I'm with J62. If only an extra bag. an army duffle ( or similar) full of clothes is less hassle than the shipping, IMO.

actually, i think you are looking at $50 per second suitcase per person..

GTG, can you buy something really cheap, vaccuum-pack, open in London, and leave there, don't bring home?

Well everyone's different in their requirements of course, but last year DH and I moved to Amsterdam for a year taking 1 carry-on and 2 larger suitcases each. DD did the same thing for her study-abroad year in Paris. We brought computers, routers, summer clothes, winter clothes, paperwork we needed to have access to during the year (for taxes back home and so on). With just 2 regular-sized checked pieces and 1 carry-on per person, we didn't even have extra luggage charges.

To tell the truth the one-time (or two-time) possible extra luggage charges were not the biggest deterrent to bringing a bunch of stuff - the living and storage space in Amsterdam was! I will say there was never a time I said, "Oh, I wish we brought ... something or other" and there were things we took with us that we never needed. Since the apartment and its storage space were very small, we were glad we hadn't brought any more than we did. So my advice would be to think about not just getting it over there, but where you're going to keep stuff while you're there. You may have more room and storage space than we did. It would be hard to have less. ;->

We were living in a furnished apartment over there, so didn't need to bring household stuff

Have fun!

$50/suitcase seems like it would be cheaper and more efficient than sending. Dayenu, I can't leave things there -- these are my clothes, I have to bring them home.

We'll be living in a furnished apartment too and I've checked with the owner about storage space. I know it's going to be limited but we do need clothes, coats, shoes, etc. I might be able to manage with a couple of suitcases and a carry on. I'm not even bringing a hair dryer or an umbrella because the owner has them!

> $50/suitcase

Really that cheap? Then that's the way to go. I was asked to pay €70 for only extra 2 kilos last month for an intercontinental flight. (I chose to move a few things from the check-in to hand luggge to avoid it).

The basic extra bag fee applies to a bag up to a certain weight. Heavier bags have a higher fee; and you may have to pay for the first checked bag if it is over the allowed weight. Consult your airline for the details. A nylon duffel might be the answer -- all the weight would be contents, none wasted on the bag.

Goddess,

Don't know where you plan to travel outside London and not sure of your exact dates but it usually isn't very cold in London through Nov. and Dec. I admit I don't get cold but a heavy raincoat and gloves would suffice for me. Now, if you're going north.....

I was thinking of taking my better coat which will be suitable for going out to decent places, which I'll probably travel in. It's unlined and fairly light but I do wear it through the winter here because I'm mostly in the car. If it's cold, a sweater underneath will do. For more casual wear, I thought I'd take my wool pea jacket. It's warm enough for a chilly fall day and more suited to jeans, pants, etc. My heaviest winter coat is a big furry job and it's staying here!

I hope the weather gods are kind and that you don't miss your heavy furry winter coat. Layers are good for London in the winter and the rain is often worse than the cold.

I vividly remember our week in London in November 2003 when it poured relentlessly. I've never seen such bitterly cold AND wet weather in London before or since! I brought my new Gortex down coat and kept warm and dry but my family decided they didn't need their winter coats.
I have many photos of bedraggled blue people.

Sassy we'd love to see your photos

I'll force myself to shop if I must!

Hey, listen, I'm from Canada and no stranger to cold. Besides, what do you do if you're out and it's freezing? You stop in for a cup of coffee or hot chocolate. Or you go to a movie in the middle of the afternoon. Life is a lot more flexible when you're on a leave of absence!

Small 12 x 12 box at least $100 to mail, trust me I have done in regularly for parents/parents in law!
Extra suitcase is far better cost wise as long as you have thought through arrival logistics and how to manage multiple suitcases for your onward journey.

The airline's website will spell the charges out clearly . The THIRD suitcase is $150, I think.

Cathinjoetown

I assume French clothes are too small (sorry if it's something else and I just insulted you) but have you tried Evans?

www.evans.co.uk

They go up to a size 32 and delivery to the EU is £5.00

I can't imagine we'd need more than two checked suitcases and a carry-on each. In fact, if it doesn't get into those suitcases, it's not coming. We don't have air tickets yet so I can't check the airline regs but I will before I make any decision about this.

I like the idea of having our stuff with us. Not that it can't get lost en route but it feels a little more 'present' this way.

The cost comparison will be this, I think:

shipping costs + cab to get us back from the pick-up place to the apartment

baggage costs + cab to get us from airport to apartment (as opposed to public transportation which we could manage with fewer bags)

In my experience the second suitcase is the way to go. I had my son ship us our hiking boots and some maps guides during our three month trip last year in Europe. The box weighed just under 17 lbs and cost $112 to ship Fedex to us in Paris. On top of that we had to pay customs charges of $25 for our own used clothing! So that was a total of $137, more than a second suitcase would cost I believe.
Michele

I've compared shipping via FedEx and UPS to the extra bag fees in the past and, trust me, it will not be cheaper to ship. For example, sending a 50 pound box with FedEx from Massachusetts to London costs between $368 and $488. UPS is similar. In other words, FedEx and UPS often end up charging more to ship the box as the airline charges to fly you and your bags to London.

There are some companies that specialize in shipping bags that are cheaper, but I doubt that they would beat the pricing for an extra bag, at least not by much.

Holy cats! I think we'll opt for the second suitcase suggestion.

Shipping a smallish (20lb?) box from London to California was going to be 60GBP (about $120 back then). We were at the post office and trying to go as cheap as we could.