This isn't a commercial shipping option, but we live in Kansas City and I wanted an Expedit bookshelf from Ikea, the closest of which is located in Dallas, TX. So my husband put an ad on Craigslist in Dallas, and this guy emailed us and said he had a truck and was coming to/near Kansas City for a holiday anyway, and we paid him $50 to deliver it, vs. around $300 shipping on the Ikea web site. It worked out really well for us, although I realize that you take a chance on a stranger. But you could get lucky with someone who has some empty space in a Uhaul that's coming your way.

I have never used this option, but I see this in Ebay furniture descriptions all the time - Greyhound busline. You might want to look into it - it could be a less expensive option for you.

Regarding moving companies, my friend moved from Chicago to Florida a few years back. Her items were placed on a "shared" truck and delivered to her once the truck was full. Sorry I don't have more details than that!

i just moved from DC to Chicago. I lived in a small-ish studio, so i didn't have that much furniture. I found the moving company Sprint Van Lines. They measure by cubic foot rather than weight. it worked out for me, they were nice and my stuff arrived very quickly.

There are several Furniture Delivery Companies, that many of the showrooms in The Merchandise Mart use, on a regular basis.
Craters & Freighters-847.427.0319
Plycon-773.640.5110
Padded Wagon-773.645.8400
Regal Custom Delivery-972.564.6400
US Art Company-800.872.7826

I used http://www.uship.com/ to find someone to transport a very large and heavy old library cabinet from NYC to Virginia last summer. Took me a few days to sort through the bidders and find someone I thought was right for the job - but I was very happy with the guy I ultimately chose. For $400 he and his partner picked up the cabinet from my home, wrapped it in sufficient padding, loaded it into his truck and drove it to its destination in VA, where he arrived on time (the next afternoon, as we had worked out in advance). Considering gas prices, I think $400 was a damn good deal. The guy I used only works out of NY and up and down the East Coast, but perhaps you will get lucky and find someone who serves your area and isn't a flake!

I did a lot of research on this when moving cross-country six months ago. Most of the shipping options are super expensive, including those pack your own pod companies.

What I was surprised to find was that Amtrak allows you to ship things fairly cheap. I didn't end up using them, and not sure how it would work with furniture. But worth checking out!

Try a LTL (Less than Load) carrier. It's a bit of a pain, and they often charge between $40 and $70 on each end to pick up/drop off at a residence but you should be able to get a lot cheaper than $1000. Try using www.freightquote.com

I'll second http://www.uship.com/ I had a good experience with them trying to move a large cabinet from West Virginia to Chicago

Amtrak and Greyhound will ship larger items, however they have weight and size limits. Amtrak requires drop off and pick-up at stations that provide checked baggage. The item then usually departs on the next train or series of trains going to your destination. FedEx and UPS also handle moderately large items, an 8x11 rug I won off of Ebay a few months ago arrived via UPS.

If your item is too big for Amtrak or Greyhound I suggest you look into renting a van or small truck and picking up your item yourself, or flying to where it is and renting a van or truck one way home. The shippers you see listed with furniture and antique dealers on Ebay, etc. may be reputable, however they will pick up the item then keep it in a warehouse for as long as several weeks until they have a large enough load going in your direction to deliver. In the interim, no matter how conscientious the company, your item is nevertheless at risk of loss or damage in transit.

I would either avoid or be extraordinarily careful with moving companies. Just a few months ago I had a very bad experience with a company called Small Moves/Packing and Shipping Group in trying to move my mom's china cabinet from South Florida to NJ. They were recommended by a highly reputable large commercial mover in Florida, so we arranged to have them ship the cabinet. The company picked up the cabinet, then held it hostage demanding double the amount of money we initially paid them, claiming that the cabinet weighed substantially more than their estimate, without providing proof. I eventually had to initiate legal action against them before they finally delivered the cabinet for the agreed upon price and fortunately undamaged.

I would like to second the greyhound bus for shipping, that is what we have had recommended to us for both business and personal shipping for large items.

I recently used ShipSmart for a small move as my total load was under the minimum weight requirements for most commercial movers. I think Box Brothers also has a freight shipping option.

I recently moved across country using Broadway Express:

http://www.broadwayexpress.net/

They are one of a very few options recommended by movingscam.com. You load and unload, and pay for room on the truck by the linear foot, so the weight doesn't matter. There may be a minimum length - I'm not sure. You can also arrange directly with the driver to hire him or her to help with the loading, which makes sense since they are experienced with packing a truck. Since you have friends on the loading end, this might work for you. I had no problems whatsoever.

Hi KCMO, I agree that Kansas City needs an Ikea, but I have a solution until we get an Ikea. I run Blue Box Delivery LLC which is an Ikea Delivery Alternative for Kansas City. You save close to 50% of what Ikea charges to deliver to Kansas City. You place your order on our website www.blueboxdelivery.com, pay securely through paypal, we drive to Ikea in Dallas, we shop for your Ikea items, and ship them back to Kansas City where you can pick them up at our warehouse. We can also deliver to your home and assemble if you choose. Facebook and e-mail subscribers receive discounts. Please tell your friends that Blue Box Delivery LLC makes Ikea possible in Kansas City!