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Julie,
I have had to do this long distance thing a few times in the past (all transatlantic) and have had one bad experience. Payment had been made via wire plus the additional cost for shipping (I had sent the client a quote from the shipping company previously), so I proceeded to have the crate built for the painting (it was a large piece) and have all the documents for export ready (the piece was leaving Spain, and at the time the law was that all art pieces had to be cleared by the MInistry of Culture and Min. of Industry to make sure they are NOT part of national heritage). The shipping-courier company was one of the top ones internationally and I had asked for their speediest service (2 days). It took them 17 days in all while the client was emailing me (upset, of course) wondering where his painting was. It arrived finally but not without the headache of daily calls to the company by me and screaming matches on the phone. I eventually filed a complaint, had a hearing after a year in front of a judge and was reimbursed the full amount. So I am now traumatized by this method, although in hindsight, I should have gone to a specialist company that deals with transporting only artwork.
One bad experience should not, of course, close our minds to this method.
I have also had to rent vans and transport paintings myself driving many hours, and I would still choose this method whenever possible since I am in control of the delivery and, as Michelle says, there is always the plus of establishing better relationship with the client, and is more personal.
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Carlos
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