TheAshleys

I guess as a way of thanking everyone that posted here before on the same subject, that helped us make the move, I decided to do a post of what we learned when shipping.

First of all, bring EVERYTHING. We did not bring a number of items, such as tools, mops, brooms, cleaning products, extension leads, garden tools, just silly little things like that. We have spent over AUD$1500 since we have been here on things we had in the UK, and just threw away. They can all be cleaned, and brought over. If you have a full container, you are paying for that, so cram as much as you can in. Even things we said we were not going to bring when the stuff was assessed for costing by the shippers, we asked to be wrapped and sent on the day of the shipping. They did, and did not charge us. DB quoted for 600cf, but allocated a full container anyway. The packing guys said they would rather use our stuff to pack it out, than having to shutter up one end of the container anyway. I wonder if DB's quote would have been higher if they had estimated the full 750cf (Ours was a reefer). Who knows.

Things like bins should be brought over. We again, said we would not bring them. The packing guys made us ! And our stepladders and things. So so glad we did, they are real expensive here. Our bin is nearly $200.00 alone, and we just washed it, then they put a load of stuff in it so it did not take any extra space.

If there is a difference in price between full pack and unpack, and full pack and just unload (Leaving all goods in boxes), take the unload package. Believe me, when it all turns up, there is no way you can get it all unpacked. It takes days. We paid for the full monty, and just let the guys go, as we could not move in the house for boxes.

There is a good internet site for tracking your ship, you enter the vessel callsign, and if it is updating its position, you can see it on a map :

http://www.sailwx.info/shiptrack/shiplocations.phtml

Keep on top of things this end. Once your container arrives, call the removals company here and chase it. We did, and we got our stuff within 5 days, and that was the busiest time of the year. Some people wait a month to get it !

That's about it really, all I can really stress is bring EVERYTHING. You will need it. I am always borrowing tools from my expat neighbour who did exactly that.

Cheers all

leechy100

Hi thanks for that post. We are in the process of getting shipping quotes. We have been quoted for 650 cubic feet. One company said we could get away with a shared caontainer but quoted us for both a shared container and sole use of a reefer. The difference in cost was only £200 and estimated to take 4 weeks longer to get there. Another company suggested we just use a reefer container as we were on the border line for shared/sole use. Think we are going to use sole use reefer. We moved into a rented house 2 months ago which is alot smaller than the house we sold, so got rid of alot of stuff then. Is there anything that you would have specifically bought in the uk to bring to Aus, as it seems we will have the space in the container. I was thinking about stocking up on shower gels/ shampoo etc as these seemed really expensive when we were there on holiday. Any other thoghts?
Nicky x

TheAshleys

Great idea, stock up on shower gels, shampoos, KITCHEN ROLL (Well expensive), toilet roll (We had a costco near us, we always used it, and we should have stocked up), and bring all cleaning products.

Dont go shared container, unless you can stand the wait. We lived in an empty house for 3 weeks in the UK, and 2 weeks here, and it killed us. 3 weeks in the uK was ok, we had friends to see, 2 weeks here in a camp chair was not fun.

Best of luck, any help you need, PM us.

Cheers

Munchmel

Brilliantly useful post, thankyou!

Have been ebaying all our stuff like mad....but now I will stop and rethink!

Melx

leechy100

Great, thanks for that. Yes think we are definately gonna go with sole use container. My husband will need to put his tools in the shipment so it will be worth having it there a few weeks earlier. Is it ok to bring things like bleach and other cleaning products then? May start buying extra each time I go to supermarket then, and stock up.
Nicky x

esperanza

I'm not sure why, I though that we weren't allowed to ship anything liquid. So I boxed up multiple bottles of sun lotion, moisturiser, cleaning products, etc etc etc and brought them with me to our temporary house, thinking that I would use them up in the next ten weeks! Which I will never do. I wish I'd put them in with our shipping stuff now!

Is shower gel etc really that expensive over there? To the extent that it would be worth using up some baggage allowance to take a few bottles?

leechy100

When we went on our recce we didn't take any, thinking we would just buy there and remember been horrified at the cost of shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, nappies etc. Can't remember quite how much but think it was around twice as much as I would have expected to pay. But found suncreams (which we had taken alot of) was considerably cheaper. However that was 3 years ago. Not sure about cleaning products though.
Nicky x

esperanza

I might take across a few bottles of our fav shower gel, shampoo etc then.
As it runs out I'll obviously replace it with aussie, but perhaps it will ease the transition - and save me walking around with greasy hair and looking like a dirty pom! Plus me being me I know I'll buy 8 different kinds of shampoo before I find one I like, ditto shower gel, ditto lotions - and end up with an entire airing cupboard full of products that I will never use. I won't throw them away though, I'll just keep them til they go out of date, or until we move again!
[Can't think why OH gets frustrated with me.... ]

TheAshleys

You can ship liquid. It is not a customs thing, it is more if the liquid leaks, it can damage your goods in the container. We put all our liquids together in our bin, or in 1 of those plastic crates, and it was taped shut, therefore if it leaked, no issue.

Obviously, anything you bring over will only last a couple of months anyway, but it helps to soften the blow when you are not working, so no income.

Another thing, is if you like Vodka, buy it at the airport before you leave the terminal here in Aus. 2 litre bottles of Absolut are $60 the pair in Sydney airport, and around $150.00 from a bottle shop. A normal bottle of real crap vodka is $23 ! All spirits are pretty expensive.

busterboy

I am starting to think you have a drink problem. Do you never sleep?

leechy100

Will definately bear that one in mind. I do like a drop or three of vodka
Nicky x

bluenico

Hi Guys,

Yes it is a good Post - If anyone needs advice or Costings, Please feel free to PM me or e mail me directly.

There are certain things with regards to shipping out effects that you may not be totally aware of.....it isn't just a case of Putting everything into Container.......Household Cleaners ie bleach and the likes are described as Hazardous Goods, and for that there are certain restrictions !!

Be careful if you are considering doing this !

Kind Regards