Hi Guys
Dont know how you feel about this but i thought i would replace all the furniture and tvs prior to going out there. Just bought a large Samsung 46" LCD tv and stand and American style Fridge Freezer plus 3 sets of draws for the kids bedrooms. A leather 3 peice suite (3x2x1) and thats it so far. Probably bunk beds for the kids will come next in a couple of months and wardrobes.

Is this a wise move or am i not doing the right thing!

The Tv was a snip at £1269 and i thought i wouldnt get that in oz for that price. The suite was needed believe me (4 Kids) and the draws well Ikea was on the doorstep and they will make do when in oz. The Amercan Fridge Freezer was again a snip at £499 (£300 off).
Ive looked on the oz shopping sites and there no way near the prices we can get at over here (with little haggling - Cheers Dom ) I will be taking my PC over with me as its a very expensive very powerful modded built one) All tools and kids toys will come also.

So what you think good idea or bad ?

So what you think good idea or bad ?[/QUOTE]

Personally hanging on with creaking and failing gadgets (PC, vac, tellies)

Not taking too much, got to consider the cost of shipment againd cost new in OZ, plus differing sizes, voltages etc.

Hmmm

Dave

By the time you've paid shipping, you'd have got your TV cheaper here. I got a 42 inch Plasma for less than $2k and the LCD's were only about $500 more - that's not including haggling.

Probably a good idea - but you paid over the odds for the TV.

You may find that your fridge/ freezer may struggle in the Oz heat. We were advised that ours may last a few years if were lucky but the motors in the UK fridges are not set to cope with the heat over there. A friend's husband who is a refrideration engineer said that they would not bother taking theirs because of this, thier's struggled last year in the heat down south.

THought you couldnt replace all you stuff with new to take over there. Don't customs frown if you cant produce a invopice to prove that the goods are over a year old?

Correct me if I am wrong but I am sure I read that somewhere.

Caz

I think you can get charged tax on new items by customs.

Might have been better to ask the question before you bought the items, I'm not being funny at all but I have always found it better to ask on here if I was unsure.

I can understand why you have done it though. Lots of things are more expensive over there arent they!

You almost definitely won't need any wardrobes when you get here - most bedrooms have built-ins, so don't go out and buy any of those. The chances are they'd be useless.

Don't somehow think that Ikea furniture is worth buying and shipping. Ikea is cheap as chips here. Leather furniture is not expensive either. You can get a great selection of really good sofas for a reasonable price.

Whatever you needed you could have bought here as soon as you landed - now you'll have to wait weeks for your furniture to arrive

Personally I wouldnt bring anything over, just buy it all when you arrive thats what I did. Some things are cheaper in oz than the UK but other things like cars are more expensive I have found.
At least buying all your electrical stuff means you wont need to mess around with plug converters.

I think if you bring over washing machines or fridges you need to get them tested and certified before using them in australia, much easier to buy ones here.

I think if you are already shipping your stuff in say a 20ft container there is no harm in taking extra stuff if you can get it cheaper here. We have bought a few things when there has been a sale for example. Regarding customs charging you tax, as long as the items look used, how will they know when you bought them?

Sarah

My understanding is that TV's could loose their sound anyway but this would only cost $50 to get sorted. In relation to Fridges and freezers they have to be totally CFC free which most of the UK one's aren't and as for washing machines and tumble dryers they have to be rated highly in respect to the environmental ratings. I would check with a removals company, I recently contacted Atlantic and they offered me loads of advice, turns out that you can take basically everything. They charge tax on a few things the prices differ, if you need your container fumigated it cost no more than £100. Hope this clarifies a couple of things, and i hope i have ben advised correctly.

we were advised this as well our fridges cant cope with the heat over in Australia we are not brining any thing over as the quote we got was very expensive so we are going to sell what we can and maybe buy when we get there

Washing machines aren't a problem, just get an adapter for the plug and plug them in, they don't need testing. Don't think fridges ro either, though as others have said they may struggle with the heat. Probably do as a beer fridge though

Cars. A brand new ford focus over her was under £10k. That was pretty cheap.

We shipped over our furniture. Table needs to be sanded and varnished as it got a few marks. Wardrobe has "minor edge damage" but we don't need that any how. Wish I had bought some more next clothes for kiddies, hard drive and some electricial items have been been cheaper in the UK. I would have replaced my miele vaccum cleaner (Dyson and Miele are expesive here). Bought my Dyson handheld in UK and that saved me about £20. As a previous post said you will have to go and buy some stuff anyhow when you arrive unless you go into a holiday rental which in my opinion isn't worth it. You can never have too many sofas over here though.

All the money we saved by going straight into a few after a couple of weeks we put towards things we would be keeping. I think the only thing we won't keep is a crappy mattress. Ikea in Perth is small but good for the kids. Bought a table and chairs so we could all sit and eat. It felt like glorified camping for 3 months but we got through it. Still haven't got a tv but that isn't bothering us right now.