International moving: should you ship it, sell it, or buy it again?

At some point in every international move, you end up standing in the middle of a room holding something — a lamp, a set of mugs, a spare bit of furniture nobody quite remembers buying — and asking the same question: is this worth taking? Do it enough times and it stops being a decision and starts being a genuine drain on your remaining energy before the move. Here's a framework that actually speeds this up, plus the real 2026 numbers behind each shipping option so you're not guessing.

The three shipping options, and what they actually cost

Sea freight (LCL — Less than Container Load): the cheapest option by a wide margin for anything beyond a few boxes, but the slowest. Realistic 2026 pricing runs roughly $0.50–$1.50 per kg, with transit taking 4–8 weeks depending on your route — longer on some lanes due to ongoing rerouting disruptions adding 10–15 days to typical transit times in 2026.

Air freight: 5–15 times more expensive per kg than sea, but arrives in days rather than weeks. Standard rates run roughly $2.50–$6/kg, with express options higher still. Below around 150–300kg for dense cargo, air freight can actually approach sea LCL pricing — worth genuinely comparing both for smaller loads rather than assuming sea is always cheaper.

Excess baggage services: for a handful of boxes or suitcases rather than a household's worth of belongings, a specialist excess baggage company can be considerably cheaper than airline excess baggage fees — some services cut costs by up to 60% compared to standard airline rates for the same weight. Send My Bag is a straightforward option for this middle ground: more than you'd want to carry as luggage, but not enough to justify a full container.

Watch for hidden fees on any option. A door-to-door quote should include collection, packing materials, freight charges, and final delivery — some providers quietly exclude terminal handling or port charges, which can add £150–£300 to your final bill if you don't ask upfront. Get this in writing before you commit; it's a genuinely common way people end up paying more than they budgeted.

The ship/sell/buy decision framework

The single biggest time-saver: go through your belongings category by category, not item by item. Deciding "furniture generally isn't worth shipping" once is faster than relitigating that decision for every chair and side table individually — and the logic really does hold across a whole category almost every time.

Ship it if:

• It's expensive or impossible to replace (family heirlooms, specific medical equipment, a mattress you know works for your back)
• It's electronics that won't need a plug/voltage adapter at your destination, or that you're happy to adapt
• It's genuinely lightweight relative to its value (jewellery, important documents, a laptop)

Sell it if:

• It's furniture, especially anything large — the shipping cost for bulky, low-value items routinely exceeds what you'd get selling it and buying an equivalent locally
• It's appliances that won't work with your destination's voltage or plug standard without a genuinely impractical adapter setup
• It's something you've been keeping "just in case" for more than two years

Buy it again if:

• It's cheap and heavy — flat-pack furniture, kitchen basics, bedding
• It's climate-specific gear you won't need at your destination (heavy winter coats moving somewhere warm, or the reverse)
• It's available and comparably priced at your destination — check this before assuming, since prices vary more than people expect between countries

The maths that actually matters

A rough rule of thumb worth applying to expensive or bulky individual items: if an item's value is under roughly £50 per kg of its shipping weight, it's rarely worth shipping via air, and often not worth it via sea once you factor in packing time, insurance, and the hidden fees mentioned above. Furniture is the classic trap here — a sofa that cost £800 new might cost £400–£600 to ship, while a comparable one at your destination might cost £500–£900 to buy. The maths is close enough that "just ship it" isn't automatically right.

Packing standards that actually protect your belongings

If you are shipping, professional movers consistently cite one rule above others: double-wall boxes for anything with real value or fragility. A single-wall box flexes under the pressure of a long sea transit in a way that a double-wall box doesn't — this single choice is one of the most effective defences against moisture and transit damage on a multi-week sea freight journey.

Other practical packing points:

• Pack heavier items in smaller boxes, lighter items in larger ones — an overloaded large box is a common cause of breakage
• Photograph valuable items before packing, for both insurance purposes and peace of mind
• Keep a "first week" box or suitcase separate from your main shipment — the items you'll need before your sea freight arrives weeks later

Timing your shipment

Worth knowing if you have any flexibility on dates: ocean freight rates typically jump 20–40% during peak season (roughly August–October), driven by broader global shipping demand unrelated to house moves specifically. If your move date has any flexibility, Q1 or early Q2 tends to offer both lower rates and more predictable transit times.

Where this fits into your move

The ship/sell/buy decision is one of dozens that need making in roughly the right order during a move — alongside visa admin, housing, and everything else. Life Planned's checklist helps you sequence the shipping decision at the right point in your timeline, rather than leaving it as a last-minute scramble in your final weeks.

Shipping costs and transit times above are approximate 2026 figures and vary significantly by route, season, and provider. Get quotes from multiple providers with your exact weight, dimensions, and route before committing to any single option.