The Cost of Moving: Shipping the First Eight Boxes

Photo credit: Daniel Oines, CC BY 2.0.

As you might remember from my Monday Check-In, I shipped my first eight boxes to Cedar Rapids this weekend.

Seven of those boxes went as Media Mail, because I own A LOT of books; they cost $182.35 total.

The eighth box, which was not Media Mail, cost $81.01.

(It makes me think I should own more books and fewer items that aren’t books.)

I shipped these boxes through the Ballard Sip & Ship, which—as the name implies—is both a café and a shipping center. The shipping experts at the Sip & Ship really are experts; I’ve worked with them before, and unlike other postal services, they are friendly, efficient, and have answers at-the-ready.

Which meant that when I asked them how I could ship my Fiestaware dishes without half of them breaking along the way, they said “just bring them to us and we’ll pack them for you.” Yes, it’ll cost me a little extra, but it’ll still be WAY CHEAPER than that $1,661 truck and my dishes won’t get broken!

Right now I am accumulating a pile of boxes in my hallway; some of them are Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes that are packed and ready to go (because the Sip & Ship experts said I should send as many items via Flat Rate box as possible), and others are bankers boxes full of stuff that I’m going to get the Sip & Ship team to pack for me: dishes, Christmas ornaments, and other breakables.

I’d like to take all of the remaining shippable stuff to the Sip & Ship next Sunday, under the theory that it’ll arrive in Cedar Rapids right after I do. I’d also like to take it all in a single trip, because that first Dolly full of boxes cost me $55. (If you’re not familiar with Dolly, it’s essentially “what if Uber were pickup trucks.”)

I’m also accumulating a pile of items that I’m going to Dolly over to the Goodwill, so… I’ll need to add another $55 or so for that trip, too. I’m keeping a tally of all of these costs, and will give you the final total as soon as it’s done.

Also, for those of you who predicted my JCPenney mattress would still be sent to Seattle instead of Cedar Rapids even after I called to get those addresses switched, you were right. Last Friday I got a call from a shipping center in Kent, Washington letting me know that my mattress was ready to be delivered, which meant I had to call JCPenney again and confirm that yes, my account was marked as “ship to Cedar Rapids” and no, the Kent shipping center hadn’t been updated with that information.

The JCPenney CSR I spoke to on Friday told me that my mattress would for sure be going to Iowa.

I hope that actually happens.

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