✈ Ship luggage abroad • Cheaper than airline excess • Since 1998

Ship luggage abroad from the UK
The alternative to paying at the check-in desk

Moving, studying or relocating overseas? For more than a bag or two, shipping your luggage is usually cheaper than airline excess baggage — and it leaves from your door rather than travelling with you. Here is how it works, what it costs, and what to leave out.

Get a quote 📞 0800 096 38 39

💰Usually cheaper than airline excess
📦No bag limit • 30kg per item
📍Door collection — UK-wide
📅Shipping luggage since 1998

Start here

Shipping your luggage instead of flying with it

If you are moving, studying or relocating overseas, you have two options for your belongings: pay the airline to carry them, or ship them separately. For anything more than a bag or two, shipping is usually cheaper — and you are not dragging the weight through an airport.

💰

Airline excess charges are set at the desk. They are calculated per bag, at the airport, when you have no alternative. Shipping is quoted in advance on the actual weight and size of what you are sending.

📦

No bag limit. Airlines cap what you can check in. We do not — send one box or twenty. There is a 30kg per item standard, surcharge if heavier for standard handling; heavier items ship, they are just priced individually.

📍

It leaves from your door, not the airport. We collect anywhere in the UK, so nothing has to travel with you.

How it works

Four steps, start to finish

Tell us what you’re sending

Number of items, rough weights and sizes, and where it’s going. We come back with a clear quote.

Pack and label

Suitcases, holdalls and double-walled boxes all ship. Items need to be packed, labelled and ready when the driver arrives.

We collect and document

Door collection UK-wide, then we prepare the export paperwork and customs declaration.

Air or sea to destination

Air freight from Heathrow for speed; consolidated sea freight for volume.

Choosing

Air or sea — which suits your shipment

Air freight suits a few boxes, anything urgent, and anything valuable enough that you want it there quickly — typically a few working days to a week or so, subject to space and flight availability with the carriers. Sea freight suits volume: a room, a household, or a set of barrels. Roughly 4 to 12 weeks depending on destination and sailing dates, at a fraction of the per-kilo cost.

Many people split the two — air for what they need immediately, sea for the rest.

⚖️

Price is on weight or size, whichever is greater. A box of bedding weighs little but takes space, so it prices on volume. This is why a per-kilo figure alone never answers the question.

Before you book

What not to pack

🔋

Batteries. No lithium batteries in a standard shipment, including inside devices. They can be packed and exported as declared dangerous goods — ask us before you pack. Undeclared dangerous goods are a criminal offence and the duty sits with the sender.

🚫

Aerosols, perfume and flammables. Regulated, and the most common find at screening.

📦

Bin liners and soft bags. They tear in handling. Use suitcases, holdalls or double-walled cartons.

📋

An unclear inventory. Number your boxes and list what is in each one.

By destination

How to ship your luggage, country by country

Step-by-step guides covering what each destination’s customs actually asks for, realistic transit times and what you cannot put in the box.

Australia Bangladesh Canada Cyprus France Germany Ghana Hong Kong India Ireland Italy Jamaica Kenya New Zealand Nigeria Pakistan Portugal Singapore South Africa Spain Sri Lanka Thailand USA

Shipping somewhere not listed? We ship worldwide — tell us where and we’ll quote it.

Common questions

Your questions answered

Is shipping luggage cheaper than airline excess baggage? +

For more than a bag or two, usually yes - and you're not carrying the weight through the airport. Airline excess is charged per bag at the desk when you have no alternative; we quote in advance on the actual weight and size of your shipment.

How many bags can I ship? +

There's no limit on the number of items. There is a 30kg per item standard, surcharge if heavier for standard handling - heavier items still ship, they're just priced individually.

How long does it take? +

Air freight is typically a few working days to a week or so depending on destination, subject to space and flight availability with the carriers. Sea freight runs roughly 4 to 12 weeks depending on destination and sailing dates.

How is the cost calculated? +

On whichever is greater - actual weight or volumetric (size-based) weight. A box of bedding weighs little but takes space, so it prices on volume. That's why a per-kilo rate alone can't answer the question.

What can't I ship? +

Lithium batteries in a standard shipment (including inside devices), aerosols, perfume and flammable liquids. Batteries can be shipped as declared dangerous goods if arranged beforehand.

👤

Lak Kharod, Director

Excess Luggage Co. • 40 years in the freight industry • MetEx House, Hounslow, next to Heathrow

“People come to us after they have been quoted at the check-in desk. Ship it instead and you know the price before anything moves — and you are not carrying it through the airport.” Call 0800 096 38 39.

Ship luggage abroad from the UKThe alternative to paying at the check-in desk