Excess Baggage and Personal Effects

What excess baggage shipping is for

This service covers suitcases, holdalls and boxed personal belongings sent unaccompanied rather than checked in at the airport, typically used by students, people relocating, gap year travellers and anyone with more luggage than an airline allowance covers economically. The bags travel as freight, separately from you, and are collected by a courier or agent at the destination.

Because the charge is based on weight or volume rather than a fixed per-bag airline fee, this route becomes noticeably cheaper the more baggage you have, and is often used by people making a full move abroad who need to send several boxes' worth of belongings at once.

What can and cannot be sent

Clothing, books, personal electronics, kitchenware and general household items travel without issue, and we supply a packing list template to help you record contents accurately for customs purposes. Certain items are restricted or prohibited on both air and sea baggage services, including aerosols, batteries above certain sizes, liquids over specified quantities, and any item restricted by the destination country's import rules.

We check your packing list before collection and flag anything that needs to be removed, repacked separately, or declared differently, which avoids the far more disruptive experience of an item being found and the shipment held at the destination airport or port.

• Clothing, books and personal effects
• Small electronics and personal computers
• Kitchenware, linens and non-liquid toiletries
• Restricted: aerosols, large batteries, liquids over limit, prohibited imports

Air versus sea baggage

Air baggage typically clears within a few days of arrival and suits anyone who needs their belongings soon after they land, at a cost that sits between airline excess charges and full air freight rates. Sea baggage takes considerably longer — often several weeks — but costs noticeably less, and works well for people relocating who can manage with a suitcase of essentials in the meantime.

The choice usually comes down to how quickly you need the contents and how much you are prepared to pay for that speed, and we quote both options side by side so you can compare the real difference rather than guessing.

UK collection and packing

We collect from home addresses, halls of residence, shared houses and workplaces anywhere in the UK, and can supply cartons, tape and packing materials in advance if you would rather pack into proper shipping boxes than travel cases. Sturdy boxes generally handle the journey better than soft suitcases, particularly on the longer sea route.

Weighing and measuring each item before collection, or having us do this at pickup, avoids surprises on the final invoice, since both air and sea baggage services are priced on the actual weight or volume shipped rather than an estimate.

Customs and personal effects declarations

Personal effects being shipped as part of a genuine relocation can often qualify for duty and tax relief at destination, provided the correct declaration is completed and the goods have been used and owned for the required period beforehand. We prepare this declaration as part of the service, which keeps any duty and tax due to the legal minimum rather than the standard commercial import rate.

Students and short-term movers without a permanent relocation may not qualify for the same relief, so we set out clearly at quote stage whether your situation is likely to attract duty on arrival, based on the destination's specific rules.

Pricing structure for excess baggage

Air baggage is priced by chargeable weight, while sea baggage is generally priced by volume once a shipment reaches a certain size, so the more efficiently items are packed the lower the cost. A minimum charge applies to very small shipments on both services, which is worth checking if you only have one or two extra items rather than several boxes.

We give a written quote based on the weights or dimensions you provide, and confirm any adjustment once the shipment is actually weighed and measured at collection, so there are no unexplained changes to the final invoice.

Common mistakes and destination collection

The most common issues are packing restricted items without realising, underestimating weight when comparing air and sea quotes, and leaving the personal effects declaration until the shipment has already arrived, which can delay release. Sorting the declaration and packing list before collection avoids all three.

At destination the shipment is met by a local agent or courier who coordinates any customs formality and delivers to your new address, keeping you updated if a document is queried so nothing sits unexplained at the port or airport.