Ever used a service to ship your luggage ahead of you?

MSE_Laura_F

Have you ever used a company to ship your luggage ahead of you when travelling or relocating? Companies like 'Send My Bag' or 'My Baggage'?

I'd like to hear about your experiences if so. 

Thank you,

MSE Laura F

Voyager2002

I used such a service within the UK. I was not impressed: different items arrived on different days and the tracking information was misleading, so I wasted lots of time awaiting delivery. I also found that there were baffling restrictions on what they could carry (no alcohol; nuts but not raisins) and so understanding the rules and complying with them was a major mission.

And they do not send luggage to Turkey.

Keithy13

We use "My Baggage" to send a suitcase to Bangkok, it ended up costing almost as much as a flight.
See my post "My Baggage" Luggage (non)Delivery service.

IvanOpinion

Only once and can't remember who it was. It was fine, my bags were where they were expected to be when they said they would be, but overall I felt it was an additional expense I could avoid.

DullGreyGuy

Friends use one regularly but they've 3 kids and 2 of them have special needs and so not having suitcases to deal with etc is worth it for them. I've looked at it in the past but the costs were just too high 

MSE_Laura_F

Thanks all - really interesting to hear your takes and get a better overview of whether it's worth it.

bill6262

Back in the 70's dad used to send the cases by train to the  train station(UK) where the holiday destination was. Doubt that service is anymore. 

Exodi

While I wouldn't typically try these types of services in any other country, we used them a few times in Japan with great success (it's common to have your bags sent from one hotel to another, so you don't have to take a full size luggage case with you on the Shinkansen). We would usually send them the day before we travel, and they'd beat us to the hotel.

So confident were we, my wife sent our bags from Kyoto to Tokyo the day before our flight (which in hindsight is absolute lunatic behavior).

Price wasn't too bad, from memory it was about £25 for two fairly big full luggage cases from one city to another.

elsien

this thread is 18 months old. As a new poster, both of whose comments are plugging the same company, just checking you’re aware that self-promotion is against forum rules?

JamesAO123

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80843475#Comment_80843475

Japan is probably one of the few places where I'd have that level of confidence in a luggage forwarding service. The fact that you could send the bags the day before and have them waiting at the next hotel makes travelling by train so much easier.

Sending them from Kyoto to Tokyo before an international flight is definitely pushing your luck, though! 😂 I'd still leave a buffer of at least a couple of days before a flight, just in case there’s a delay or the hotel has trouble locating the luggage.

For around £25 for two large cases, that's pretty reasonable considering how much hassle it saves, especially when you're dealing with stations, stairs and crowded Shinkansen platforms.