<p>Does anyone have any suggestions on what would be the most cost-efficient way to ship all of my freshman D's stuff from NY to Miami? I ordered whatever i could online or to be picked up at Bed Bath and Beyond when we get down there, but she has all her clothes, printer, ipod docking thing, and assorted other weighty items. UPS? FedEx? USPS? </p>
<p>Thanks for any and all suggestions!</p>
<p>Leave the printer behind? Many dorms have shared printers and frankly, unless it’s brand new and still in the box it may not work when it arrives. Inexpensive ink-jet printers are designed to be as disposable as their cartridges…
Will any family members be going along at move in? How much do they charge to check baggage on the airline you will use? A 50 lb suitcase at $15 or $25 to check will be much cheaper than UPS for those same pounds. If your airline allows (or frequent flyer status grants) free baggage, that’s even better.
We got ours far away with 2 free bags/parent and packing <em>our</em> clothes into small carry-ons, but that may be more of a problem now…</p>
<p>You can still do 2 free if you fly SW. Agree about the printer. Not worth taking. Wait to see if needed and then get another cheap one if it is.</p>
<p>I agree about the printer, too, but dad thinks she should have it. We’ll see…
We are flying SW, so that’s a great idea about the bags! </p>
<p>But if I do have to ship, which is the best/cheapest way to go???</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/745547-cost-shipping-gear-out-college.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/745547-cost-shipping-gear-out-college.html</a></p>
<p>If you still have the original box and packing for the printer, it could be one of the 2 checked bags for someone if parents are going, too. DD’s keyboard was one of the checked bags for us when we took her. I created the box to fit it, boxed it and rigged a handle on it DH and I had our clothes in the carry on bag. All the checked bags allotment were for her.</p>
<p>We have found FedEX Ground to be the least expensive and most reliable means of shipping to both our kids. I highly recommend it.</p>
<p>I answered your post in more detail on the UM board. Be careful, when S was a frosh, UM did not accept shipments move-in week. I don’t know if your D will be in the towers, but when my S was in Hecht he thought having his own printer was a real convenience.</p>
<p>I have found USPS parcel post to cheaper than UPS or FedEx ground in most instances. Contact your hotel and see if you can have boxes shipped to them a day or two before your arrival? If not, you can determine the closest UPS store and arrange to have boxes shipped and stored for a few days. There is a cost $5/box/day. The boxes will of course have to be shipped UPS.</p>
<p>notan4me, how did you order stuff to be picked up online at Bed Bath and Beyond? I’ve looked at their website and at those of Target and other stores and I haven’t found a way to do it yet. My family’s plan is to fly out near my college and buy everything there while bringing what we can (clothes, sheets, maybe some other stuff) in luggage.</p>
<p>Steeerfan,
You can go to BB&B, select what you want, and arrange to pick it up at a BB&B near your school. You don’t pay unitl you pick it up, and you can change your mind at that time. The stores usually make a big deal about this in their displays, but you can also ask at the counter. I don’t know if you can do it online,</p>
<p>You fill out a form sort of like a wedding registry, then you use a scanner and scan the items you want. If they had had everything we wanted it would have bee a snap. However, since S starts school at the end of September, by the time we went to BB&B there wasn’t much left that we liked and the BB&B store at the college end was kind of very far and not that easy to get to. We ended up not using the service and buying some things to ship and other things at a Target in college town.</p>
<p>Haven’t tried it for college yet - but with work and shipping stuff to trade shows, we have tried them all and have settled on Fed Ex as the most reliable and most cost effective.</p>
<p>We’re doing the same as the OP but in reverse, flying to NYC from South Florida and debating same. After mulling all possibilities, and ruling out shipping to hotel (can’t guarantee when box will arrive if we ship it the cheapest way (ground) nervous about the hotel losing it) and shipping to school (school won’t allow pickups of packages until after move-in day) we settled on putting our stuff (mom and dad) in carry-ons and taking her stuff in the checked baggage. We can take one checked bag a piece for free on JetBlue, and the price to take a second bag is actually cheaper than if we ship it. We are ordering from BB&B here for pick-up up there, but were told they can’t guarantee they will have exactly what we order in stock when we pick it up so we are bringing the comforter, sheets, towels, etc. and hoping to find the lamps and bed pillows up there. You can’t do the pre-order thing on line, you have to go to the BB&B store where you are. I love the idea of shipping from a UPS or Fed-Ex store to another store and have them hold it if it gets there before you do. I may look in to that! In another post someone mentioned if you do that vacuum pack thing (can get those bags at BB&B) you can fit much more in the boxes or suitcases, so we may try that, too.</p>
<p>You can buy the plastic storage bags that you suck flat with a vacuum at Costco.</p>
<p>We love FedEx Ground. We have to ship golf clubs all over the country and we have consistantly found it to be the cheapest and most reliable. I love the ability to track the items as they travel.</p>
<p>I disagree about not taking a printer. My daughter found it invaluable. She could print out tickets for shows, trains, maps, papers, etc, it was worth its weight in gold. The small price to have one sent there, either a new one mailed directly or shipped was well worth the price. She has had the same one for two year, 5 moves, and its going strong.</p>
<p>If you have a paper due, and its late, it can be agonizing trying to find a printer, at a late hour, in the rain, etc. My daughters is an all in one printer, and the scanning, copying, etc comes in very handy</p>
<p>We also contacted school and were able to ship out a couple of boxes early and they held them in the mail room till move in day, we timed it so the boxes got there the day before my daughter did.</p>
<p>Something we just bought is a hand held scale that can weigh suitcase. Its brilliant. About 25dollars, but well worth it. Having to rearrange belongings from suitcase to suitcase to get under 50 pounds was awful with my older daughter. My husband ended up going through security with a pair of high heels in his pocket.</p>
<p>Remember to keep luggage to 50 pounds or less apiece or you will pay excess weight fees that can add up fast. Hubby, I & D accompanied S when he moved into his dorm & we all used our carry on for our clothing & offered him whatever he wanted for our checked luggage. We didn’t use up all our luggage allowance as he travelled light. We purchased S a decent all-in-one printer/fax/scanner when we reached college. He used it freshman year but sophomore year they used his room mates’ so he gave his to D when she arrived. We all went up with D to help her settle in & followed the same procedure to get her gear up. We didn’t ship anything for either kid ahead. They really don’t NEED tons of stuff anyway. Stuff that was REALLY needed from home we were able to ship them upon returning home.</p>
<p>We’ve seen kids who bring TONS of stuff but remember, it all has to fit in their small dorm/apartment and share space with others. Too much is really a burden. Many places come with some furnishings and under the tersms of housing you have to keep the stuff & have it there when your lease ends so if you bring your own stuff you have to figure out where to store the things that came with your lease.</p>
<p>The largest packing problem for us? Son’s size 13 shoes. Tennis shoes, 2 kinds of soccer shoes, running shoes, dress shoes, casual shoes, sandals, shower shoes…And he is not an extravagant, fashionable type guy. </p>
<p>They were cumbersome and took a lot of space. We should have shipped them.</p>
<p>If you have a bag that is close to the 50 pound limit, be sure to put a few of the heavier items near the top of the suitcase, ideally in a bag of some kind- and know what those items weigh. If you are overweight, you can unzip the suitcase, yank out the bag weighing whatever is required to get you under the line and zip it up in 30 seconds. </p>
<p>With DD and her recent flight, it was a shoe bag that got yanked and added to her carry on…</p>