Moving can be stressful, especially when planning a move abroad. Choosing the best international moving company to ship your household goods to your new home country is an important decision you will have to make. We didn’t take much with us for our move, but there were some things we wanted to ship to our new home in Spain. Here are some tips and tricks for choosing the right international moving company for your move abroad based on what we learned.
Research
The first step in choosing an international moving company is to do your research. You will want to get and compare quotes from several different moving companies. Look for companies that specialize in international moves and have experience moving to Spain. This will save you time and make sure you work with an international moving company that is well versed in required paperwork and any import duties that may apply.
I joined several Expat FB Groups to see who others were using and read lots of reviews from other expats. One of the most commonly recommended in groups was Schumacher. While I did reach out to them for a quote, I did not find their communication to be the best. I googled a few others to see what would come up and got a few quotes but ultimately decided to use a service called Relocately to get additional quotes. Fair warning, it is the Home Advisor of moving companies.
When you enter your move details on Relocately, they distribute the lead to several moving vendors within their network. You will get up to 6 quotes from various vendors within minutes. Most quotes were within a few hundred dollars of each other for the amount of items we planned to ship. I did find, many of those that reached out had very good reviews online. Ultimately, we chose to go with Laser Moving. Their pricing was competitive, they offered one point of contact for our entire move, packing was included, and they had excellent reviews online. I will come back and update this post once our move is complete with our experience.
Licensing and Insurance
Make sure that the moving company you choose is licensed and insured. This will protect you in case of any damages or accidents during the move. Also, consider getting insurance on your goods when you book your move with the carrier. It is normally a small percentage of total cost and well worth it if you have precious items you are shipping.
Services
Consider the services you need and whether they are offered by the international movers. Will you pack your own things or do you want them to pack your goods? Do you need storage for a period of time? If so, you will want to make sure they offer packing and unpacking services and provide storage options. Make sure that the services they offer fit your needs.
Price
Price is an important factor when choosing an international moving company and deciding what to take with you and what to leave behind. Remember the addage “you get what you pay for.” The cheapest option may not always be the best. Consider the overall value of the services offered in relation to the price and what your budget allows for.
Communication
When we were researching international moving companies, I was surprised by the lack of communication by some. They would take days or even weeks to provide a quote, or respond to a question. That told me that it was likely not who I was going to hire for our move. Choose a moving company that communicates clearly and effectively and has tracking capabilities if at all possible. You want to make sure that you are kept up to date throughout the moving process. Start researching companies earlier than you might think you need so you can weed out the ones that aren’t exhibiting good communication habits.
Conclusion
Choosing the right international moving company can mean the difference between a stress-free relocation or a nightmare move overseas. Conducting your research and taking into account licensing and insurance, the services you need, pricing within your budget, and making sure they have great communication throughout the process is key to finding the right international moving company.
Plan your move abroad using our Moving Abroad Checklist.
