I had a terrible experience with Alpha Marine, Inc. 　－　Alpha Marine, Inc. was supposed to handle the custom clearance and delivery of goods. However, once the goods were on hand, they refused to return them to me unless I paid unexpected, unusually high inflated "fees," amounting to over two thousand dollars. If you don't pay the amount of money they ask for, they won't arrange the delivery for you, literally holding your items hostage. Then, you will face unknown storage expenses and other unknown costs which are completely decided on their own. 　－　They don't tell you any details on expenses. The two that were in contact with me were Karen and Jerry. The most problematic thing is, if you don't agree to their price, they don't arrange the delivery and you won't get your belongings back. When they get their money, they disappear. They stop replying to your emails and requests. Even if you tell them it is illegal not to give the customers the details of their expenses (laws against deceptive invoicing,) they say it is the policy of their company to do so no matter what law it is. I strongly advise against using this company for the custom clearance and delivery of goods or similar services as it could be a costly mistake. They have no shame, no honesty, nor transparency, basically a trap to rob you of your time and money. If you decide to use Alpha Marine, I suggest that you are prepared for outrageous happenings and ridiculous fees. If I could, I would give them a negative rating.　 The very thought that these companies still exist on American soil is shameful. Update: Seeing your reply, I don't think you're improving my respect for your company. In fact, I had no idea that you can stoop low enough to lie so blatantly out in public. Not mentioning law, at least have morality. If you have something to tell me, the first thing you should be telling me what was in the contents of the full invoice, not desperately defending yourselves with lies. read more

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Alpha Marine was incredibly unprofessional and difficult to work with. Karen and Jerry are unresponsive by email (refusing to answer basic questions about the process and the timing) and seemed genuinely offended when I called the office to check up -- Jerry refused to come to the phone at one point. Alpha Marine failed at every step to provide basic communication about receiving the container, and Karen was actively rude. Alpha Marine consistently requested documents at the last minute. I was never provided with a list of what I needed to provide, but I did get multiple "emergency" requests for what are clearly a standard set of documents -- why not just tell me what they needed from the start? Alpha Marine failed to schedule the delivery correctly (they had 2+ months to plan) and then penalized me for their poor management. The day before scheduled delivery, I was presented with an invoice for storage. They charged me extra fees (over and above what the port would have charged) because they didn't have a delivery team available for several days, which is a business decision they took with out informing or discussing with me about any extra fees. When I asked for an explanation about the sequence of events that caused the delay (a delay that was no fault of mine), Karen became angry on the phone, would not explain, and threatened to hold my shipment hostage unless I paid their extortionate invoice. Unbelievable. If I could give them zero stars I would. read more

We used Alpha Marine for our move from California to Germany in the fall of 2019 and we were quite satisfied. Jerry & team were very professional and responsive, provided a clear and a fair quote, and were willing to explain the details when I had questions. As I understand it, each phase of the moving process is usually subcontracted to a different company or service. Alpha Marine seems to work with reliable partners, but I The movers that came to the apartment were timely, efficient, and communicative. They packed our belongings quickly and safely. The customs clearers in the EU port gave us timely communications and made clear what documentation was required. The movers that delivered everything to our apartment were likewise efficient and professional. Most importantly, everything arrived in good condition and in the expected time. If I could do anything over again it would be to leave all of the packing to the movers. Firstly, customer-packed items are excluded from the insurance coverage they offer (I do wish they'd made that clear earlier.) I packed about 1/3 our stuff myself. While I probably saved a little with space efficiency (final cost is based on volume), it was very time consuming. When you're moving, time is often at a premium, and the pros are MUCH faster and better at it than you. While they are better at it, it is still worthwhile to pay close attention to how your most valuable or fragile items are being packed. They are trying to go fast and while they make a good faith effort to protect everything well, oversight is still worthwhile. It probably goes without saying, but don't forget to make a thorough inventory of everything you're shipping (including approximate values) before the movers come, both for yourself and for customs clearance. Thanks again Jerry & co. for getting our worldly possessions around the world safely! read more

We had a terrible experience with Alpha Marine. It was an international move from California to Europe and upon arrival about 30% of our things were either broken or damaged. The last time we moved from California to Europe, I packed the 40-foot ocean container myself. I think one thing broke and one thing was damaged. And I'm not a professional. I just care about our things so was careful in packing them correctly. Then, when we moved from Europe back to California, I packed the ocean container again - one broken thing. I have moved a thick glass top to a coffee table from Calif. to Europe, Europe to Calif., Calif. to Virginia and Virginia to California without a scratch. But when we hired Alpha Marine to move us, that glass top got huge chips that took off 2 corners. One of our precious things didn't even show up - a ceramic planter pot given to my wife from her aunt (now deceased). Another ceramic pot was broken into a couple dozen pieces. If you've ever dropped a ceramic pot, it usually breaks into 3 or 4 pieces. I have no idea what happened to smash a planter pot into more than 20 pieces. A granite pestle and mortar that was inside of a Tupperware container surrounded by other Tupperware containers also arrived broken. Yeah, solid granite. Table legs, tabletops, chair legs and frames of art were scuffed beyond repair. Couch pillows had huge asphalt stains on them, like some ran over them with a truck. Wine glasses, bowls and plates that we had packed so carefully were also broken. These same wine glasses, plates and bowls did not get broken when we packed them in an identical manner on our previous moves. It's sad that we paid over $10k to have Alpha Marine move our things and so many of our irreplaceable belongings got damaged on the journey. We filed a Better Business Bureau report against Alpha Marine because we could not come to an agreement on a resolution - they offered us no compensation whatsoever. There are others who have filed poor Better Business Bureau reports against Alpha Marine too. You should definitely check out the BBB website. read more

Alpha Marine - Shipping Centers Near Me - North Hollywood, California

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I trusted this company to move my house and woodshop overseas and I'm glad I did. Jerry is the most attentive and reliable person in business, he gave me all the information and support I needed and all the contacts I would need overseas to run with my papers, and all my belongings arrived perfectly and before I expected. If I ever do something as crazy as moving overseas again, I won't think twice before contacting him again. read more

I recently moved from the South Bay area of Los Angeles to Costa Rica. I could not have selected a better company to move our belongings! I did my due diligence and shopped around the market before deciding on Alpha Marine. It was not recommended to me by anybody. * Professional - check! * The price was right compared to other companies - double-check! * Jerry, the owner - great to work with (and oh-so-cooperative) - check! * Jerry's moving crew - sooooo good in every way - check!! * My only criticism - NONE. read more

You can see my post from 11/10/2014 as well. A move TO Europe and a move BACK to USA and a job well done! Alpha Marine did such a good job moving me to Europe that when it was time to move back....of course I went with them again! They ruled the day! Same great service, same great satisfaction!! They make shipping globally feel like sending something to another city 20 miles away...same difference! It really does say a lot about a shipping business when they preform so well in any situation. I would recommend Alpha Marine to anyone on earth!!! Thank you! read more

tl;dr: All my stuff got moved without any hassle, and, as far as I can tell, without any damage. I can definitely recommend this company. I would use them again. Here's the summary of my interactions with Alpha Marine: Around January 2020, I started getting quotes for moving stuff from California to Germany from various companies. I contacted maybe a dozen companies, and eventually spoke with four or five of them on the phone. Jerry was the person who called me from Alpha Marine. He was polite, and asked the relevant questions about what I was trying to ship. I would speak with him on the phone several time over the course of the following months, and he was always curteous and helpful. I got a quote for 100 cubic feet of stuff in a shared container. To be clear, I wasn't savvy at all about shipping goods, so he was the one who proposed the option based on my timelines and amount of things. From what I learned since, that was probably the right call. The raw shipping cost was about $2k, very similar to the other companies who gave me decent quotes (some companies tried ripping me off, and tried talking me into a non-refundable deposit during the first phone call. Jerry did not do that). On top of that would be insurance (optional) and export documentation ($135 which I would gladly pay, I had no desire to deal with customs and whatnot). I'll deduct half a point here for the format of the quote. It was hard to tell what I would eventually be paying. Others gave me a nicely formatted PDF with a total sum. I had a few back-and-forth emails asking for explanations on some of the terms. Jerry did, however, explain it all to me either on the phone or by email. Once we agreed on terms, I paid a $500 down payment (the final bill was presented after my goods were picked up). Then, the Covid pandemic hit which screwed up my move plans. Not knowing at all when we'd be actually moving, I asked if we could change the move date forward. Jerry told me he'd get back to me, but then got me a time slot a week later. This meant putting everything into boxes very quickly, but was exactly what I was hoping for, so kudos for that. I had packed everything into boxes, except for my bicycles and some big items, labeled all the boxes, and kept a detailed inventory of what was in each box (if you've never moved before: DO THAT. There's many reasons to do that; you'll need it for export documentation, customs, and not least of all, finding stuff when you get the boxes). The movers came and parked their truck for about 45 minutes until it was all packed. Here's where I will deduct another half-point. Before the movers came, I got sent a long list of things that would cost extra. That would have been nice to have in the original quote: It only included 60ft of carrying. I realized I would have to pay a fee for the elevator, but I didn't realize I would have to pay a long haul carry fee TWICE on top of that. So, I paid another $425 for unexpected packing trouble. Let me put this into perspective: There were four packers. Let's say they calculate with 15 minutes of time included in the original quote (packers get paid hourly if you hire them directly). That means for the extra 4x30 minutes (equals 2 man-hours), they charged $425, or an hourly rate of $212. I would dream of that kind of rate. Like I said, they did send me a price list for these things beforehand, but it wasn't obvious I would be paying that much on top. Note that the movers themselves were also courteous, respected Covid protocols, treated my stuff well, and even noticed an error on my part (I had numbered the boxes, but skipped a number, which threw them off as they were using my box numbers for their inventory). They left me with a receipt and went on their way. Some time later, I got an email (from Karen this time) with an approximate delivery date, and the name of the agent in Germany who would contact me. They did contact me, although they told me they were tasked by a different company than Alpha Marine (this was a bit confusing, but no biggie). Since I was shipping household goods, the German agent needed a bunch of papers from me (all easy to get, since I had the original manifest I'd written. The most difficult was proof that I had lived in the US long enough). If you deliver goods in a shared container, what happens (I'm oversimplifying here) is that they pack up your stuff, fill up a container until it's eventually full, and then they put it on the next available boat. In other words, you don't know exactly how long it'll take, and that's what you sign up for. In our case, it took about 15 weeks between pickup and delivery, which suited us fine. read more

Alpha Marine; Karen & Jerry and their team have been awesome, easy to talk and deal with, very professional from the very first contact for estimates, thru-out setting up a contract & payments, scheduling pick-up of shipment, shipping and handling, including a not easy task, having our items actually delivered in Fiji. The associate company of Alpha Marine here in Fiji was top-notch and greatly handled all our import & custom matters without any problems. This service has been extremely helpful too us, because of the flexibility and professionalism we have been handled with. read more

Thank you Alpha Marine! Back in February, I relocated to Israel after living in the US for 12 years. I have never actually shipped anything before in my life. I was very concerned and hoping to find a reputable company to help me. A good friend referred me to Alpha Marine which I was very thankful for. Karen & Jerry were very helpful from the beginning to the end, including their affiliated company in Israel. I would like also to point out their movers, which also did a great job packing my belongings. Thank you guys; you are an All Star company! read more

We moved to Costa Rica and everybody at Alpha Marine was spot on. Jerry and Karen were very good about following through and explaining every step. The movers were very professional: on time, fast, helpful and polite. When they showed up I still had a few things hanging out not sure how to pack and they took care of everything... They took less time than estimated. Everything arrived to our door in Costa Rica. Nothing broken or missing... I would use them again! read more

Definitely as good as it gets! We had an excellent experience with Jerry and Karen and Alpha Marine. And would highly recommend their services to anyone moving overseas. Jerry moved us from San Francisco to Switzerland in a highly professional and efficient way. The service provided was honest and competent and friendly. Jerry and Karen were patient, always reachable, and had quick response time with any questions. From pick up and packing to delivery - our goods were incredibly well cared for and arrived in Switzerland undamaged. We are so thankful to all the help and great service provided during our move. Thank you and we wish you most success with your business. Andy and Diana read more

This was amazing , we had the entire contents of my sisters home shipped to Los Angeles! Everything, took the headache away so we could focus on getting her settled. We really appreciate everything and are still in shock with how easy this process was ! read more

I picked Alpha Marine for the great reviews and Karen and her team had not disappointed! I was moving internationally (from California to Germany) and AM addressed all my needs and concerns professionally and speedily. Of course there was a lot of paperwork involved, but the staff was always there to answer my questions. read more

I have an export company I ship goods from Los Angeles mainly to Israel. After lots of research for a reliable company I found Alpha Marine, they go beyond my expectations trying to find me solutions to my shipping challenges. I had great experience working with them, really professional, hands on. I already shipped 11 shipments with them and will continue in the future. I definitely recommend to work with. Tomer read more

When I decided to move to Israel, and needed a shipping company, I remembered all the horror stories I heard in the past from people who moved to Israel and dreaded the whole experience. I however used alpha marine which was recommended to me by a friend that used them and said that the experience was amazing. And so it was. Yariv and karen at Alphamarine were more than amazing, they were kind, professional and very explanatory about the procedure. They accompanied me from the packing and pickup all the way to the delivery to my new residence in Israel. service was extremely professional, there were no monetary surprises along the way and most importantly my things arrived in perfect condition. Highly highly recommended! read more

If you're considering shipping abroad then try this company. I do have a small problem during the process but they've straightened everything up and kept me in the loop, i.e. when item was shipped and when it will hopefully arrive at its destination. read more

I am reasonably happy with these people. I got hustled hard on the cost of a move from Washington DC to San Francisco once; so naturally when I needed to move again I looked long and hard on who to choose. Based on the good reviews for Alpha Marine I choose them for my move from San Francisco to the UK. I got a reasonable cost for my stuff, with no hidden fees. Some of their competitors were asking extortionate rates 2-3x what Alpha Marine charged me. The cost was actually cheaper then my move from Washington DC to San Francisco. The people who came to pick up my stuff were slightly late, but nothing to get worried about. They thoroughly wrapped my things and put them on the truck. Several months later I received my things in the UK. The only reason I am giving them 4 stars instead of 5 is because a few of my glasses were broken when they arrived; but these things happen when moving. Luckily nothing too precious was lost. Hopefully this is my last international move, but if I was in a position to use them again I would. read more

I have moved many times in my life both locally and internationally and this was by far the worst moving experience ever. After hundreds of emails and months of waiting, thousands of dollars paid, my shipment arrived a month late, I got physically ill from all the stress, and I was ripped off by this company. Karen, the only person you will communicate with at Alpha is deceptive, disorganized and disrespectful. She will sweet talk you into signing the contract and then zero follow up until you decide to ask her where your stuff is. Her initial estimate for my move was $1980 and by the time it was all said and done I paid $3595. She charged me for 150 sq feet saying that's the minimum, when my stuff was barely 80 sq ft. The big issue was that I asked her to take care of port charges before I left the US for the country I was moving to (Pakistan). I was afraid that I would get scammed here in Pak by customs folks. Little did I know I got scammed in LA. She charged me $625, an amount she said was the ESTIMATED cost of port charges. She also tells me that I shouldn't have to pay any customs taxes because it's all used home items. After my stuff arrives, port authority here in Pak tells me that port charges were never pre paid and the total amount of port charges are only $225 (36,000 rupees) and my customs tax was another $130. I paid the customs taxes without arguing but for port charges I asked karen to show me a receipt for how much and when they pre paid my port charges. She kept saying "it's paid" and "we are trying to help you" and "I'm frustrated", but provided no proof of how much was paid and when. I paid the additional $130 and $225 just to get my shipment home. She at first said that she would refund me 200 but said she was under no obligation to show me proof of what happened with the 625 I had already been charged in port charges before leaving the US. Said she is under no obligation to show me how much alpha marine paid in port charges. Needless to say, no refund ever came. Worst of it all, she yelled and screamed at me when I finally decided to call over the phone after 52 emails back n forth over ONE issue of port charges. She wouldn't let me talk and made it all about herself. My body was literally shaking after I got off the phone with her. If you care about your mental and physical health don't sign up with this company. Even their own local counterpart here in Pak thinks I got scammed. I am pretty sure if I was a white client, I wouldn't have been yelled and screamed at. The level of racism and disrespect is real. Now that I'm googling their reviews again, apparently there is a whole list of complaints at the Better Business Bureau. read more

I hired their services for a move from California to France. Quotation process / Contract signature: Jerry was very helpful. He replied to emails on a timely manner and very proffesional. Pick-up: The pick up service came on time and were very polite, they packed my furniture very well (nothing was damaged during the move, not even my bikes!) I did not notice but they used some of my boxes! Transport: From pick up date to consolidation it took a very long time, approximately 6 weeks. They could have told me about thism as I could have either shipped things before or later Delivery: Port of entry was in UK instead of France. Because of this, they used a huge truck for the delivery (12mx4mx3m 18ton). It was very difficult for it to fit through the narrow streets of the city of destination. They wanted to charge me extra for a 'shuttle service' due to the fact that access to the property was my responsibility. Overall, the shipment took 17 weeks and was a challenging delivery service. I moved at the same time as another colleague, and his cargo arrived in 9 weeks! read more

I recently used Alpha Marine to ship a continer from California to Romania. The process was easy and smooth. Karen was very professional, and adressed all my questions and concerns promptly. The price was good and the service was delivered timely. I would highly recommend Alpha Marine for anyone who is moving overseas. read more