“I knew that when my great-aunt Chloe died, it was going to be on me to clean up her estate and ship certain items to relatives and friends. We’d talked about it many times, and Chloe had gone over all of her wishes with me. What I didn’t know,” Boston native Sheila S. said, “was what a big and complicated job shipping an estate can be!”
Chloe had left some nice things to her family, who lived all around the country. “Two cousins moved overseas — one to Germany and one to Okinawa, Japan,” Sheila explained. “Shipping furniture internationally absolutely requires using a pack and ship company. You need customized shipping crates to make sure the stuff gets there. And the shipping company can help you figure out if it’s better to use air freight or regular freight.”
Shipping Antiques
Antiques and artwork can present special shipping challenges. Sheila discovered this first hand. “My aunt had a lot of antiques, and you know those have to be packed so very carefully. So many of her pieces were breakable: the family china, Hummel figurines, some art pieces. All of these required customized packaging solutions, but you know what?” Sheila asked. “Everything made it there safely. I didn’t hear a single comment about anything getting chipped, cracked, or broken!”
Many estates contain artwork. “Chloe had three paintings that needed to be packaged and shipped and two sculptures. The paintings were easy enough. The shipping company built special custom crates specifically for the paintings. Id been particularly worried about the paintings, because you know if the canvas gets ripped, it’s pretty much game over,” Sheila explained. “The packaging company put protective foam in place to make sure the paintings were cushioned and the canvas was never in any danger. The frames made it safe and sound too!” Shipping sculptures presented Sheila’s biggest challenge. The sculptures were heavy and awkward to move. She arranged to have the sculptures picked up and packaged and delivered to her relative’s front door.
“After that, it’s their problem,” Sheila laughed. “I can say I did the right thing by my aunt, and that’s what matters!”