brian.w

When the time comes and i have been granted the visa and ready to move over i plan on shipping a container of household items,not all but a few things and most important a very large collection of statues.
Its been a hobby of mine for approx 9yrs,its been a costly hobby and one that i would find hard to ever give up,but im sure one day it will come.
As many of the items are very rare,as low as 3 or 4 made worldwide,not all but a few and very hard to get again.
I dont mind what cost of shipping is,ok as long as its not over the top compared to other companies and they are pretty good in what they do.
But some of these items i have alone in what i have paid in the past and what they could sell for today to the right collecors would far exceed the cost of a container.
So i have a few questions i need to know.

As these items are so rare and some very expensive and fragile,made of plaster/chalkware would the shipping company have an issue if i packed them myself?
I know how these need packed and boxed,as i have been buying and selling them for long enough now,even though these guys do this packing thing as there job,i just feel it would not be upto my standards.
Its not your average item but something that needs to be packed well as cause of there rarety and cost of each and being hard to replace,i dont think i could trust a shipping company pack them.
So would i be ok to pack myself?
Would they supply the boxes to me in the costs?
Maybe cause i wanted to pack these myself maybe they would not cover me for insurance as they did not get to pack them,can i get around this?
I beleive you can arrange your own insurance that charge much less than the shipping company if so who are they?

Would the shipping company still take care putting these items into container even though they did not pack them or got insured through them?

Also say when they leave your address,are these items in your container ever looked at again within the uk,or is it locked up till you are in oz,or can anyone have access to your container on its way there?

When it gets to oz,what do customs do?Do they go through all your stuff and open everything and just throw them back into there boxes not caring about how they was wrapped or packed.or do they look at a list and check them out that maybe a little dodgee,or not allowed.

As i would be shipping my household items and things i would love to have with me the main reason for getting a container would be for my collectibles,which might take up some space in the container as there are about 200 of them.

Just needed an idea of how all this works,as said some of these collectibles alone if added together would be worth more than the cost of the container,and as i have a very rare one off collection and most was from the usa no longer made,i need to know if anyone has done something like it,very highy valued items and packed themselves etc

grahampaula

Hi there
I can understand your predicament and anxiety with such valuable items. I think that it might be best for you to contact a couple of shipping agents and seek there advice and perhaps even get them to come and give you a quote.
I think that you can self pack your items, but I understand that they will be checked at the other end and quite thoroughly too.
Good luck.

brian.w

But i dont think they would check thoroughly if they are more or less 200 of these things all boxed up,all more or less the same thing but different items,i get these sent from the usa to uk often and they are never all open,i think they just scan them and see if what looks inside is what is mentioned on the invoice,it would take them weeks and weeks to go through all these,with the packing i give these and there sizes,and also surely they dont take everything out your container and check it all?Say your container is full as could be,surely they would not be able to wanting to take everything out at front to check items at back etc.

Pollyana

AQIS empty the container this end and decide which items to check. They may check nothing, they may check everything, no hard and fast rule. As for packing the items yourself and whether they will supply boxes, talk to some of the shipping companies and tell them exactly what you have. Phone round some and you may find someone who specialises in shipping your kind of collectable. Also, if there is a society or a forum or whatever in that area then ask them for recommendations - they may know of a specialist firm.

brian.w

Thats crazy they would take all items out of a container,no matter what sizes they are or how big or fragile they was,so maybe any damaged items might not be done by shipping company, but customs messing around or not giving a crap,do many people have stuff go missing,do customs ever nick some stuff.
Surely any items they are not sure about or your shipping company had shipped would put the items at front so these could be checked,so they could go through boxes and boxes of items all wrapped and packed well?
To me thats a bit over the top when your shipping company has been paid to pack them and wrap them and box them up and provides a list,why would customs need to take everything out the container?

Nerine

I doubt that customs would nick stuff, the goods aren't even opened by them - they get the removals company to do that, they also re-seal the goods.

I don't think the shippers would have any problem about you packing stuff yourself but it would be a good idea to talk to them about their methods and then decide on which you feel happiest with. Letton Percival do marine shipping insurance too, talk to them.

Are these outdoor statues? if so have you thought about how you are going to clean them and do they have any open voids that could cause a problem with AQIS - if so you may need to email them for advice.

We've shifted countries a couple of times now and the only time stuff has been damaged was when it was being lifted off the container/lorry and into our house - our last move's casualty was a china piggy bank, when one of the guys dropped a carton off the top of his sack truck stack.

brian.w

They are not outdoor statues,they are indoor ones,made of plaster of paris/chalk type stuff hand painted and made from the 70s to mid 80s.When the time comes to make the move this would be my biggest worry of all items i take with me,furniture can be replaced as other items can,these things cant and would be very hard to replace,and to the right buyers could do well on them,but i dont plan on selling them,just like them too much to give up just yet.

jellibaby

They will unpack the container this end if they want to and sadly that's the fact of it. There is no way to know what they will or won't unpack, and there is also no way to know which items they might unpack.

One major thing to consider though as you say your collection is some 200 strong - is the question they might pose that you are importing these items for sale without the correct licence and trying to bypass the tax and duty stages. Again - the shipping company can advise you on this but its best to get a number of companies to offer guidance as information can vary on grey areas.

Also - given that shipping companies have high insurance charges - you might need to consult a specialist insurer who will cover you for ALL RISKS which will include damage, loss, water damage, theft etc etc. As with all things in life, you can put in place the best care and security money can buy but if the docks drop the container (which has happened) the lots gone! So be sure that you have evidence of the value per item, ownership info etc as claims as always with insurance companies are stressful and lengthy!

Pinkie

Hi Brian

We used Anglo Pacific who I believe have a collectibles team too, may be worth speaking to? My shotglass collection made it unscathed which I was amazed about. I know they are happy to drop boxes off and have you pack whatever you need to, you need to complete the forms declaring what is in them and are responsible for that anyway. All of our boxes were opened which is fair enough, you know what you've packed and that you're a nice guy but they don't.

The main problem you have is that all the people involved can be as careful as they like (customs and shippers, and you) but you are putting your life's work into a box which goes on a huge ship at the mercy of the elements for 6 weeks. The heat inside those containers is immense I believe, we felt lucky all our dvds and pc equipment got here unaffected.

It's a tough one really, there is no guarantee that they won't be damaged however careful people are. Do you have to ship them straight away? You may find Oz isn't for you (hopefully not but you never know) and then you'd have the stress of sending them all back too. It sounds like the financial loss would be easier for you to bear than the emotional loss and there is no easy answer to that I'm afraid.

Good luck whichever you do, we are lucky and didn't have too much to bring - anything I wasn't prepared to lose at sea I packed in my hand luggage but I guess that's not going to help you much!

brian.w

One major thing to consider though as you say your collection is some 200 strong - is the question they might pose that you are importing these items for sale without the correct licence and trying to bypass the tax and duty stages. Again - the shipping company can advise you on this but its best to get a number of companies to offer guidance as information can vary on grey areas
Well i will cross this line when it comes,but if they think i am going to pay duty and taxes on my collection i have collected for the past 9/10 years in which i have already paid for to get sent from usa to uk in buying them and they want the same over there,i sure not going to be doing that,these are mine purchased and paid for and not for sale.
Its my word against there word what i would be planning on doing with these,but i can say these would near fill half the container once all packed up in there boxes and i suppose would look odd or make someone think are these being shipped for sale.
Surely the shipping compaines work around that,i suppose i need to ask many questions when that time comes.

brian.w

oz is sure for me,not spending all this money and time to get a visa not to go,but thanks for your post was interesting i suppose i have those risks when moving them over,will i need to send back,will they get there ok and will any break.
I know most would sell them up,but for me i just could not do it.I will not say what they are or what it is i have,but lets just say for the right buyers just 5/6 of these items in the past 6 months have made in pounds approx £6000 not what i have made but what people have paid for them and i have many,many more,but these are probably the rarest ones.
The average cost to these items if everything was sold would range from £100 to £1000 each and more depending on what ones that was.
So could give me a fair bit of money to take to oz,but for me the money or value is worth less than having them.

I must be mad moving to oz with these things,but its something i want to take as with other household stuff.
Heat will not be an issue with these,i once had a container of these things shipped from florida to the uk,that i let build up and build up until i had so much stuff,the cheapest option to ship was by container and i can say that was way back when i just started and all was fine then.

So why am i worried,just looking for advise and info i suppose,there are risks in shipping no matter what methods or ways you do it and thats something i have to think about when its time to move,take them with me or sell them to the right people and use the money wisely.

Nerine

It may not apply to your collection but I've just thought of 'sets and pairs' insurance cover. If you do have some statues that are more valuable because they form a complete set (so that the loss of one item would substantially affect the value of the remainder) it may be a good idea to ask for this sort of cover.

I have a collection of art glass which I packed myself for our last move, not wanting to trust the packers so I know how you feel. It's difficult to put a value on something that is hard/impossible to replace, as well as having a significant sentimental value.