How to Choose an International Moving Company

An international moving company refers to a company specializing in the import and export of personal effects and non-trade goods. Its clients include emigrants, international students, diplomats, expatriates, Chinese and foreign tourists, businesspeople, and people of various nationalities traveling internationally. These people often need to move to the United States or back to their home country with a great many belongings, such as daily necessities, appliances, furniture, kitchenware, clothing, books, antiques, artworks, pianos, and other large furniture, luggage, or personal items.

International moving companies have all evolved from traditional international freight forwarding companies or companies engaged in international ocean shipping. Generally speaking, freight forwarders will take on international moving business, because in the entire international moving process, the most complicated parts are ocean shipping and customs declaration, followed by the delivery service in the destination country. As for the domestic leg from your home to the port of departure, hiring a local moving company or simply two laborers will solve it. Of course, if you want to save effort and worry, it is still advisable to choose a company specializing in international moving services. Take Seapoe Relo for example: its services include free door-to-door packing in China, transport to the port, customs declaration and clearance at both ends, and door-to-door delivery in the destination country — a full one-stop service.

The main differences between an international moving company like Seapoe and ordinary ocean shipping/logistics companies are:

1. Customs declaration and clearance must be filed under the personal effects category, which places high demands on professionalism and experience regarding the types of personal effects, relevant laws and regulations of various countries, and the required materials and procedures.
2. International moving usually requires door-to-door service, involving the packing and pickup of furniture and luggage, as well as door-to-door delivery and even debris removal at the destination. In particular, because items endure long ocean voyages with much jolting, packing furniture carries extremely high requirements; otherwise, the safety of the items cannot be guaranteed at all. This is also work that ordinary shipping/logistics companies are unable to handle. Seapoe, by contrast, has a battle-tested packing team that was practically born for cross-border moving.
3. Since cross-border moving is not a mass-market industry and its customer base is very limited, the ability to consolidate a large number of cross-border moving clients is also crucial. Otherwise, a lack of experience means an inability to respond to the many challenges encountered, and it would also be impossible to rely on a large customer base to reduce costs and thereby lower customers' shipping expenses.

How to choose an international moving company for the United States?

1. Check whether the company's qualifications are legitimate
2. Check whether it specializes in international moving services
3. Compare the consultants' expertise, the scope of services, and the quotations
4. Sign a formal contract to ensure there are no hidden charges
5. Check the company's capability for U.S. business: Are its consultants highly experienced in ocean shipping of personal effects to the U.S.? Does it offer group shipping services on U.S. routes?

Finally, please allow us to briefly introduce Seapoe Relo's capabilities and advantages:

1. Seapoe Relo specializes in international transport of personal effects and does not handle international trade cargo transport. It is capable of consolidating multiple clients' personal effects into one container for shipment within a short time — that is, Seapoe's group shipping service.
2. Seapoe Relo's consultant team is very familiar with every stage of moving, the local customs and culture of destination countries, and destination countries' import policies for personal effects. During the consultation stage, they will advise clients to bring more items that are expensive to buy locally in the destination country but cheap in China, create a schedule based on the client's timetable, advise clients on choosing a reasonable declaration method, and arrange the shipping method (e.g., LCL or FCL), so as to achieve the best value for money in moving.
3. Seapoe Relo has an experienced packing team that can provide packing services suitable for international transport for all items, and compile inventories by category.
4. Seapoe Relo is a member of an international moving association, and its partners in destination countries are also member companies of the association.
5. When preparing quotations, Seapoe Relo includes all costs that may arise during the moving process (such as destination port charges, customs inspection or inspection and quarantine fees) and reflects them in the carriage contract, with no hidden fees whatsoever.