MetEx House, 496a Great West Road, Hounslow, Middlesex, TW5 0TE  ·  Shipping since 1998
0800 096 38 39
🎓 Shipping for Academics • UK relocation specialists • Since 1998

Shipping for Academics & Researchers
Placement, fellowship or sabbatical? We’ll ship your books and home

A research placement, a visiting fellowship, a new professorship — we collect your books, papers and belongings from your UK door and ship them to your university abroad, by sea for the heavy loads or air for what you need first.

Academic moves are book-heavy and calendar-bound — a placement, a fellowship, a sabbatical, all tied to a term or a project start. We’ve shipped for academics and researchers relocating from the UK since 1998, and we know how to move a library affordably and land it in time.

Universities worldwide — and how we ship there

Wherever the post or placement is, we get your work and home there:

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North America. US and Canadian universities — full-household sea freight, or books and essentials by air.
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Australia & New Zealand. Research posts and professorships, with biosecurity handled properly.
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Europe. Nearer moves by road, air or sea, door to door.
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Books & research materials. A career’s worth of books and papers shipped affordably by sea — far cheaper than airline excess.

What academics usually ship

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Send. books, papers, research materials, personal effects and a household. Books are heavy — sea freight is the economical way to move a lot of them.
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Keep with you: passport, visa and any documents you need for the university or the visa on arrival — and back up irreplaceable research before it ships.
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Batteries: no lithium batteries in a standard shipment, including inside laptops, phones, tablets and power banks. Batteries can be packed and exported as declared dangerous goods — ask us before you pack.

Timing it around your placement or term

Academic moves run to a date — a term, a placement start, a project kick-off. Sea freight is the cheapest way to move a library and a household, but it runs to weeks — roughly 4 to 12 depending on destination and sailing dates — so book it well ahead. Need materials sooner? Air freight is typically 4–10 working days, subject to space and flight availability with the carriers.

Tell us your start date and we’ll tell you the latest you can book to arrive in time.

How it works, step by step

1
Quote & book. Tell us what you’re sending and where. We give you a clear quote up front — and as long as your shipment is what you told us, that’s the price you pay, subject to airline rates at the time of booking.
2
Door collection. We collect from your address anywhere in the UK — no depot runs, no airport queues.
3
Pack & itemise. We export-pack and prepare the inventory customs needs, so your belongings clear smoothly at the other end.
4
Ship by air or sea. Air for speed, sea for value — delivered to your new address abroad.

Shipping for academics — your questions answered

Can I ship a whole library of books affordably? +
Yes — sea freight is made for it. Books are heavy, so you share container space and pay for what you use, far cheaper than airline excess baggage.
Is this suitable for a sabbatical or temporary placement? +
Yes — whether you’re moving for a year or for good, we scale to the shipment. Tell us how much you’re sending and where.
How long does it take? +
Air freight is typically 4–10 working days plus clearance; sea freight runs to weeks — roughly 4 to 12 depending on destination and sailing dates.
Will it arrive before term or my placement starts? +
If you book in time, yes — sea freight runs to weeks, so plan around your start date. Tell us the date and we’ll tell you the latest you can book.

Ready to plan your move?

Tell us your destination and your timeline, and we’ll come back with a quote and a realistic transit-time estimate — before you commit to anything.

Get a quote📞 0800 096 38 39