Anyone ever ship their luggage?

[JJ&JSMOM]

Just read an article about companies who will ship luggage. Anyone ever use these services? It also states that shipping clothes in a box via UPS would be cheaper. Never thought about shipping clothes anyone ever do this?

 

[bavaria]

While I don't ship luggage a la the luggage services, I do ship parts of my travel needs all the time. Many times I will be away from home for 2-5+ weeks, in various climates, with a short leisure weekend break in the middle. As a result, I ship work clothes, or play clothes, and recently have shipped my toiletries.

If you don't want to ship everything and are looking for a relatively low cost route in the US, consider teh USPS flat rate boxes for $8+ regardless of weight. Plus some of the ground shipping services are surprisingly reasonable. Always mark your date of arrival and confirmation number on the box. I also call ahead to ensure that it has arrived, as a safeguard.

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

I think we'll probably ship some stuff. I don't think we'll ship our entire luggage - $$$$$! Thank you for the advice - I'll be sure to mark my date of arrival and confirm #. Thanks!

 

[Nanajo1]

We ship most all of our clothing, non perishable food, and now toiletries. We each have a carry on with a change of clothes, and bathing suit but with the ban on most toiletries we wont have the usual array of toothpaste etc. Our UPS package(s) are waiting for us at checkin. We pack our things in plastic bags and use a shipping box, no luggage. Address the package to yourself at whatever resort. Include your arrival date on the front. We also include this info inside the box.

 

[CapeCod53]

Nanajo1 do you ship you things back home as well or do you take the boxes on the plane? I am almost more concerned about the time we will spend waiting for our luggage at Logan on the way home than I am about the wait time in Orlando. If you do ship home where do you ship from? Is there a UPS store or USPS near WDW?

 

[NotUrsula]

I always ship home after family holiday visits. I put most of the gifts in a large box and "pad" it with clothes.

The best way to do it if you think you'll only be shipping one way is to open an account with a shipping company, such as UPS or FedEx. With an account you don't have to know what the box weighs ahead of time, or pay in advance. (If you work for an understanding employer, you also may be able to use one of their account labels and reimburse the company when the bill comes.) Also, using an account is usually cheaper than the walk-up rate.

Put a pre-labeled flattened box at the bottom of your luggage, and bring a roll of easy-rip packing tape. You can leave the box at your hotel's business center or front desk on your departure date, and call for a pickup.

IME in recent years, FedEx ground tends to be cheaper than UPS. Go to their websites and estimate an imaginary sample package to find out. Pay strict attention to the shipper's limits on the size of a standard box -- oversize will cost you plenty.

If you can't use an account label, there is a Kinko's just north of the Crossroads shopping center, at 12181 S Apopka Vineland Rd.

 

[Nanajo1]

We use the same box to ship home. We pack shipping tape and a return label.
I'm lucky because my DH owns the company and one of my DS is the manager of the shipping dept! But one time I over bought large items and we had to go to the conference center at BWV to ship stuff home. Okay another time I needed to have things shipped home from OKW. The CMs at the General Store did it for us.