Just wondering if anyone has has had to ship bed sheets and comforters? My daughter is transferring from one college to another and we live in canada and not sure of how to ship her stuff yet . Any suggestions would be great still working on how on to get her stuff there as we are flying there with her.
Thx jab
If you each take a suitecase and a carry on - that is 3 large suitcases that you can get a lot of things in for free - since Canada you are not Southwest airlines where 2 bags are free I assume, but on other airlines you can just pay for a second bag if you need more than three…that way she would have most of her stuff with her. Then you can bring all but one bag back. Shipping can be expensive and unreliable in terms of it getting through the school mail system and a note to her for pick up - may take a while those first few days of school when they handle so much. So if you can bring and buy the basics to get her rolling right away, that would be my suggestion. My D just brought home her comforter, mattress pad and sheets in a Nike duffel that she checked.
Also, can you buy some things there - toiletries, or an inexpensive fan and light if needed, etc? Probably cheaper than shipping from Canada. And ya gotta love Amazon prime for the things she realizes she wants/needs after she gets there. Good luck!
Yes, flying with one checked bag (or box) apiece can be cheaper and more reliable than mailing. Two bags apiece will be a bit more. If you use collapsible duffles or similar they will fold to nothing in her dorm or on the trip home.
If you get a credit card for the airline you are flying, often there is a first free bag per person.
Remember that dorms are fairly small and less is often better. True also that Amazon and many merchants offer free or low cost shipping as well.
If you buy things from Amazon you can have them shipped to an Amazon locker, if there’s one near her campus. You can also have anything shipped by Fedex delivered to a Walgreens drugstore. They are pretty common.
There are also various parcel and post businesses you can ship things to that will hold them for you to pick up.
I shipped lightweight stuff for our son - we drove but just have a sedan, and ran out of room in the car for the 2000+ mile journey. We couldn’t afford to purchase new things. For me, FredEx Ground ended up being the cheapest, but it was several years ago
An option, buy space bags and ship in flat rate boxes. The flat rate boxes are free here’s a link to order https://store.usps.com/store/results/free-shipping-supplies/shipping-supplies/flat-rate/_/N-alnx4jZ7d0v8vZ1wrlxch?_requestid=192700. They should be available at the post office also but I usually will order them.
Big bulky things like comforters and pillows can be shrunk into very little in space bags. Flat rate boxes are shipped by size not weight.
I was thinking of just doing the space bags and for her comforter and bed stuff. Since I don’t want to buy stuff all over again I’m trying to see what is more cost effective if I just send some stuff I bought already from last year. Then take her clothing in suite cases. I will have to look at maybe dhl does flat rate abt 300 a box sameday delivery and fedex does it by weight not sure where else offers anything at a flat rate .
Thx for all the suggestions
The USPS has flat rate boxes of different sizes. The largest one is not very large, and costs about $18 to ship Priority Mail (2-3 day delivery). You could stash a bunch of heavy things in there. You can pick up the empty boxes at any post office.
It might be cheaper to pay for an extra suitcase on the plane too. No airline will charge you $300 for an extra suitcase!
Flat rate USPS from Canada is probably the international rate, not US rates.
Right. But is the D moving from one US college to another? She would use the regular US rate in that case.
My daughter purchased 2, IT 31" suitcases, weighs 4 lbs, (nylon) when she moved overseas for school.I think they were about $70 each. We used the space bags to pack bedding and clothing. She was able to check these, and carried a 22" duffle bag and backpack on board.They have held up very well so far through 6 roundtrip flights.