A lot of people this question when moving. ‘How can I ship my belongings to another state?’
Moving shipping is always a hassle, no one likes to go through that stress however it is inevitable. So what’s the cheapest way to ship boxes to another state?
Why would one even want to ship boxes to another state?
How To Ship Stuff Across Country Cheap
There are so many reasons for this, one might be moving to another state and therefore they need to move their belongings. The person might be going off to college and wants to take certain things that might not go in the car.
Or perhaps you just want to send a gift to someone across the state. Whatever your reason might be, you’re in the right place, because we’ll be showing you some of the cheapest ways you can ship boxes interstate.
The funny thing about this shipping of boxes business is that not many people know a lot about it. It’s not as though anyone gets to move often.
Of course, except you’re in the logistics business, or you sell stuff and have to ship them.
Looking for the cheapest way to ship moving boxes? Here you are.
DIY Shipping Moving
The do-it-yourself approach is a lot of times cheaper than having someone else do it for you.
The downside however is that what you might save in cash, you might expend in time and stress. All you have to do here is hire a moving truck or a van, box your stuff and drive the vehicle yourself.
This is usually the cheapest way and the best way to ship clothes when moving.
Of course, the time spent moving can’t be spent doing something else. And if there are children involved they might get cranky since they are not used to being stuck in one place for hours on end.
However, road trips themselves are fun, so with a bit of creativity, the children might get to enjoy it.
The upside is that you’d be as careful as possible with your belongings, therefore there’s very little chance that they’d arrive damaged.
Also, you are aware of where your goods are all through the time it’s in commute.
Moving And Shipping Boxes Across Country By Bus
There are bus services that travel cross country or just from state to state.
Some of these big buses have space for luggage beneath where the passengers are seated. However, passenger cargo rarely gets to fill the spaces. Therefore, there’s room to take on additional luggage.
One very popular company in the U.S that offers this service is called Greyhound Package Express.
This method works for big-box sizes, and since they have several departure times in a day, therefore you can assess their services several times a day, and also throughout the year.
Greyhound won’t move packages that weigh over 100 pounds, or items that are over 29” H x 47” W x 82” L.
This company would not ship prohibited goods, therefore you should leave the package open for inspection. Tapes are always provided, for you to cover the box.
If you’re moving something fragile, you might want to add protective packaging to it such as Styrofoam, the boxes will be at the bottom of the box, and it’s not the smoothest ride.
Tracking can be done at the Greyhound Package Express website.
Greyhound offers a 3 tiered service. Standard, this is the cheapest and it is best for packages that don’t have to arrive in a hurry.
There’s’ Priority if it’s time bound you can use this, but you would pay more. You get 100% money back if the shipment doesn’t arrive on schedule. However, they don’t do trips more than 1,300 miles.
Direct Drive
Fastest and most expensive. This is however a door-to-door service. They pick up, they deliver, and they don’t do more than 400 miles of the pickup address.
Movement By Train
Train cargo transport is the cheapest way to ship large boxes.
I bet you didn’t know goods are still moved by train. With a train, you get to move even bigger boxes, it would take longer than by bus though.
One such company that offers this service is Amtrak Express Shipping. It costs somewhere between $40 to $80 to move a 100 box. And then you get to pay anywhere between $0.40 to 0.80$ for any extra pound.
You can move goods that are up to 500 pounds via this train. Each item though cannot weigh more than 50 pounds, and it must not exceed 3ft x 3ft x 3ft for easy movement.
Individual pallets for heavy and commercial shipments can be 500 pounds.
Trains are bigger, so they offer more room, and they can move stuff that bus companies would not be willing or are not willing to move.
For example, Amtrak can move bicycles and unicycles, however, these also have to be properly packaged in a box. Amtrak has boxes for you to purchase for packaging.
Another very nice thing is that bicycles are not bound by the dimensions cap earlier given. Train services would also move human remains if you’d like, however, funeral staff must be available at drop-off and pick-up locations.
You’d however have to contact Amtrak to know other requirements for this sort of movement.
Moving By UShip
This is the least popular method of shipping boxes to another state. This movement is done by independent truck drivers. So here’s how this happens. you get on the UShip Market place and then post the details of what you’d like to ship.
Truckers traveling in that route would then bid on it. You choose a bid you’re comfortable with and then you can have your stuff moved by the person. UShip doesn’t set the bid prices though. They are set by demand and supply.
If where your boxes are going to is a place where lots of truckers ply, that is a high traffic location, then the bid price will be lower because a lot of people are headed in that direction.
However if it is off popular routes, you would most likely get higher bids or even no bids at all.
The advantage of using U-Ship is that your valuables can be insured, and they are also willing to move large items that wouldn’t fit in a box, such as a furniture or large electronics.
Although all the truckers are verified by Uship, they are not professional movers.
Conclusion
These are the cheapest methods to move your boxes from state to state within the U.S. There are other methods such as FedEx, UPS, USPS, and even by air.
However these are not the cheapest methods, but they can be quick, can handle fragile goods, and can be used to send goods to multiple locations.
Find out what works for you and use it.