How to Ship a Surfboard, Bike, or Beach Furniture From the Jersey Shore

Some of the most common shipping questions at our Ocean View shop don't fit a standard box. Surfboards heading home with a summer renter. Bikes being shipped to a college student. Beach furniture changing owners. Wine and gifts. Antique chairs that don't survive standard packing. Here's how we handle the awkward stuff — and what it actually costs.

Why "specialty packing" matters

Carriers don't care how nicely the item used to look in your beach house. If a package isn't packed to industry standards (ISTA 3A, FedEx Packaging Lab, UPS Pack & Ship standards), a damage claim gets denied. The packing isn't where you save money — it's where you stop losing money.

The big four oversize items we ship from the shore

Surfboards

Long, fragile, and shaped like a sail in transit. We use:

• A custom-cut surfboard box (or two boxes joined for boards over 8 feet)
• Foam wrap around the rails (edges) and a separate foam pad on the nose and tail
• Fin protection: fins removed and packed separately when possible
• Edge crush protection at all corners

Typical cost: $80–$160 packed and shipped within the contiguous US via UPS or FedEx Ground. Express or international is more.

Bicycles

Two paths: ship as-is in a bike-specific box (we partially disassemble — pedals off, handlebars turned, sometimes seat down), or ship via specialized bike-shipping services. We can do both.

• Standard bike box: $90–$160 domestic ground, depending on bike weight and destination
• BikeFlights or ShipBikes rates (we package, you use their account): often $50–$95 to most US destinations

Beach furniture, chairs, and cabanas

Folding beach chairs (per piece) usually go in a single box with foam corner protection. Larger items like beach carts, kayak racks, or umbrellas may need a custom box. Pricing scales with size and weight; expect $40–$120 per box for ground shipping in the Northeast.

Antique furniture, art, and oversized fragile items

These usually require custom wood crates with foam-in-place or expanded-foam molding. Significantly more expensive ($150–$500+) and slower, but the only way to ship valuable fragile items with insurance that will actually pay out on damage.

The snowbird "ship the season home" service

Every fall, we ship boxes of clothing, beach supplies, decor, and household items from shore homes back to Florida, Texas, the Carolinas, and Arizona. A typical snowbird closeout looks like:

• 5–10 medium boxes (clothing, kitchen, books, decor)
• UPS Ground or FedEx Ground — usually $20–$45 per box depending on weight and destination
• Total runs $200–$600 for a typical full-season shipment
• We schedule pickup or you drop off — and tracking gets emailed to you the moment they ship

Wine, spirits, and oils

Wine shipping has special rules — destination state, age verification, carrier permissions — and not every carrier ships every type. We'll walk you through what's legal and use molded-pulp wine shippers rated to carrier specs. Spirits and oils are more restricted and may require alternative methods.

What to bring or tell us

• The item itself — bringing it in lets us measure, weigh, and quote on the spot
• Destination address and how fast it needs to arrive
• Declared value (be realistic — over-insuring wastes money, under-insuring loses money)
• Any history of damage in transit you're trying to avoid — we plan around it

FAQs

Can you pick up an item from my home?

We can arrange carrier pickup of properly packed items. For items that need our packing first, you'd drop them off — or for high-value items, ask about scheduled white-glove arrangements.

How long until it arrives?

Ground shipments anywhere in the contiguous US: 1–5 business days depending on distance from Ocean View. Florida and the Southeast: usually 2–3 days. West Coast: 4–5 days. Need it faster? We have express options.

Do you ship abroad?

Yes — see our guide to international shipping from Cape May County for what's involved with DHL and FedEx International.