When someone contacts Gateway Crate and Freight to receive a quote to pack and ship an item, they normally are looking for a very easy answer, like that will be about $500 to pack and ship that. However, getting to the Optimum price for the packing and shipping that they really need is not that easy.
We have had a number of people call us and ask "I need to have a crate built to ship my couch to Wisconsin, how much is that going to cost?" and of course they are just looking for a ballpark answer but for us to even be in the same ballpark many questions need to be answered.
We ask the customer "are you sure that needs to be crated?" There are a number of options to ship this couch that all have to do with the value and the amount of RISK you are likely willing to take.
If the answer to the question is..."The couch is a one of a kind leather chesterfield crafted in the 1700s and is valued at over $20,000"...then full protection of a solid wood shipping crate is necessary and we would require making one for this couch before we would ever consider shipping it.
Since we have yet to pack and ship such a high value couch before, most conversations go like this..."its an old couch worth a couple of hundred bucks but my mom loves it and she wants it in Wisconsin"...in this scenario a full wood crate is a little overboard and in most cases the crate would cost more than the couch is worth.
Therefore there are a number of alternatives to protecting this couch and shipping that are economical and makes sense. Again each method is based on the amount of RISK you are willing to take.
For some, just getting the couch to its destination is all that matters. Just putting the couch on a pallet and shrink wrapping without a box for protection is an option, however insuring something with no packaging is out of the question and because its not packaged the price per pound will cost you more to ship.
Why would someone provide such minimal protection when shipping this couch? Well sometimes the couch frame is the only part of value, they may not care what happens to the fabric because its being shipped to be recovered anyway. They just don't want the wood frame damaged and care less if the fabric gets tore.
Most of our customers wanting to ship their couch however want to protect the fabric. In this case a little more expensive option at least from a packaging standpoint is putting a cardboard box around the couch.
Again based on what RISK you are willing to take with your couch, we could box the couch in single walled corrugate, double walled corrugate or even triple walled corrugate! The packing costs a little more for each of these materials but the triple walled corrugate would provide the most protection whereas the single the least. We find that double corrugate usually provides sufficient protection for most couches.
Finally a step above just boxing the couch but a step below a full wood crate is a slat crate. this is where we would box the couch and then build a wood frame around the corners to protect it better that just a wood box but the expense is less (Both packing and shipping weight) because your couch is not fully surrounded by wood.
The key here is the more wood protection added the more your cost in packing and the more your cost in shipping (the wood adds weight to your shipping weight) but remember the better packed it is the less liability the trucking company has to assume so the cost per pound may go down.
Also most freight companies now work off of dimensional weight criteria, so sometimes you pay for the size of your shipment rather than your weight.
When shipping your couch its important to know that you have many options when it comes to packing and shipping. Some of these options increase your cost of packing but decrease your cost to ship and vice-versa.
Its best to assess all of the options you have and determine the amount of RISK you want to take. There have been many occasions where we have packed and shipped items where the cost to do so was more than the item was worth value wise.
In this scenario a $200 monetary value couch is priceless to the owner because of its sentimental value. The owner is more than willing to pay whatever it takes to ensure it is packed and crated and will arrive to its destination with no issues. They would rather spend the extra money to significantly downsize their RISK in moving that item.
So the next time you are shipping a couch or anything, ask yourself what kind of RISK are you willing to take, whatever that answer is we can provide you that service, just remember we provided you with all the information you would need to determine how best your item should pack and ship and you have a lot of options.
Visit www.gatewaycrateandfreight.com or call us at 855-474-4685
We have had a number of people call us and ask "I need to have a crate built to ship my couch to Wisconsin, how much is that going to cost?" and of course they are just looking for a ballpark answer but for us to even be in the same ballpark many questions need to be answered.
We ask the customer "are you sure that needs to be crated?" There are a number of options to ship this couch that all have to do with the value and the amount of RISK you are likely willing to take.
If the answer to the question is..."The couch is a one of a kind leather chesterfield crafted in the 1700s and is valued at over $20,000"...then full protection of a solid wood shipping crate is necessary and we would require making one for this couch before we would ever consider shipping it.
Since we have yet to pack and ship such a high value couch before, most conversations go like this..."its an old couch worth a couple of hundred bucks but my mom loves it and she wants it in Wisconsin"...in this scenario a full wood crate is a little overboard and in most cases the crate would cost more than the couch is worth.
Therefore there are a number of alternatives to protecting this couch and shipping that are economical and makes sense. Again each method is based on the amount of RISK you are willing to take.
For some, just getting the couch to its destination is all that matters. Just putting the couch on a pallet and shrink wrapping without a box for protection is an option, however insuring something with no packaging is out of the question and because its not packaged the price per pound will cost you more to ship.
Why would someone provide such minimal protection when shipping this couch? Well sometimes the couch frame is the only part of value, they may not care what happens to the fabric because its being shipped to be recovered anyway. They just don't want the wood frame damaged and care less if the fabric gets tore.
Most of our customers wanting to ship their couch however want to protect the fabric. In this case a little more expensive option at least from a packaging standpoint is putting a cardboard box around the couch.
Again based on what RISK you are willing to take with your couch, we could box the couch in single walled corrugate, double walled corrugate or even triple walled corrugate! The packing costs a little more for each of these materials but the triple walled corrugate would provide the most protection whereas the single the least. We find that double corrugate usually provides sufficient protection for most couches.
Finally a step above just boxing the couch but a step below a full wood crate is a slat crate. this is where we would box the couch and then build a wood frame around the corners to protect it better that just a wood box but the expense is less (Both packing and shipping weight) because your couch is not fully surrounded by wood.
The key here is the more wood protection added the more your cost in packing and the more your cost in shipping (the wood adds weight to your shipping weight) but remember the better packed it is the less liability the trucking company has to assume so the cost per pound may go down.
Also most freight companies now work off of dimensional weight criteria, so sometimes you pay for the size of your shipment rather than your weight.
When shipping your couch its important to know that you have many options when it comes to packing and shipping. Some of these options increase your cost of packing but decrease your cost to ship and vice-versa.
Its best to assess all of the options you have and determine the amount of RISK you want to take. There have been many occasions where we have packed and shipped items where the cost to do so was more than the item was worth value wise.
In this scenario a $200 monetary value couch is priceless to the owner because of its sentimental value. The owner is more than willing to pay whatever it takes to ensure it is packed and crated and will arrive to its destination with no issues. They would rather spend the extra money to significantly downsize their RISK in moving that item.
So the next time you are shipping a couch or anything, ask yourself what kind of RISK are you willing to take, whatever that answer is we can provide you that service, just remember we provided you with all the information you would need to determine how best your item should pack and ship and you have a lot of options.
Visit www.gatewaycrateandfreight.com or call us at 855-474-4685
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