Tell us what you have
City you are leaving, city you are going to, and a rough idea of the volume. A room-by-room list is enough to start. Photos help more than a spreadsheet.
Personal shipping
Moving your own things across an ocean
You are not an importer. You have furniture, boxes and a new address. We are a freight agency. We coordinate the move door to door, from collection at your old address to delivery at your new one, with partners at each step.
Who this is for
A separate track, for people instead of companies
Most of this site is written for businesses that import goods. This page is not.
You are moving to another country. Or you are sending a household to family, or bringing back what you left in storage years ago. You do not have a customs code, a packing list or a freight budget. You have a pile of things you own and a city you want them to reach.
Suaid Global is a freight agency. We are independent of any single carrier, so we have no reason to push one ship over another. For a personal shipment we look for space on shared ocean containers. We compare what partner carriers and agents quote for your route. You get the cost and the scope of each option in writing before anything moves.
We keep this track separate from the importer track on purpose. The questions are different. The paperwork is different. And the person asking is usually doing this once in a lifetime, not once a month.
Scope
What we do, and what we do not do
Read this part before you write to us. It saves a week for both of us.
What we do
- Book the sea leg — We reserve space for your goods on a shared ocean container. If the volume is large enough, a full container can cost less per cubic metre, and we will say so.
- Compare partner options — We ask partner carriers and origin agents what they can carry on your route. You then see each option with its written cost and what it includes.
- Line up the documents — We tell you which papers the destination country asks for, which ones we can prepare, and which ones only you can sign.
- Arrange collection and delivery — A partner collects the goods at your address at origin, and a local partner delivers them to your new address. Each leg is quoted as its own line.
- Work with a licensed broker — A licensed customs broker partner prepares and files the declaration at destination. That act needs a licence, and the licence is theirs.
What we do not do
- We do not pack — No wrapping, no crates, no taking your wardrobe apart. You pack, or you hire a local packer. We can tell you what a shared container expects to receive.
- We do not run storage — We own no warehouse. When a route needs goods to wait somewhere, that is a partner service with its own price. You will see it as a separate line.
- We do not send suitcases — Excess baggage and courier-style parcels are a different product with different economics. For a few bags, an airline or a parcel company will beat us on price.
- We do not move pets — Live animals need an agent with the right approvals and health paperwork. We are not that agent and we will not pretend otherwise.
- We do not promise a date — Ocean schedules move, ports get congested, and customs is outside anyone's control. We tell you the transit the route is currently running, and we do not promise a date.
How it works
Door to door, with a partner on each end
Five steps. Nothing is booked until you have the cost in writing and you say yes.
We look for space
We check what partners can carry on that route and in what shape: shared container space, or a full container when the volume justifies one. You get the options side by side.
You prepare the goods
You pack, or your packer does. You write the inventory, with a value next to each line. That list is what the customs authority at destination reads. When the boxes are ready, a partner truck collects them at your address.
The cargo sails
Your goods are consolidated with other cargo, loaded and shipped. You get the vessel details and the bill of lading, which is the document that proves the shipment is yours.
Clearance and delivery
A licensed customs broker partner files the declaration. Once the goods are released, a local partner drives them from the port to your address.
Cost
What you are actually paying for
We do not publish a price for personal shipping, and the reason is honest: the number depends on things nobody knows before you write. What we can do is name every line that will appear on your quote, so none of them is a surprise later.
- Volume, or weight — Shared container cargo is billed on cubic metres or on weight, whichever produces the larger figure. A sofa is cheap by weight and expensive by volume. A box of books is the opposite.
- Collection and origin handling — Collection at your address by a partner truck, or your own drop-off at the departure warehouse, plus the paperwork at origin. It also covers loading your things into a shared container with other people's.
- Ocean freight — The carrier's charge for the sea leg itself. This is the part that moves with the market, with fuel and with the season. That is why a quote carries a validity date.
- Destination handling — Unloading at the arrival warehouse, port and terminal charges, and the release paperwork. These are set by the terminal, not by us.
- Customs — The broker's fee, plus whatever duty or tax the destination country charges. Relief for used household goods exists in many countries, but it is always conditional.
- Delivery — The road leg from the port to your door. Distance changes this, and so do stairs, narrow streets and a lack of parking.
- Cargo insurance — Cover is placed with a licensed underwriter partner and priced on the value you declare. It is optional. We will tell you what it costs and let you decide.
If a line is not on your written quote, it is not in the price. And if a charge surprises you later, naming it first was our job.
Paperwork
Documents, and relief for used goods
Most countries let people who are moving bring used household goods in under a special regime. None of them make it automatic. Most cover only goods you already owned and used, but Brazil also accepts new furniture and household goods. Check the rule for your destination.
Your inventory
A list of what is in the shipment, with a value beside each line. Write it yourself and keep it specific. A vague inventory is the most common reason a personal shipment sits at a port.
Proof that you are moving
Customs at destination wants evidence of the move itself: a residence permit, a visa, a work contract, or proof of the address you are leaving.
Identity and tax number
A passport, and in many countries a local tax number for the person receiving the goods. This is the item that most often takes longest to get.
The declaration
A licensed customs broker partner prepares and files it. You sign the authorisation that lets them act for you; they sign the entry itself.
Every one of these regimes sets conditions, mostly about time. Some ask how long you lived abroad. Others ask whether you owned and used the goods before the move, and since when. Many also set a window for the shipment to arrive, and some add a period in which you may not sell the goods. The conditions change. Read the current text for your destination, or ask us and we will point you at it before you commit.
Where the rules are written
- United States — 19 CFR Part 148, personal declarations and exemptions
- United States — CBP Form 3299, Declaration for Free Entry of Unaccompanied Articles
- European Union — Council Regulation (EC) No 1186/2009, relief for personal property of people transferring residence
Links checked on 22 September 2026. Brazil publishes its unaccompanied-baggage regime as Instrução Normativa RFB nº 1.059/2010; read the current text on the Receita Federal norms portal.
Honest limits
When we are not the right partner
A shared container is a good answer to some moves and a bad answer to others. Here is when to call somebody else, so you do not lose a month finding out.
- You have two suitcases — Ocean freight has fixed costs that do not shrink below a certain size. For a handful of bags, an airline or a parcel company is cheaper and faster.
- You need it next week — A sea crossing takes weeks, and consolidation adds days at each end. If the date is fixed and close, air freight is the honest answer even though it costs more.
- You want a crew to pack and unpack — If you want people to wrap your furniture, take it apart and rebuild it at the other end, you want a moving company. We coordinate the freight door to door, but we do not do the packing half.
- The move is inside one country — Domestic moves do not need an ocean carrier or a customs broker. A local mover will do it better and for less.
- You are shipping a vehicle only — A car on its own follows different rules and different paperwork. Read our guide to shipping a car internationally first, then write if the route still looks like ours.
FAQ
Questions people actually ask
Short answers. If yours is not here, send it and we will answer in writing.
There is no honest flat answer, which is why we do not publish one. The price is built from volume, the route, collection at origin, handling at both ports, customs and the final delivery. Send the origin city, the destination city and a rough volume and you get a written quote with each of those lines shown separately.
It depends on the country and on your situation. Most countries have a relief regime for people transferring their residence, and used household goods often qualify. The relief is conditional, never automatic, and most regimes cover only goods you already owned and used. Brazil is an exception: it also accepts new furniture and household goods. A licensed customs broker partner checks the current rule for your destination before the goods sail.
No. We do not pack, wrap, crate or dismantle furniture, and we do not own trucks or warehouses. You pack, or you hire a local packer. We will tell you what a shared container expects, so your goods are accepted at the warehouse.
LCL means less than container load: shared cargo, where your goods travel in a container with other people's. It is the usual answer for a household, because you pay for the space you use instead of a whole box. Our explainer on what LCL shipping is goes deeper. For a large home, a full container can work out cheaper per cubic metre.
It depends on the route, and we will tell you the transit the route is currently running. We will not promise a date. Sailing schedules change, ports get congested, and clearance times are decided by the authority, not by us.
Yes. We coordinate the shipment door to door. A partner collects the goods at your address, and a local partner drives the last leg to your door. Each leg appears as its own line on the quote, and a licensed customs broker partner files the entry.
Sometimes, as part of a household shipment. A car on its own follows different rules, and vehicles carry their own paperwork and restrictions in most countries. Start with our guide on shipping a car internationally, then write to us with the route.
No. Live animals need a specialist agent with health approvals we do not hold. We would rather tell you that now than after you have booked.
Three things: the city you are shipping from, the city you are shipping to, and a rough idea of what you have. A room-by-room list or a few photos is plenty. Everything else we ask as we go.
Get In Touch
Tell us what you are moving
Send the two cities and a rough volume. In the form, choose “Moving / personal items”. A coordinator reads it and replies with the options in writing, with each cost line named.