How to Ship Furniture Across the Country

When it comes to flipping furniture for profit, you’ll have to deal with the logistics of shipping to many different locations. This might seem a little bit intimidating. But it doesn’t have to be! In this post, we’ll show you how to ship furniture across the country.

There are many ways to get your furniture safely to its new home. We’ll break down your options and share some tips to make the process easier and stress free for you and your customers.

When selling your painted or even old, unused pieces, some buyers may be local, but many others could be from different states. This means you’ll have to figure out how to transport your pieces across long distances.

We’ve been shipping our painted furniture across the country for a few years now. Here are some great tips to get you started, whether you are sending to a customer, to a family member, or to your new home.

This will be more focused on how to ship furniture across the country for a customer, but the same things apply if you’re sending a single item or even only a few pieces. So, keep reading to get all the details!

Shipping Furniture Across Country

Shipping furniture across the country and locally can be very similar and very different. A hundred mile journey is definitely easier on a piece of furniture than a couple of thousand miles!

When it’s for across the country, you will want to make sure your piece is well protected and packaged since there will be more ways for it to get damaged.

Your location and your customer’s location can also play a big role. Locations can have a huge impact on cost! If you are out of the way or in a high density city, it will most likely be higher.

The further the distance between you and your customer will also make the cost of shipping higher. Likewise, a short journey and locations near main highways can really cut down on costs.

You’ll also want to consider these things:

• How much does it weigh? More or less than 100 pounds? (and how do you weigh it??)
• Do you need it to be delivered into the home or just outside the home?
• Do you want to box it up, or do you want someone to do that for you?
• What is your timeframe? Is it time sensitive?
• Are you looking for a cheap way to ship furniture?

How to Weigh Furniture for Shipping

One of the biggest mysteries is knowing how much your dresser, nightstand, or buffet even weighs. I’ve got a simple hack that you can do at home to find it out. Most shippers need to know how much your piece weighs (with packaging) to give you a quote. So, this is pretty important to figure out.

Gather up two regular home scales and two pieces of wood (at least a few inches wide and a bit longer than your furniture is deep). Make sure that these scales are pretty accurate so you can get an accurate weight!

Spread the two scales out to the length of your piece. Place one board on each scale so the legs of your piece can sit on the boards.

Then, place one end of your furniture on one scale and piece of wood and the other side on the other scale and piece of wood. Now, add the two weights together. That is how much it weighs!

I’ve used this method numerous times and have tested it against the large scales at a few shipping companies. It’s very accurate!

How Much Does Furniture Weigh?

Now, if it weighs less than 100 lbs with packaging materials, you have some more options as far as shipping companies go. If it weighs more than 100 lbs, your options are a little bit more limited.

Typically, nightstands, end tables, chairs, and small dressers are under 100 pounds. Medium sized and large dressers, buffets, TV stands, etc, usually weigh more than 100 pounds.

(Of course, each piece varies depending on how it was built.)

Keep the weight in mind as we talk about the options!

Shipping Services – Inside the Home or Curbside Delivery?

Some companies will offer delivery to your home and even take all of the packaging materials with them. This is usually called white glove delivery, a premium service, and it comes with a higher cost.

Usually, the furniture is wrapped in blankets and padding and is then secured in the back of a box truck or enclosed trailer. Blanket wrap furniture shipping is a great way to make sure your pieces arrive safely and undamaged.

Other companies only offer curbside delivery or even only offer pickup at the nearest terminal. This can definitely be a cheaper option compared to the premium white glove delivery. It will depend on the size of the piece and how far away it is being sent to.

How to Package Furniture For Shipping

Here are the options for packaging, plus check out packing materials for shipping in this post!

No Packing

If you don’t want to hassle with boxing up your piece, white glove delivery is the best option for you! They will come and blanket wrap it for you and then unwrap it when it’s at the destination.

Or, some companies will do the packaging for you for an extra fee. There is peace of mind when the company boxes it up themselves! But you will pay for the convenience.

Boxing Up Furniture

If you’re willing to spend the time and money packaging yourself, you may have a few more options.

If it’s a small piece (less than 165″ length and girth combined) and less than 150 pounds or 70 pounds (depending on the company you choose), you can easily box it up and send it through UPS or Fed Ex. Here are some UPS guidelines, and here are some Fed-Ex guidelines on weight and size.

You need to be very careful about packing for these companies, though. They are rough on packages, so extra care in packing will go a long way!

Shipping Furniture on a Pallet

Both UPS and Fed Ex offer freight shipping as well. This is for larger and heavier items. They must still be wrapped up well and then secured to a pallet that is larger than your pieces.

Check out my complete guide, tips, and tricks on how to package furniture for shipping here.

How Long Does it Take to Ship Furniture?

Do you have your mind almost made up about your preferences? Well, your time frame might put a wrench in those plans. Of course, everyone wants to get their new piece as soon as possible. Especially in this day and age of Amazon’s one day shipping available.

But with furniture, it isn’t going to be a one day thing.

Freight Shipping

This is usually the fastest method of delivery. With an expected timeframe of 2-5 business days (depending on how far it has to go).

Ground Shipping

Companies like UPS and Fex Ex can usually get your item to the destination the next fastest (about 3-7 business days).

White Glove Delivery

White glove delivery usually takes the very longest. You have to wait for them to be in your part of the country for pickup, and then you have to wait until they are in the customer’s neck of the woods for delivery. This can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.

If you and your customer live in easy to reach areas, off of main highways, your timeframe should be a lot shorter. But for areas that are out of the way, you will see longer wait times.

Cheapest Way to Ship Furniture Across Country

Of course, this is going to depend on where you live and where your customer lives. But one secret way is through a bus company that takes people to destinations nationwide. You can send furniture with Greyhound Package Express! They deliver packages now, too!

There is a catch, though. Most of the time, you have to drop your item off at the terminal in your town, and the customer has to pick it up at their nearest terminal.

Your items must be under 100 pounds each, and they must be wrapped well in a box. But they have some of the cheapest rates out there! If you’re wondering how much does it cost to ship furniture to another state, read through this post to learn more.

Check out my post on how to offer free shipping and still make money here.

How to Ship Furniture – The Ultimate Guide

Want to know more about how to ship furniture? We’ve only skimmed the very surface! Learn about packaging to prevent damage, the best shipping companies, how to ship furniture on Etsy, and a whole lot more!

We answer your burning questions that will make it easy. You’ll be shipping furniture across country in no time! Be sure to pin this for your future reference!!

More Painting Furniture Resources

• Chalk Painting Furniture
• Furniture Painting Tools And Supplies
• Painting Furniture: Tips and Ideas
• Is Selling Furniture Profitable?
• Flipping Furniture For A $675 Profit In 30 Hours

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