Sometimes you do not have a household to move. You have eight boxes, two suitcases and an airline allowance that will not stretch. Excess baggage services exist for exactly that, and they are priced per box or per kilogram rather than by cubic metre.
One vetted mover from our network handles it. This is the most common way students and single people move to China, and the firms that do it well have a simple process built around collection from your door.
International movers send boxes by sea, which is slow and cheap, or by air, which is quick and costs more. Most people going out for a year or more send the bulk by sea and take the essentials in their airline allowance.
The process is deliberately simple, because the whole point is that it should not need a survey and a project plan.
You get boxes. Most movers will supply them, either delivered in advance or brought on the day. Using their cartons is usually sensible because they are sized for the weight limit and they stack properly.
You pack them. This is owner packed, which keeps the price down and means the insurance terms are narrower than for a crew packed shipment. Fill boxes firmly, tape the base as well as the top, and do not leave voids.
They are collected. A crew arrives on a booked day, checks the count and the weights, and takes them away. Some services collect from a residential address, some ask you to bring them to a depot, and the price differs.
They travel. By sea in a shared container with other people's boxes, or by air if you have paid for speed.
They are delivered. To your Chinese address, or in some cases to a local depot for collection depending on the destination city.
On labelling. Your name, the destination city and a box number on the top and one side of every carton. Keep a list of what is in each. Boxes travelling in a shared container are handled many times, and a clear label is what stops one being set aside.
Boxes are priced per unit or per kilogram, which makes this the easiest shipping cost to control. Every box you decide not to send comes straight off the total, and the difference between sea and air on the same load is large.
£250 to £550
The typical student shipment. Slow but comfortably the cheapest.
£500 to £1,100
A single person's belongings including bedding and kitchen items.
£450 to £1,500
One to two weeks. Priced by weight, so pack dense and small.
Tell us roughly how many boxes and whether you need them quickly. That is genuinely all we need to price it.
We match you with your vetted mover, which means one team handles the whole relocation. It is free, with no obligation. Get a quote today and hold your dates.
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Boxes on this service travel in a shared container and are handled many times. Packing well is not fussiness, it is the difference between everything arriving and something not.
Fill every box completely. A half empty carton collapses when something is stacked on it. Use clothing or towels to fill voids rather than leaving air.
Weigh as you go. Around thirty kilograms is a common limit and it is lower than people expect. A box of books hits it very quickly, so mix heavy items with light ones rather than filling a whole box with hardbacks.
Tape the base as well as the top, across the seam and then across it again the other way. The base is what fails.
Do not ship liquids. Shampoo, cleaning products and anything else that can leak will ruin the contents of its own box and the boxes around it. It is also restricted on air services.
Label twice. Top and one side, with your name, destination city and box number. Then keep the list yourself.
Photograph anything you care about before it goes in. If you need to make a claim, that photo is the difference between a straightforward conversation and a difficult one.
Think about what you actually need. Chinese cities sell bedding, kitchen equipment, hangers and everything else at prices that usually beat shipping them. The things worth sending are what you cannot replace or what you specifically want.
If your load grows beyond a few boxes, shared container space is usually the next step.
A move usually means moving money too, whether that is a deposit on a Chinese flat or funds coming back the other way. We have helped customers with currency exchange in any currency through trusted partners for many years, and our partners can help with the money side of your move. Mention it on the form and it gets included.
Experts in currency exchange
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Competitive exchange rate
As many as you like, though beyond about twenty the economics usually favour shared container space instead. Below that, per box pricing is simple and easy to control, since every box you decide against comes straight off the total.
Commonly around thirty kilograms, because one person has to be able to lift it safely. That is lower than people expect and a box of books reaches it quickly. Mix heavy items with light ones and weigh before the crew arrives, because overweight boxes get refused or surcharged.
Around six to nine weeks door to door. Your boxes travel in a shared container alongside other shipments, so part of that time is waiting for the container to fill. Air freight cuts it to one or two weeks at a considerably higher rate.
Usually yes, on a booked day. Some services offer a cheaper rate if you take the boxes to a depot yourself. Ask which applies, because the difference in price can be meaningful on a small shipment.
The mover's cartons are usually better value. They are sized for the weight limit, they stack properly in a container and they survive handling. Supermarket boxes vary in strength and a collapsed carton in a shared container is a genuine risk.
Liquids of any kind, since a leak ruins its own box and the ones around it. Also anything restricted for air if you are flying it: aerosols, spare batteries, flammables. And realistically, anything you can buy cheaply in China once you land.
Cover is usually available but the terms on owner packed cartons are narrower than for a crew packed shipment, and some policies exclude breakage in boxes the crew did not pack. Ask what is covered before you decide how to pack fragile items.
Ship what you cannot replace or specifically want: personal items, particular clothes, things with sentimental value, specialist equipment. Chinese cities sell bedding, kitchen equipment and hangers at prices that usually beat the cost of shipping your own.
Yes, and it is common at the end of a stay or a degree. The same per box or per kilogram basis applies. If you are moving your home back to Britain rather than sending a few things, look at Transfer of Residence relief before the boxes travel.
Send your collection address, your Chinese destination, a rough idea of the volume and your date. A vetted mover from our network checks the route, the paperwork and the access, then comes back to you with the price.
Send your move detailsWe match international moving enquiries with vetted moving companies in the AGM Group network, each holding FIDI FAIM certification and BAR Overseas membership.
We are not a removal firm ourselves. We find you the one that suits your route, and you deal with them directly from there.