Confusing shipping quotes
 

I'm in the process of getting shipping quotes. So far I have received 2. John Masons have quoted £2000 for Shipping 400 cubic feet, and Pickfords have quoted £2915 for 750 cubic feet. Shipping groupage to Perth

What I don't understand is how the two estimations of the cubic feet can be so far out? one estimate is almost double the amount of the other. I showed them both exactly the same stuff!!
It will be interesting to see what the other shipping company estimate at.
Did anyone else have estimations that were hugely different?

The other thing that confuses me is the price. Searching through old threads for price comparisons I found people had been quoted £2750 for 850 cub. feet, £3125 for filling a container, £2021 for 550 cub. feet. and many more all of which work out a lot cheaper than mine!!
Does the price depend on the area you live and where it is being shipped to?
Has anyone had any recent quotes of which I can compare?
I'd be most interested in anyones experiences.

Pudnut...

We live in Surrey as well and are paying just over £3000 for a full container to Brissie. It should be a bit cheaper to Perth, I think the charges for the container are a bit less.

Have you tried Pss they were the cheapest for me followed by John Masons.
Pickfords are by far the most expensive. Doree Bonner and Britannia were about £200 more. Anglo pacific £300 more for us.

I would get PSS round they seem to be the most competitive, but it is always more for a part full container so it might be worth you paying for a full one and taking the lot or throwing a lot of stuff away!

Cheers tinaj. going with my two quotes so far, Pickfords workout the cheapest! Both reps told me that groupage would be cheaper as you share the cost of the container, but with Pickfords quote at £2915 for 750 cubic feet it seems I'm almost paying the complete cost of the container.
As for Pss I can't get anyone to response to me for love nor money!! I have rang them 3 times to organise a quote, each time I was told some one would get back to me, 3 weeks later, still waiting, I went to their web site, filled in the online quote, no response, I also filled in the "request a visit on line form" twice, still waiting, I also emailed them to request a quote, still no response!! They obviously don't want my money.
I was impressed with John Masons but I feel £2000 for 400 cubic feet is over the top.

Pudnut...

Try Crown relocations that's who we are going with, as they crown over in Oz. £2000 for up to 500 cubic feet.

container charges
 

We paid £3900+£700 insurance to send a 40ft to Melbourne.Don,t think that once you,ve paid that that,s the end of shipping fees,when stuff
eventually arrived the company recieving our goods wanted MORE MONEY $700,and we was,nt told about this until it arrived in oz,and if we did,nt pay they wouldn,t release our goods.Also
make sure your stuff is scubbed and well clean(shoes,garden stuff etc.We thought our lawn mower was clean,but they conferscated it are charged us $100 for them to bury it.
What a bloody cheek !So be aware folks.

HI

The cost you get will depend on the type of goods that are to be packed not just the cubic capacity. For instance a case load of glass ware will cost more than a chair of equivalent size due to the time it will take to pack it. Also packers will use different materials, make sure you are happy with what they use before you agree to the quote. You may also find it is worth going for a sole use container as you get much less complications and are more likely to get all your stuff.
We went with Robinsons, they were not the cheapest, but we were happiest with the whole package they were offering(double check what is included in the price). Our stuff arrived in Brisbane last week and we have not had any problems. However, if we had not had a sole use container we may have had problems. As our stuff was unloaded for inspection they checked each box/item against the itinery. They could not find a few items and they 'aquired' items not on the itinery!!! As it was sole use they delivered everything to us anyway and it was all our stuff with nothing gained or lost. One stool is damaged and we will be claiming on insurance for this.

Re: Confusing shipping quotes
 

Pudnut ,if you want to P/M me with a rough estimate of your goods ,i will give you a rough estimate of your volume, in cu/mtrs, some thing to work with,..................:D :beer: MM

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, I have Robinsons and Crown relocations coming next week, let's see what they come up with!! Have phoned Pss again for the 4th time,yet again, someone is going to get back to me, I won't hold my breath though!! I think I'll just forget them now, certainly not a good way to run a business.
Thanks Mr Mover for your offer, I will be taking you up on that very shortly.

Pudnut...

Pudnut
Strange that you have found this with PSS, we were always able to get hold of them on the phone and they were very helpful. We found that Pickfords were the worst for communication. You have to go with your gut reaction. If you're not happy before they've got your money then there's not much hope.....

Blimey!! Must be an omen, Just got a call back from Pss, wanting to arrange for some one to come a give me a quote, I almost fainted with amazement!!! My first reaction was to tell them as they took their sweet time getting back to me after countless phone calls and emails I didn't trust them to get my stuff there, but I thought oh well what have I got to lose?
I'll need to be hugely impressed by them though!!

Pudnut...

Now, PSS wouldn't be watching this site, would they? ;)

John Masons do!! When i got their quote they gave me a follow up call and said 'do you use the Expats site we are highly thought of on there!'

I've read a bit about how reputable PSS are, on this site. Maybe they are.

Sent them an e-mail regarding what we have to ship ( only 8 washing machine sized boxes ) and asked them for a quote, on their " ask us for a quote " e-mail address.

Their reply? An exact replica of the general information which is available on their website. No, " please contact us if you would like any further assistance ", nothing.

If they can't be bothered, then neither can I.

Will be going elsewhere.:(