Shipping My Gaming PC (Kuwait --> California), Need Help! - Hardware & Software

I'm going to be staying in California for a good few months, so I figured I'd ship my gaming rig over here, instead of using my shitty Dell laptop. Only problem is I have no idea where to start. I just got off the phone with FedEx, but because I don't know the dimensions of my PC (I'm not in Kuwait to measure it), I got a ridiculous price of like $5000 to ship it. So yeah, is there a shipping service that excels in shipping delicate items like computers? FedEx, UPS, or whatever other company there is, whichever you guys have had the best experience with would be good enough for me. I once shipped a computer of mine from England to Kuwait, and I can't remember which company I used, but they ended up busting it pretty bad. I got the PC out and 2 of my CD Roms were pushed back inside the case, and there was a big dent in the side of the case. I can't risk this happening to my PC, I just finished spending a tonne of money buying new hardware for it, so I don't want to break it before I've barely used it. Roughly how much would I be looking on spending to ship my desktop PC, my LCD monitor, my mouse, my keyboard and my headphones? $150? Any help would be appreciated. PS: I can't get the dimensions of my case because I bought the case from a shop and I have no idea which case it is, so I can't check it.

FedEx is quoting me $404 to ship it over. I put the package down as 17kg total weight (monitor, pc, peripherals [mouse and keyboard and headphones]), so I'm sure 17kg is how much it weighs, and the 25kg box is just to be safe that there's enough space. However, is $404 really how much it'd cost to ship? That's more expensive than I thought.

Try UPS, they are usually cheaper. Plus after what fedex did to me I'm not happy with them. The guy comes by with his truck around 9:30 AM and I walk outside, he says "I don't have your package, It'll be on the next truck". So I sit at home, 8:00 PM rolls by, so I get online and see where the hell it is. It said it was delivered at 6:30 PM, on my porch. I was home, from 6:30 AM until 10:00 PM all day. The fed ex guy never came, and my package was never delivered. They brought it 2 days later, and said it was technical difficulty.

[QUOTE=Zerokateo;38187724]Try UPS, they are usually cheaper. Plus after what fedex did to me I'm not happy with them. The guy comes by with his truck around 9:30 AM and I walk outside, he says "I don't have your package, It'll be on the next truck". So I sit at home, 8:00 PM rolls by, so I get online and see where the hell it is. It said it was delivered at 6:30 PM, on my porch. I was home, from 6:30 AM until 10:00 PM all day. The fed ex guy never came, and my package was never delivered. They brought it 2 days later, and said it was technical difficulty.[/QUOTE] Thanks man, I guess I'll go into a UPS store tomorrow and see what they can do. Real worried my PC gets bashed up though during shipping. I'll just have to get my friend to put lots of that bubble wrap polystyrene stuff inside to protect it.

Yeah FedEx are shit. My dad left his door open the whole day expecting a delivery and they just left a slip on the mat outside. didn't call his name or even knock :v: and he was literally watching TV only several metres away from the front door Similarly my friend told FedEx not to deliver during school hours and they still did. on three occasions!

[QUOTE=loopoo;38189000]Thanks man, I guess I'll go into a UPS store tomorrow and see what they can do. Real worried my PC gets bashed up though during shipping. I'll just have to get my friend to put lots of that bubble wrap polystyrene stuff inside to protect it.[/QUOTE] If you do ship it, the hard drive should be removed and packed separately. All of that jarring during transport is going to ruin it most likely.

Damn. I'm not at home to remove the hard-drive, and there's no one I trust to open up my PC and remove it. I was planning on having my cousin just head over and pack it up, pretty straight-forward. Take it and put it in the box with all the foam polystyrene protection. I don't think he'd have the faintest idea on how to remove the hard-drive. Is it really that big a deal leaving the hard-drive in? I've shipped a PC before (4 years ago) and the hard-drive wasn't damaged.

Most hard drives nowadays are made to withstand quite a bit, especially when they are off. I had a little toaster sized mini ITX computer, and well.... In the back of a car, that shit bounces ALOT. My HDD did die yesterday from a bad sector but that was from a power surge last month.

[QUOTE=fixture;38189292]Yeah FedEx are shit. My dad left his door open the whole day expecting a delivery and they just left a slip on the mat outside. didn't call his name or even knock :v: and he was literally watching TV only several metres away from the front door Similarly my friend told FedEx not to deliver during school hours and they still did. on three occasions![/QUOTE] [img]http://cdn.pbh2.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/ups-delivery-instructions-comic.jpg[/img]

I wouldn't ship the PC outside of a wooden transport box. Especially if you include accessories.

My girlfriend recently did this from US > UK. Instead of paying a company extortionate amounts of cash to do it, grab some sort of heavy duty trunk and pay the airline an extra baggage fee. Treat your system like a suitcase (as long as you pack it nicely!) and take out an insurance policy on it. Seems like a bit more effort but you should save quite a bit of money.

[QUOTE=Slater;38221163]My girlfriend recently did this from US > UK. Instead of paying a company extortionate amounts of cash to do it, grab some sort of heavy duty trunk and pay the airline an extra baggage fee. Treat your system like a suitcase (as long as you pack it nicely!) and take out an insurance policy on it. Seems like a bit more effort but you should save quite a bit of money.[/QUOTE] I think this would be the way to go. I remember I looked into it a few years back, asked how much it'd cost to get the extra weight allowance for the PC, and it was something pretty affordable. UPS and FedEx want to charge me around $700 to ship it, so I figured it's best if I just leave my PC where it is and instead put the money towards buying a much-needed laptop to replace my 4 years old one. I never thought of the suitcase idea though. I'd pack it full of polystyrene and I'm sure it'd be fine.

[QUOTE=loopoo;38226367]I never thought of the suitcase idea though. I'd pack it full of polystyrene and I'm sure it'd be fine.[/QUOTE] I'm glad you agree, but as I said, get a heavy duty trunk (Like you'd pack expensive tools in) from a DIY / home improvement / military store. A suitcase isn't really a great idea. What you've got to remember is that the airport staff in charge of handling luggage from plane to plane don't give a rats arse if the package has Fragile stickers all over it, all they care about is getting plane A's luggage to plane B in 30 minutes. They'll throw that suitcase around like it's a Frisbee.

[QUOTE=Slater;38227120]I'm glad you agree, but as I said, get a heavy duty trunk (Like you'd pack expensive tools in) from a DIY / home improvement / military store. A suitcase isn't really a great idea. What you've got to remember is that the airport staff in charge of handling luggage from plane to plane don't give a rats arse if the package has Fragile stickers all over it, all they care about is getting plane A's luggage to plane B in 30 minutes. They'll throw that suitcase around like it's a Frisbee.[/QUOTE] Yeah, I'd be sure to buy a heavy-duty suitcase. I've seen a few that are hybrid-like, a mismash between a suitcase and a trunk. Real sturdy, solid and protective, yet easy to carry about. Getting a trunk would be a pain to carry about. Plus, the suitcase / trunk thingy would be solid and wouldn't bend easily, but would have rollers so I could move it about easy. There's one I have in mind that I'll buy when I'm back home. It's got a really solid case, if you rap your knuckles against it it makes a good thunk and I tried bending it and couldn't for the life of me (I was just curious about how strong it was haha). Thanks for all the advice man, I appreciate it. Looked into extra baggage costs, for 23kg on my usual airliner, it's only $90 extra, which is insanely cheap. Compared to what FedEx and USPS charges? It's pennies. The first time I transport my PC will cost the most, due to having to dish out a good amount of money on a decent, quality, sturdy suitcase, but after that I'll be able to take my PC with me back and forth every Summer. Also, to get insurance, would my airline offer a deal on that, or would I have to insure it through some insurance company? I'm not too sure how that works. I couldn't see any insurance stuff on the airline's website. Thanks for all the help!

I'm glad I could help, Loopoo! I'll ask my GF and see what insurance she took out but I'm fairly sure the airline can cover it.

[QUOTE=Slater;38232821]I'm glad I could help, Loopoo! I'll ask my GF and see what insurance she took out but I'm fairly sure the airline can cover it.[/QUOTE] You're the best <3 [editline]29th October 2012[/editline] PS: Airports are awesome. I love flying, because sitting in the airport is so relaxing, especially when you're in duty free. Just sit down with a book, or eat, or whatever you like, knowing you've got nothing but time. I'm saying this because of your title :p

[QUOTE=loopoo;38232838]You're the best <3 [editline]29th October 2012[/editline] PS: Airports are awesome. I love flying, because sitting in the airport is so relaxing, especially when you're in duty free. Just sit down with a book, or eat, or whatever you like, knowing you've got nothing but time. I'm saying this because of your title :p[/QUOTE] My title definitely doesn't stem from relaxing! I was flying back from Tennessee to Heathrow, London with a layover flight landing in Chicago and I screwed up my flights when booking. Didn't notice there was a 20 hour layover so I ended up in Chicago OHare airport for 20 hours. That wasn't fun I assure you! [SUB]Edited:[/SUB] My girlfriend said that when she got insurance on her suitcase it was through an external company that the [B]airline [/B]recommended.