Stuck outside of China - sending things home

[bgnrn]

Hello everyone!  

 

As many international students, I have been unable to return to China, but as I'm graduating soon I need to somehow move out of the dormitory and send back my stuff. 

I was wondering if anyone here has some experience on what shipping method is the most reliable and quick, while still being reasonably priced? Or any recommendations for shipping from China to Central-Eastern Europe?

Unfortunately I have some important documents left in my dorm room that I am most worried about disappearing during delivery...

 

Thanks!

[abcdefg]

I have the same question. From Kunming to Texas (USA.) I can't keep paying rent on my apartment there forever. 

[Lu]

If you have the money: There are specialised expat moving services who can pack up your entire house and ship it. Perhaps ask around in expat circles to learn which ones are reliable.

If you don't have that kind of money, the best would be to ask someone you trust who is still there to pack your things, and either pay them or thank them profusely and/or let them have everything you don't need shipped home. You could even ask them to pack over video, so they can hold up a document/towel/book/lamp to ask straight away if you want to keep it.

[amytheorangutan]

When I moved from Australia to UK I used Seven Seas Worldwide and all my boxes arrived intact and nothing was missing but you still need someone to pack them up etc I think. If you book a pick up service with them they'll give you boxes or maybe you have to buy the boxes I can't remember. I remember the price to be reasonable but I would not put important documents in boxes and send them that way. If you can find someone who can help you, I personally would rather get important documents sent via Fedex, DHL or other more reliable courier companies. 

[bgnrn]

Thank you everyone for your comments and suggestions!  

For important documents I'll definitely try to get them shipped by DHL, I'd rather not risk losing them. For the rest, I think I will ask someone to pack some of it and hope they will eventually arrive, and give away the rest. I guess anything there left untouched for more than a year, by now is not in a condition good enough to pay for moving services :')

[mungouk]

I also used Seven Seas when I moved from Australia to Singapore; I was happy with the service.

 

One thing to watch for... 3+ months in a shipping container can mean things get very humid and go mouldy.  It's worth packing clothes etc in something airtight, and throw a moisture absorber into the overall box. 

 

 

[RedInkstone]

I've sent parcels internationally three times with China Post and while it was ok price wise (~80€ for 30kg from China to Germany), there were some restrictions on what you could send. The employees said that these apply to all international parcels: hard drives, batteries, metal boxes (and probably some other things as well).