Courier a Chair with PACK & SEND

Chairs are deceptively difficult freight. They are light enough that people assume a parcel service will handle them, but their shape means they take up far more space than their weight suggests, and every leg, arm and castor is something that can snap off in transit. Whether it is a single dining chair bought online, a designer armchair moving interstate, a set of six going to a new house, or an office fit-out heading to a new tenancy, PACK & SEND sizes the packing and the freight method to the chair rather than forcing it into a standard carton.

Materials Needed to Send a Chair

The right materials for a chair depend on whether it comes apart. A chair that dismantles can be boxed conventionally, while one that does not needs protection built around its shape. If you are packing at home, gather:

• A carton sized to the chair once dismantled, or heavy-duty cardboard sheeting to build protection around a chair that cannot be taken apart
• Furniture blankets or moving pads to wrap the seat and back, which protect against scuffing far better than bubble wrap on flat surfaces
• Bubble wrap or foam sleeves for legs, arms and any protruding hardware, which are the parts that break
• Cardboard corner protectors for the top of the backrest and the leg ends, the two points that take impact when a chair is set down
• Stretch wrap to hold blankets in place, applied over the padding and never directly onto polished timber or leather
• A cloth or tissue layer against upholstery and finished surfaces before anything plastic goes on
• A sealable bag for fixings, taped to the underside of the seat so bolts and Allen keys arrive with the chair
• Void fill for any boxed components, plus wide packing tape and clear fragile labelling

All of this is available in store. You can pick up boxes, cases and crates at a Service Centre, buy packaging online ahead of time, or ask our team about custom foam packaging for a chair that warrants a fitted solution.

How to Pack a Chair

Work through these in order. The sequence matters, because protecting the frame before you wrap it is what stops padding from being crushed into the finish.

1. Photograph the chair and note any existing damage. Every angle, plus close shots of joints and the finish. If the chair is being sold, this is also your record for the buyer.
2. Take it apart if it is designed to. Most office chairs separate into base, gas lift, seat and back, and many dining chairs have removable legs. A dismantled chair packs smaller, travels safer and costs less to send.
3. Bag and label every fixing. Bolts, washers, castors and Allen keys into one sealed bag, taped to the underside of the seat. Nothing is more frustrating on arrival than a complete chair with no bolts.
4. Remove or secure loose cushions. Wrap seat pads separately so they cannot rub against the frame for the whole journey.
5. Cover the finished surfaces first. Cloth or tissue against timber, leather and upholstery before any plastic touches them. Stretch wrap applied straight onto a polished finish can mark it, especially in a hot truck.
6. Wrap the seat and back in furniture blankets. Flat, broad surfaces need coverage more than cushioning, and blankets do that job better than bubble wrap.
7. Sleeve the legs and arms individually. These snap first because they stick out. Wrap each one separately rather than binding them together, so no single knock transfers across the whole frame.
8. Protect the backrest corners and leg ends. Cardboard corner protectors on both. This is the step most people skip, and it is where the damage happens when a chair is stood down hard on a concrete floor.
9. Box or sheet the chair. Dismantled components go into a carton with void fill between them. An assembled chair gets heavy cardboard sheeting built around its profile and taped into a rigid shell.
10. Fill every gap. Nothing inside the carton should move when it is tilted. Components sliding against each other in transit cause more damage than the journey itself.
11. Seal, label and mark orientation. Tape the seams, mark the carton fragile, and add an arrow showing which way is up if the chair has a preferred resting position.
12. Measure all three dimensions and weigh it. Chairs are quoted on volumetric weight, so the measurements matter more here than on almost any other item. Guessing will not get you an accurate price.

If the chair is antique, designer, upholstered in something delicate, or simply will not come apart, bring it to a Service Centre and let our team build the packing around it.

Shipping a Chair Through a PACK & SEND Service Centre

PACK & SEND Service Centre can handle chair packing and shipping for you, particularly for anything valuable or awkward. What our team adds:

• Packing built to the chair's shape. Rather than finding a box that nearly fits, we build protection around the frame using tailored materials. Explore our packing solutions.
• Crating for high-value seating. Antique, designer and one-off pieces are often safer in a timber crate, and our team will say so rather than push a carton.
• Freight matched to the shape. A single chair, a set of six and a pallet of office seating are three different freight problems. We route each accordingly, including bulky and palletised freight where volume warrants it.
• Access planning at both ends. We ask about stairs, lifts, loading docks and building access before booking, not after a failed delivery attempt.
• Visibility. You get up-to-date tracking with milestone updates from collection through to delivery.

Cost to Courier a Chair

The single most useful thing to understand about chair freight is that it is priced on volumetric weight, meaning the space the chair occupies rather than what it weighs on a scale. A wingback armchair might weigh 12 kg and be charged as though it weighs 45 kg, because that is the room it takes on the truck. What else shapes the price:

• The packed dimensions, which is why dismantling a chair genuinely lowers the cost
• Whether it is one chair or a set, since sets often consolidate efficiently onto a pallet
• Distance, and whether both ends are metro, regional or remote
• Service level, from standard road through to express
• Packing level, from blankets and sheeting through to a purpose-built crate
• Access at collection and delivery, including stairs, lifts and narrow entries
• Optional Freight Plus Warranty cover

A flat-packed dining chair under 20 kg and under $1,000 may qualify for online self-service. An assembled armchair almost never will, because the volumetric weight alone puts it outside the limits. Your Service Centre will confirm which side of that line your chair falls on.

Types of Chairs and Seating We Courier

Our teams move seating of every description:

• Dining and kitchen chairs, singly or in sets, timber, metal and moulded
• Office and task chairs, which usually dismantle into base, gas lift, seat and back
• Armchairs, recliners and occasional chairs, where upholstery protection matters as much as frame protection
• Antique and heirloom seating, treated as high-value fragile freight with custom packing or crating
• Designer and collectable chairs, where the finish is the value and any mark is a problem
• Outdoor and stackable seating, which consolidates well in volume
• Gaming, salon, medical and specialty chairs, often heavy, mechanical and awkward in equal measure
• Bar stools, benches and ottomans, which raise the same shape problems in a smaller package

Anything oversized, unusually shaped or heavy falls under our large and awkward items handling, which is built for exactly this.

Chair Freight for Businesses

Furniture retailers, office fit-out contractors, hospitality venues, interior designers, staging companies and second-hand dealers all move seating in volume, and volume changes the freight problem entirely. A set of forty chairs is a palletised consignment, not forty parcels.

We handle bulk seating through bulky and palletised freight, coordinate delivery windows that suit a site rather than a residential run, and set up regular sender arrangements for businesses dispatching regularly. Warehouse to site, warehouse to store, or direct to the end client, all quoted personally rather than through online self-service.

Individual Chair Shipping

Most single chairs we move belong to individuals, usually in one of these situations:

• Buying or selling a chair through a marketplace, where the buyer is interstate and collection is impractical
• Moving house and sending a few pieces ahead rather than paying for a full removal
• Sending an inherited or heirloom chair to family in another state
• Shipping a chair to or from a restorer, reupholsterer or French polisher
• Furnishing a rental, a student share house or a holiday property from a distance

If the move is larger than a few pieces, our furniture removals service may be the better fit, and our team will tell you which way makes sense.

Sending a Chair Interstate

Chairs travel interstate constantly, and the deciding factor is nearly always size rather than speed. Options:

• Road freight. The standard choice for seating, and the most economical for anything bulky. See our road express freight services.
• Palletised freight. For sets, fit-outs and multiple chairs, consolidating onto a pallet usually costs less and travels more safely than sending pieces separately.
• Air freight. Available where a deadline demands it, though volumetric charging makes it an expensive way to move a chair. Explore our domestic air freight options.
• Time definite services. Where a delivery has to land on a specific day, such as a fit-out or a staged property, our time definite freight options apply.

Estimated transit times:

• Standard interstate delivery: 5 to 10 business days
• Expedited delivery: 2 to 5 business days
• Express delivery: 1 to 2 business days

These timeframes are a guide only and may vary depending on carrier networks, operational requirements and other factors outside PACK & SEND's control. Bulky items can also take longer on the final leg, since they need a vehicle and often a second person to deliver.

International Chair Shipping

If you want to ship your chair overseas, these are your options:

• Sea freight. Almost always the sensible option for furniture, and dramatically more economical than air for anything bulky. Explore sea freight services.
• Air freight. Viable for a small, dismantled or genuinely valuable chair where the timeline justifies it. See international air freight.
• Part of a relocation. If the chair is one item in a household move, it belongs in the same consignment rather than as a standalone shipment. Our relocation and removals service covers that.

Most shipments travel DDU (Delivered Duty Unpaid), so duties and taxes are settled by the receiver on arrival. Indicative international timeframes:

• Express air freight: 3 to 7 business days
• Standard air freight: 5 to 10 business days
• Sea freight: 6 to 10 weeks

These timeframes are a guide only. Customs outcomes and inspection delays are outside PACK & SEND's control. Timber and cane furniture also attracts quarantine attention in several markets, so tell our team what the chair is made of before booking.

Where to Send a Chair

We collect and deliver seating across Australia, and the practical constraint is rarely distance. It is access. Apartment collections in Melbourne inner suburbs, terraces in Sydney's inner west served by PACK & SEND Marrickville, and high-rise deliveries through PACK & SEND Brisbane City all need the same question answered up front: how does the chair actually get in and out of the building?

Our teams handle metro, suburban and regional addresses nationally, from PACK & SEND Moorabbin in Melbourne's south east to PACK & SEND Milton in Brisbane. Where a chair has to be somewhere the same day, for a photo shoot, a staged property or a fit-out deadline, our same day courier service is a premium, managed solution. It cannot be booked online. Call 1300 668 000 or speak with your local Service Centre.

How to Book Your Chair Courier Service

Start with your local Service Centre, where our team can see the chair or talk through its dimensions properly:

1. Get in touch. Find your nearest Service Centre, call 1300 668 000, or bring the chair in.
2. We assess size, value and access. Dimensions, whether it dismantles, what it is worth, and what the collection and delivery points look like.
3. You get a personalised quote. Packing level, freight method and timing, priced on the volumetric weight rather than a guess.
4. We pack, collect and track. Your chair is packed to suit its shape, collected or dropped off, and tracked through to delivery.

Online self-service may be available for a flat-packed chair that is already boxed, under 20 kg, up to $1,000 in value, and sent by an individual who is not shipping for a business or sending regularly. In practice most chairs exceed the volumetric limits even when they are light, so the Service Centre path is the one that will actually price your chair correctly.

Why Choose PACK & SEND for Chair Shipping

• Packing built around the chair's shape, including bespoke crating for antique and designer seating
• Volumetric pricing explained up front, so the quote is not a surprise
• Palletised and bulk options for sets, fit-outs and hospitality consignments
• Access planned at both ends, including stairs, lifts and narrow entries
• 135+ Service Centres across Australia, with road, air, sea and international options
• Up-to-date tracking with milestone updates, and optional Freight Plus Warranty cover

Related Courier Services

Chairs are one part of a larger furniture picture. If you are moving more than seating, our furniture courier page covers tables, bed frames and case goods, and couriering a rug deals with the awkward roll and length problem that floor coverings create. For a single oversized item that does not fit any standard category, sending a large parcel is the place to start.

Send Your Chair with PACK & SEND Today

One chair or forty, flat-packed or fully assembled, our team will size the packing and the freight to what you are actually sending. Get a quote or call 1300 668 000 to talk it through.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does a light chair cost so much to send?

Because freight is charged on volumetric weight, which measures the space an item occupies rather than what it weighs. A chair is mostly empty space inside its own outline, so it is charged for the room it takes on the truck. Dismantling the chair reduces that space and is the single most effective way to lower the cost.

Should I take the chair apart before sending it?

Yes, wherever it is designed to come apart. A dismantled chair packs smaller, is far less likely to be damaged, and costs meaningfully less to send. Bag the fixings and tape them to the underside of the seat so nothing goes missing.

Can you collect a chair from an apartment or a house with stairs?

Yes, but tell us in advance. Stairs, lifts, narrow entries and loading dock restrictions all affect how the collection is resourced, and a delivery that needs two people or a specific vehicle has to be arranged that way from the start rather than discovered on the day.

How do you handle an antique or designer chair?

As high-value fragile freight. Our Service Centre team will assess the frame and finish, use cloth and blanket layers against the surfaces, and will often recommend a purpose-built crate rather than a carton. Optional Freight Plus Warranty cover is available for pieces where the value warrants it.

Can I send a set of chairs together?

Yes, and it is usually the more economical way to do it. Sets often consolidate onto a pallet, which costs less and travels more safely than the same chairs sent as separate consignments. Ask your Service Centre to price both ways.

What if my chair is damaged in transit?

Photograph the chair from every angle before it is packed, including any existing marks. Optional Freight Plus Warranty cover is available and we recommend it for valuable seating. If a chair does arrive damaged, the Service Centre that booked the consignment is your first call and will handle it from there.

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