It is estimated that works of art worth over 20 billion euros are transported in Europe every year. Whether paintings, sculptures, or antiques, the challenge of art transport lies in ensuring optimal protection for each piece as it moves over long distances. When choosing a transport provider, there are generally two options: shipping via a courier service, like DHL or FedEx, or transport with a specialized art shipping company.

Transport with an Art Shipping Company

Traditional art logistics companies offer excellent service, but this comes at a price. For large transport volumes, such as for exhibitions in museums, art collections, galleries, or presentations at art fairs, grouped transport with an art shipping company is suitable. Even individual pieces that have high transport requirements due to their value or condition—whether they need specific climatic conditions or are particularly fragile—are most safely transported by art shipping companies. If you need such a more elaborate shipment, we can connect you with a specialized company. Moviiu collaborates with a network of 17 specialized sister companies from 11 countries across 5 continents to help you select the right transporter.

 

Art Shipping with Courier Services

If your artwork doesn’t require a special wooden crate or conservation measures, shipping with a courier service might be a suitable option. Courier services offer fast service and can be booked directly online, but the actual effort involved in shipping valuable objects and artworks is often underestimated. This starts with finding the right shipping box, which must meet specific dimensions and be impact-resistant. Enforced corrugated cardboard is expensive and bulky, requires storage space, and additional packaging materials often need to be ordered in large quantities.

Moreover, there are confusing regulations for proper customs clearance and hidden costs for insurance or export duties if the shipment is to be sent outside the EU. Instead of saving money and time, shipping valuables with a courier service can quickly become more time-consuming and costly than expected.

This is where Moviiu comes in, offering a full-service solution that considers these challenges and makes the entire process fast, efficient, and safe. Moviiu combines the expertise of traditional art shipping companies with the efficiency of courier services.

Art Shipping with Moviiu – All the Benefits at a Glance

• Save Time Finding the Best Offer

Our smart online tool takes over the time-consuming search for providers and compares offers, quickly finding the most cost-effective service provider for your art transport. The transparent offer includes all costs for packaging, handling, transport, and customer service. When selling art, the transport price can therefore be communicated in advance, and your customer knows what costs they will incur.

• Cardboard, Bubble Wrap, or Wrapping Tissue? It’s All About the Right Packaging

Where can I find the right material, and is it really suitable for shipping art? You no longer need to worry about these questions because Moviiu sends the appropriate and custom shipping box directly to your home or gallery. Our packaging is professionally tested and particularly stable. You don’t need any additional materials to safely pack your artwork. Thanks to our large shipping volume, we benefit from wholesale prices, which we pass on to our customers.

• No Hassles with Customs

The customs declaration can bring uncertainties, such as choosing the right HS code. Moviiu takes care of these aspects, minimizing the risk of errors. All necessary documents, such as shipping labels and export documents, are directly attached to the packaging to ensure a smooth transport process.

• Properly Insured for All Cases

We can also handle the search for transport insurance; our insurance is optionally available in one step and provides reimbursement up to 100,000 euros in contrast to courier services’ included transport insurance, which often has very low compensation limits (23 euros per kg).

 

Moviiu is the new secure and fast transport solution for art shipments within Germany, Europe, or worldwide, whether it be framed paintings, photographs behind plexiglass, or sculptures. Thanks to our high shipping volume and wholesale prices, customers also benefit from lower costs compared to self-organized transports.

Paintings, prints, drawings, or photographs up to a size of 180 x 147 x 25 cm, as well as sculptures, antiques, small furniture, jewelry, and watches up to a size of 104 x 60 x 57 cm, reach their destination quickly, safely, and efficiently from door to door with Moviiu.