meabigbaldguy

Hi,    I can certainly relate to any anxiety, or frustration, that you might have.  When I left Germany, for San Diego, four years ago, I had an entire household of things to move.  Even after selling off as much as we could beforehand, we still needed a container to ship what we wanted to keep and send along.  From my own experience, here's what I can share with you: We found it very difficult to contract with a local Spedition because we were residential, and none of the five or so companies we spoke to wanted to deal with residential. We ended up contracting with a US based company, Allied, that sub-contracted with one of its partners in Germany. in our case, we needed a 20 foot container.  Then we were basically given two options - a 20, or 40 footer.  A 20 footer is more than enough! We had to declare every item that we intended to ship - by description, worth, size, and weight. It was a straight forward process for us.  The container showed up, we had it loaded in two hours, and then away it went. Five weeks later, our items were delivered to our door; however, once they arrive in the US, a bonding company unloaded the container, and the carrier palletized everything and delivered it to our new home.  Once the items arrive in the bonded area, and customs is cleared, we received the bill.  The carrier won't deliver until they are paid in full. Total cost to ship: ~$5000.   When I left San Diego for Germany in 2007, I shipped everything I had in five boxes via Fed Ex.  At the time, I'd say that I was naive because that caused quite a ruckus with Zoll.  But in the end, I got all of my things.  When I left Germany in 2016, I had a family in tow and big house full of things.  It was stressful... but with some careful planning, a lot of back and forth between both countries, and a lot of help from friends, all ended well.   Plan carefully, and think things through.  I don't know how long you've been in Germany, but after a decade for me, I went back to a place that was far removed from what I'd left behind.     Good fortune, friend!