Shipping Furniture Worldwide
What are you moving?
Ship Your Furniture Anywhere in the World with Anglo Pacific
Shipping furniture overseas does not need to be the most expensive or complicated part of moving abroad. Whether you are relocating permanently, sending furniture to a second home, retiring overseas or shipping inherited pieces back to the UK, our international furniture shipping service handles everything from disassembly and export wrapping in the UK through to delivery and reassembly at your destination address. We charge by the volume of your shipment, not by the piece, so you know the full price before booking.
Anglo Pacific has shipped furniture internationally for over 40 years, with more than 20,000 consignments handled every year. Our furniture shipping service runs by sea freight (FCL or Groupage), road freight for European destinations and air freight for urgent or smaller pieces. Destinations include the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, the UAE, Asia, the Middle East and most of Europe.
How Much Does Shipping Furniture Overseas Cost
The cost of shipping furniture overseas depends on three things: how much furniture you are sending, which destination it is going to, and whether you choose Groupage or a full container (FCL). We charge by the overall volume of your shipment in cubic metres, not per piece, so consolidating into one shipment is almost always better value than booking pieces separately.
- Single armchair or small sofa by Groupage: from around £400 door to door.
- Bedroom set (around 3 cubic metres) by Groupage: from around £900 door to door.
- One-bed flat contents (around 6 to 8 cubic metres) by Groupage: from around £1,800.
- 20ft container (FCL, around 30 cubic metres) for a full house: from around £3,500.
- Larger volumes and full house moves: better per-cubic-metre rates the more you send.
Quotes are fixed at the time of booking and cover UK collection, export packing where required, freight, destination customs documentation and final delivery. For an exact figure based on your inventory and destination, get in touch with a rough list of what you want to ship and we will respond the same working day.
International furniture shipping runs predominantly by sea. The two main sea freight options are Groupage and FCL, and the right choice depends on how much you are sending.
Sea freight by Groupage
Groupage is sea freight where your furniture shares a container with other shipments going to the same destination. It is the most cost-effective option for smaller furniture loads, anywhere from a single sofa up to a one-bed flat’s worth of contents. You pay only for the volume you use, not for a whole container, which makes it the cheapest way to ship furniture overseas for most customers.
- Best for: anything from a single piece up to around 10 to 12 cubic metres of furniture, equivalent to a one or two-bed flat.
- Cost: lowest per-cubic-metre option for smaller loads, since you share the container cost across multiple shipments.
- Transit time: typically 4 to 12 weeks door to door depending on destination. Your destination page sets out exact transit windows.
Sea freight by FCL (full container load)
FCL means your shipment takes a whole 20ft or 40ft container. It suits anyone moving a full household, multiple rooms of furniture, or anyone who wants their shipment to travel exclusively rather than sharing. FCL is generally faster than Groupage for the same destination because it does not wait for consolidation or share unloading time at the destination port.
- Best for: full house moves (around 20 cubic metres for a small house up to 60+ cubic metres for a large one), high-value or sensitive shipments, anyone whose schedule benefits from the faster transit.
- Cost: higher headline cost than Groupage but better per-cubic-metre rate when the container is well-filled.
- Transit time: typically around two weeks faster than Groupage for the same destination.
Road freight to European destinations
For furniture shipping to European destinations such as France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Poland and beyond, road freight via the Channel Tunnel or short-sea ferry is often the most practical option. Road freight typically runs 5 to 14 days door to door and works for both smaller furniture loads and full house moves.
Air freight for urgent or small items
Air freight is rarely the right choice for furniture because most furniture is too bulky to be economical by air. For genuinely urgent shipments or for compact, high-value pieces such as a small antique or a specific item that needs to arrive within around 10 days, air freight is an option. We will be honest if Groupage or road freight is a better fit for what you are sending.
Most furniture can be shipped internationally, and we have moved most categories you can think of. Some items need particular care or different paperwork, and a few are worth flagging upfront.
What we can ship
- Sofas, armchairs, sofa beds: wrapped in export-grade blanket and shrink wrap to protect upholstery from moisture and marking.
- Beds, mattresses and bedroom furniture: bed frames are typically disassembled for transit. Mattresses are wrapped and protected.
- Dining tables and chairs: tables are often disassembled (legs detached) for safer transit. Glass tops are removed and wrapped separately or crated.
- Wardrobes, dressers and cabinets: disassembled where possible. Mirrors and glass panels removed and wrapped separately.
- Bookcases and shelving: emptied and disassembled where needed.
- Antique furniture: handled with extra care, typically wrapped in acid-free tissue or museum-grade materials and custom-crated for high-value or sensitive pieces.
- Outdoor and garden furniture: cleaned before shipping, particularly for biosecurity-strict destinations such as Australia and New Zealand.
Special items
- Pianos: upright and grand pianos can be shipped internationally with specialist handling. Lead times are longer because each piano needs custom crating and protection.
- Grandfather clocks: pendulums, weights and chains are removed and packed separately. Movements are protected from shock damage in transit.
- Mirrors and artworks: wrapped in protective foam and custom-crated for larger pieces or high-value originals.
- Marble, granite and stone-topped furniture: stone tops are removed and crated separately to avoid cracking under sustained transit pressure.
- Bespoke and oversized pieces: anything outside standard dimensions (large boardroom tables, oversized headboards, custom built-ins) typically needs a survey first so we can quote the right packing solution.
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Why Choose Anglo Pacific for International Furniture Shipping
Furniture is more demanding than boxes or suitcases. Pieces are bulkier, weights vary, finishes can mark easily, and a damaged sofa or scratched dining table costs real money to replace. Our service is designed for that reality. Here is what our full-service international furniture shipping includes:
- Fixed pricing, no surprises: your quote is fixed at the time of booking and covers everything from UK collection through to destination delivery, including customs documentation. No per-kilogram surcharges, no surprise port charges.
- Specialist export packing: our crews use export-grade blanket wrap, edge protectors, custom crating for high-value or fragile pieces, and tailored protection for upholstered items. This is materially more robust than domestic moving packing.
- Disassembly and reassembly: where furniture needs to come apart to travel safely (bed frames, wardrobes, dining tables), we handle disassembly in the UK and reassembly at the destination, in most markets.
- Door-to-door collection and delivery: we collect from any UK address and deliver to your destination address. For full house moves, we coordinate the entire move with the destination agent.
- Customs handled for you: international furniture shipping involves customs declarations, valuations and (depending on destination) restricted-item checks. We prepare and submit all paperwork on your behalf.
- Marine insurance available: for items of value, we can arrange All Risks marine insurance, which covers your furniture in transit beyond standard liability cover. Get in touch for cover details.
- Both directions covered: the same service runs in reverse when you need to ship furniture back to the UK from overseas.
- 40+ years of experience: we have moved furniture internationally for over four decades, handling more than 20,000 consignments every year.
Furniture Shipping Prices
The cost of shipping furniture overseas depends on three things: how much furniture you are sending, which destination it is going to, and whether you choose Groupage or a full container (FCL). We charge by the overall volume of your shipment in cubic metres, not per piece, so consolidating into one shipment is almost always better value than booking pieces separately.
- Single armchair or small sofa by Groupage: from around £400 door to door.
- Bedroom set (around 3 cubic metres) by Groupage: from around £900 door to door.
- One-bed flat contents (around 6 to 8 cubic metres) by Groupage: from around £1,800.
- 20ft container (FCL, around 30 cubic metres) for a full house: from around £3,500.
- Larger volumes and full house moves: better per-cubic-metre rates the more you send.
What furniture you should not ship
- Furniture in poor condition: it is rarely worth the freight cost to ship furniture that is already damaged or worn beyond repair. We will be honest at the survey stage if a piece is not worth the cost of shipping.
- Items with prohibited materials: ivory, certain hardwoods and some restored antiques with non-compliant materials may breach destination import rules. Tell us about anything older or made of unusual material so we can check.
- Used outdoor wooden furniture for some destinations: Australia, New Zealand and some Asian markets have strict rules on untreated or bark-bearing wood, so this may need treatment certificates or be best left behind.
Popular Destinations for Shipping Furniture Overseas
Our furniture removal services have sent consignments to innumerable European and international locations… No destination is a stretch too far for our expert movers. Our most popular destinations for our international furniture shipping are:
Reviews
Shipping furniture internationally has never been easier than with Anglo Pacific. Our all-encompassing service means you leave all of the hard work to a furniture shipping company who you can trust. But don’t just take our word for it, see our customer furniture removals reviews to see for yourself…
To receive your quote for shipping furniture overseas, you can book a remote video survey and a team member will assess your load to provide you with an accurate estimate, online.
- Book a remote video survey
- Show us your items
- Get your quote
Costs depend on how much furniture you are sending, the destination, and whether you go Groupage or FCL. As an indicative range, a single armchair or small sofa by Groupage typically starts from around £400 door to door, a bedroom set (around 3 cubic metres) from around £900, a one-bed flat’s contents (around 6 to 8 cubic metres) from around £1,800, and a 20ft FCL container (around 30 cubic metres) from around £3,500. Larger volumes attract better per-cubic-metre rates. For an exact quote, get in touch with a rough inventory and your destination.
For most customers, Groupage sea freight is the cheapest way to ship furniture overseas. You pay only for the volume you use rather than the whole container, and the per-cubic-metre rate drops as your volume increases. Consolidating boxes, suitcases and furniture into one shipment is almost always cheaper than booking smaller shipments separately. For a full house move, an FCL container can sometimes work out better per cubic metre than Groupage because the container is well-filled.
Transit time depends on the destination and the shipping method. As an indicative range, Groupage sea freight runs 4 to 12 weeks door to door, with European destinations at the faster end and Australia or New Zealand at the longer end. FCL is generally around two weeks faster than Groupage for the same destination. Road freight to European destinations typically runs 5 to 14 days door to door. Air freight, where it makes sense for the size of your shipment, runs up to 10 days. Each destination page has the exact transit window for that country.
Both. We ship anything from a single armchair or inherited dining table up to a full house’s worth of furniture and effects. Smaller shipments go by Groupage, where you share container space with other shipments to the same destination, so you pay only for the volume you use.
Yes, where it makes sense. Bed frames, wardrobes, dining tables and other bulky pieces are typically disassembled in the UK for safer transit and reassembled at your destination. Glass tops, mirrors and stone tops are removed and packed separately. The packing crew handles disassembly as part of the collection visit.
Yes. For items of value, we can arrange All Risks marine insurance, which covers your furniture in transit beyond the standard limited liability that applies under freight conventions. Insurance is priced based on the declared value of your shipment, and we will explain the options when we quote your move.
Yes. Antique furniture is handled with extra care, typically wrapped in acid-free tissue or museum-grade materials and custom-crated for high-value or sensitive pieces. Pianos (both upright and grand) can be shipped internationally with specialist handling and custom crating. Lead times are longer for these items because of the bespoke packing involved, and a survey is usually a good idea before quotation.
Yes. International furniture shipping involves customs documentation at the destination, including a personal effects inventory, customs valuation and (depending on destination) declarations for items such as antiques or wood-based furniture. We prepare and submit all destination customs paperwork on your behalf. Returning UK residents may also qualify for Transfer of Residence (ToR) relief from UK customs duty and VAT, which we can advise on as part of the quote.
Yes. Our international furniture shipping service runs in both directions. We coordinate with partner agents at the overseas end to pack and collect your furniture, handle the freight, and deliver to your UK address. Returning UK residents who have owned and used their furniture overseas for at least 6 months may qualify for Transfer of Residence relief on UK customs duty and VAT.
We ship furniture to most major destinations worldwide. Dedicated destination pages cover the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, Dubai and the UAE, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, China, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Pakistan, Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Israel, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and more. For European destinations including France, Germany, Sweden, Finland and Bulgaria, furniture shipping is handled as part of our wider international removals service. If your destination is not listed, get in touch and we will quote the most cost-effective service for your shipment.