SDC International Shipping

Hello, I’d like to share my moving experience with SDC international shipping company.
I booked a shipping service due to an upcoming relocation from San Francisco to UK.
It was quite a sudden decision, so I had a very tight schedule.
The most important factor to me was efficiency, and the guys from SDC were absolutely that– professional and ambitious, sticking to timetable with great efficiency.
They did everything to help me get this relocation done on time, and did it in a very calm and pleasant way.
I would definitely recommend SDC to those who need to execute a well-​organized relocation, since these guys know what they’re doing!

Was very happy with the service, my package arrived on time with no damages, will definitely use their services again.

These guys r the best!!! Fast shipping and handling company i have ever worked with! Costumer service was very nice and friendly and the shipment came ASAP as i wanted… Great guys and the best services that i could hoped for. Never need to use a different shipping company ever!

I was looking for an international moving business to help me with my relocation to UK from Los Angeles, and got recommendations on SDC. I was very satisfied with the service. During the entire process they were very professional and efficient, helping me execute this move with minimum stress and difficulties. SDC’s staff was very helpful, taking care of everything with great patience.
They were very responsive during this intense period, helping us get everything done on time. I highly recommend using their shipping and moving services if you are planning an international move.

I moved from Los Angeles to London with SDC. At all times they were very helpful, honest, and their shipping quote was the lowest, (after I contacted many other companies). They kept all their promises — from start to finish and made the transatlantic move, very simple and easy. An extra special thanks to Lisa and Leo at SDC, who went above and beyond in excellent customer service, to make sure the move was handled 100% professionally — at all times. I highly recommend them.

I have relocated from LA to Paris for an amazing job opportunity… I couldnt be more greatful for SDC International and thier amazing staff for helping my move go over so smoothly. I encourage anyone that is moving internationally to contact Marlene for her acceptional service! I would refer SDC International to anyone shipping internationally! Very professional, on time and Im very pleased!
Thank you SDC!

We have been working with SDC to ship our commercial goods to Asia since 2011. They have delivered our goods on time to our customer’s satisfaction. The owner Kfir (also named Phil) and all his staff have been very helpful to us, addressed our shipping concerns in the fastest manner possible, and provided us the top quality service we expected at a very reasonable price. We could not be happier having SDC in our team in conducting our import/​export business.

The owner Kifer reached out to me to rectify my previous experience. With hesitation we used SDC to move our belongings back. The cost this time was significantly more expensive, but the service and experience was proportionately better. Much more professional encounter with a lot of follow through and results.
I will add this caveat, they were intent on getting a better review so I may have had an above average experience. So keep in mind, if you experience in anything less than par, talk to the owner and situation will improve. If not resort to Unilocal

SDC coordinated the import of four containers from Vietnam to Las Vegas, NV for our hotel furniture. Such furniture was required for the grand opening prior to January 2016.
Therefore, time was of the essence.
SDC was in constant communication with the factory in Vietnam and the steamship line and arranged all the shipping details to meet the deadline.
Furthermore, SDC took care of the customs clearance and all the special documentation involved for this type of commodity and successfully cleared the furniture into the USA.
The four containers arrived to the port on Los Angeles and passed all the required US Customs inspections and formalities. Immediately after that, SDC arranged the trucking of the four containers from LA port to Las Vegas via ground.
All the containers were delivered on December 11, 2015 and on time for the grand opening.

I have used this company twice for intercontinental moving. The first time the collection was done from my home on time, shipment was done correctly, there were no problems with condition of the shipped items, and only minor issues with customs and delays. The only negative aspect was a decided lack of communication. The second time I used the company there were minor issues relating to some damaged goods and some holding delays with customs. This time the company was extremely responsive and properly reimbursed me for damaged items without hesitation. There was very little that I had to do personally in both cases besides fill out paperwork. For the money that they charge, it is a bargain what they do.

As I mentioned previously, I am preparing to make one of THE biggest moves of my life. I have lived in California my entire life. I am finally following my heart, being brave and moving across the globe. I have never moved outside LA COUNTY before now!!! Needless to say… its freaked me out some. Marlene at SDC International Shipping has been such a GEM to work with. SDC International Shipping has gone above and beyond too make sure I feel comfortable with this move. I had a ton of questions arise between my first post and now as some of my arrangements and the time frame for my move changed. All fears alleviated. Thank you Marlene!!! Rest assured they have your needs in mind.

Deceitful, disorganized, slow, and borderline criminal, designed to exploit customers who are in the already stressful situation of moving to a new country. I would have been better off renting a Uhaul to drive everything myself from LA to Toronto. It takes only four days to drive this distance, yet SDC took a month and a half. They provided intentionally misleading info about their space requirements and pricing, nearly doubled my bill, held my belongings hostage until I paid their grossly inflated invoice, and threatened to discontinue my shipment if I wrote them a bad review.
For anyone who is planning a move to/​from the U.S., I urge you to read this article first:
. The government has started to take a stand against horrible moving companies like SDC.
Some highlights of SDC’s «professional, top-​notch, stress-​free» service:
— The original quote was $ 2200. Prior to the move, I spoke at length with their rep, Holly, regarding the size and quantity of my items. She assured me that although their advertised space limit was 200cu ft, the limit only applied to overseas shipments. Since my US to Canada shipment would be by land, she said they would put everything into a large, spacious truck and would not be bound by the requirement to palletize the shipment into 200cu ft crates. She repeatedly told me not to worry, that I could fit my 1-​bedroom apartment’s worth of furniture and boxes comfortably in their truck. I asked for an in-​house assessment to be sure, she said it wasn’t necessary and appeased my concerns. More on this later.
On the day of the move (Aug 23), the movers did not show up. When I called, Holly admitted she’d made a mistake in the paperwork and scheduled movers for Aug 24. She apologized profusely, but could not provide any kind of solid ETA. The movers finally came the evening of Aug 24, after I wasted two full days waiting in my apartment, calling them every few hours, forced to postpone many other moving-​related errands.
At that point, I still gave them the benefit of the doubt, Holly even agreed to try to get a discount for the lateness. However, a week after arriving in Toronto I received the invoice: $ 4141, nearly twice the amount I budgeted for! No discount, many additional charges including heavy space overage charges (which Holly had assured me wouldn’t happen), a ‘packing fee’ (even though my boxes were self-​packed), and an ‘elevator fee’ (which wasn’t a huge fee but makes no sense on principle).
When I asked about all the unexpected fees, I got a a poorly written email from the infamous Jack, trying to convince me that I approved the charges. When I re-​asserted that I never agreed to the extra fees, citing my contracts and the misleading information I got from Holly, Jack’s response was to threaten to hold my shipment hostage in LA unless I paid their ridiculously inflated bill and refrained from posting bad reviews.
At that point, I decided to call the FMCSA hotline for advice. The rep was sympathetic, and told me these types of moving scams weren’t uncommon. She advised me that the best course of action was to go ahead and pay the inflated invoice in order to legally obligate SDC to release my belongings, then follow up with FMCSA afterward for help in getting my money back. I have followed up with them and am waiting to hear back.
After some arguing, Jack agreed to remove the elevator fee and a meager discount for the lateness. He had the nerve to suggest that offering a $ 250 discount after adding nearly $ 2000 in unapproved fees to the bill was ‘generous’.
After SDC collected my payment on September 16, it did not arrive in Toronto until October 8. I had to go to the customs office to fill out a form, then talk to their sister company, Orbit Movers to schedule a time for delivery.
It turned out that Orbit had very limited hours of service, and would charge a $ 200 afterhours fee for evening or weekend deliveries. I had to either pay $ 200 or take unpaid leave from my new job. I told the Orbit rep about all the hassles I had faced due to SDC’s negligence, and after some back and forth, got SDC to cover the afterhours fee.
Finally, after a month and a half of living in an empty apartment, my stuff finally arrived. Unfortunately, my dining table top was shattered, and my bike was dissassembled and dented such that the front wheel could not turn. Many of the boxes I had bought were cut up and smashed down, rendering them unusable for future moves.
The service I received was not worth the $ 2200 originally quoted, let alone the $ 3892 SDC extorted through deception and threats. Don’t let this horrible company waste your time and money!

I am a little overdue in leaving these guys a good review but I definitely want to share my experience with SDC.
I moved a few months ago from Northern CA to Germany and after reviewing and dealing with 3 other companies I decided to go with SDC.
I once called on a Sunday and I was expecting a voicemail BUT I was pleasantly surprised somebody picked up and answered all my questions.
I booked with them right at that moment. The guys that came to collect my stuff were on time, polite and pleasant to deal with.
They were extremely fast and made an inventory for customs. SDC handled the customs process and my items arrived as promised.
Finally unpacked I am glad to be in Germany and am grateful I made the right decision in choosing this company!

I assisted a friend in relocating back to europe from CA during a difficult time. I practiced due diligence in comparing quotes and companies because the last thing I wanted is adding more stress to an already tricky situation. I recommended sdc to my friend because Jack seemed to provide honest, straight to the point answers to my questions. All went as smooth as a move can go and I just heard from my friend delivery took place in a courteous and timely manner. It took 6.5 weeks which is a little faster than we thought it would take. I would definitely recommend them and Jack. Good service, good price! If Jack ever reads this I’m holding my hand up and waving, thank you for your help!;-)

Recently we shipped a few furniture items from California to Europe. Overall we were happy with the service though a few glitches kept us from giving a fifth star. I think it is a challenge to be an international moving company given all the port, etc. strikes and trying to manage customer expectations. Throughout the process Brenda helped solve these glitches along the way though some were out of her control.
The quote process was good (remember this is a small shipment so not many companies are interested in them) and the pickup went flawlessly. With the port strike the shipment got onto a boat a bit later than expected which is really out of their control. Eventually the items arrived in Rotterdam Port and the local delivery company delivered the goods before we had to depart. Real kudos for making that happen so fast after the items finally arrived at the port.
So the bottom line is that items got there safe & sound about 3 months after pickup. I think they’d benefit from having a tracking service like UPS/​Fedex does so you know where your items are along the way, know which boat they are on and can self-​manage your expectations vs sending lots of emails. This would put them above their competitors.
Thanks again to Brenda for all her help.

Horrible! The pitts! A p.o.s. I used this company a few years ago to move from LA to Toronto, Canada.
Before I hired this company, I interviewed a few others. I hired this place because their rep, Jack, came to my place and re-​review furniture and give me tips on how to pack it.
The pick up was super smooth. They brought 5 guys to my place and packed my stuff up in less than 3 hours. I will say that made me very impressed.
They dont do the entire move. Instead they hired/​outsourced «sister agent» Orbit Movers in Toronto. Yes I have a special review for those mofos too.
SDC held my stuff in storage for about 2 weeks after pickup. Yet Im sleeping on an an uncomfortable air mattress. Is that quality service for $ 6500 ?? I was also told they had to take apart my desk to have it fit and that I wouldnt have to worry because they would re-​assmble it at no charge.
So I had to go to Orbit Movers at 212 Dolomite Drive Toronto to pick up a slip that needed to be stamped for Customs and then my stuff could be released. (drum roll…) They asked me for my credit card! My answer: NO — Speak to Jack he has my $ 6500. Being a native New Yorker I know bull when I smell it. Im sure they had a few words about me when I left.
Ok — so finally after 3.5 weeks of waiting for my stuff arrives.
At the drop off, all hell broke loose. SDC/​Orbit Movers, sent these 2 hillbillies that spoke broken English. I was put to work! I was given a clip board and started checking things off. I was surprised considering I paid $ 6500.
One of the movers told me that my couch would not fit in the elevator. If I wanted to pay extra to have it taken up the stairs I could. Otherwise it was not his problem. In fact in his accent it went like this” «Dis iz no my problimm.»
I was surprised because at the pickup my furniture was reviewed and it was reviewed 2 xs prior in consultations with Jack from SDC.
Then the story changed. If I wanted the couch up the stairs I would
1) Have to pay $ 150 cash
2) Pay and still not have a guarantee that they could make it up 6 flights of stairs.
Later the desk became an issue because they wanted to charge me. I phoned Jack very upset and he actually had the nerve to tell me he was doing me a favor because I got my stuff early.
Surely SDC can blame the sister company (whom I’ll review separately.) However they paid them and more than likely chose the cheapest affiliate so they could pocket the bulk of my $ 6500.
My couch went into the garbage. Then the mover had the balls to have me fill out a feedback form. I held back in telling him where he could place that feedback form.
A moving man’s goal is to get a tip. I was surprised at the lack of his common sense. However I was even more amazed when he was amazed that he got ZERO ($ 0.00) tip from me. I told him to keep the couch. Theres his tip. A better tip would be to jump off the roof!
I also disputed $ 1000 of the $ 6500 with my bank and WON.
They had no business quoting me a price and then surprising me later on. Furthermore, they could have exercised better business acumen in choosing a sister company, Orbit.
Surely they can play the blame game. But bottom line, I paid $ 6500. I think hiring a fool on a donkey would have been more productive than going with this terrible company.
Moving to Canada from the USA technically shouldnt be considered an international move for a moving company. Ive used Northstar as well. They were excellent and it only took 9 days to get my stuff with NO surprises. Go figure.
Oh and if Jack reads this review… Im holding my middle finger right to you!

We used this company to move from San Diego, CA to Toronto, ON, and are happy to recommend this company. Although there have been a few glitches which cost them their fifth star, we were very satisfied by the overall process.
It might sound odd, but we chose SDC because it was more expensive, had delivery estimates that were longer than other quotes, and longer lists of things they were not going to do… It simply felt like we’d have less surprises, and that we could more easily plan our move. We were right.
Prior to the move, Lisa did her best to provide us with an accurate estimate. We did not really know what we’d have to move, and so I did my best. About three weeks before pick up, I had a better idea of what would happen, and sent her a new lest of things to pick up. It was more than my first estimate, and the new quote was 30% more expensive than the first one. It was probably my fault (although I am still under the impression that she forgot items on my list the first time around, but I did not check the quote carefully enough, so… my bad), but she felt bad and gave us a small discount.
The pick up was smooth, the movers were pleasant, professional, packed meticulously what had to be packed, and in general, they reassured us about what was to come, and how our shipment would be handled.
A few days later, the invoice came and this time around, the amount was as quoted. Note that the expected delivered time was estimated as 10 to 21 days. The invoice came 5 days later, which made the 10 day estimate completyely unrealistic from the start… Kind of a negative point here, but still OK.
Then, my main complaint is that they forgot to tell us that when flying to Canada, we’d have to tick a box on the custom form stating that we had unaccompanied goods. Might sound trivial, but not ticking this box means that a bunch of taxes, as much as 20% of the declared value, could be charged by Canadian customs. A really stupid rule if you ask me, but a rule nonetheless. In the plane, we did not understand this box, and did not tick it. A few days later, we realized our mistake, and stressed out a lot about it since we thought that we’d have to pay thousands of dollars. It turns out that many Americans do the same mistake as us and that Canadian customs are nice about it. But it all could have been very easily avoided, had SDC told us right away.
The delivery was handled by a contractor, and that went very well as well. It was delivered 22 days after pick up… One day after their most pessimistic estimate. Not great, but still OK. And I don’t know who is to blame, SDC or the Canadian company.
Finally, SDC charged us a long carry fee: I wasn’t sure of the distance, the deliverers would have to carry our stuff from their truck to our apartment. Lisa proposed to charge it anyway in order to avoid bad surprises. The deliverers ended up not charging us this fee, and SDC will refund us this fee in the next few days. It’s only $ 350, but they made absolutely no fuss about reimbursing it. Just an illustration of how easy it was to work with them.
So, as I said, not everything went as planned, but overall we were very pleased.

Jack was very helpful in assessing the exact volume to ship and quoting accurately.
The mover team was very quick and efficient. The process at departure was very smoothe. They shipped my stuff to Europe and negotiated storage at destination to save me time once I would have a final address to move in.
The only downfall is having to send emails bakc and forth and my current negotiation with their European moving company in the UK who did not include the VAT in their announced price for extended storage.