Professional movers are expensive to hire. Even if you cut costs and do most of the work yourself, you can still expect to pay a bundle for supplies and equipment like a moving truck. Whether you’re moving between homes, or you’re a college kid making the annual trek to school with more items than can fit in your car, there is an easier way to get your items to their final destination.
Most people are surprised to find out Amtrak is in the shipping business. It’s a secret that will save you big bucks. Their rates are half those you’ll see at popular shippers like UPS, FedEx, or the Post Office even though they call their service “Amtrak Express Shipping.”
It’s super easy to use, and very economical. I dropped off ten boxes at my local station. The gentleman even grabbed a golf cart to make it easy to carry the boxes to the weighing station. To protect the items inside, I packed the items in black garbage bags. That way if the boxes got wet, my items would be safe.
The Express Shipping isn’t for everything. It’s great for soft and light items like clothing. Most items must be in boxes or suitcases, although bikes are acceptable.
- No furniture or anything breakable
- Ship between 100 cities
- 500 lb limit each day
- Boxes can only be 50 lbs each
- Box size limit is 3 ft x 3 ft x 3 ft
- No plastic bins
- Prohibited: electronics, antiques, artwork, tools, sharp objects, perishables, glass, food, chemicals
The cost varies depending on your origin and destination. You should call for details, but to give you an idea of a 1400 mile trip, the cost is $61 for the first 50 lbs or $75 for 100 lbs. For every pound after that, it’s 70-cents a pound.
I didn’t know what to expect, and feared the worst. We simply didn’t have enough room in our moving truck, so needed 10 boxes of clothing to make their way to Kansas City on Amtrak. I expected a Post Office like trip. A simple trip to get stamps is always time-consuming and stressful with the long lines, so I feared that would be the same. I was shocked. It’s a simple process that takes a little bit of time to weigh and fill out the paperwork, but on both ends the employees were helpful and fast.
There’s no way I could have shipped my items cheaper any other way. These days, it costs a fortunate just to send a small box through the Post Office. I paid less than $10 a box, and that’s insured, and they were decent sized square boxes.
When you pick up your items, they are stacked together on a pallet. You only have a few days to pick up your items, or you’ll be charged each day. Our items were dinged and dented, but everything held up great. I call that normal wear and tear of big, bulky boxes.
Amtrak Express is a great option for anyone moving or even a college student looking for a cheap way to move items across the country cheaply.
