Dinnie

Hi folks,

I need some advice, tips etc. on shipping stuff to Melbourne.

We are not taking any furniture. We have a rough estimate of 287 sq cubic feet and the few quotes I've received hover around £1,500 PLUS 3% insurance on the total value.

Have any of you out in Oz had better deals? I'm really struggling and to be honest we are considering selling off a load of stuff which distresses me no end as I don't want to get rid of all the things that make up the sum of my life in England.

Dinnie

OriginalSunshine

Dinnie - that sounds a reasonable price, to be honest. Time to get technical and do a cost comparison.

If you got rid of a load of stuff, how much space would that get you? How much money would you save by saving space?
How much money would it cost you to replace the items that you sold/got rid of?
In the end, it can sometimes work out cheaper to bite the bullet & pay for the shipping, than to try and save money.

Dinnie

I suspected it was an on par quote. I guess what has stressed us out is the insurance costs on top of that. My husband did a quick estimate of just on CD's and books and that alone came to £11,000!

I may fling every fleece I own onto the back lawn and burn them!!

Yes, its time for some calculations. Enough time to do it is what I'd pay for at this point.

Thanks!

Dinnie

CJN

Looking at some of the insurance postings on here - I think that 3% is a bit rich. :scared:

1% would be closer to the mark for a good deal.

Shop around :

midwifetanya

Hi!


We've moved back and fourth a few times! (My husband's an aussie, but we can never decide where to settle) We are in the process of returning to Brisbane, and I've just has a quote for a 20ft container delivered to our door (for self packing, insurance, and all customs clearance etc has to be organised by us) but they've quoted £1500....From previous experience I really would recommend taking as much stuff as you can cram into the container..... things are VERY expensive to replace in Aus. Take a look at the Aus IKEA websites for direct price comparisons......things are much more expensive in Australia even when prices converted directly back into pounds..... so imagine when you are only earning AU dollars.....ugh!

Hope this helps!

Tanya

Dinnie

Thanks for the tip. Personally I've never shopped in IKEA in Australia and have never understood the British passion for it. When I first arrived in London I made a disparaging remark about IKEA and was met with a frosty silence.

There are many other places to buy furniture in Melbourne. As it stands we have little furniture that justifies being shipped to Melbourne but as we have loads of personal stuff its just as well!

Which company quoted you £1500 for a container?

Dinnie

Welshie

Get your marine insurance from Letton Percival at 1.53% of total value of goods. Soooo much cheaper. They came highly recommended to me by most here. They insure from the moment your stuff leaves your house to arriving at your new pad down under. www.lettonpercival.co.uk

Dinnie

But my shipping company - Anglo Pacific - have their own Marine Insurance. The 3% premium was for Liability Insurance i.e. if the ship sinks.

Am I missing something?

Dinnie

Welshie

You don't have to use their insurance! Well you shouldn't have to. It should be optional. I'm covered if the ship sinks too! The insurance with the shippers I got quotes from was optional. Didn't get quoted by AP though. Don't let them bully you into using their insurance if you don't want to.

Dinnie

Actually the guy there was great. He told me I did not have to insure every single item. He said their own Marine Insurance covered our stuff to the value of £40 a box (cheers) but if we wanted to add more cover 3% on the value was the going rate.

So is Marine Insurance and Standard Liability 2 difference things as this is what I thought.

Dinnie

Welshie

me too now!

Mmmmm don't sound right to me....

How much is their own marine insurance or are they saying it's included in the price? I presume then its 3% extra if you wanted to add more??

midwifetanya

Hi Dinnie,


Yes, I have to say I agree with you on the Ikea thing....I was just a good way of making a direct comparison as you could compare exactly the same items as we can buy here in the UK
The company that quoted the £1500 was :
Elite Shipping Ltd
Unit One
Clarence Industial Estate
Eastside Road
Whittington Moor
Chesterfield
S41 9AT
Telephone number 00 44 (0)1246 451231
Fax 00 44 (0)1246 451870
Web Site : www.eliteshipping.co.uk
[email protected]

Hope this is helpful!

Tanya

Melburrrrnnnn

Thanks Tanya! Will look into that.

As far as the Marine Insurance vs other insurance I'm going to have to sort that one out. It was included in the overall quote with the 3% on the value of the goods being the cost of liability insurance. AAahhhh!

IKEA - yeah, loads of furniture places in Oz that don't involve flat packs and horrendous car parks ... or is that just in Warrington!?

Dinnie