What Is White-Glove Antique Shipping — And What Should It Actually Include?
“White-glove shipping” gets thrown around a lot in the antique and furniture world. But what does it actually mean — and more importantly, what should it mean when you’re trusting someone with a 19th-century French armoire or a set of paintings you just paid $15,000 for at Round Top?
Here’s what separates white-glove antique shipping from standard freight, and what you should expect from any shipper you hire.
What Standard Freight Actually Does to Antiques
Standard freight carriers — the ones you might use to ship a pallet of retail goods — are optimized for volume and speed. Your shipment gets loaded onto a truck with dozens of other shipments, often stacked and strapped together. Drivers swap at hubs. Packages get transferred between trailers.
For most commercial cargo, this works fine. For a hand-carved mirror with gilded frame, a painted secretary desk, or a set of oil paintings, it’s a gamble. Damage rates for antiques on pallet freight are significantly higher than people expect — and standard freight liability coverage is based on weight, not value. A 20-pound painting worth $8,000 might be covered for $20.
What White-Glove Shipping Actually Involves
Real white-glove antique shipping is a hands-on process from start to finish. Here’s what it should look like:
1. In-Person Pickup
Your shipper comes to the item — whether that’s a vendor booth at an antique show, a dealer’s warehouse, or a private residence. They assess the piece before moving it, noting any pre-existing damage, identifying fragile points, and planning how to move it without causing new damage.
2. Proper Packing at the Source
White-glove packing means furniture blankets, moving pads, and corner protection — not bubble wrap and shrink wrap over bare wood. Glass and mirrors get cardboard corner guards and are packed vertically. Paintings are wrapped in glassine before anything else touches them. Marble tops come off and travel separately. Drawers are either removed or secured so they don’t shift.
3. Dedicated or Consolidated Transport
Your items travel on a dedicated truck or in a carefully consolidated load — not mixed with unrelated commercial freight. A white-glove shipper knows what else is in the truck and has packed everything to work together, not just side by side.
4. Communication Throughout
You should know where your shipment is. A good shipper contacts you when pickup is complete, again when the truck is loaded, and confirms delivery window in advance. You’re never left wondering whether your items were actually picked up.
5. Careful Delivery
Delivery isn’t dropping boxes at a door. It means bringing the pieces inside, unwrapping them carefully, placing them where you direct, and removing all the packing materials. Your items arrive in the same condition they left.
Questions to Ask Any Antique Shipper Before You Book
- Do you use furniture blankets and moving pads, or just shrink wrap? Shrink wrap directly on antique wood is a red flag.
- Will my items be on a dedicated truck or mixed with other freight? Mixed-freight carriers treat antiques like boxes.
- How do you handle marble tops, glass, and paintings specifically? A good shipper will have specific answers for each.
- What is your process if something is damaged? Understand their claims process before you need it.
- Can you pick up from multiple locations in a single trip? Critical for antique show pickups where you’ve bought from multiple vendors.
How We Do It at Livraison Express LA
We pick up from antique shows, dealers, and private sellers across Texas — primarily serving the Round Top corridor and delivering to Austin, Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas. Every piece gets furniture blankets and moving pads. Glass and mirrors travel with corner protection. Paintings get glassine wrapping before anything else touches them.
We also use the Sortly app to photograph and document every item at pickup, so you have a timestamped record of condition before it left the vendor. If there’s ever a dispute, you have documentation.
We’re not the cheapest option. We’re the option that gets your pieces there looking the way you bought them.
Get a shipping quote → or call/text Baptiste at (979) 230-7089.