As there are a variety of furniture types, so are furniture moving services. Household and office furniture may look sturdy. But they are prone to damage and scratches during transportation. Many of these items are also large and heavy. These goods have special packing needs for safe couriers.
Shipping furniture works a little differently from other couriers. This is because of the weight, structure, and frailty of the goods. Furniture items require extra care and attention during transport.
3 Things to Consider for Furniture Courier
You first need to carefully assess your requirements. Then you choose the appropriate furniture delivery service based on the requirements. Here are a few things you should consider before you ship your furniture.
1. Weight & Quantity of the Furniture
You need a clear idea of how much furniture you want to transport. You also need an estimate of how much the furniture weighs. These two factors have a direct impact on the cost of furniture transport. They will also play a role in deciding the furniture courier service you can pick.
For instance, you’re relocating your office and want to move the furniture. This would involve transporting several pieces of furniture. All courier companies may not be able to handle such quantities. Besides, the office properties may also include large and heavy furniture items. So you need to check if the courier company can transport large goods.
You can create a catalogue of all the furniture items that you want to ship. Then you can note down the dimensions and weight of each item. You do not need to measure. You only need an estimate.
This catalogue will help you communicate the necessary details about the furniture pick-up and delivery service. It will inform them about the resources needed to move the goods.
If you want to courier heavy furniture. The delivery service can bring the necessary equipment to move it. The furniture delivery service will also decide the size of the transport vehicle based on your catalogue.
If you want to transport less than a room full of furniture or a single piece, the courier company can use delivery vans or small trucks. But, they will need at least a Class 3 Two-Axle Truck to move furniture for business relocation.
2. Transportation Distance
The next most important factor to consider for furniture couriers is distance. This factor will impact the cost of shipping and the packaging requirements. In this regard, you can categorise delivery service for furniture as:
1. Local Furniture Courier
2. Domestic / Interstate Furniture Courier
3. International Furniture Courier
Each of these categories has a distinct process and requirements. These furniture delivery services use different vehicles, packing materials, and logistics processes. Let’s see how distance can change how you courier furniture.
1. Local Furniture Courier
It is quite fast and easy to courier furniture locally. You can have it packed, picked up, and delivered within a day. This type of furniture delivery service is commonly used to relocate houses, offices, and businesses. It is also used by furniture retailers to deliver products to their customers.
Local courier companies can also facilitate estate moves. In such cases, they would pick furniture, antiques, and other items from one place and deliver them to several different locations.
The size of the delivery vehicle only depends on the weight and quantity of the furniture. As the distance is short, you only need minimal packing to protect the furniture. You only have to pack the furniture to prevent scratches.
Local furniture couriers are not usually under threat of heavy damage during transport. This type of furniture courier usually only takes a single delivery cycle. There is no need to exchange goods between vehicles during transport.
Let’s say you want to move furniture within Brisbane from Beenleigh to Chermside. You can pick a local furniture delivery in Australia to carry out this task within a day. They can pick up the furniture from Beenleigh in a small truck. Some local furniture courier services would also pack the pieces for you. Then they can deliver it to Chermside in an hour.
The furniture moving company may need multiple vehicles or make multiple runs if you are relocating a lot of pieces. This is the only drawback of local furniture delivery in urban areas. Large trucks are not allowed in the city. Multiple runs or vehicles can significantly drive up the cost when you courier furniture locally.
2. Interstate Furniture Courier
As the distance grows, so do the complications. Interstate furniture delivery is a little more complex than local couriers. It may involve two or more cycles of transportation. In each cycle, the furniture is removed from one vehicle and loaded onto another. The goods may also be stored in a warehouse or cross-docking terminal in between transportation cycles.
People may use interstate furniture couriers for several different purposes. You may be moving to a different city or relocating your business. Or students moving back to their hometowns want to take their belongings with them. An interstate furniture delivery service can help in all these scenarios.
For instance, a student studying in Melbourne moves back to his home in Newcastle. This student will need an interstate furniture courier in Australia to move the belongings. The movers would load the belongings into a small truck in Melbourne. Then shift it to larger road freight for interstate transport. Finally, when the courier arrives in Newcastle, it gets delivered in a small truck.
The movers may also need to store the furniture at the local courier facility in Melbourne and Newcastle. Owing to several transport cycles, the packing needs to be robust. The packing needs to protect the furniture during cycles of loading and unloading.
You should also use cushioning material for interstate furniture couriers. The goods may experience physical shocks during transit.
Multiple transport cycles also add to the cost of interstate couriers. You should choose a furniture pick-up and delivery service in Australia that has an expansive network. A widespread network means that movers do not rely on third-party services.
As they use their own resources, your furniture only moves within their network. So you only have to deal with one vendor. Such movers can also facilitate same-day furniture delivery.
3. International Furniture Courier
International relocations are far more complex than domestic ones. It involves multiple transport cycles. The goods also move between different types of vehicles. Most importantly, goods move between countries. You need to clear customs to export goods from one country and import them in another.
Let’s assume you want to courier furniture from Sydney, Australia to Auckland, New Zealand. There are two available options. You can use international air freight to ship the furniture. This journey will be fast but expensive. Or use international sea freight. The journey will be slow but cost-effective.
But in both cases, the furniture and other belongings will change hands several times. The movers will pick up the furniture from your location in Sydney. Then they will transport it to a shipping warehouse. Here they will merge your furniture courier with cargo for international shipping. Depending on size and weight, different pieces of furniture may travel in separate cargos.
This cargo will make its way to a seaport or an airport. There your furniture courier will undergo export customs clearance. Then it will be loaded onto an international shipping vehicle. Once the cargo reaches Auckland, it will undergo import customs clearance.
The cargo will then move to a warehouse for dismantling. Here the courier company will separate your furniture from the rest of the cargo. Finally, you will receive the furniture delivery at the destination address.
That is how you can courier furniture internationally. It is a complex process. You need to choose an experienced international courier company with a widespread presence for this task.
The movers will have to pass your furniture twice through customs. They also need to accurately track the furniture across multiple cargos and transport cycles. Most importantly, the international delivery service for furniture has to keep your belongings safe.
3. Packing Requirements
Packing is quite crucial when you send furniture by courier. It protects the goods during transit. It also has a direct impact on the overall weight and size of the courier. Consequently, it affects the price of furniture delivery services.
You can assign this task to the movers even for small furniture pick-up and delivery. Especially if you are shipping antiques. Or you can use packing supplies to do it yourself. If so, consider these commonly used packing supplies for furniture transport:
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Archive Cartons
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Packing Tape
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Packing String
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Bubble Wrap
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Stretch Wrap
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Packing Peanuts
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Cardboard Sheets
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Moving Blankets
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Corrugated Box
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Wooden Box
Before you head out to buy packing supplies, you should first identify the exact requirements. The packing requirements for furniture couriers depend on several factors. These include:
1. Structure
2. Size
3. Weight
4. Frailty
5. Value
6. Shipping Distance
You will have to consider these factors to define packing requirements for each piece of furniture. You will need to consider the structure to define how you can pack the furniture for the courier. It is necessary to check whether you can dismantle the structure.
The size of the furniture decides the size of the containers. It also decides the volume of packing material. The weight decides the required strength of the packing material. If you want to courier heavy furniture, you will need strong boxes. These include heavy-duty cardboard or wooden boxes.
You can define the cushioning requirements to courier furniture based on the frailty of the items. Fragile items require extra padding. You will also need “Fragile” stickers for such items.
Valuable furniture items require additional layers of packing to prevent scratches or markings. Finally, you need to consider the shipping distance. You need robust packing to ship furniture internationally.
This also applies to long-distance domestic couriers of heavy furniture. However, the furniture only moves once when it comes to local delivery. You load it onto a truck and unload it at the destination. So even basic protective packing can do the job.
How to Courier Furniture in 2023? : 5 Effective Tips
Once you have identified your requirements, you can book the furniture delivery service. This initiates the courier process. Here is how you can go about executing furniture pick-up and delivery.
1. Assess the Condition of your Furniture
You should assess the present condition of your furniture before packing it. This way you can ascertain if the items were damaged during transportation. You can take pictures of the furniture items. Try to get a visual record of the entire surface area. Be sure to cover the high-risk parts such as corners and edges.
If you are dismantling the furniture for transport, you should create a catalogue of all the parts and pieces. This report will help you track these items after delivery. You can also mention the packing details of the furniture pieces. If you have dismantled several pieces for the courier, this report will help you with reassembly.
2. Package the Furniture for Protection
After assessing the condition, you can begin with packing. You should revisit the criteria for defining packing requirements and arrange for packing materials accordingly. Packing furniture for couriers boils down to two steps:
1. Dismantle
The structure defines much of the packing requirements for the furniture. First, you need to check if you can dismantle the furniture for shipping. It is advisable to separate the parts and pack them individually. You should do this even for small furniture pieces.
This makes it easy to pack the furniture. It even aids the movers in better handling the goods. You can also give different levels of protection to different parts of the furniture. You can use wooden crates or heavy-duty cartons to pack fragile parts of the furniture. Remember to put cushioning material to prevent the items from moving within the box.
If you cannot dismantle the furniture, you will have to get a little creative with packing. Then it depends on the size and weight of the furniture.
2. Pack & Cushion
The easiest thing to do is to get a box that matches the size. Then you can cushion the box from within to give protection. In case you cannot find a box large enough, you should focus more on cushioning.
You can use different materials to protect the furniture. These include cardboard pieces, bubble wrap, stretch wrap, and moving blankets. You can start by covering the entire piece with cushioning. Then use additional padding to cover the corners.
You need to consider the handling requirement of the movers when packing. Do not use slippery or rough materials that can make handling difficult.
You also need to consider the travel distance for a furniture courier. If you are using an interstate delivery service, the packing has to be robust. However, you only need functional packing to courier furniture locally.
You should once again catalogue the number of packed items. Then apply “Fragile” stickers on packages containing delicate items.
3. Communicate with Furniture Pick-up & Delivery Service
You need to communicate your requirements with the chosen furniture courier service. At this stage, you will arrange a convenient time for pick-up. You also need to allocate time for packing if you have availed of the service.
You can speed up the delivery by picking up non-traffic hours to courier furniture locally. As such deliveries take place in urban areas, and traffic plays a major role in deciding the delivery time. Although in most cases you can get same day furniture delivery.
In the case of international or interstate furniture couriers, you can consult the movers to find the ideal time for pick-up. Logistics companies have a fixed schedule for each transport cycle. You can consult the movers to arrange a pick-up time that syncs with the transport schedule.
This would help you reduce the delivery time. It will also ensure that your furniture spends less time in storage. Similarly, you can arrange for a suitable time to receive the furniture. You should also communicate the necessary instructions for delivery.
For instance, if you are living in a gated community, you should communicate relevant regulations with the movers.
At the time of pick-up, you should once again catalogue all the items with the movers. Then communicate packing and handling instructions for fragile items. Finally, remember to collect the receipt and tracking number for your furniture courier.
4. Track your Furniture Courier
You can use the tracking number to track the status of your courier. This may not be very significant for local furniture delivery. But, it is a useful feature for international and interstate couriers.
The tracking number can inform you if the delivery is expected early or is delayed. It can also inform you about delivery exceptions. Furthermore, you can track exactly where your furniture is. This information can help you better coordinate a resolution with your courier.
5. Assess the Condition upon Delivery
The final step of the furniture courier is to receive the goods at the destination. You can arrange a convenient time to receive the furniture delivery. Ensure that you schedule the delivery in such a way that you have time to check the goods.
You can use the catalogue created when you sent the furniture by courier. Check the number of received pieces and their conditions. Ideally, you should do this in the presence of the movers. Check for damages, scratches, and missing items.
If you find that the furniture was damaged during transit, you can claim insurance. You can match the condition with the pictures you took before furniture transport. If everything is in order, you can sign the receipt. This proof of delivery is evidence that the furniture was successfully delivered. Thus completing the furniture courier process.
Use a Reputed Courier to Transport Furniture
Furniture and home items require special care and attention for safe transport. Some of these items may be unique pieces or antiques. They may also hold sentimental value. That is why you should only trust a reputable and reliable company to courier your furniture.
Whether you courier small furniture locally or relocate entire households with heavy furniture internationally, PACK & SEND can get it done. Consider our courier and freight services for furniture pick-up and delivery.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How to pack your furniture for a courier?
You can use different methods to pack your furniture for a courier. The most effective way to pack the furniture is to dismantle it. Then you can wrap and pack individual pieces. You can cushion each piece with bubble wrap. Once you box the pieces, you can use packing peanuts to fill the empty place.
You can use wrapping sheets and moving blankets to protect larger pieces. You should add extra padding to at-risk parts such as edges and corners. This way you can pack and protect all parts of the furniture for a courier.
Which kind of furniture can you send by courier?
You can send all types of furniture by courier. Logistics companies can also help relocate all your belongings locally and internationally. This includes shipping small or heavy furniture. You can also use logistics to courier delicate furniture and antiques.
Can large furniture be sent by courier?
Yes, you can send large and heavy furniture by courier. A logistics company can dismantle, pack, and ship heavy furniture. You can courier heavy furniture over any distance.
How to choose the right courier service for shipping furniture?
The best way to choose the right courier service for shipping furniture is to look at the company's reputation, reviews, and services. You need a reliable company to courier furniture since these items are prone to damage during shipping. Hence, you need to ensure that the courier company can effectively handle your belongings.
Which companies offer courier services for furniture in Australia?
You can consider PACK & SEND furniture courier services in Australia. The company has a long-standing reputation as a reliable courier and logistics company in the country. We have specialised services to pack, pick up and deliver furniture.