My mum has recently been looking at the removal agencies, to ship our stuff over to Oz (end of this year beginning of next) however just today my dad suggested to her that she should scrap the "middleman" and pack the house and all our belongings herself, including talking to customs in both countries organising insurance, lorries to transport the container and most importantly finding a container etc.

Has anyone else had experience of this/ would you advise for or against this move? Personally I think it is far too much to deal with and that we would be better off paying a little extra money for the peace and re-assurance that our items will arrive safely whilst we can worry about other things such as pets, house sales, education, jobs etc.

Also are there any strong recommendations for removal companies by fellow expats? Today a representative from Anglo Pacific came round to give a quote, and I seem to remember them being nicknamed Anglo Path**ic on here but can't find the thread I warned my parents off them all the same though

Any help is gratefully received

Pommy Babe

Hiya, it depends how much stuff you are going to take!

I'm moving back to Australia and I didn't have much to take but imagine that, unless you are taking furniture etc, it would be a pretty easy thing to pack everything yourself and then get a company to collect it.

I packed the equivalent of about 10 tea chests, got them all sorted and then phoned companies for quotes! Picked a company that a) had a good quote b) seemed to have a good reputation on forums such as this and c) looked like they knew what they were doing.

My boxes included some faily large items (framed paintings and photographs, a precious Les Paul guitar (my second baby - after my firs child - a Takamine acoustic small body guitar which I would not part with - coming on the plane with me)

They arrived in a courier van, collected all my stuff and its currently on its way to Australia. the company has been excellent (Seven seas removals) emailing me and phoning to keep me up to date with my boxes and where they are. They are doing all the customs stuff for me and the price includes delivery at the other end!!

If you are willing to part with your furniture and are taking stuff that will fit into boces then packing yourself sounds like fun!

I would suggest that perhaps trying to do the whole lot by yourself might be a pain in the backside (thats why I left mine to profesionals to do al lthat stuff) although someone on here may have done that and might be abel to offer you their advice on how easy (or otherwise) it is!

A

We packed everything ourselves, but handed it over to somebody else (Excess Baggage).

Unless your parents have experience in dealing with the various organisations involved I'd have them checked for sanity. They'd be nuts to try and do it all themselves IMHO.

Cheers

Steve

From what I've gathered it depends upon various factors.... eg spare cash, time, big/small items/ amount of stuff etc etc etc... I found that total DIY enquiries were met with less than helpful responses, so when we decided to only take the minimum we went for tea chests and book boxes and seven sea, which I am packing myself as we speak.... It is a hideous nightmare packing and IF we had the money I would have taken the easy route and got someone else to do it for me...

Thanks for your replies... thing is parents aren't only taking tea chests lol more like the whole house including the kitchen sink and toilet and bathroom and hell lets throw in the patio and garden whilst we're at it!

That's why my mum has a little apprehension at shipping and organising the whole lot by herself!

Pommy babe

If they are taking almost the whole house contents I would STRONGLY advise against trying to take on the whole process themselves. Removal companies do moves like theirs every day and therefore know the in's and out's of how the process works - and its sometimes complicated, dealing with packing, loading, transporting to docks, arranging shipping containers and shipping lines, customs clearance and collection and delivery at the other end not to mention insurance and knowing what you can and can't take. A good removal company will be able to look after all of these aspects for you and provide as much help as you need and reduce the stress of what I imagine will be a turbulent time anyway!

Let the experts do it and things are much more likley to run smoothly with your belongings arriving safely, securely and on time!

Kirsty

Also, ask them to consdier whether its really worth taking everything!

I know that everyone on here has their own opinion of this buit to me - unless you have some particuarly valuable/antique or sentimental furniture would it not be better to sell some of it, save shedloads on the shipping and buy nice new stuff when you arrive!

I know a lot of people want to take their own furniture and stuff (perhaps its a comfort thing) but I would do the maths and see what works out better.

Horses for courses....or something.

!

You can pack all the t chests etc yourself, get the company to sort the furniture bits.
Then do a shared container - cheapest way far as I know
Good luck

Sometimes it works out cheaper to ship your furniture around the world than to buy new stuff in Aus.

To the OP, I would recommend your parents look at removal and shipping companies rather than do it themselves if they want to take absolutely everything.

It is suprising how much the value of the belongings in your house accumulates to over the years. Often people assume it is cheaper to replace than ship, then on adding up the replacement costs find that it is quite the opposite!

I am pretty sure that the Customs will take a keener interest in your stuff if they know it hasn't been packed by a professional. Packing companies will make sure that items are clean (such as garden tools etc). They also know what can and cannot be shipped to Australia. We had professional packers in and it was worth every penny. The amount you will save doing it yourself won't be worth the hassle.

I know that the parents want to help and save you some money but it simply isn't worth it.

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We ordered a 20 ft container direct from shipping agent packed the lot over the weekend it all arrived safe and sound.We were quoted £2500 from Crown
inc two men to pack. We did it for £750.00 a saving of four years supply of tinnies. At the end of the day its Night!