International Moving

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Who Does It?
Shipping Costs
Import Duties
Insurance
Shipping Times
Arrival
Damage Claims
Ivory Ban

Who does it? International moving is one of the services that many regular movers provide. The actual overseas shipping is done by a "freight forwarder," who consolidates the goods from a number of different customers or movers into containers (large metal boxes that are hauled by trucks and ships) and deals with the steamship line. Freight forwarders require a license from the Freight-Maritime Commission to do this. Your mover may or may not be a freight forwarder, but if not, it will have a relationship with one. The mover will pick up your piano and deliver it to them; you don't have to deal directly with the freight forwarder unless you prefer to. The mover or freight forwarder will tell you (or you should ask) what steamship line your goods will take, what port they will leave from, the container number, dates of departure and arrival, and ports of call on the way. Your mover does not need to have an ICC license to provide this service for you unless it will be moving your goods interstate in the process.

Some foreign manufacturers wrap their pianos in airtight plastic when shipping overseas to avoid having the pianos exposed to excess humidity. You should inquire of the mover whether airtight shipment would be possible for your instrument.

Shipping costs. International moving is priced either by weight or by volume. Pianos are heavy and so should be priced by volume. My sources quoted from $600 to $1,300 to move most pianos overseas, depending on the size of the shipment and the destination port. However, crating, pickup, and brokerage charges could double the cost.

[Beethoven Pianos note: air shipment costs vary widely depending on destination. For example, shipping a piano to Almaty, Kazakhstan will cost significantly more than shipping a piano to London.

Import duties. While the shipping costs described above are considerable, high still can be the import duties and taxes assessed by the foreign governments once the shipment has arrived. These duties vary from as little as a few percent to as much as 200 percent of the instrument's value. With these duties, governments seek to prevent the import of pianos for resale, presumably to protect their own local piano industry. Some countries have exclusions from duties for professionals in the music field, and some require proof of ownership of 6 months to 2 years to avoid duties. A call to any international mover will provide country-specific information on duties.

Insurance. Movers are not required to provide insurance coverage, but generally make it available. Insurance is always on the replacement value at the destination. One price quoted was $6 per $1,000 of value, with a minimum value of $1,000. A special point mentioned by my sources was that the insurance should be an "all-risk marine policy," which includes what is known as a "general average clause." This will insure against any extra costs the shipper might otherwise have to pay if damage is sustained to the ship en route and the cargo is impounded in a port other than one that is scheduled. These extra costs can be huge.

Shipping times. Shipments to Europe and the Middle East are made from the East Coast, and to Australia and the Far East from the West Coast. Shipping charges from your locality will include "land bridge service" to one coast or the other as appropriate. "All-water" service may also be available, which allows goods to be shipped by sea anywhere in the world from either coast via the Panama Canal. Door-to-door shipping of a piano from the East Coast will usually take about 15 days to Europe, a month or so to most other parts of the world. Shipping times from the West Coast will differ from those from the East Coast accordingly. Shipping to Canada and Mexico is usually by land, although reaching certain may sometimes be cheaper by sea. Overland shipping for pianos should be by air-ride vans; rail flat car shipping can be hard on pianos.

Arrival. The customer or the customer's designee will be notified by the shipper's agent when the piano has arrived at the destination port and he or she must go to the agent's office to file the necessary paperwork. Various forms are needed to establish the value of the piano, including the insurance company's valuation, so that any duty may be paid. (Shipping fees and insurance premiums are paid in advance at the point of origin; only duties are due on arrival.) The duty must be paid before the agent can complete the delivery to the house. If the customer is not at the destination when the piano arrives, it will have to be stored, which is expensive. It's better to delay shipping the piano than to have it wait at the destination port.

Damage claims. If there is damage, the customer should file a claim form, available form the mover's claims personnel at either end of the move. The customer must also arrange to have the insurance agent inspect the damage, usually after delivery to the new residence, obtain an estimate for repairs from any qualified technician, and submit it to the claims personnel of either the mover or the insurer, depending on the usual procedure used by the mover.

Ivory ban. If the piano being moved internationally has real ivory keytops, as many older pianos do, you may be in for trouble when the piano goes through customs. as a result of the international band on ivory production and sale, many nations, including the United States, will rip the ivories off the piano as a condition of letting it pass through customs in the misguided notion that this will somehow save the lives of elephants. If the piano is over one hundred years old, you may be able to obtain documentation from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (or the equivalent agency in the foreign country) that will allow the piano to pass through unscathed. Allow at least 90 days to get these papers. If the piano is less than a hundred years old, however, you're out of luck; plan to get the keytops recovered in plastic or don't move the piano. If having the keytops recovered, have it done before you move. The customs officials might damage the keys in the process of removing the old ivories.

We offer international piano moving services to destinations as close as Canada and as far away as South Africa. Please call 1-800-241-0001 for more information.

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