Moving internationally with fossils

[thelivingdead531]

Hey everyone! We’re close to having our house packed up for our move from England to the US. I have a lot of fossils that need packing but I’m really nervous about it all. My main concern is what I should do as far as who packs them. Would you let the movers pack them (and if anything is damaged in transit then you can claim it) or would you pack it yourself? My problem is that if the movers pack it, they don’t really care and some things are definitely going to be damaged, but if I pack it and it’s damaged then I don’t get compensated. Ugh, I’m so frustrated over this! 

 

Also, I have a few riker cases so should I take the fossils out of them or would a piece of felt on the inside between glass and fossils be enough to protect everything.

 

I’m at a loss on how to move internationally with fossils! Any advice or wisdom would be greatly appreciated!

 

Edited to add: I also have a bottle of Paraloid that I would like shipped with me. Most packing people won’t allow liquid, and some don’t care and will pack anything. Is that something I can pack in my checked luggage or should I just say goodbye to it and get more at our next base?

[thelivingdead531]

Photos of my fossils on display. I have many more that are stored.

[Scylla]

Pack it yourself! Most movers will not care and reimbursement will not cover true replacement costs in most cases. I would double pack everything, ie. Pack it carefully and the put the whole box into a slightly larger box with crushed paper or bubble wrap or peanuts between the two boxes. Keep the boxes as light as possible, movers are happy to just drop heavy boxes. The one alternative if you have unlimited wealth is to hire a specialty service that moves fine art and museum pieces. Donate the parlaoid to an English fossil collector and buy new stuff at your destination unless it is still dry beads.

[Scylla]

Oh ya, photograph every thing you pack with its label. This will avoid headaches later trying to figure out where and what everything is.

[FossilNerd]

I’ve never moved internationally, so I don’t know how much this applies, but I did move locally about a year ago.

 

I packed all my fossils and moved them myself. I wrapped all the ones I had out for display, and then stuffed the storage boxes of other fossils with bubble wrap to not allow them move around much. I made a special trip with just my fossils in the car. My wife thought I was nuts!

 

I wanted to move them myself, because I knew I would take special care of them. All the movers tend to see are boxes. They don’t really care what’s in them and don’t know the value the boxes hold. Even if they don’t intentionally throw them down or drop them, they wouldn’t be nearly as gentle as I knew I would. 

 

Most of my fossils are not worth much in a monetary sense, but almost every one of them have a story, or memory that goes along with them. I have hundreds of fossils, but can recount details of most without even looking at my database or notes. The trip I took to find them, who I was with, if it was a gift, etc. Insurance may cover the monetary value of the fossil, but it would not cover the lost memories and experiences. 

[HamptonsDoc]

My wife and I have been talking about listing our house this year and I’ve already thought about my fossil collection. If we do move, I will pack my collection myself. It’s too valuable to me to trust someone else to do it. If I do it, I know it will be done right. In the terrible event that something I cherish is broken in the move, I’d personally feel better knowing I did everything possible to protect it than to receive a check from a moving company for what I could prove it’s monetary value to be. I have a few large pieces weighing several hundred pounds that I will need movers to move for me but I’ll be right there when they pack it to be sure it’s done well.

 

We’re not looking to move internationally, only about 20 miles from our current house. 

[Joe_17]

i moved this last May. I packed my fossils myself and kept the most fragile stuff with me . Id suggest doing that if possible .

[JohnBrewer]

Definitely pack yourself, Candace. I suspect antiquities aren’t covered by the packers insurance so worth checking that. 

[caldigger]

I have worked with "professional movers" for over thirty five years. 

I can feel confident the only thing they are best at is the moving part ( and not always carefully either! ).

Pack your own treasures because you know how fragile they are. Movers will generally see them as just rocks and pack them as such. 

[Kane]

I can definitely attest to that, Doren. Mover was one of my first jobs, and we usually recommended to the client that anything super valuable and fragile would best be taken with them. Even with all the bungee cords, pads, and careful packing of the truck, some jostling is to be expected. 

[FossilDAWG]

I'm a "military brat" so I have a lot of experience with moving from base to base, including back and forth from Europe to Canada (I know you are going Europe to the US but the lessons are the same).  I think the advice to pack it yourself and photograph everything is sound.  Make sure the movers will take boxes you pack yourself.  It is wise to not load too much in one box, very heavy boxes are more at risk for careless handling.  See if you can insure your boxes yourself, the insurance movers provide is pennies per pound so it won't really cover any losses.  Although you naturally tend to think of breakage, keep in mind that whole boxes can just go missing.  My MSc advisor told me a story about when he moved from Vancouver to Ottawa to take a faculty job.  He and his wife packed up everything they thought worth moving, including his collection of rare books, and shipped it ahead. A few days later they took the train across Canada.  Somewhere in the wilds of Northern Ontario they saw where a cargo train had derailed, and several cars were in a river.  You guessed it, all their belongings were on that train.  Everything they owned was a total loss.  I don't tell this to be discouraging, but just to point out that such things are possible (though very unlikely).  With sufficient insurance, at least you would be able to start over though it would not replace the emotional value we put on particular specimens.

 

Don

[Bobby Rico]

All the best for the move. I would keep the boxes as light as you can. It is in my opinion that heavy fossil get mostly damaged or do the damage .  Lots of packing and use cardboard layers to help stop thinking bumping around.  Look after them prints too. Cheers Bobby 

[ynot]

What everyone else said.

And good luck on the move.

[thelivingdead531]

Thank you everyone! A lot of great advice in here. It looks like I’ll be packing them myself then. I definitely trust myself over someone else. I’ll also look into insurance for everything. Thanks again!

[Fossildude19]

Good luck with everything, Candace!  

[Nimravis]

Candace, like everyone else said pack it yourself and if you have a person that you can mail individual special pieces to, I would do that. It is expensive and I would send the pieces separately, the chances of them arriving I think are better and using multiple packages just increases it. The rest you could pack and have the movers ship and keep your fingers crossed.

 

As far as insurance, I think that might be a problem since all fossils are different and value is of an opinion. Some members may disagree with me, but I would like to here if someone has ever tried to collect money on a broken or stolen fossil. I know you can buy special riders for things, but I believe most of us do not have those, but I am pretty sure some members do. Again it all comes down to determining value and will the movers or the insurance company agree with it.

 

In a few years we will be moving to Georgia and I will pack all of my fossils and rent a truck to transport them myself, if anything gets damaged it all on me, but I would feel better that way rather than having the movers transport. Unfortunately for you, that is not an option- good luck.

[taj]

Did the move form France to Canada , packed everything myself , as far as fossils were concerned . Not all got the same treatment though, according to prepped /unprepped status , quality of fossils and so on. For the rarest , most expensive and delicate stuff, I took care of them myself in the cabin during a few early back and forth trips to settle the deal ...

Did not worry about insurance, because that would be a nightmare anyway , except for the ones  I purchased.

Edit : as for paraloid , I would definitively find the bottle a new home in England before leaving ....

[thelivingdead531]

Thank you so much everyone! I’m definitely going to pack them myself. I’ve got smaller boxes and a ton of packing paper and bubble wrap. 

 

Question for my riker cases though. Should I take everything out and wrap them, or could I open it up, put a piece of felt between the fossils and glass and have it be safe?

[Wrangellian]

I would say that depends on how you're going to transport those Rikers and the nature of the fossils in them. If there is any chance of vibration, delicate fossils could be damaged bouncing against the glass, I imagine, so the felt idea is not a bad one assuming your fossils are durable enough to withstand the extra pressure, otherwise take them out of the Riker and carry them separately. (Some of my fossils are too delicate to put in a Riker, which is why I mention this!)

Good luck on the move.

[-Andy-]

Pack everything yourself by hand. Remember to put a label next to the fossil and take photos too.

 

Only you know how truly precious your specimens are

[taj]

On 04/09/2019 at 11:24 AM, thelivingdead531 said:

Thank you so much everyone! I’m definitely going to pack them myself. I’ve got smaller boxes and a ton of packing paper and bubble wrap. 

 

Question for my riker cases though. Should I take everything out and wrap them, or could I open it up, put a piece of felt between the fossils and glass and have it be safe?

Well , I found that the best option with solution 2 is very fine sand ... Best protection ,pretty fast to set up and to get rid off . Cons : weight and possibly laws if you end up using too much of it !