FAQ: frequently asked questions about transportami
In our FAQ we answer the questions our customers ask most often about booking, pickup, packaging, insurance and payment.
Overview
All frequently asked questions at a glance
Yes. Transports within Germany, between Germany and Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands or Poland, and within Switzerland can be booked online. Each shipment can have up to six packages weighing 3,000 kg in total, with a maximum of 1,250 kg per package. For larger quantities and for part loads and full truckloads, please send an enquiry to our customer service.
transportami does. Customers book and pay with transportami, and transportami's customer service is their point of contact for questions about the shipment. You concentrate on the transport.
Yes. Send us an email with the order number to storno@transportami.com. Cancellation is free of charge if it reaches us no later than 24 hours before the start of the planned pickup day. So there must be one full calendar day between the cancellation and the pickup day. Example: your shipment is due to be picked up on 24 August. If your cancellation reaches us by 11:59 pm on 22 August, it is free of charge. If you cancel later, a cancellation fee of 100% of the transport costs applies (terms and conditions).
In many cases, yes. Contact our customer service and tell us the change you would like, for example a change of address or a different pickup date. We will do our best to make it happen.
Yes. For private customers, transport insurance is always included; for business customers it is preselected. For this, you enter the value of the goods in your shipment when booking, up to €15,000 online. For pickups in Switzerland, transport insurance cannot be booked. Without transport insurance, you are only covered by the statutory liability, which varies from country to country and does not take the actual value of the goods into account.
Yes, that is generally no problem, as long as the box is undamaged and sturdy and can bear the weight of your shipment. Beforehand, completely remove old shipping labels and barcodes or carefully tape over them, so that nothing gets mixed up during transport.
You cannot book dangerous goods online. These include, for example, batteries and rechargeable batteries, fuels, oils and gases, as well as machines containing oil or residual quantities. For individual enquiries, please contact our customer service.
Yes, you can book both a single tyre and a full set of four complete wheels with transportami. The tyres travel secured on a pallet.
Yes. Enter up to six pallets or packages weighing up to 3,000 kg in total (a maximum of 1,250 kg per package) in the calculator and you get one combined price. For part loads and full truckloads, please send an enquiry to our customer service.
Yes, you stack several tyres or complete wheels together on one pallet and get one combined price for them.
The price transportami shows when you book applies to the packages, dimensions and weights you entered. If these differ at pickup, transportami may charge the difference to the regular transport price plus a handling fee of €30 (CHF 30). If the shipment turns out smaller than booked, nothing is refunded. Additional costs also arise for waiting time beyond the first 15 minutes and for an unsuccessful pickup or delivery (terms and conditions, section 7). Entering accurate details when booking avoids this.
Yes, transportami strongly recommends it. A bike box protects the frame, handlebars and wheels against knocks during transport. Remove the pedals beforehand and turn the handlebars sideways so that the bike fits compactly in the box, and add extra padding to sensitive areas. Then secure the box on a pallet. With e-bikes, the battery must be removed beforehand, because batteries count as dangerous goods and are excluded from transport (terms and conditions).
Yes, you provide the pallet yourself. It can be a Euro pallet, a disposable pallet, a mesh pallet box or an IBC. Pallets, mesh pallet boxes, IBCs, frames and lids cannot be exchanged, either at pickup or at delivery: they count as part of the packaging and stay with the recipient.
Only for goods subject to reporting. For shipments from or to Poland, the Polish SENT system requires a transport monitoring number for goods subject to reporting, which you enter when booking. If this does not apply to your shipment, confirm when booking that the shipment is not subject to SENT reporting. You then do not need a number.
For private customers, transport insurance is included automatically. For business customers it is preselected when booking, but they can deselect it. Online, you can insure goods with a value of up to €15,000; for pickups in Switzerland, transport insurance cannot be booked. Without transport insurance, only the freight forwarder's statutory liability applies in the event of damage. It is usually low, because it is based on the weight of the goods rather than their value, and many risks are excluded from it. What transportami's transport insurance covers is explained on the transport insurance page.
Yes. As well as tyres and wheels, we also ship engines, gearboxes, bumpers and other vehicle parts on a pallet. For this, engines and gearboxes must be completely drained of oil and other operating fluids.
No, for safety reasons transportami does not transport batteries or rechargeable batteries (dangerous goods, see the terms and conditions). transportami is happy to ship other vehicle and spare parts such as an engine, gearbox or bumper, provided they are free of oil and operating fluids.
No. As a freight forwarder, we work differently from parcel services: tyres and complete wheels are stacked on a pallet without a box and secured with strapping or stretch film.
No, it is not essential. Many pieces of furniture can also be shipped without being dismantled. However, we recommend it wherever it is easy to do: dismantling reduces the dimensions and therefore often the price, and it lowers the risk of transport damage to edges and corners. In the calculator, enter the dimensions your piece of furniture has for transport, including the pallet.
Yes. For transport by freight forwarder, your goods stand on a pallet, in a mesh pallet box or in an IBC, so that they can be loaded with a pallet truck or forklift. Simply secure single items such as a sofa or a washing machine on a disposable pallet. Our guide to pallet shipping explains how.
Your shipment travels as general cargo together with other shipments, so the cost of the vehicle is shared. To make this possible, we work with a large network of forwarding partners. And because price calculation and booking are digital, there is no time-consuming gathering of quotes by phone.
Fill in the enquiry form on the Become a transport partner page. Our team will then get in touch with you to discuss working together and our quality standards.
When packing bulky goods, what matters most is: pack them so they are protected against impacts, fix them on a pallet, secure moving parts and state the dimensions and weight including the pallet correctly. If the details differ at pickup, we can charge the difference plus a €30 handling fee (terms and conditions).
Suitable materials are bubble wrap or foam to fill gaps, edge protectors for sensitive corners, and stretch film and strapping to fix the shipment firmly to the pallet.
You enter the pickup and destination locations as well as the dimensions and weight of your shipment and see the price. Then you choose the rate and pickup date, enter the addresses and pay online. You do not need a customer account for this. You receive the order confirmation by email.
With pallet shipping, the loaded pallet is the package, for example a Euro pallet with boxes. Bulky goods are a single large or heavy item such as a sofa or a washing machine. This too is secured on a pallet for transport. Both are booked the same way: enter the dimensions and weight including the pallet. The guide Shipping bulky goods explains how to prepare and book bulky goods.
With a customer account, you see the status of all your orders straight after logging in. Without an account, use shipment tracking: enter your order number and order date there. With the recipient's postcode, you also see the details of pickup and delivery.
The price depends on the route, dimensions and weight of your shipment including the pallet. You see your price instantly in the online calculator, without a phone call or waiting for a quote. You will find example prices in the guide Shipping bulky goods or further up the page.
Online payment is handled by the payment service provider Stripe: you enter your payment details on Stripe's encrypted payment page, and transportami itself does not store any card or account details.
Yes. With a free customer account, you can keep track of all your orders, shipping labels and invoices in one place, and as a business customer you pay by invoice. If you ship regularly, we can add a personal discount to your account on request. Just get in touch.
Yes, a short loading and unloading time is included in the price. Once the waiting time at pickup or delivery reaches 15 minutes, we charge €30 (CHF 30) for every 15 minutes or part thereof, in accordance with our terms and conditions. The customer who placed the order is responsible for loading and unloading; the driver usually helps.
Yes. The lorries are equipped with a tail lift and a pallet truck. Pickup and delivery are kerbside: your pallet must be accessible at ground level and it must be possible to lift it from below with a pallet truck. We do not carry goods into your home or to another floor.
Yes. transportami is a digital freight forwarder: you book online with transportami AG and receive the order confirmation, shipping label and invoice from it. The transport is carried out by vetted forwarding partners from the general cargo networks transportami works with. For questions about your order, transportami's customer service is your point of contact.
transportami is a service of transportami AG, based in Eschweiler, Germany, and entered in the commercial register of the Aachen Local Court under HRB 30203. Your contracting partner for the transport is transportami AG, and the transport is carried out by vetted forwarding partners. You pay online via the payment service provider Stripe; business customers can also pay by invoice. You can read how other customers experienced their orders on Trustpilot.
With a free customer account, you see all your orders with shipment tracking in one overview, can download shipping labels and invoices again at any time and see your order trend and open invoices in the dashboard. You also get a discount on your first orders. You will find an overview of all the benefits on the customer account page.
If your shipment was delivered damaged, act immediately: have the damage noted on the delivery note and confirmed by the driver's signature, and document the damage with photos. Then please contact transportami to report the damage. We will help you with handling the claim.
1. For damage that was already visible at delivery, we always need a proof of delivery (POD) on which the damage is noted. Only with this note can we forward the case to our insurer for review and possible reimbursement.
2. Concealed damage that was not immediately visible at delivery must be reported immediately after it is discovered, and no later than 7 days after delivery. For this, please send us a written damage report together with meaningful photos and the value of the damaged goods (invoice/receipt for the amount of the damage).
The goods are only insured for their value if transport insurance was taken out; the insurer's conditions apply. Without insurance, the freight forwarder's statutory liability applies.
Pickup takes place on the pickup day you chose when booking, usually between 8 am and 4 pm. Traffic or delays with other customers can still cause a pickup to be postponed (terms and conditions). First check the pickup date and pickup address in your order confirmation, then contact our customer service. We will clarify the cause with our transport partner and agree a new pickup date with you.
A shipment counts as bulky goods if its size or shape means it no longer fits through the normal parcel acceptance, usually from an edge length of around 120 cm. ‘Heavy parcel’ often describes the same problem in terms of weight, usually from around 31.5 kg. With transportami, you ship both on a pallet by freight forwarder.
“Liftable from below” means that a forklift or a pallet truck can drive under a pallet to lift, move, load or unload goods. This requires a continuous opening of about 10 cm in height under the goods, the same height as on a Euro pallet. If your goods stand on a standard pallet or in a mesh pallet box, this is the case; items without a pallet are usually not liftable from below.
Send transportami an email quoting the order number to storno@transportami.com. If your cancellation arrives no later than 24 hours before the start of the planned pickup day, it is free of charge. If you cancel later, a cancellation fee of 100% of the transport costs applies.
The Euro pallet has the standardised EPAL dimensions of 120 × 80 cm; the disposable pallet is not standardised and is available in various sizes. Neither of them is exchanged: both count as part of the packaging and stay with the recipient after delivery. You can use either for your shipment with transportami.
General cargo consists of several small or medium-sized packages that are usually combined with other shipments into a groupage load and transported that way. With a full truckload, on the other hand, only your shipment uses the entire loading or vehicle space, with no other shipments on board. With transportami you book general cargo online; for part loads and full truckloads, please send an individual enquiry to our customer service.
With transportami you book general cargo on a pallet, in a mesh pallet box or in an IBC, with up to six packages weighing 3,000 kg in total per shipment. Part loads, full truckloads and dangerous goods cannot be booked online; for these, send an enquiry to our customer service. Our terms and conditions contain a list of goods that may not be transported with us (e.g. household removal goods).
transportami recommends impact-resistant, load-bearing material that suits the weight and contents of your shipment: a box or crate of the right size, bubble wrap or foam to fill gaps, edge protectors for sensitive corners, and stretch film and strapping to fix the shipment firmly to the pallet.
You pay online by PayPal, Klarna, credit card (Visa, Mastercard, American Express), Apple Pay, Google Pay, Revolut Pay or TWINT. Business customers can also pay by invoice; payment is then due within 7 days of the invoice date. You receive your invoice electronically; with a customer account you can download it again at any time.
Pickup and delivery usually take place during business hours between 8 am and 4 pm; transportami cannot guarantee a fixed time. In the booking process, you can book a driver notice for pickup and delivery for a fee. The driver then calls while on the way and lets you know a more precise arrival time. The driver usually calls once they have finished the appointment with the previous customer. It is therefore not possible to say exactly how much notice you will get. If your recipient would rather have a fixed delivery day, book the delivery appointment by phone: the freight forwarder then contacts the recipient and arranges the delivery date.
With transportami you ship goods on a pallet, in a mesh pallet box or in an IBC, for example furniture, machine parts or boxes. Packaging that is secure for transport is important, so that the goods are not damaged in transit. Dangerous goods (ADR) cannot be booked online; you will find other excluded goods in our terms and conditions.
With most parcel services the limit is around 31.5 kg. They usually refuse heavier parcels or charge high surcharges. At transportami, vetted forwarding partners carry out the transport, on a pallet up to 1,250 kg per package. You see the price for your weight instantly in the calculator.
You choose your pickup date yourself when booking, up to four weeks in advance. If you book by 11:30 am, pickup is possible as early as the next working day. On that day, pickup usually takes place between 8 am and 4 pm. We cannot guarantee a fixed time.
You choose the pickup day yourself when booking; delivery follows the transit time of your rate. These transit times reflect the usual times for the route and are not guaranteed (terms and conditions, section 7.5). As general cargo, your shipment travels together with other shipments and is usually reloaded onto another vehicle at a transhipment hub. Traffic or waiting times at other customers can delay the process. You can see the current status in shipment tracking. If nothing changes there, transportami's customer service clarifies the cause with the forwarding partner.
Sara Laurentz
Customer service
Can't find your question? Contact us!
+49 2403 74874920 service@transportami.com