March 4, 2010
When it comes to America’s collective weight, there seems to be – pardon the expression – a broad consensus. We are obese. That’s what the experts say, anyway. 
Which makes it just a little bit ironic that as individuals we tend to badly underestimate the weight of furniture and other large items that we want to ship.
Stop the suffering!
If you suffer from this skinny estimate syndrome when it comes to furniture shipping and need accurate weights for items you want to ship, view a list of household item weights and dimensions here. Weight is important because it dictates shipping cost, and an inaccurate weight means an inaccurate estimate. Unfortunately, most people don’t realize that a king size mattress weighs at least 100 lbs., a three-cushion sofa can surpass 150 lbs., and an entertainment center may top 250 lbs.
Here are a few additional tips you can use:
- Check purchase documents for specifications, including weight. And if you don’t make a habit of saving that stuff, start now.
- Check specs online, either on the manufacturer’s website or by finding the same item on a seller’s site like eBay or Amazon.
- Weigh packed boxes on a bathroom scale.
- For bulky boxes, weigh yourself, then weigh yourself holding the box. Subtract to get the difference.
- Measure the size to get the weight. An experienced mover or shipper can estimate an accurate weight over the phone based on size.
The weight of the items you’re shipping will determine the basic price. There may be additional charges related to where and how the shipment nees to be picked up and delivered. We’ll cover some of those items in a future post.
January 29, 2010
Want to go green when you move? TSI can help. We reduce energy consumption as well as cost with of our approach to long distance small moves. How? We combine your move with others and fill up the truck. Which means you won’t be burning gasoline to transport a lot of empty space inside a truck. Your move leaves a smaller carbon footprint — and you spend less too. It’s a win-win. Check out more green moving tips here.
By the way, we didn’t realize we were a green company when we started out 20 years ago. We’re not even sure that anyone back then would have associated the word “green” with anything other than grass, U.S. currency and fresh-picked bananas. But the fact is, we became part of the green movement without even trying — simply by offering our services — and we’re thrilled we did. That wasn’t our intention when we developed our model — we were out to provide a low-cost alternative for people looking to ship furniture and other household items — but it has been a very pleasant and worthwhile side benefit.
Here are some other green lifestyle tips you can incorporate into your everyday life.
January 21, 2010
The tragedy and ongoing crisis in Haiti have raised questions about shipping services to that country. First, the rumors that our good friends at UPS are offering free shipping to Haiti are completely unfounded. In fact, UPS has suspended service to Haiti for the time being for reasons that are certainly apparent from news reports. So have the other well-known parcel carriers. (You can read UPS’s official statement on the situation here.)
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January 18, 2010
We came across a pretty good (and thankfully brief!) video on packing techniques. If you’re packing boxes, it’s worth the 2-1/2 minutes of your time it will take to view it. There are some good tips on packing breakables, lamps, books, CDs and more. Before you take a look, here are a couple of things to note…
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January 14, 2010
Everybody blogs nowadays. From the White House to 13-year-old fashion prodigies, everyone has something they want you to read. So why read a blog from TSI? Good question. First because we’ll offer info, tips and friendly advice to you, dear reader, when you’re looking to ship anything larger than a parcel. Frankly, no one is better qualified to offer advice that we are. (As Will Sonnett used to say, “No brag, just fact.”) And second, in addition to fulfilling a mission to inform, we hope to occasionally amuse, entertain, and enlighten. Because yes, even moving and shipping services can sometimes be interesting. We hope so, anyway — but you’ll be the judge of that.
