by buffybot_in_beirut » Fri Oct 07, 2011 4:07 pm
Unless you ship a whole container, sea freight may not be cheaper than air.
Schlep you stuff to the airport yourself, go to an airline cargo office and send it as unaccompanied baggage. There will be some receiving (and delivery, if wanted) fees at the destination that you need to factor in.
Also look at Parcelforce (vulgo: Post Office) rates. E.g. 165 quid for a 30 kg parcel to the US, by surface mail.
Cheapest option is to find a person who moves a whole household along the same route, or at least to the same destination country. Just throw your boxes in his container and buy him a few beers to compensate. You could also ask international moving companies if they currently have such a client on their things-to-do list. They might not disclose names, though. Or leave your stuff with them and ask them to combine your shipment with the next big freight deal that goes to the same destination.