Lots of people have been talking about Melia Robinson’s success in shipping her stuff from NYC to San Francisco for just $100. It’s certainly a creative cost-containment strategy, but it doesn’t work for everyone and every long distance move, and we’d like to take a moment to explain why.
First: Melia gave away a lot of her stuff before she moved – namely her furniture. Sometimes this is a viable solution to keeping moving costs down – but it also means you have to acquire new furniture once you arrive in your new destination. That’s not always cheap. Also? Some people really like their furniture. Whether it’s antiques they found treasure hunting, family heirloom pieces they don’t want to give up, or even just a really great couch, you shouldn’t have to lose it just because you’re moving. Sadly, furniture doesn’t fit in suitcases.
Second: Tech doesn’t love flying. If you look at the picture of the items Melia packed, you’re not seeing a computer, a television, a gaming system, or other electronic devices. Think about how airline crews handle luggage. They’re not exactly gentle. No matter how well you pack a tablet computer in a suitcase, there’s a good chance it will get knocked around pretty hard while being tossed between flight crew members, loaded onto the plane, stowed and hopefully secured, and then unloaded at the end of the flight. All it takes is someone to miss a catch and wham! Your suitcase and tablet computer smack into the tarmac. How well do you think your tech will work after that?
Finally: Luggage gets lost. There are more than a few jokes about flying to Florida only to have your bags wind up in Texas. Bags get misrouted and lost on a daily basis; airlines do everything they can to find the missing bags and reunite them with their owners, but that doesn’t always happen. Melia was very strategic about flying primarily with items she wasn’t worried about losing – but if you want to make sure your stuff makes it to you safe and sound, your best option is to talk to your Boston packing and shipping company.