packing/shipping query
 

Hi all,
Does anyone kow if its possible to pack your own stuff to move???
We have managed through a friend of friend to get the shipping done really cheaply but not sure about whether we are able to pack it all up properly.
Can anyone advise??
Has anyone done this before?
Cheers
Kismet

You can pack stuff yourself, i did most of mine but the movers told me some of the boxes where a bit 'fragile' so they repacked a few, I think it depends on who you use to move you.

Oh and my stuff has now arrived after 7 months....
<------living in a sea of books and kids toys now *swoon*

Re: packing/shipping query
 

I packed all my own stuff, except the odd big bulky items, which the moving company did for me. I got boxes from work (which were all the same cubic size.. so they could be piled/slotted nicely together in the shipping container) heaps of newspapers, rolls and rolls of brown tape.

I used sheets, towels ,clothing ,any cloth fabric which I could find to wrap the fragile things and to shove down any little remaining space in the box. I made sure in each box there was not one inch of space left, so not for the items to have any movement to bang and break.

Things like microwaves, I packed things inside the oven too, packed it with sheets, towels etc.. just to give the oven a bit more support, and less likely to break, put into a box with more towels wrapped around the unit. I have a very large TV, which I packed with heaps of sheets, towels and bed quilts especially around the screen.

It took me two long weeks to pack for this reason. Making sure there was not even one inch of empty space left in the boxes... a bit like a jigsaw puzzle.

I had not one breakage of any of my items.
Yes do it yourself, if you prefer.. You probably can do a far better job than the packers will, after all it's your stuff and you don't want to see anything get broken so you'll probably do a better job.

cheers:)

Re: packing/shipping query
 

My advice is...

Allied Pickfords...

I used them to ship over 28 cu ft and it arrived on time, within budget and with nothing damaged...

I called around various shipping agents quote my size of shipment to avoid confusion and then chose them as they were in fact the cheapest and dealt with the shipment from port to door.

This is my second experience of shipping personal goods from the UK and I can tell you, I was very impressed.

They packed my all stuff... I will honestly advise everyone to go for this option...
Reason are...
they know how to do it - I don't...
they check and personally pack each item which reduces your insurance premium,
checks for soil and wood products - saves time the other end with customs...
having a shipping agent from port to door reduces those "hidden" costs and you also have acountablilty... rather than buck passing.
Informed of hidden and extra costs from port of origin.
Remember, you are being charged for volume not weight.

It is a very stressful 3 months whilst your world goods are travelling around the world as you can imagine.

I had no breakages, I can honestly highly recommend Allied Pickfords.

REMEMBER take out the offered insurance, read the small print, read the small print again, be honest and make a list of EVERYTHING that you have packed...

Good Luck...