How to Ship Furniture and Get a Free Instant Quote Shipping Quotes
Furniture Shipping Services
If you’ve ever had to move a bulky piece of furniture yourself, you know why furniture shipping services are a necessity. The process can get incredibly complicated, especially with heavy, oddly shaped freight that may move on an irregular schedule or have special packing requirements. The first decision point furniture shippers are faced with is deciding between LTL and FTL shipping.
If you’re moving infrequent furniture loads, LTL freight is likely the right fit for you. With LTL, or less-than-truckload freight, your shipment shares a truck with loads from other shippers. Costs are distributed between all shippers, meaning your overall cost is lower, but your furniture will likely make multiple stops on the way to its destination, and potentially even switch trucks and drivers.
If you’re moving furniture on a regular basis, full truckload freight, or FTL, may be a better fit for you. With FTL, you fill an entire truckload, with no other shipper taking up space in the trailer. The truck moves from Point A to Point B, with no stops, meaning it’s on as safe and efficient a journey as possible. The tradeoff comes down to cost — there are no sharing costs, so you need to take full advantage of the space you’re purchasing.
Shipping Furniture Cost
Shipping furniture seems like a simple process at first; however, when you move from theory to action, you admit that it’s either too complicated or too expensive. Essentially, you want your items to be protected, so they reach the destination safely. That’s why shippers seek affordable yet reliable furniture shipping services. A major concern when choosing a shipping partner is how much does it cost to ship furniture.
Furniture shipping costs rely on many factors. Furniture type, your carrier, destination, weight, and dimensions play a crucial role in defining the accurate price. Obviously, if you want to send items to the neighboring state, it will cost less than moving from coast to coast. It’s also important to accurately provide your address and destination address because sometimes the location you’re shipping from can be considered as limited access.
To get the most realistic and accurate quote, you have to provide correct information. Another way to get lower shipping rates is to make your shipment easier to stack. Proper packaging, or even palletizing will let you avoid accessorial charges.
How To Ship Furniture In Canada
Don’t let the idea of shipping furniture across the border to Canada stress you out, it’s just as easy as shipping domestically. Canada is an extremely accessible country, especially from the US. You have a few shipping options to choose from: air, seas, or land via train or truck.
Beyond mode of transport, costs associated with shipping furniture are also influenced by the location of the size and weight of the furniture, the origin and destination of your shipment, and seasonal demand changes. Before moving any cross-border freight, you’ll want to get a quote from a number of carriers.
Whether you’re moving personal belongings or a large shipment of household furniture, GoShip can connect you to the best end-to-end shipping option possible for your freight journey to Canada. GoShip specializes in LTL and full truckload services with a carrier network exceeding 50,000 carriers so your furniture is guaranteed to get moved.
Before you get ready to move your shipment into Canada, you should get familiar with shipping into the country. For example, used mattresses are on Canada’s restricted and/or prohibited items list. Check out our Canadian shipping guide to learn more about what can and can’t cross the border.
Shipping Office Furniture
Relocating for a job, or relocating an entire business, is always challenging. The last thing an organization wants to think about is how they're going to be getting all their furniture to the new location safely. GoShip can help with the stressful time of shipping your furniture and help you find a carrier to transport all your office furniture to the new location. With our quick and easy Get a Quote tool, we can match you with thousands of carriers and rates that best suit your shipment needs.
The two main shipping services we offer are full truckload and less-than-truckload freight shipping. You’ll use full truckload when you have a large amount of office furniture to ship, like if the whole office is being relocated to another facility, so much so that you need an entire truck for your shipment.
LTL freight is for a smaller move, with less furniture that doesn't take up a whole truck. LTL freight shipping service allows you to save money if you don't have enough furniture to fill a truck and can distribute costs with other shippers who are leveraging the same truck.
How to Ship Large Furniture Items
Successfully shipping large furniture items all comes down to proper planning. You can reasonably break the process down into three parts:
- Packing. Breaking down the furniture into the smallest, safest components can help you minimize the risk of damage, as can secure and item-appropriate packaging around each component.
- Choosing the right carrier. Different carriers have different requirements for different types of shipments, so you can’t afford to use a one-size-fits-all approach for shipping large furniture items. Leverage an online freight marketplace, like GoShip’s Get a Quote tool, to find who is most appropriate for your shipment.
- Coordinating with the carrier and recipient. There’s no substitute for good communication. Does your furniture shipment need a lift gate? Inside delivery? Do you want tracking?
By planning ahead, you can ease your mind and protect your furniture shipment on its way to its destination. Read on to learn more about moving specific furniture items.
How to Ship a Bed
Shipping furniture can seem complicated, but proper packaging and planning make it a simple process. One of the most shipped furniture items is a bed. Firstly, disassemble the wooden or metal frame of the bed and pack it with wraps, tapes, and other packaging material. The mattress is best packaged in plastic wrapping, which is secured with straps or tapes. It is also helpful to put your bed components in foam protection, so there is less chance of damage during transit.
At GoShip, we offer a variety of LTL carriers that can help and ship your bed. Additionally, we partner with TaskRabbit, a service that lets you hire taskers to pack or load your piece of furniture.
How to Ship a Mattress
Everyone knows moving out of that mattress and transporting it is a daunting task. Look no further, GoShip takes away all the hassle of moving that new or used mattress.
Packaging a mattress for shipment is relatively straightforward – with standardized sizes, you just need to wrap in plastic and other protecting materials, get accurate weights and measurements, then get a range of quotes from qualified carriers.
If you need assistance at the mattress’s destination, we encourage you to leverage TaskRabbit, which allows you to hire Taskers to move or set up your mattress upon arrival.
How to Ship a Rug
Shipping a rug can feel like a hassle, but it is a relatively straightforward process.
You will want to roll up most rugs, securing the ends with either rope or twine, and then wrapping it in thick plastic so it doesn’t get dirty or damaged during shipping. Dependent on length, you may want to fold the rolled rug in half for stability. That’s it!
Moving large rugs can be tough. Through our partnership with TaskRabbit, we can pair you with a Tasker to help move the rug at pickup or dropoff in addition to the pre-vetted carrier who will actually take it on the truck.
How to Ship a Couch
When shipping a couch, you’ll want to focus on two key aspects: protecting the upholstery and protecting the framework. Follow these steps to keep your couch in one piece:
- Remove everything you can and ship separately. This includes legs, pillows, cushions, slipcovers, the works.
- Package making ample use of paper, plastic, or Styrofoam wrapping and moving blankets.
- Box or crate your immaculately packaged couch.
- Get accurate measurements for dimensions and weight so your carrier can provide you an accurate quote.
Given the weights and dimensions involved, taking the extra time to prepare and protect your couch is critical to keeping your shipment safe.
How to Ship a Table and Chairs
Shipping furniture can be a different experience than other types of shipping. In many cases, the furniture may be able to be partially disassembled to facilitate safer and simpler shipping. Tables and chairs often have easily removable legs that allow you to pack the furniture into a smaller space. Crating may provide additional protection from bumps and shifts during shipping. Adding fillers, such as customizable spray foam, can fill the voids in the furniture to prevent damage caused by vibrations.
To get the most realistic and accurate quote, you have to provide correct information. Another way to get lower shipping rates is to make your shipment easier to stack. Proper packaging, or even palletizing will let you avoid accessorial charges. At GoShip, we provide a free online shipping estimate: all you have to do is fill in the basic information and compare the rates from available carriers, all in under 60 seconds.
Shipping Appliances
Since appliances have a lot of mechanized parts, knobs, and switches, shipping presents a lot of challenges. It is important to take care throughout the shipping process, so the appliances reach their destination in the same working condition they left in. Make sure any appliance you ship is empty before you begin packing it. In particular, dishwashers, refrigerators, washers, and dryers should be completely cleaned out.
Stainless steel surfaces should be covered to protect against abrasion. Attach a shipping label to the appliance and any shipping boxes that clearly display the destination address. No matter what appliance you need shipped, GoShips heavy haul service and/or FTL service, as well as a network of more than 50,000 carriers, shipping appliances has never been easier.
Cost to Ship Appliances
Appliances are expensive, so if you’re planning on shipping one, you want to make sure that you find a carrier that will take care of your appliances properly. At GoShip, we offer network of carriers at wholesale rates to help our customers find the best deal for them.
Our Get a Quote tool matches customers to pre-vetted carriers that best suit their budget, all in under 60 seconds. With the freight market constantly shifting and a wide range of appliances shapes, sizes and weights, your best bet is to get a free quote from a number of carriers to determine the best fit for shipping your appliance.
Shipping a Refrigerator
When shipping a refrigerator, you’ll want to start several days early. Follow these seven steps, which are especially important if the refrigerator is already in use:
- Remove all contents of the refrigerator.
- Unplug the refrigerator and disconnect the water lines.
- Allow the refrigerator to defrost for up to two full days.
- Remove all shelving and either ship separately or pack securely within the refrigerator.
- Clear out any lingering moisture.
- Seal the refrigerator door with appliance tape.
- Box or crate the refrigerator and accurately document the dimensions and weight.
- Select the right carrier for you dependent on timelines, price, and other delivery needs.
Shipping a Washer and Dryer
Shipping appliances such as washers and dryers require a little extra care to avoid damaging them during shipping. Remove and pack all shelves and drawers separately. Clean and pack, all racks, knobs, and other parts separately. Washers and dryers should have their hoses removed and packed by themselves — with the dryer’s drum properly secured.
GoShip makes shipping large appliances much easier and more cost-effective than any other option you might have. Our experienced and courteous professionals will advise you about the best options to ship your appliances, finding you the lowest possible cost through our user-friendly platforms.
