All the best for your retirement John and enjoy traveling again, but this time for fun!

The post All the best John. Enjoy your retirement. appeared first on UPakWeShip.

I wanted to let you know that everything arrived yesterday. All of my household goods were delivered to my apartment here in Bolzano, and I am now surrounded by totes and packing materials, which is the best kind of mess to have after sleeping on the floor for over two months. I slept in my own bed last night for the first time since leaving the United States, and I cannot tell you how good that felt.

I also wanted to take a moment to properly thank you. Since our very first call to your last email, you were always kind always patient and always willing to go above and beyond to help me. You answered my questions, you followed up when things were unclear and you never made me feel like I was being a burden, even when I know that you probably had a lot going on.

But beyond the professional help, what stayed with me the most was your genuine warmth regarding my health situation. That is not something you had to do and it meant more to me than you probably realize. Moving across the world while dealing with health challenges can feel very isolating. Your kindness made a real difference during some of my hardest days.

With sincere gratitude to UPakWeShip

Bruno

International Moving Doctor says “ thank you Bruno for the kind words about UPakWeShip and our General Manager Natalie. I totally agree that she is the best”

The post Great UPakWeShip International Moving Review. Shipping USA to Italy appeared first on UPakWeShip.

Here is the truth from The International Moving Doctor.

If you use good quality rubber tubs like the ones in this picture above, then you will be fine. They have the strength to be stacked up on each other so they will travel great with no issues or damage. Always stack the heaviest tubs at the bottom though.

The trouble happens when you use the cheaper plastic ones, often semi see through which are fine for your Christmas decorations to be stored in your attic or garage but not so good when you are using them to move overseas. The trouble happens when you stack four , five or six on top of each other. The one at the bottom can not support that much weight on top of it and starts to crack and split open. It might even crush and cause the ones above it to start leaning or falling which can make the whole pallet or U Crate to be unstable. On top of this (pardon the pun) the split open tub contents will get damaged and if there is anything liquid in there, it might leak which can then  cause damage to other things in your shipment, such as clothes or bedding.

If you are using a U Crate, the crate sides should support the load, even if the bottom is crushing but on a pallet you could end up with some serious damage as the load is only covered with shrink wrap and sharp pieces of plastic tub could tear the cover and loose items spill out from the pallet.

So, if using plastic tubs or crates, use good quality ones that are not cheap but they will ship just fine and be good for storage in your garage, shed or attic for years to come at your overseas destination. Cardboard moving boxes are great, and cheaper if you pack them full so they can not crush and you plan on unpacking everything soon after you arrive at the destination but if items might be staying stored then definitely invest in the tubs.

I hope that helps and don’t forget to ask the International Moving Doctor at UPakWeShip if you have any questions. If you are not sure what service you need, take a look at this You Tube video which explains all the different services we offer.

All our U Crate and pallet rates are online at www.upakweship.com so if you want to know how much it costs to move overseas, have a look at our international moving cost calculator.

If you need a personalized international moving quote, just click here.

Happy Packing folks

Cheers Mark Nash, aka The International Moving Doctor, UPakWeShip, your trusted International Mover.

The post Rub a dub dub, can we ship stuff in tubs? appeared first on UPakWeShip.

As of now, March 30th 2026, our online prices are still good but there is pressure on the horizon for rates to increase. This is partly due to the shipping lines adding “FSC” fuel surcharges and also the truckers hauling our shipping containers to and from the ports in the USA as well as our operations at UPakWeShip UK and UPakWeShip Europe are all paying more to fill their tanks and are passing on the extra costs to us.

While our weekly services across the Atlantic have not been effected with the Middle East situation, our Dubai service as been temporarily suspended and all the shipments that were heading to Dubai are safe in our UPakWeShip warehouse near Rotterdam waiting to see what happens.

We always honor quotes for 30 days from quote to pick up so if you are moving soon, I suggest locking into your rate and booking as soon as possible. If you are thinking of shipping in the next 60 days it is probably worth booking and shipping earlier if you can.

If not, please be prepared for increases, as gas and oil prices go up. and everything else has to follow unfortunately.

I am hoping everything goes back to normal again soon, if you have any questions, you can always contact me on email move@upakweship.com

I do not wish to alarm or pressure anyone, just giving honest advice as always….

Stay safe everyone.

Cheers,

The International Moving Doctor

Mark Nash

UPakWeShip International Movers

The post Fuel Surcharges on the horizon if moving overseas in 2026? appeared first on UPakWeShip.

A Family company that specializes in moving Families!

There are big corporate moving companies that specialize in moving big corporate employees with big relocation budgets. There are also big corporate companies that specialize in moving Military families and Government employees. Most do a great job and offer what’s called a white glove service for their customers. But do they have the time, patience, staff and competitiveness to look after the family who is paying for themselves that need some handholding and friendly helpful advice through the process?

That’s where UPakWeShip comes into its own! UPakWeShip is a family run business with 7 family members spread between its offices in the USA, Europe and the UK. With operations on both sides of the Atlantic, most of our moves are controlled and managed by UPakWeShip with no third-party agents contacting you.

Why is having one company door to door so important?  It allows us to maintain a high standard of quality control, operational and communications, and most importantly stops extra fees being billed to you by third parties. How often do you see reviews online that say the move was ok, but we were charged an extra fee before delivery for various made-up reasons. It’s common practice for the delivery agent that probably only won the job by being the cheapest to make more profit by charging extras on the delivery. Not with UPakWeShip though!

Many years ago, we were so fed up with this practice and complaints from our customers when we used a third-party mover, that we decided to set up our own company in the UK and Europe so that we could make sure this did not happen anymore.

When moving with UPakWeShip, you will feel the difference between us and the big guys, we answer the phone, you can always speak to the same person you did last time and we are knowledgeable, friendly, patient and most importantly give you a lump sum all inclusive price without the worry of extra sneaky fees being made up to line some large corporations pockets! See UPakWeShip’s price guarantee here.

We are the UPakWeShip family that wants to help your family relocate with no stress or worries.

One company door to door. Get all inclusive moving and shipping rates online with our international moving cost calculator.

The post We are Family appeared first on UPakWeShip.

This is a popular question, and I’ll do my best to answer it for you here.

The quick simple answer is no, providing you have all your boxes in a row!

Here is the more detailed answer.

U Crates, Pallets and Shared Container Services

If you are shipping U Crates, Pallets or our shared container service we have a simplified customs clearance process at our the UPakWeShip office in Rotterdam which allows us to not charge you any customs duties or taxes on your shipment providing you provide us with your passport and a signed declaration that all the goods are yours and used and not for re sale. We also need a packing list with a non-detailed description of what is in each box. By that I mean box 1 Kitchenware, not 14 forks and 12 knives etc. It’s all very easy and simple.

We can also store your things in our warehouse if you are still looking for a place to stay. The storage rate is 25 Euros per pallet per week, so if you had three U Crates or pallets the rate would be 75 Euros per week.

20ft and 40ft Self Lod Shipping Containers

If, however, you are loading a 20ft or 40ft shipping container yourself, then the container will have to be shipped direct to the nearest port in the country you are moving to. As this is a large shipment and arriving in the country of final delivery you will have to abide by the customs regulations of that country. We obviously do provide you with the documentation requirements and it varies with each European Country, but you will need a visa to show you are approved to be moving there and complete numerous forms and often provide proof you have lived outside of Europe for the past 12 months. Many countries require an interview at the embassy or consulate in the USA before you get your visa to move. Providing you get all the documentation requirements to us before your container arrives at the destination, we should be able to clear it through customs with no duties or taxes, but if anything is wrong or missing, the local customs office in the European country might charge you duties and taxes so do your homework and prepare well in advance. Also worth noting here is most of the shipping lines that provide the containers to go on their ships, typically only allow 3-5 days free at the destination before they start charging you for keeping their container, even if it hasn’t cleared customs yet. The port also jumps on the band wagon and will charge for the space your container is using, sitting in the port after 3-5 days while waiting. This is called rent and demurrage and will be invoiced to you for payment before delivery if the container takes too long to clear through customs or if further documentation is required by customs or any hold-ups. This is typical in countries like Spain and Portugal where the process can be slow.

As the shipping lines own the containers and want them back asap so they can re load them, we can not offer storage for your container so after if clears customs if you need it stored, the best thing to do is find a local self-storage place where we can deliver the container to, for you to unload.

The post Will I Pay Duties and Taxes when shipping my stuff to Europe? appeared first on UPakWeShip.

The Port of Los Angeles has resumed operations after fire erupted on board the ONE Henry Hudson, which was berthed at the port.

CNBC reported that an electrical fire on a lower deck of the container ship on Friday evening caused an explosion that shook the vessel, knocking out power to lights and cranes. A shelter-in-place order for local residents, due to hazardous material on board, was lifted on Saturday. Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles, Gene Seroka, said approximately 117 containers were physically damaged out of the 8,000 onboard the vessel.

The ship was moved four miles out to sea to prevent the fire from damaging the port infrastructure and allow the Los Angeles Fire Department’s fireboats to continue firefighting operations. All crew aboard the One Henry Hudson were safely accounted for, according to a ONE spokesperson.

These are the things that can happen that make us always suggest your belongings are well insured.

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Maybe not quite in the same league but I was reminded of this when I learnt we were moving someone this week in a self-load 20ft container that had 600 pairs of sneakers in their shipment.

The best way to pack shoes if not in original boxes is wrap them in paper and place them in a medium box so it doesn’t get too heavy that you cant pick up the box. Put lots of crushed up paper or a blanket or cushion at the top so its nice and full with no space left in the box so its nice doesn’t crush with other boxes placed on top and tape it up. Do this about 30 times or more if you have plus 600 pairs lol.

This plus loading and shipping  a Viking replica boat across the Atlantic, (In a 40ft container not self-propulsion) made for a fun week at UPakWeShip

As a famous British Rocker sang, “Every Picture Tells a Story”, so does every box and move. Send us some pictures and your story so we can share with others. The best one will receive $500 refund on their move!

Any questions about international moving? Ask the International Moving Doctor https://upakweship.com/the-international-moving-doctor/ask-the-moving-doctor/

The post Sneaky Move appeared first on UPakWeShip.

Why pay someone else to do what you can do better yourself!

Smart simple shipping with UPakWeShip

The post What would you do? appeared first on UPakWeShip.

I was walking through the UPakWeShip warehouse yesterday and took these pictures to show you what can be done with our Pallet service. The first one shows boxes from Home Depot that are fitting perfectly on the pallet. The second picture shows some well stacked plastic tubs and the third picture a mix of them both. I get asked a lot about plastic tubs and the answer is, yes if they are the good ones like these ones. They are thick, heavy duty and stack well on each other. The ones on the bottom can accept the weight from the others on top. Plastic tubs are more expensive than cardboard but if you have the room at the destination t keep them for re use in the future they are worth the investment. Please make sure if using cardboard boxes, you fill them full so they do not collapse with more boxes stacked on top. If using plastic bins, please use the good ones like these and not the cheapo ones that will crack with weight on top of them.

The post What size boxes do I need? Can I use plastic bins? appeared first on UPakWeShip.