International Sea & Air Shipping

After scrupulously scouring the internet for a reliable shipping company, I came across this specific review page for International Sea & Air Shipping and saw the ratio of good reviews to bad (I wish I would have read all of the not good experiences as they're pretty spot on).

I was in the process of moving to France and had a pretty large instrument (Vibraphone), that needed to be shipped. The men came to my house, gathered my things, and my vibraphone, and communicated to me that due to the size of the vibraphone it would need to be consolidated into a single package at the warehouse.

Having never done this before, I didn't see this as odd.

A few months pass, my boxes arrive in France, I go through each of the boxes and find that the main piece of my instrument is nowhere to be found. The men that international moving co hired to bring my items to the warehouse, collected my things, and did not package the most important part of my instrument.

Meanwhile, everyone at international moving kept reiterating that they did, yet logically, had they shipped it, it would have been with my belongings.

Fortunately I took out the insurance policy, but even still, the insurance deducted $500 from the total of the missing item ($829) to receive the difference of $329. Which means I am still having to pay $500 + international shipping for my missing part.

The company has not offered to make any of this right and refuses to help with international shipping of the missing part, which is honestly the very least they could do for putting their customers through such a headache.

Regarding customer service, Ronnie was mostly great. I feel like he told me what I wanted, but I don't think they actually tore up the entire warehouse looking for my item, as he also reiterated that they swore they shipped it, which doesn't provide much inspiration for a deep search.

Hillary lacked in customer service skills to the point where I asked her to refrain from communication with me. She was rude, short, and often dismissed any questions I had with a, "Thank you."

Jeanine was perhaps the most professional.

Overall, zero accountability for their wrong doing and rather negligent and uncaring with people's belongings.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $4100

There should be a way to give less than 0 stars. My wife have done 3 full-service overseas moves from Everett, WA to Trani, Italy, then back and the most recent moved from Everett, WA to Munich, Germany. The last was done by International Sea & Air Shipping and they were horrible. The packing crew were short-handed, unprofessional, and intimidating to my wife who stayed behind to direct traffic there. I was already in Germany when she called me in tears. Every other move she just raved about how nice the crew was and how efficient and professional. Not this time.

They even downright refused to keep packing with items left in the house and about 20% of the container still empty (see picture)! We had to have a separate shipper come get the rest of it (quite professional btw, shoulda used them, psst it's Schumacher) and incurred additional expense. When the goods got to this side, the German movers even took pictures of the packing job inside the container because they couldn't believe how bad it was. Now, the German side of the move was stellar. So, there's that. I am just steamed at what a debacle it was. Moving internationally during a pandemic is stressful enough without this. Steer clear of this company.

UPDATE: They blame their customer if the company makes a mistake. The crew kept telling my wife that the container was not going to hold everything and forced her to choose what to send. This led to indecision. Then we had to pay $2500 to ship what they left behind...much of which was clearly marked and communicated as going. A $300 "discount" and offering $1k and no apology for being verbally abusive to my wife is far short of adequate. Good companies don't act this way.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $9500

From my very first call with Hector, to coordinating with Jeanine and even making a real Minnesota snowman for Ronnie - everything was absolutely perfect. Moves like these can be stressful, emotional, and overwhelming at times, but the ISAS team made this as easy as it could be. Always available for questions (even the dumb ones), always honest about prices and timings, and always done on a personal level. Also to note that the companies that they coordinated with on either side were top shelf. Thank you to the entire team at ISAS for for taking such good care of both my family's belonging and of me as your client. Highly recommended.

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $6000

This is a great moving company with serious professionals who are all very helpful, responsive, courteous and knowledgeable. From the office staff to the team of movers that come to pack - my international move went so smoothly because every single person knew the job that they were doing. Their agents in Italy were also very professional and helpful and our boxes arrived exactly on time. Their pricing was also very transparent and it was great not to have surprises on the payments side. Definitely would recommend!! Thank you for providing me with peace of mind at a really stressful time!!

Move size: 4 Bedroom Home Service cost: $27000

We were so nervous which company to choose - and we picked exactly the right one! Everything went smoothly and according to schedule beyond expectation. They were very flexible and gracious when we had to postpone the move two times because our elevator broke down. They responded to all our questions promptly and precisely, and

they came at the right time with the right people and took great care with packing. Nothing broke,nothing got lost, and everything arrived on time. Very good experience. Thank you!

Move size: Partial Move Service cost: $3000

I was petrified at the prospect of an international move not just because of the sheer size of the endeavor, but because so many things were completely out of my hands. By some sort of grace, I came across ISAS. I could not have asked for better service in every single aspect of this move. At each leg of the process, the company and their associates were there. Impeccable service, door-to-door. Not a single let-down when I expected so many. This crew earned the 5-star rating.

Move size: Studio Service cost: $4400

Moving your whole household to the other side of the World can be daunting and stressful. Like many, we had read online about all the things that could happen. After reading many good reviews we chose International Sea & Air Shipping.

Niki was amazing! She guided us through the procedure and she was quick to answer all our questions.

When the day arrived, an amazing team of packers arrived to our house and meticulously wrapped all of our belongings, trucked it all to their secure storage facility and later packed it all into a 40 foot shipping container. Five months later another great team of guys delivered our belongings to our new home in New Zealand. We are relieved that everything arrived safely, apart from one broken glass and a couple of damaged ornaments. NZ Customs did open and inspect many boxes! We had a lot of glasses, so kudos to the ISAS guy who packed all our kitchen stuff.

We do not plan to move again, but if we did, I would not hesitate to use Niki and ISAS again. She is very professional and her team really know their stuff.

Move size: 3 Bedroom Home Service cost: $23000