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How Much Does It Cost To Ship Furniture



When deciding to ship pieces of furniture, costs will tend to fall into three main categories. And it would be unfair to exclude any of these for an accurate depiction of the actual costs. Such determining factors are:

Packaging & Prep: that includes paying someone to take care of all effort, materials and supplies to crate things or box them, with cargo boxes themselves about $3 to $7 on up, but which are practical mostly for smaller-dimension pieces like chairs or ottomans. Then there is the strapping tape and ratcheting straps (about $6 to $9 each) for securing the load, bubble wrap and foam peanuts for wrapping the furniture continuously and any special pieces to help guard against damage and protect as the furniture is being handled in transit. Yet individual supplies comprise but a minor amount of the total sum. Shipping large, heavy pieces by others is where costs soon change.

Physical Transportation: and for this you can go one of two ways - either by using a freight forwarder or else a white glove mover. Freight companies are normally the economical option and are more equipped for bulk shipments but the glove mover should afford greater care with delicate pieces like antiques, expensive and high grade furniture items. Expect to pay at least 20% to 35% more for the professional treatment or greater.

Offload/Unpacking & Setup: which accounts for the costs related to delivering the furniture unharmed, loading it to its proper location and doing any associate setup. Noting that many items should be seperated into their individual pieces and packaged separately prior to shipment. One alternative is to hire a furniture tech at $45 an hour to do this - for assembly of double and king size beds, home office units and bookcases or dressers.


Alternately, freight companies do mainly the transportation. And usually someone else, aside from freight, performs the pickup. Lesser costs can come in where someone else helps unload at the endpoint to take it from there.

After delivery, being faced with a temporary storage unit can cost $55 to $90 a month, and that much easily for a temperature-controlled environment. Another choice being the portable onsite storage containers or pods that can hold an entire roomful of furniture, for about $80 to $140 per month. Regardless, there waits some of the moving again.

Insurance Coverage: movers/companies should always have coverage for contents in-place but this is not to be taken for granted. Those embarking on the journey themselves, handling all the moving, might pay for insurance coverage. Noting that a small van running cross-country can easily surpass $900 plus mileage expense excluding any insurance.

Realistically, a sofa being shipped coast to coast by way of hire, could cost $300 to $650 depending on weight, length and other factors like geographic locations.

To carry the move - a quilted sofa cover could run $55 alone. Chair covers perhaps $28 and for a love seat cover, $40 would be expected. A wheeled 1000 lb furniture dolly is about $20, for which a pair could be needed to scoot things along, that are available at home centers.


Altogether, shipping furniture, due to its irregular cumbersome makeup can get expensive. Which is why, in many instances, it is either done in larger quantity moves or shipped in pieces that have greater sentimental or economic value.

For heavier loads, like furniture, freight by train is sometimes considered. And rail can indeed seem a viable option. But this depends largely on the carrier, and notably Amtrak even makes it a point of announcing that they do not ship furniture. Though others may be willing & available.











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