Just pack any soft possessions around your fragiles. I packed 2 or 3 boxes together and used packing "cling film" to bind them together. 5 times round one way, 5 the other, and then a couple of times over the diagonals. 

[Johnny20270]

imron, I think which ever way I pack it, it will end up upside down under 20 cases and thrown about by the baggage handlers 

 

Might just wrap things in bubble wrap or use hard boxes. There is a brand here called "really useful" boxes. They are a hard polypropylene case. I have a few to store tools in. They are strong !

[Johnny20270]

Again a follow up by me in case anyone is interested. 

 

I ended up bring 4 large boxes to Beijing, namely for my desktop PC and 30" monitor. Only paid £40 per extra case with Finnair. All worked out a treat.  Moral of the story is, look at the extra baggage charge on airlines and not just the ticket price