At Pak Mail Pittsburgh Crate & Ship, we crate and ship single household items and entire estates with white glove care. Since 1984, we’ve specialized in global estate, household packing and furniture shipping, as well as assistance with local and national moves.

  • We and our local estate organizational partners (see list below) can help sort, pack, coordinate, and ship all the estate items to family and friends around the corner or around the country and world, estate agents, and local charities
  • One call to us allows you the peace of mind that precious items, artwork, antiques and heirlooms will be professionally handled in a cost-effective and safe way
  • We offer free short-term storage for estate distributions
  • We offer a choice of transport modes to meet your budget and delivery needs. We offer the lowest shipping rates in Pittsburgh for parcel (UPS, FedEx, DHL, USPS), blanket-wrap, and overland, air, & ocean freight based on our franchise network’s buying power.
  • We over full-value shipping insurance

Contact us for a free in-person or phone consultation, or get a quote now via the web.

See what clients have to say about Pak Mail Pittsburgh Crate & Ship’s service.

If Spring Break is almost over, can end of term be far behind? Here’s a quick list of our choice “DOs and DON’Ts” when it comes to shipping your stuff.   10609220_ml

DOs

  1. Do your homework – Yup, just like mom always says. Check out the shipping company you are planning on using. Look on the internet for reviews. There are a lot of “actors” out there that may improperly package your stuff and/or lose it in transit. Look for a company that is locally-based.
  2. Do look for a shipping company that has the option of either sending your items via ground (UPS or FedEx) or via motor freight. General rule is that if you have more than seven-eight boxes, your most economical mode will be shipping via freight on a pallet.
  3. If you are flying home to an international destination and have only a few things, do consider packing and checking them as extra luggage. If you have more than 7-8 boxes and you are not in a particular hurry, shipping via ocean is an economical mode.
  4. Do select your boxes well! “Moving boxes” sold by big box retailers and rental agencies are not great for shipping via FedEx or UPS Ground due to their thin-wall construction.  They are okay if shipping via freight.  Do use new boxes – old boxes are significantly less strong because of moisture absorption as well as wear & tear. Do use as many same-sized boxes as possible for easy stacking if shipping via freight and storage.
  5. Do let professionals pack your fragile items and electronics, and remember that the retail packaging (if you still have) your TV or computer came in is not suitable for shipping via FedEx or UPS Ground.

DON’Ts

  1. Don’t over-pack or stuff you boxes.
  2. Don’t ship hazardous and/or flammable materials like alcohol, perfume, nail polish, or bleach. Check with your shipping company if you have any questions. If shipping liquids, make sure they are in break-resistant packaging and sealed in a thick plastic bag (Ziploc Freezer Bags).
  3. If planning on shipping via FedEx or UPS Ground, don’t use plastic totes as they tend to crack and shatter during transit and don’t seal very well. Totes are okay if shipping via freight.
  4. Don’t ask about student discounts until you already have a quoted cost. Some companies (not us) will inflate the cost if you mention student discounts at the beginning and then apply a bogus discount.

     5.  Don’t  wait to the last minute (again as mom always says) to plan your shipping.

Scott Hunter, a local Pittsburgh artist whose painting we have shipped around the world is having his works exhibited at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art from April 29th to May 31st. with an opening reception on Friday May 8th from 5 PM – 7 PM.

Scott Hunter

IMG_1725IMG_1707Pak Mail Pittsburgh Crate & Ship is the area’s “go-to” company for packing, crating, and shipping all types of medical equipment. We have the expertise and experience you can trust to handle medical devices that are heavy, oversized, and fragile; or medical equipment that contains delicate lasers, lenses, and gauges requiring specialized attention.

IMG_1657

CHURCH CONNECTION PIETA STATUE

Pak Mail Pittsburgh Crate & Ship is the pack and ship partner with Pittsburgh’s Church Connection. Church Connection has one of the world’s largest collections of used church items available for sale or rent. Their inventory ranges from relics, chalices,  candles, and votive stands to tabernacles, altars, and stain-glass windows. They sell and rent items to buyer, collectors, churches, and movie / television studios around the world. We recently shipped a large (and heavy!) Pieta statue / sculpture to the Nurse Jackie TV series production folks.  Their items have appeared in such recent movies as Fast & Furious 7, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Batman: The Dark Knight Rises, and the 2015 release, Black Mass. TV shows include Sleepy Hollow, The Originals, and the upcoming ABC series, American Crime.

One of the greatest pleasures in the our business is helping folks with transporting important family treasures. Here’s a review sent to us by a gentleman from Honolulu who we helped get an oversized  heirloom painting from Pittsburgh to Hawaii

Aloha Mike,

You read my mind, I was going to email you this morning when I woke up.

The painting did arrive in perfect condition. I normally don’t have issues with long distance shipping, however this one was a major concern since it was a family heirloom being passed on to me.

When I began researching online, your company was the first that I saw…and when I compared your services with others, there was no comparison. From my first correspondence and all the way through the process and right up to delivery, your customer care was exemplary. My family even reported to me how impressed they were with the two young men were who picked up the painting…dressed well and held a pleasant conversation with them. You made me feel completely comfortable with the fact that this painting, which reflected my childhood and family history, was in very capable and safe hands.

Mike, thank you so much for doing what you do so well. You customer service is perfection! Should additional shipping be in my future, from my childhood home in Moon Township, you will be the only person that I will call. Please thank your staff for all their help.

Aloha,

Frank L.,Honolulu, HI

Check out this New York Times Magazine  Article  on the Brazilian collector that purchased the three million plus records collection of Pittsburgh’s Paul Mawhinney. Pak Mail Pittsburgh Crate & Ship packed up this collection (eight 53′ trailers in all) that was sold to Zero Freitas of San Paulo. To quote one of the our packing crew, “digital music never seemed sweeter than after packing millions of heavy vinyl records”!

We recently shipped a host of items including the three chairs in the photo for the Pittsburgh-based company, Church Connection phototo a studio in North Carolina filming a Gothic horror piece. Church Connection has an amazing collection of church “stuff”. They sell and rent everything from full size altars and statues to candlesticks and vestments. Check out their website www.usedchurchitems,com. Items we have shipped for them have been featured in Fast & Furious 7, Transformers,  and  Sleepy Hollow to name a recent few.

We have been busy over the last year packing and shipping various “stuffed animals” for private individuals and local taxidermists. Our latest shipment was six mounted deer heads going to a decorate a new bar / restaurant in St Louis.

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We have been so busy with these special shipments that we are considering a new slogan for our business that relates to this new market and we need your help…and we’re willing to pay for the best submission. Send us your slogan ideas by April 15th and if yours is judged as best we’ll send you 100 bucks ($100)! To make it a more creative task for you, we’ve already eliminated the following from contention:

Herd It Through The Grapevine
Shipping For A Few Bucks
We’ll Box Your Stuffs
We Ship Deer And Far
No Mounting Too High!
Ready For The Big Game
We Ship Hart Transplants
We’ll Organize Your Stags
Horns A Plenty
The Place For Doe Nuts!
The Right Stuffs
Ship of Foals
We Never Lose Our Heads
Ready, Aim, Ship
Pak Male
The Merchant of Venison
Heads, You Win
We Put The Taxi In Taxidermy

Take your best shot!

At an international convention of franchisees held this past week in Atlanta, Pak Mail Pittsburgh Crate & Ship won six awards including The President’s Award, All Star Team Award, and Highest Freight Sales Award. The awards were presented by Pak Mail Centers of America ‘s CEO, Alex Zai and COO Angela Gomez. Mike MacDonald and Ana Duran, co-owners were attending and accepted the awards on behalf of their company and employees. Pak Mail Convention 2014 Awards