renting container / shipping quesitons

[jojo]

Does anyone know how I can go about arranging to rent part of a container to ship furniture back to UK (specifically Northern Ireland)?

Typical costs, details of any appropriate shipping companies would be most useful.

Any experiences? Good or Bad?

Thanks

JoJo

[Yutenji]

Hi, there's quite a few good companies, check the yellow pages. Personally I've had good experiences with Crown Worldwide and K.C.Dat (also known as Premier, also known as Asian Tigers).
They are very well organised, and will typically start by having someone come to review your house/goods. Then they will give you a quote, usually based on the total volume (size) of the goods, any delicate / special handling items, destination etc. If you've got a significant amount of goods, they may need either a 40ft. container (the typical container you see at ports and on the back of trucks), or a 20ft. container (e.g. half a 40ft. [duh]). They usually will be able to give you a 'moving checklist', some of which is common sense and some of which is really helpful points that you might not have thought of.
No doubt prices will vary a fair bit, but in my experience this isn't a cheap process, especially when you factor in Insurance (highly recommended). Think 'thousands'.
Good luck.