Ship your furniture without all the stress
The best way to ship furniture depends on your needs: professional movers handle packing and transport, consolidated freight suits one or two pieces, and parcel shipping works for smaller items.
Expect to pay $300 to $800 per piece for cross-country furniture shipping, with costs rising to $1,000 to $4,500 for international moves depending on size and weight.
Measure your furniture before purchasing boxes, wipe down each piece, remove detachable parts, wrap corners with padding, and secure everything with packing tape before shipping.
Hiring a local packing and unpacking professional provides reliable support with heavy lifting and proper box selection, helping your furniture arrive safely at your new home.
Packing for a move doesn’t have to be stressful. In fact, it’s an exciting life change that deserves to be celebrated. But before you can enjoy your new place, you need to learn how to ship furniture so it arrives safely at your destination.
Fear not—shipping can be as simple as ordering boxes and securing them with the right materials. Follow this step-by-step guide to keep your pieces in mint condition when it comes time to unpack.
You’ve packed your kitchenware, bedding, and personal items, and all that remains is your furniture. This task requires more than just a little muscle and a lot of big boxes. In fact, proper preparation is essential to a smooth move, especially if you want to preserve the quality of your furniture.
This is especially true if you’re planning to move long-distance or overseas, which can be risky if you don’t have the right-sized boxes, padding materials, or safety measures in place. Follow the steps below to ensure you’re set up for shipping success.
From curio cabinets to couches, furniture is often heavy, bulky, and hard to move. If you’re certain you can handle this DIY on your own, you’ll want to at least enlist the help of others. Hire a packing company in your area to help if you’re worried about the weight or awkwardness of packing trickier pieces of furniture.
If you’ve lived in your home or owned your furniture for a decent amount of time, your couches, chairs, tables, and other items have probably collected dust and dirt.
If the material of your furniture allows, wipe each piece down before shipping so it arrives clean and fresh at your new dwelling. This keeps the boxes clean, too, whether they’re being shipped to a storage unit or right to your new space.
Whether you have an entire home’s worth of furniture to ship or a few oversized pieces, the right-sized (and high-quality) box is key to ensuring your beloved items arrive safe and sound. In all likelihood, you’ll need a range of sizes to suit your needs, from extra-large boxes for hutches or tables to smaller boxes for stools, side tables, and chairs.
Measure your biggest pieces of furniture before purchasing boxes, which can save you both time and money. Another budget-friendly tip is to source boxes on social media apps like Facebook or Nextdoor, where you may find moving boxes for free from neighbors and friends who have recently moved.
If you’re having a hard time finding quality boxes from hardware stores or big-box retailers, consider hiring a local furniture moving company that can handle packing and shipping. Plus, they’ll be able to recommend specific types of boxes that will reduce the risk of damage when your furniture is on the move.
Disassembling your furniture for a move is a small task that requires a bit of elbow grease and a few tools. Lamp shades, doors, glass, and removable legs are usually easy to detach with a screwdriver, wrench, pliers, or hammer.
This task can make pieces not only easier to pack, but also less likely to get scratched or bent. Remove all the parts you can, but keep them with the pieces they belong to for quicker assembly when it’s time to move in.
Place any screws, nuts, or bolts used to secure pieces of your furniture in a resealable bag and tape it to the piece to prevent the small parts from getting lost or damaged in transit. If you can wedge the bag inside a pocket or tuck it somewhere to protect it from becoming detached, even better.
This way, when it’s time to unpack and assemble your furniture, you’ll have everything you need at arm’s length. You can always hire a furniture assembly company in your area to help put everything back together when you’re in your new place too.
Blankets, bubble wrap, and styrofoam are a few materials you can use to pad the corners of your furniture to keep them from getting scratched. Even if the piece you're packing isn’t super delicate, it helps to be extra cautious since it’s likely a number of people will be handling your box.
If you don’t want to pay for materials or don’t have any on hand, some shipping companies will provide styrofoam packing as an added layer of protection. Use packing tape to secure the padding to your items before placing them in a box.
Before you attempt to hoist a whole couch into a box, it’s important to consider the risks that can come with moving heavy or oversized pieces of furniture by yourself. If you don’t have the proper equipment or a team of helpers to assist with this step, you may want to contact a company that provides shipping services for furniture.
If you’re confident your items can safely be put in boxes without professional help, you’ll want to make sure each piece of furniture is stabilized inside the box, so no major movement can be made in its journey to your destination.
The furniture and its padding should fit snugly in the box without any extra room to shift. If you have extra-large items that weigh more than you can handle solo, you may need a dolly or an extra set of hands to help.
Once your furniture is inside the box, close the flaps and secure them in place with 2-inch packing tape. Use the “H” taping method by taping two side seams and the middle seam on each side of the box. If you have a shipping label, placing it on the top of the end of the box will increase the likelihood of it being shipped right-side up.
Use a tape measure to determine the length and width of each box, then use an online calculator to get a rough estimate of how much each box weighs. The cost to ship furniture is directly related to the size and weight of your boxes, so measure as accurately as you can.
Once all of your items are packed and ready to be shipped, decide which shipping courier you’re going to entrust with your belongings. Read each company’s policies beforehand and inquire about insurance if you have any sentimental or high-value pieces that need to be covered.
It also helps to get quotes from each company you’re considering so you can compare costs and see which one fits your budget. Lastly, don’t forget to look up each company online, check their business history, and read reviews.
If you’re confident in your packing skills and already have plenty of high-quality boxes, tape, and padding materials on hand, you can save a pretty penny on furniture shipping. However, professional moving and shipping companies offer benefits that may make the added cost worth it, depending on your needs.
This DIY job will still cost you upwards of $300 per item (shipping included), but if your furniture is oversized and heavy, it’ll cost more. If you’re limited on time and resources, a professional moving company can swoop in and literally take your items off your hands in the time it may take you to pack a single room. If you’re moving from one state to another, a professional shipping company will likely charge $475 to $1,600 per piece, depending on its size.
Since relocating requires several moving pieces and a lot of coordination, hiring a local moving company can allow you to check more items off of your to-do list and make for a smoother move.
I recently moved to another state and chose United Trust Van Lines after comparing several companies. Their team was punctual, professional, and extremely careful with my belongings. I was especially impressed with how they handled my home office setup and fragile items. Everything arrived on...
United Trust Van Lines, LLCShowed up on time and cleaned carpets well, but didn?t move furniture.
Voda Cleaning & Restoration of ColumbusA reliable team for moves across state. My switch to a new place needed careful lifting through tight hallways. The movers checked the doorway first, then carried heavier pieces with slow, controlled movements. Their patience helped prevent damage, and I?d choose them again.
**Would rate a 0 if i could** NEVER USE THIS COMPANY!!!!! They shattered my tv console and dresser, lost a mirror, and never finished the move. The broken furniture cost me over $600 to replace. They left me with 6+ hours of personal labor moving my 1BR apartment, when I was quoted a FULL...
All My Sons Moving & StorageI could not have moved without the help of Jen Stover! I was in my house for nearly 20 years, so the thought of clearing it out while working full time was overwhelming. Jen takes great joy in sorting and organizing while asking the hard questions with patience and compassion. Jen is...
Go and Stow Home OrganizingCouldn't have been a worse experience. 3 of my belongings were lost and 5 belongings were damaged. My furniture was clearly dragged across the ground. The movers couldn't move the furniture I paid extra heavy weight fees for so I had to help them move my own furniture. The manager gave me...
US Interstate and RailExcellent experience for me! They helped me a lot with my move. very reasonable price. Good communication with the office manager is excellent.
Goodview Moving and StorageI was concerned about my possessions safety throughout the move but Bridge View Van Lines took all necessary security measures to make sure everything arrived in mint shape I am really appreciative of their effort and commitment They made my long distance move seem simple
Bridgeview Van LinesThis moving company is the best in Columbus, Ohio! They rescued me when my movers didnâ t show up. Do not ever use Plane Movers! They never showed up for my move, claiming that I never signed the contract. They didnâ t call me to follow up, communication was awful. The people that work for...
All My Sons Moving & StorageOzie and Tyquese were great and worked fast. It was a good move
All My Sons Moving & StorageFrom average costs to expert advice, get all the answers you need to get your job done.
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