A-Z Guide

1. Survey

Once you've decided what to ship, we can advise you of shipping costs. Generally, we recommend conducting a survey over the phone and/or in your residence about three months prior to your move.

A Strand Director will personally come to survey your home and ensure you understand all costs and logistics involved from start to finish.

2. Agreement

After the survey, you'll receive a written survey summary and price quote that outlines ALL costs involved. By ALL, we mean no surprises along the way. This is your opportunity to make sure you understand everything, especially if you're comparison shopping.

Different shippers present information in different ways and don't necessarily provide a clear picture. If you don't address items that aren't completely clear, you might find yourself surprised later. Strand's quotes are presented in a straightforward manner to avoid confusion at any step.

Once you've signed your agreement and sent a deposit, we'll open a file for you and proceed with steps 3-14 below.

3. Providing Packing Supplies for Self-Packing

Strand provides full packing services. However, there are many things you may want to pack yourself. Upon request, we'll provide all the packing supplies you need. We recommend that you only pack personal items and non-fragile household items that require your decision about whether to pack them.

4. Packing Fragile Items and Wrapping Furniture

On pickup day, Strand's professional and experienced crew will pack all your fragile items (dishes, glassware, lamps, pictures, etc.). We'll also wrap your furniture and other items you didn't want to—or couldn't—handle yourself prior to moving day.

Our crew is instructed to go the extra mile in ensuring your goods are packed properly to withstand the harsh voyage. If you have any concerns about how a certain item is handled, please raise it on the spot. A Strand Director is always just a phone call away.

Cost-Saving Option: With rising costs in recent years, Strand is happy to offer further savings by allowing you to share the packing burden with us. Packing ALL your goods yourself, including fragile items, will reduce your moving costs.

5. Loading Your Goods

Following the completion of packing and wrapping, our crew members will carry the goods from your residence and load them into an exclusive container or Strand truck, as discussed and agreed upon earlier. The manner in which goods are positioned is crucial for safe transport.

6. Receiving Customer Purchases at Our Warehouse

Strand provides each customer with a period of free storage time to accumulate new purchases at our warehouse. Upon receipt, we'll inspect the goods, record them manually and digitally, and email you an updated inventory report. It's your responsibility to monitor the arrival of your goods prior to your shipment's departure.

7. Packing into Wooden Crates for Export (LCL)

Ocean shipping costs are based mostly on volume shipped. Depending on your destination, if you have less than a certain volume, it may be more economical to pack your goods into custom-made lift vans (wooden crates), which are later consolidated into steel containers with other freight.

The industry's common practice of charging for empty or fluffed space is unacceptable by Strand's standards. With our state-of-the-art crating facility, we work hard to tailor-make crates that fit the size of your goods precisely. Our tight, careful, puzzle-like packing of lift vans often leaves clients in awe.

8. Loading Your Shipment into Steel Containers

Ocean shipping uses steel containers. Household goods are normally packed into 20', standard 40', or 40' high-cube containers, which can hold 1,050, 2,100, or 2,500 cubic feet of solid goods respectively.

Note that containers belong to the vessel company and are subject to storage fees if not returned empty within a few days of arrival at the destination (the number of days allowed varies by destination).

9. Delivery to the Vessel Company

Vessel companies don't normally accept bookings from private individuals. Strand, which ships hundreds of containers yearly, has service contracts with several vessel companies. We'll book your container, pick up the empty container from the port, and return it loaded with your goods. Containers must be delivered to the vessel company 4 to 5 days prior to the vessel's scheduled departure.

10. Preparation of Documents

Export declaration is a process that, following the events of 9/11, is constantly being updated and under close government scrutiny. Strand's office handles all necessary filing and record keeping. Export documentation must be transmitted to the U.S. Government 5 to 6 days prior to the vessel's scheduled departure.

11. Prepayment of Ocean Shipment

Payment for the ocean voyage must be remitted prior to the release of documents and the container at the destination country. This is why customers are asked to remit payment before the vessel's departure.

12. Free Storage Period: 30 Days for LCL / 4 Days for FCL

As noted above, a container is leased on your behalf from the vessel company for the duration of the voyage. If your goods were packed in lift vans, they'll be unloaded at the destination port and stored at the port's bonded warehouse. If your goods were packed in an exclusive container, it's labor-intensive and unsafe to unload them at the port since they were packed loose. Therefore, time is of the essence, and the container must be returned to the vessel company promptly.

In Israel, shipments of personal effects and household goods enjoy 30 days of free storage if packed in lift vans and only 4 days if packed in an exclusive container.

13. Customs Clearance

Upon arrival overseas, a member of Strand's network of highly qualified and vetted destination service providers will guide you through the process of clearing your goods through customs and arranging delivery.

14. Home Delivery

Following the release of your goods, our representative will coordinate delivery to your home. You'll need to inform our representative of access and parking conditions at the delivery point. Upon delivery, our crew will place items according to your directions, unwrap furniture that was wrapped at the origin point, and leave you to open your boxes on your own.