Luggage Forward and Luggage Free are the two services in this category that sell themselves as the premium option. Both do door to door pickup. Both price by bag category and speed tier rather than by the pound. Both put a big, confident guarantee on the homepage. So on paper this should be a fight about who is cheaper and who is faster, and on 22 September 2026 I have an answer to both of those questions that I will give you straight.
But the price answer is not the reason this comparison is worth reading. The reason is what happens when a bag goes missing or turns up late, because that is the only moment a premium shipping service earns its premium. And when you read the two companies’ terms of service next to their own homepages, both of them say something different in the contract from what they say in the marketing. One of them says something very different. That is the heart of this article.
A note on who this is for. Most people reading E-Commerce Paradise sell physical products online. You go to trade shows, you fly to meet suppliers, some of you live abroad the way I have for more than a decade. So I am going to tie the decision to how you actually move: a suitcase to a conference, a heavy bag when you relocate, and the question every store owner asks sooner or later, which is whether you can ship your product samples this way. Short answer: mostly no, and I will show you the clauses.
Disclosure, before any links. The Luggage Forward links on this page are monetised affiliate links through CJ, and Luggage Forward pays me a commission if you book. Luggage Free, ShipGo, LugLess and Send My Bag pay me nothing: their links here are plain redirects with no affiliate code. I recommend them anyway wherever they win on the numbers, and in this article Luggage Free wins on price almost everywhere. You will see that the paid link loses most of the price comparison. I am leaving it that way because it is what the quotes said. The Shopify, Bizee and Hiscox links in the business section near the end are also affiliate links, and I may earn a commission if you sign up through them.
The short verdict
On price, Luggage Free was cheaper than Luggage Forward on every reference route I quoted on 22 September 2026, with one exception: skis from Denver to Vail, where Luggage Forward came in $0.99 lower. To London it was not close. Luggage Free quoted $284.99 in 2 to 4 business days against Luggage Forward’s cheapest $394 in 7 business days. Cheaper by $109.01 and faster.
On the contract, Luggage Forward wins, and that is not a small thing. Its terms of service give you a specific written remedy for a late bag, a refund of double the transportation charge, with a published list of what voids it and published claim deadlines. Luggage Free’s homepage promises something similar in louder words, but its terms say the company “is not obligated to provide any compensation or damages for any Shipment Failure”. Luggage Forward also takes heavier bags (75 lb against 65 lb) and claims more than 200 countries and territories.
So the decision comes down to this. If you want the lowest quote and the faster London service, book Luggage Free, and go in knowing what its terms actually promise. If the date cannot move, or the bag is heavy, or you want a remedy you can point to in writing, Luggage Forward is the one that puts it in the contract.
Want the guarantee written into the contract?
Luggage Forward’s terms promise a refund of double the transportation charge if a bag picked up on schedule misses its guaranteed date, with the exclusions listed. It was also the dearer quote on every route I checked except skis, so compare before you book.
First, Luggage Free and ShipGo are the same company
This matters before we look at a single price. Luggage Free’s terms of service name the company as “Global Sticks Express, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company” with its principal place of business in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, at 11400 North Jog Road, Suite 300. ShipGo’s terms name the same legal entity at the same address, and both sets of terms carry the same “Last Modified” date of 18 September 2026.
They are sister brands. Same owner, the same category grid (carry on, checked, oversized, boxes, trunks, golf, skis), the same tier names (Ground, Three Day Express, Second Day Express, Next Day Express, International Priority), the same $500 aggregate liability cap, the same prohibited list and the same 48 hour cancellation rule.
What that means for you: if you are comparing Luggage Free and ShipGo as if they were two independent competitors keeping each other honest, they are not. Getting a quote from both is still worth doing, because the prices differ. ShipGo came in lower than or equal to Luggage Free on every tier I checked with one exception: on an Oversized bag from New York to Los Angeles, ShipGo’s Three Day Express was $189.99 against Luggage Free’s $174.99. But the terms you are signing are functionally the same contract with the same company. If you are unhappy with how one brand handles a claim, switching to the other brand is not switching companies. I cover the ShipGo side in detail in my Luggage Forward vs ShipGo comparison, and I include ShipGo in the price table below for reference, clearly marked as the same owner.
Head to head prices on every reference route
Every price below was read from each company’s own quote widget on 22 September 2026. All are one way, one item, in US dollars. For Luggage Forward I used a delivery date of on or before Tuesday 13 October 2026, the widget default. Luggage Free and ShipGo do not ask for a date, so their prices are not tied to one. Prices on other dates may differ. I also quoted the domestic return legs, and they matched the outbound; the London return did not.
| Route and item | Luggage Forward | Luggage Free | ShipGo (sister brand, same owner) |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York to Los Angeles, 50 lb bag | Basic, 5 business days, $144. Standard, 3 days, $174. Priority, 2 days, $269. Priority+, 2 days, $294. Express, 1 day, $274 | Ground, 5 business days, $114.99. Three Day Express $154.99. Second Day Express $194.99. Next Day Express $259.99 | Ground, 5 business days, $79.99. Three Day Express $124.99. Second Day Express $194.99. Next Day Express $249.99 |
| Chicago to Miami, 50 lb bag | Identical to New York to Los Angeles: Basic $144, Standard $174, Priority $269, Priority+ $294, Express $274 | Ground, 4 business days, $114.99. Three Day Express $154.99. Second Day Express $194.99. Next Day Express $259.99 | Ground, 4 business days, $69.99. Three Day Express $114.99. Second Day Express $184.99. Next Day Express $224.99 |
| New York to London, 50 lb bag | Select, 7 business days, $394. Preferred, 5 business days, $469 | International Priority, 2 to 4 business days, $284.99, plus VAT and duty that may apply | International Priority, 2 to 4 business days, $254.99, plus VAT and duty that may apply |
| London to New York, 50 lb bag | Select, 7 business days, $419. Preferred, 5 business days, $464 | International Priority, 1 to 3 business days, $314.99 | International Priority, 1 to 3 business days, $264.99 |
| Golf clubs, New York to Los Angeles | Large Golf, 55 lb: Basic $149, Standard $179, Priority $274, Priority+ $309, Express $294. Small Golf, 45 lb: Basic $129 | Golf XL, 56 lb: Ground, 5 business days, $114.99. Three Day Express $164.99. Second Day Express $194.99. Next Day Express $234.99 | Golf, large: Ground, 5 business days, $99.99. Other tiers not captured |
| Skis, Denver to Vail | Standard Skis, 25 lb: Basic $139, Standard $159, Priority $189, Priority+ $219, Express $229 | Skis and Boards Small, 35 lb: Ground, 2 business days, $139.99. Skis and Boards Standard, 50 lb: $179.99. Other tiers not captured | Skis, small: Ground, 2 business days, $79.99 (item label not visually confirmed) |
Two things jump out of that table. Luggage Forward’s Priority+ tier costs more than its Express tier on both 50 lb bag routes and on golf. On New York to Los Angeles, Priority+ at 2 business days was $294 while Express at 1 business day was $274. Priority+ gave me a Saturday pickup, which may be what you are paying for, but do not assume the fastest tier is the most expensive one.
The second is that Luggage Forward charged the identical price on New York to Los Angeles and Chicago to Miami, while Luggage Free’s Ground delivered a day faster on the Chicago route at the same price. Luggage Forward’s pricing looks like it runs on broad zones. That is neither good nor bad, just worth knowing if you are on an unusual route.
Matched speed, the fair comparison
Comparing the cheapest tier against the cheapest tier is the easy way to do this. The fair way is to match the delivery window. Here is New York to Los Angeles, 50 lb bag, tier against its closest equivalent:
- 5 business days: Luggage Forward Basic $144 against Luggage Free Ground $114.99. Luggage Forward costs $29.01 more.
- 3 business days: Luggage Forward Standard $174 against Luggage Free Three Day Express $154.99. Luggage Forward costs $19.01 more.
- 2 business days: Luggage Forward Priority $269 against Luggage Free Second Day Express $194.99. Luggage Forward costs $74.01 more.
- 1 business day: Luggage Forward Express $274 against Luggage Free Next Day Express $259.99. Luggage Forward costs $14.01 more.
So the gap is smallest at next day ($14.01) and largest at two days ($74.01). If you need a bag at a conference hotel in two business days, that $74.01 is the number to think about.
Golf follows the same pattern. Large Golf at Basic is $149 against Golf XL on Ground at $114.99, so $34.01 more for Luggage Forward, and the 2 day gap is $79.01 ($274 against $194.99). Skis are the one exception: Luggage Forward’s Standard Skis at Basic were $139 against Luggage Free’s Skis and Boards Small on Ground at $139.99, which makes Luggage Forward $0.99 cheaper. Keep in mind the categories are not identical, 25 lb for Luggage Forward against 35 lb for Luggage Free, and ShipGo quoted $79.99 on the same route. If you ski, my guide to shipping skis covers when renting beats shipping at all.
Round trip, and against simply checking the bag
You pay for two legs, not one, so always do the round trip. I quoted the return legs on both domestic routes, Los Angeles to New York and Miami to Chicago, and Luggage Forward, Luggage Free and ShipGo each priced them identically to the outbound, so doubling the one way price is exact for an ordinary 50 lb bag. On London the return was quoted and was different. Oversize bags, golf and skis were quoted one way only, so any doubled figure for those assumes the return costs the same.
- New York to Los Angeles, cheapest tier both ways: Luggage Forward $288, Luggage Free $229.98, ShipGo $159.98.
- New York to London and back, cheapest tier: Luggage Forward $394 plus $419, which is $813. Luggage Free $284.99 plus $314.99, which is $599.98. Luggage Forward costs $213.02 more for the round trip.
And the comparison most articles skip. American Airlines charges $45 for a first checked bag prepaid online and $50 at the airport, per direction, on tickets issued on or after 18 May 2026, per aa.com. That is $90 round trip prepaid. Southwest’s travel fees page lists $45 for a first checked bag on travel booked on or after 9 April 2026. On an ordinary 50 lb suitcase, both of these shipping services cost more than checking it, and I go through that arithmetic in full in my Luggage Forward pricing breakdown.
Overweight is where the arithmetic starts to move, but later than most people assume. Delta charges $100 for a bag of 51 to 70 lb and $200 for 71 to under 100 lb, per its excess and overweight baggage page, on top of the bag fee. American charges $30 for 50 to 53 lb, $100 for 53 to 70 lb and $200 for 70 to 100 lb. A 60 lb bag checked both ways on American costs $290 round trip prepaid, $45 plus $100 in each direction.
At 60 lb, checking on American still beats both of the services in this comparison. A 60 lb bag has to book as Luggage Forward’s Oversize Bag, $164 one way on Basic from New York to Los Angeles, or $328 doubled, which loses to checking by $38. Luggage Free’s Oversized Ground was $154.99 one way, or $309.98 doubled, which loses by $19.98. The only shipper that beat checking at 60 lb was ShipGo, whose Oversized Ground at $109.99 one way comes to $219.98 doubled. Those oversize doubles assume the return leg costs the same, which I verified for ordinary bags but not for oversize.
Luggage Forward only wins from 71 to 75 lb. There American’s $200 overweight fee makes checking $490 round trip prepaid, against $328 for Luggage Forward’s Oversize Bag doubled, and neither Luggage Free nor ShipGo has a category above 65 lb.
The marketing against the terms, side by side
This is the section that should change how you read any luggage shipping website. I read both companies’ homepages and both sets of terms of service on 22 September 2026. Luggage Forward’s terms say “Last Updated: August 27, 2026”. Luggage Free’s say “Last Modified: September 18, 2026”. Here is what each company says in its marketing, and what its own contract says.
| Topic | What the marketing says | What the terms say |
|---|---|---|
| Luggage Forward value protection | Homepage: “Our complimentary value protection covers your luggage for up to $500” | “Customer may purchase optional Value Protection for eligible Items.” Disclaimer section: maximum liability is limited to the lesser of the purchased protection, the double money back refund, “OR $100 IF NO PROTECTION PURCHASED.” Container damage capped at $500 per container, up to $50 per damaged wheel, zipper or handle, reimbursed at purchase price, not replacement cost |
| Luggage Forward fees | Homepage: “Our all-inclusive pricing … we do not have any additional fees or surcharges.” Study abroad page: “There are no taxes or pick-up, handling or fuel surcharges.” | “Any duties, taxes or other fees incurred during the Customs process will be passed on to the Customer.” Customer may pay carrier accessory fees such as large package, address correction and delivery intercept fees, plus fees charged by hotels, resorts or cruise ports. The booking widget charges +$75 for a one hour pickup window. $50 cancellation fee inside 2 business days. Reprocessing fee up to $25 if new tags are shipped |
| Luggage Forward on time guarantee | Homepage: double money back | Agrees. “Customer’s sole and exclusive remedy for a Delayed Shipment is a refund of double the transportation charge,” if the bag was picked up on schedule and misses 11:59 p.m. local time on the guaranteed date. Exclusions listed in writing |
| Luggage Free on time guarantee | Homepage: “we guarantee it will arrive on time or there will be no charge and will give you up to $500 per bag to make it right. It’s the best luggage shipping guarantee in the world, period!” | “Company is not obligated to provide any compensation or damages for any Shipment Failure” and “a commercially reasonable investigation is User’s sole and exclusive remedy.” |
| Luggage Free coverage | Homepage: “$500 of complimentary insurance on every shipment”. FAQ: “Luggage Free automatically covers each shipment for up to $1,000”. Order form sells cover up to $10,000 for $129.99 | Total aggregate liability, “including any liability for any damage or loss of any package or Goods”, cannot “exceed the lesser of the actual value of any items lost or damaged or $500.” The terms say this paragraph “controls over any other limitation, cap, or exclusive-remedy provision” |
| Luggage Free size limits | FAQ: “We are happy to accept bags of any size or weight.” | Largest category in the widget is 65 lb. Over category items move to the next largest category “and a $25 adjustment fee will be incurred” |
Let me be fair to both, because the table is blunt.
Luggage Forward’s contradictions are real but narrower. The “$500 complimentary” line on its homepage sits against a disclaimer capping liability at $100 if you buy no protection. Its own terms even disagree with themselves on a lost bag: one clause says the maximum reimbursement is “the greater of” the double refund or the purchased protection, and the disclaimer says “the lesser of”. Its “no additional fees” line sits against a clause passing customs duties and carrier accessory fees to you. And its on time guarantee page describes coverage from “overnight Express to seven day Economy” when the booking widget has no tier called Economy; the slowest domestic tier is Basic at 5 business days. None of that is great. But on the thing that matters most, the remedy for a late bag, the homepage and the contract say the same thing: double the transportation charge.
Luggage Free’s contradiction goes to the core of the product. The homepage says on time or no charge plus up to $500 per bag. The terms say the company is not obligated to pay anything for a shipment failure and that an investigation is your sole remedy. Its sister brand ShipGo has the same split: its guarantee page promises a refund and “up to $200 reimbursement for related expenses”, and its terms carry the same “not obligated” line.
The coverage point is the one I would ask about before paying. Luggage Free’s order form sells extra cover in steps: $1,000 for $12.99, $2,500 for $29.99, $5,000 for $59.99, $10,000 for $129.99. Its terms cap total liability at the lesser of actual value or $500 and say that cap controls over any other provision. I cannot tell you how Luggage Free reconciles those two things, because its own documents do not. If you are about to pay $129.99 for $10,000 of cover, email them first and get the answer in writing.
Superlatives like “best luggage shipping guarantee in the world, period” are Luggage Free’s words, not mine, and a contract that says the company is not obligated to compensate you is not what I would call the best guarantee anywhere.
Heavy bag, fixed date, written remedy
Luggage Forward’s Oversize category takes bags up to 75 lb and its terms publish claim windows of 15 days for damage and 30 days for loss. Liability is $100 unless you buy protection, and duties are passed to you, so read the terms before you book.
Terms comparison: guarantees, claims and cancellations
Here is the contract side in one place. Where a company does not publish something, the cell says so.
| Term | Luggage Forward | Luggage Free |
|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | Luggage Forward, LLC, 3827 Lafayette St, Denver, CO 80205 | Global Sticks Express, LLC, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. It is the same entity as ShipGo |
| Remedy for a late bag, per the terms | Refund of double the transportation charge, sole and exclusive remedy | “Not obligated to provide any compensation or damages for any Shipment Failure” |
| What voids the guarantee | Disallowed goods, locked international bags, weather, customs hold or government action, incomplete documents, a later delivery date requested, a timely first delivery attempt, late tender, self clearance destinations | Not applicable, since the terms promise no compensation |
| Liability with no extra cover bought | $100, per the disclaimer section | Lesser of actual value or $500, aggregate |
| Extra cover for sale | Offered, price not published | Up to $10,000 for $129.99, still subject to the $500 aggregate cap in the terms |
| Damage claim window | 15 days from delivery | Not published |
| Lost bag claim window | 30 days from expected delivery. A bag counts as lost 10 business days after the guaranteed date | Not published. Lost items “will require a physical investigation” |
| Cancellation | Full refund 2 or more business days before pickup, $50 fee inside that | Full refund 48 or more hours before pickup. Inside 48 hours, account credit less $10 per package |
| Changes | Up to $25 reprocessing fee if new tags are shipped | Free 3 or more business days ahead, $25 between 3 business days and 24 hours, “greater than $25” inside 24 hours |
| Over category bag | Rate may move to the next largest category | Next largest category plus a $25 adjustment fee |
| Locks | Domestic bags must be locked or missing contents claims are void. International bags must be unlocked or guarantees are void | Not published in what I read |
| Carrier | Not disclosed, “third-party shipping companies” | Terms say “3PL Providers”. Homepage footer links FedEx Advantage |
| Late billing | $20 late fee plus 1 percent compounding monthly interest on late payment | Final charges may be billed “several weeks following the date of shipment” |
The claims windows are the practical part. With Luggage Forward you know you have 15 days to report damage and 30 days from the expected delivery date to report a loss, and you are told to keep the item and packaging for inspection. With Luggage Free the number of days is not published at all. That does not mean Luggage Free handles claims badly. It means you cannot check, which for a premium service is the whole point.
One more Luggage Forward detail worth knowing: reimbursement uses “actual purchase price”, and the terms say “Replacement cost or current market value is not used.” Keep your receipts for anything expensive in the bag.
Size, weight and reach
Both use weight and size bands rather than a per pound rate. Luggage Forward’s widget showed Small Bag at 25 lb and 45 linear inches, Standard at 50 lb and 62 inches, and Oversize at 75 lb and 74 inches. Luggage Free’s categories are Carry On 25 lb and 45 inches, Checked 50 lb and 62 inches, Oversized 65 lb and 75 inches, plus a Medium Box at 35 lb, a Large Box at 50 lb, trunks up to 65 lb, golf up to 56 lb and skis up to 65 lb.
So the ceiling is 75 lb against 65 lb. If you are moving abroad with one very heavy bag, or you have a trade show kit that packs dense, that 10 lb is a real difference, because over 65 lb Luggage Free has nowhere to move you except an adjustment fee.
On reach, Luggage Forward’s how it works page says it has shipped to and from “more than 200 countries and territories” since 2004, and its international tiers are Select at 7 business days and Preferred at 5. Luggage Free offered International Priority on both London routes I quoted, but I did not find a country count on its own site, so I am marking it not published. If you are going somewhere less common than London, get both quotes before assuming either serves it. For context, LugLess, the budget domestic option, returned “LugLess doesn’t service United States to United Kingdom yet” and pointed me to Luggage Forward.
Trade show samples: read this before you pack
This is the question I get from store owners, so here is one honest paragraph on it. Neither service is built to move product samples, and both prohibited lists will catch most of what an ecommerce seller brings to a show. Luggage Forward’s terms ban electronics, including laptops, phones and range finders, and all batteries, including lithium batteries built into devices and tracking devices, and its homepage list also bans alcohol including perfume and hand sanitiser, all medication including vitamins, food including coffee and spices, aerosols and sunscreen. Luggage Free’s terms ban electronics, batteries, toiletries, jewelry, liquids, fragile items such as glass, porcelain and ceramic, compressed gasses including bug spray and sunscreen, and all medications. So if you sell gadgets, skincare, supplements, coffee, candles in glass jars or anything with a battery, neither of these is the way to get samples to a booth. Luggage Free’s terms also say the user is purchasing the services “for User’s own personal use only, and not for resale or export.” I am not a lawyer and I will not tell you that bans business travel, but I would not ship stock through a service whose contract says that. Clothing, printed banners and display fixtures are a different story; for anything else, use your normal business courier account with UPS or FedEx and ship it as freight to the venue’s advance warehouse.
And the obvious one for anyone who works on the road: do not put your laptop in either bag. Both ban it. Carry it on.
Relocating abroad with a few bags
This is where the price gap gets big enough to matter. I quoted three standard checked bags from New York to London on 22 September 2026. Luggage Forward’s widget total was $1,182 on Select (7 business days) and $1,407 on Preferred (5 business days). Luggage Free’s widget total for three checked bags was $854.97, and it priced three Large Boxes at 50 lb exactly the same, $284.99 each. That is $327.03 less than Luggage Forward’s cheapest tier, and faster.
Both handle customs paperwork for you. Luggage Forward says its “international shipping specialists complete every customs form on your behalf” and that used personal belongings typically qualify for duty free treatment, though rules vary by country. Luggage Free says it completes customs documents using passport copies, itineraries and item lists. Both pass duties and VAT to you. Luggage Forward says it ships boxes on the same category model, but publishes no box price, and says plastic bins or tubs cannot be shipped.
So for a move with ordinary bags to a major city, Luggage Free is the better buy on these quotes. Luggage Forward is worth the extra when a bag is over 65 lb, when the destination is not one Luggage Free serves, or when you want the written double refund because your flat keys and your first week depend on the bags turning up. If you are planning a move, my guide on how to move to Bali covers the rest of the logistics. Sort out health cover before you go, too; my SafetyWing review is where I would start.
If you are moving for university rather than for work, I wrote a separate guide to the best luggage shipping for international students with the three bag figures in both directions.
Verdict by traveller type
| If you are | Book | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Flying domestic with one ordinary bag and flexible dates | Check the bag, or ShipGo | $90 round trip prepaid on American beats every shipping quote here. If you still want to ship, ShipGo Ground was $79.99 one way on New York to Los Angeles |
| Going to a trade show with clothes and display materials | Luggage Free | Cheaper at every matched speed on the domestic routes I quoted. Luggage Forward only if the date is critical |
| Going to a trade show with electronics, liquids or battery powered samples | Neither | Both prohibited lists ban them. Use a business courier account |
| Relocating to London or another major city | Luggage Free | $284.99 in 2 to 4 business days against $394 in 7 on New York to London |
| Moving a bag over 65 lb | Luggage Forward | Oversize category runs to 75 lb. Luggage Free tops out at 65 lb |
| On a date you cannot move, such as a cruise departure or an event | Luggage Forward | The only one of the two whose terms put a remedy for lateness in writing |
| Shipping golf clubs | Luggage Free | Golf XL Ground $114.99 against Large Golf Basic $149 on New York to Los Angeles |
| Shipping skis to Vail | Luggage Forward. Or ShipGo | Luggage Forward was $139. Luggage Free was $139.99, so it lost by $0.99. ShipGo was $79.99 if price is all that matters |
If neither fits, my Luggage Forward alternatives roundup covers LugLess and Send My Bag too. My ranking of the best luggage shipping services sorts every option by what you are actually shipping.
Running the business behind the store
What this comparison really shows is how two companies price a premium. Luggage Forward charges more and puts a specific promise in its contract. Luggage Free charges less and puts the promise on its homepage. If you sell anything expensive, the lesson is that a premium only holds up when the buyer can see exactly what it buys. The categories on my high ticket niches list are the ones where buyers are willing and able to pay for that.
That is also the whole idea behind high ticket dropshipping. Fewer orders, higher value, and the store that wins is the one that makes its warranty, shipping and returns terms clear before checkout, not after something goes wrong.
Your terms are only as good as your suppliers’ terms, the same way these shipping companies are only as good as the carriers underneath them. My step by step guide to finding suppliers for high ticket products shows how I get warranty and return policies from every brand before I list a product.
And before any serious supplier will open an account, you need a real company behind the store. My walkthrough of business formation for high ticket dropshipping covers the order to do it in.
The stack I use is simple. Shopify for the storefront. Bizee to handle the company filing.
Then Hiscox for liability cover sized for a small operator.
If you would rather have the whole store built and launched for you, that is what my done for you high ticket dropshipping build and launch service is for.
Frequently asked questions
Is Luggage Free cheaper than Luggage Forward?
On the routes I quoted on 22 September 2026, yes, everywhere except skis. New York to Los Angeles on the slowest tier was $114.99 against $144. New York to London was $284.99 against $394. Skis from Denver to Vail were the exception, $139.99 against $139, so Luggage Forward was $0.99 cheaper there.
Is Luggage Free faster than Luggage Forward to London?
Yes, on the quotes I pulled. Luggage Free’s International Priority quoted 2 to 4 business days from New York and 1 to 3 from London. Luggage Forward’s Select was 7 business days and Preferred 5.
Are Luggage Free and ShipGo the same company?
Yes. Both sites’ terms of service name Global Sticks Express, LLC, at the same Palm Beach Gardens address. They are sister brands with the same terms. ShipGo quoted the same or lower than Luggage Free on every tier I checked except one, the Oversized bag on Three Day Express from New York to Los Angeles, where ShipGo was $189.99 and Luggage Free $174.99.
Does Luggage Free really guarantee on time delivery?
Its homepage says it will arrive on time “or there will be no charge” and up to $500 per bag. Its terms say the company “is not obligated to provide any compensation or damages for any Shipment Failure” and that a commercially reasonable investigation is your sole remedy. Both statements are Luggage Free’s own. Treat the contract as the one that counts.
What does Luggage Forward’s guarantee actually pay?
A refund of double the transportation charge if a bag picked up on the scheduled date is not delivered by 11:59 p.m. local time on the guaranteed date. Weather, customs holds, locked international bags, prohibited items, incomplete paperwork and a few other listed events void it.
Is the $500 of cover really included with Luggage Forward?
The homepage says complimentary value protection covers luggage up to $500. The terms’ disclaimer caps liability at $100 if no protection is purchased, and container damage at $500 per container regardless. Ask what is included on your booking before you rely on $500.
What is the claims deadline for each?
Luggage Forward: 15 days from delivery for damage, 30 days from expected delivery for a lost bag. Luggage Free: not published in days; its terms say lost item claims require a physical investigation.
Can I ship my laptop or product samples?
Not a laptop, with either. Both ban electronics and batteries. Luggage Free also bans toiletries and all liquids. Samples that are electronic, liquid, battery powered, food or glass are out with both, so use a business courier instead.
Which one takes heavier bags?
Luggage Forward, up to 75 lb in its Oversize category. Luggage Free’s largest bag category is 65 lb, and over category items incur a $25 adjustment fee.
The bottom line
Luggage Free is the cheaper service and, to London, the faster one. On these quotes it beat Luggage Forward at every matched domestic speed and by $109.01 one way to London, and for most trips that is the right place to start. Just go in knowing its terms say it is not obligated to compensate you for a failed shipment, that its liability is capped at $500 whatever cover you buy, and that ShipGo, same company, was cheaper still.
Luggage Forward costs more almost everywhere and I am not going to pretend otherwise just because it is the link that pays me. What you get for the extra is a contract that says something specific: double the transportation charge if the bag is late, published exclusions, published claim windows, a 75 lb ceiling and more than 200 countries. When a bag has to be there on a date, that is the thing worth paying for.
When the date matters more than the price
Luggage Forward’s cheapest New York to Los Angeles tier was $144 one way on 22 September 2026, against $114.99 at Luggage Free. The extra buys a written double refund if the bag is late, with exclusions for weather and customs.
Before you book either, read my full Luggage Forward review for the rest of the terms and the round trip math.
Related Articles
Luggage Forward vs ShipGo: Cheaper Bag or Better Guarantee
Luggage Forward Review: Is It Worth the Price
Luggage Forward Alternatives: Cheaper, Faster, or Neither
Best Luggage Shipping Services Ranked by What You Ship
Best Luggage Shipping for International Students
Trevor Fenner is an ecommerce entrepreneur and the founder of Ecommerce Paradise, a platform focused on helping entrepreneurs build and scale profitable high-ticket ecommerce and dropshipping businesses. With over a decade of hands-on experience, Trevor specializes in high-ticket dropshipping strategy, niche and product selection, supplier recruiting and onboarding, Google & Bing Shopping ads, ecommerce SEO, and systems-driven automation and scaling. Through Ecommerce Paradise, he provides free education via in-depth guides like How to Start High-Ticket Dropshipping, advanced training through the High-Ticket Dropshipping Masterclass, and fully done-for-you turnkey ecommerce services for entrepreneurs who want a faster, more hands-off path to growth. Trevor is known for emphasizing sustainable, real-world ecommerce models over hype-driven tactics, helping store owners build scalable, sellable, and location-independent brands.
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