When it comes to antiques and collectibles, most
people are thinking about two things. First and foremost, antiques are
associated with museum-quality and luxurious items, such as ancient vases,
designer furniture, and exclusive knickknacks. Another thing that usually comes
to mind is money, aka investment. Truth be told, a limited collection of some
atypical antique pieces can be quite a favorable and profitable way of putting
up the money in a long-term perspective.
These two essential perceptions make antiques
and collectibles desired pieces for scores of people, especially those who are
traveling with a single thought to unearth some valuables in a curio shop.
This is where troubles and hassles begin to
appear in droves. If you have seen something so close to your heart that you cannot
fight against the temptation to buy it, you should think about how you are
going to ship it to your home, which is thousands of miles away. In case you do
not want to carry the whole load on your way back home by yourself, you will
probably need professional shippers.
From the beginning, everything seems surprisingly simple. There are mainly two ways out: either to reach out to a standard delivery company or to hire a specialized antiques and collectibles shipping agency. The choice is yours! However, keep in mind that the process of shipping valuables implies a more sophisticated procedure as compared to shipping most other items, involving a heap of nuances and peculiarities that must be considered. The task of this article is to give you an insight into the international shipping of antiques and collectibles and tell you about its most basic principles. So, let’s start!
Who will be in charge of
shipping?
The process of shipping antiques overseas is
almost always the same. Here is a quick overview. There are two countries,
country A and country B. In country A, which is the country of departure, you
need to find someone who will pack, load, and deliver the package to a seaport
or airport. Everything goes identically in country B, which is the country of
destination, but the other way round. So, who is to be chosen?
If you have gotten stuck on the question of who
is better for global delivery, take into account the following information. National
postal services have their offices in many corners of the planet. However, many
of them are notoriously known for their slow services as compared to private
international delivery companies that are a fair opportunity to spare some time
and nerves. One more option, and the best one for shipping antiques and
collectibles overseas, is a specialized fine art shipping company. Such
companies deal with valuable and fragile items all the time, and they can deliver
your items to literally anywhere in the world at a reasonable price.
The abovementioned description does not pretend
to be ultimately true and universal, but it does hit the mark with the majority
of cases that you can encounter. You should choose carefully, considering your
budget and the desired time of delivery. While it has become clearer with money
now, the matter of time is still to be addressed. The same as with the shippers,
you have a fairly scanty choice, but believe it, it would be enough. Nowadays,
it is common to deliver either by air or by sea. Each variant has its pros and
cons that you can find below.
Sea vs. Air? What is better
for shipping?
As you might have already guessed, the biggest
distinctions between air and sea shipping are time and cost, but it does not
mean that these are the only differences. There are more of them, but let’s
look at the most significant.
Cost
Ocean freight rates are markedly less expensive
than air freight rates. Sometimes, the price can be half as high.
Time
If you take time as a measure of difference, air wins a
lopsided victory. The air delivery time is up to two weeks, whereas the delivery
time of sea freight ranges from five to ten weeks. Moreover, ships are more likely to stop at on-way
seaports, which takes quite a time.
Safety
This is another easy win for air freight. Items
shipped by sea tend to be exposed to damage more often than those shipped by
air.
Paperwork
It would be fair to say that this is a draw. The amount of paperwork does
not really change much in both cases; you need to handle a pile of almost the
same documents for both types of delivery.
General recommendations
Now that you know your shipping
options and available modes of transport, the only thing that remains is to pay
heed to the general recommendations that will help you avoid frequent problems
and improve the overall experience.
1. Better plan beforehand
If you plan a visit to another country with
the purpose of buying some rare items, it won’t harm if you discuss your
options with the shipping company beforehand.
2. Consider other services
Shipping antiques and
collectibles overseas is not only about the very process of transportation. It
is also about packing, crating, obtaining import/export permits, handling
customs documentation, and many more. You can certainly handle every stage of
the shipping process separately, but there is a much better alternative to it. You
may hire a full-service international art logistics company, such as the NYC-based
Fine Art Shippers, which will handle
the entire process of shipping antiques for you. Thus, you will get all the
needed services in one bundle.
3. Shipping might be a bad option
Yes, that is possible too.
Shipping objects overseas is pretty expensive, so make sure your purchase is
worth it, taking into account all the expenses and effort you put into it.
Hopefully, this information will
come in handy whenever you decide
to update your collection of antiques and collectibles with new valuable
items. International shipping is a superb chance to immerse yourself into the
world of fresh emotions and undiscovered cultures, so you should not waste it
by any means.
