Rainier Overseas Movers

To be honest, I'm trying to think of something negative but the truth is that everything went like clockwork and we couldn't ask for more. The local packers and loaders in North Carolina were amazing, hard-working, very diligent and although we weren't convinced everything was going to fit into the 20ft container, they did manage it.. just! The delivery from Norfolk, VA to Limassol, Cyprus was exactly as scheduled (I didn't realise there are now many apps which will track ships progress and locations which is useful). The delivery/unloading agents here were also excellent and although we still have a few boxes to go, everything is in great condition due in no small part to the diligence of the packers. Communication throughout with Doug and Rick at Ranier as well as the contacts either end was quick and easy. Although not the cheapest, they also weren't the most expensive so all in all, it was a five star experience.

Service cost: $8000

We recently completed our move from Boston to Brisbane, Australia using Rainier Overseas. Before selecting Rainier, we did a tremendous amount of research, from reviews to quotes, looking for the right balance between price and service. We were impressed with Rainier's reviews. And while there were other companies with slightly cheaper quotes, we felt like Mark Lawson was being straight with us-- something the others lacked. Mark's quote was from door-to-door, while others would do door-to-port, or exclude various costs from their quotes, etc. From the moment we made the selection, Mark was very quick to respond to any questions, always professional and helpful. Our shipment took one week longer to arrive than projected, but certainly within the range Mark had provided. There were no surprise fees, and they honored the quotes we discussed. From a service standpoint, the moving crews on both ends were excellent. They carefully packed all of our furniture, glassware, etc. and we were pleased that nothing was damaged upon delivery. There is no question that if I were to do everything over again, I would select Rainier again. Very impressed!

Service cost: $8500

A huge thank you to Mark Lawson and his team for making my move back to the UK a smooth and efficient event. I was completely supported by Mark who kept me informed and updated on a regular basis. The team (Mayflower) who packed my belongings were completely trustworthy and took great care of my special items. They arrived on time and worked hard throughout checking in with me as needed. Once the shipment was in the UK, I was notified and able to arrange a mutually agreeable delivery date following customs clearance. The delivery team (Britannia) again worked very hard taking special care of fragile items and reassembling my bed, they effortlessly managed the few items of furniture and bulky boxes while retaining a good sense of humour on an unusually very hot day. I fully recommend Rainier to anyone who is planning an international move.

Service cost: $5110

I couldn't be more pleased to write a wonderful review for Rainier Overseas Movers Inc.
After contacting several companies online, I decided to use Rainier Overseas Movers for my move from North Carolina (USA) to France. I couldn't have made a better decision. Everything was taken care of in an excellent way.
I have been directly in contact with David Wiviott, the relocation manager, who took care of every single detail (the documents necessary for my move and the logistics) in such an efficient and professional way, that everything took so little time to organize.
David has been always so kind and well prepared to answer every single questions I had, and his answers were always very clear and extremely satisfactory.
I also want to thank the moving agent and crew (Excel Moving and Storage), who were just excellent, and the european relocation manager Jennifer Sloan. Jennifer gave me all the details for my relocation in Europe, had kept me constantly updated of the location of the container during the shipment, and organized the delivery of my items in such a way that everything went very smoothly. She has been just wonderful!
And finally I want to thank Mr Charpentier, the moving crew manager in France, who in addition to do a wonderful job moving our furniture, was even so kind to even pick us up at the train station to drive us home!
In summary I recomment Rainier Overseas Movers Inc to anyone who would need to relocate internationally.

Service cost: $10000

We moved from Chicago to Israel this Summer. We checked out different movers, and Rainer was the best priced from Chicago for the amount we wanted to send.
Additionally, the customer service was amazing! Mark was super helpful and responsive, always happy to answer any questions or deal with any concerns. (and easy to get in touch with, unlike some other places we checked out!)

The shipping was professional and efficient. The movers came and packed all our fragiles quickly but securely, and every single thing arrived safe and sound to our apartment in Israel!

We highly recommend Ranier Shippers!

Thanks!

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1900

I used Rainier for a move from Seattle to Thailand in March 2017 and the 2 star rating is a reflection of the unloading services in Thailand; the packing and services provided in Seattle were unbelievably bad and worth 0. I've moved many, many times over the years- both on my own and with moving services- and I've never had a worse experience. I've also never had nearly as much damage as on this move, despite the fact that as an international move using a 20' container, my items should have been more protected than during a local move with limited wrapping.

My movers in Seattle were very, very late both days of packing- as in, HOURS late. Only one person in the crew spoke any English, which complicated the process throughout, and none were particularly friendly. My items were packed uniformly from one packer to the next only in terms of complete lack of logic; while plastic bags of hair ties were wrapped in wads of packing wrap in some boxes, there was no wrapping of glass hollow globes in a box shared with heavy metal bases in others. I found cast iron skillets packed on top of fine china and expensive framed art shoved into badly bent boxes without packing material. All of this was discovered before the items even left the house as the mountains of boxes made clear that wasted space was an issue. I spent the second day, non-stop, repacking about 80% of the boxes myself, which was all I had time for. Sure enough, the boxes I did not repack were just as poorly packed, as revealed by the broken items and excessive paper found upon unpacking in Thailand. A very expensive Ames fiberglass chaise was broken before it was even wrapped in Seattle as I watched the mover smack it into the brick wall while picking it up, to which he unapologetically pointed out the large crack along the back and claimed it had been that way previously. Multiple calls for assistance from the lead office, which were so helpful during booking, were met with extreme attitude and disregard. The company did eventually send out extra support and a manager to review the process but only on the 2nd day and after it was clear that many, many errors had occurred. It was too late to do anything to salvage the move by then and the increased manpower only served to mitigate the time lost by the late starts and slowing packing both days- still running several hours later than quoted even with the extra help. Nothing was done to mitigate the issues in packing or to offset the extreme stress caused by this entire process. In fact, not even an apology was forthcoming, despite me sending photos of the problems and repeatedly requesting assistance.

Two months later, there were quite a few issues of communication and confirmation of my delivery, along with several changes to the delivery date. However, once we pinned down a specific date and my shipment cleared customs, the movers in Thailand were on time and well staffed with a large crew for the move. English language skills was again a problem, which resulted in a lot of boxes left in the wrong parts of the house and subsequent work on my part, but the crew was friendly and worked hard. It seems pretty clear that the damage to my things was part of the packing and loading process, not the unloading process, but the overall effect was damage to items I couldn't have expected. Metal floor lamps and the metal base of a vintage wood reliquary bent so badly as to now sit crooked, deep cracks in a vintage butcher block and lengthwise through the front panels of a solid wood bedroom dresser and along back seams of a hardwood nightstand, broken pottery, dozens and dozens of badly bent books in boxes that were underpacked and collapsed in shipment, heavy items packed inside large lampshades- bending them irreparably, and framed art that came apart at the corners from sideways torque. I did report this damage to the representative in Thailand, to which I received no response. It is clear that the company policy is one of helpfulness until something goes wrong and then it's all on you to handle it.

I will note that after spending literally hours and hours preparing the itemized inventory and preparing the replacement quotes required of each for the platinum coverage, I declined insurance with the company due to the insane restrictions on how any claim would be handled. Read the fine print before choosing this option, as my coverage, which would have been limited to coverage of named items (which is another limitation of the insurance offered) was going to cost more than 4k, not including the insurance fee they charge against the cost of the shipment itself, and would have allowed the company to seek local repair of anything damaged rather replacement. Knowing that this policy would never pay to replace, for example, the $6k custom leather sofa I shipped over (plus thousands to ship it to Thailand), I opted to risk damage less than the $4k+ rather than pay it to them and end up with shoddy repairs anyway. Note also that the movers noted EVERY ITEM I OWN as damaged on the inventory (patently false), provided only AFTER all packing and loading into the truck so that it can't be contested. It's obvious that this is a tactic to disclaim damage at delivery, further complicating any claim against insurance.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $8000

I have moved with Rainier Overseas (Doug is da man!) 3 times .. from the US->EU, EU->US and again from US->EU.
It's a relief to deal with Doug - he handles everything for you, you juts have to provide him some documents (for example when moving your car) and he just handles it all.
The companies Doug works with have proven to be very reliable and fast. In 3 moves I have not been disappointed.
If you plan on moving International, I'd HIGHLY recommend Doug.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $15000