Hi Brian,

I would suggest you speak with a global freight forwarder, one with offices in both NY and Geneva. Try DHL or Panalpina. DHL are more of a courier company, so if the amount to be brought over is quite small, they would be your best option. If however you have several CBM (cubic meters), a couple of hundred pounds, then Panalpina would be best (they could bring them over on a slower ocean freight LCL option). To avoid paying Swiss taxes and duties, the stuff you're bringing over must have belonged to you for some time. I'm not sure what the Swiss regs are, but they'll be some forms to fill out, and the they'll no doubt explain.

Good luck

Adrian

NOT EuroUSA! Very poor customer relations, multiple delivery delays for things like "traffic" and "weather," and extremely non-responsive to customers. Management doesn't even bother to respond for weeks, and when they finally do, it's just with excuses and justifications. The ineptness goes all the way to the top.

Many thanks Adrian for advice on things to do, and to Catherine as well for what not to do -- also important))

I'm glad I asked here, because this is more complex than I realized.  Will take these leads and cross my fingers.

Best,

Brian

Other observations:

- Winter seems to be a slower shipping period, so you may expect it will take at least 3 months.

- Make sure YOU do a complete inventory list before the shippers take away the boxes. I asked my shipper before they came whether I needed to do any preparations, and they said no. When my boxes were already on a truck, the packer handed me a list that said Box - Clothing in most of the spaces (no details). This makes it much harder on the receiving end.

- WATCH anything valuable (sculptures, breakables) being packed. Mine were dumped at the bottom of a wardrobe box with no padding, even when I had pointed them out in advance.

- Make sure you find out about all fees BEFORE selecting a shipper. There are port fees and customs fees and xxx fees that can be added on, and it's important to clarify before your things can be held hostage.

- The forward shipper may not be the same as in the States. Be sure to involve your stateside shipper if the European shipper tries to add fees you have already paid.

- Keep all of the paperwork. Odds are no one along the line will talk to each other, so you may receive multiple requests for the same documents over the course of several weeks.

- Don't bother with insurance unless you have a really low deductible. High deductibles just mean they have to damage enough to make it worth filing a claim.

- When your things arrive, you need to call ahead (by at least one week) to the Geneva office in charge of parking permits, in order to reserve a space. This costs around 200CHF for the reservation.

- Be prepared for "traffic" or "weather" to delay your shipment, even day-of.

If you have less "stuff" and use DHL, know that they will charge you additional handling even if it's all personal and marked that way. They seem to add fees to every shipment in Switzerland and can hold things for over a week while you go hunting for what they might want from you.

Good luck!

This is a wealth of good information.  And mildly terrifying.  Maybe I SHOULD consider having less stuff.

I hear the dim ringing of a phone . . . it's the shipper's charterer's charterer's charterer, telling me they lost the bill of lading in a fire, and that I should try suing a Mr. Smith in Kiribati.

Many thanks for taking the time, Catherine! :)

Brian

Don't be too afraid. All of my things arrived, and only a few were broken (unfortunately, just under the deductible). And you already know you can live without a lot of your "stuff," so the time in transit won't make a great deal of difference.

But it's a great opportunity to consider what you love, what you love and can acquire here, and what is less important.

Not a single box of mine was lost, and it did get here in only 33% longer than stated (2 months transit by ocean).

Thanks for reminding me that I've wanted to get this info down in writing for ages!

Hi Brian,

I have over 20 years experience in shipping / forwarding, and Catherine is quite right with her advise.

I think that EuroUSA are a consolidator - they take cargo bookings, and wait until they have enough cargo to fill a container, then ship it, most often via the cheapest route. So yes, it can take an awful long time.

Usign someone like Panalpina, Frans Maas, Agility, DB Schenker is much safer and quicker. They have so much traffic moving, they don't need to wait for further bookings. AND they have global offices who deal with the whole movement in house.

Adrian

A thorough second opinion re: EuroUSA.  Thanks very much for the input, Adrian!

Best,
Brian