We used a shared container - our stuff was packed beginning September and we arrived mid November. We would not have spent the extra on a sole use container, just didnt seem worth it and to be honest it didnt take very long to arrive, we travelled for September and had a furnished apt for October and so it suited us not to arrive to quickly. I think the England to Sydney route is probably quite popular, so quite a bit of traffic. Its probably worth using one of the bigger and more popular companies, there would be a quicker turnaround as they have more customers.

Vash, I would be interested in what costs you have been quoted for your shared container when you get them in. We have our stuff sitting in storage in the UK at the moment as we left it there rather than ship it when we moved here in January in case we didn't settle in here but are looking to ship it over soon. We are not too worried about timescales, as we have been without it for 5 months already. Total space is 450cuft. Do you know how much space yours is going to need?

We've been told that our stuff will take up 3/4 of a container, if that helps. John Mason have quoted us £2,650 as a base price (before insurance and charges/taxes at the Aussie end) while Allied Pickfords have given an estimate of £2,500-£3,000 (though we have yet to see what this would incorporate).

I've read on the forums that Letton Percival are the best people for insurance, since they charge less than the movers. Can anyone confirm this?

We used Pickfords to move some stuff from my late FIL house. So none of it was urgent but I don't recall it taking a long time to get here- certainly no more than about 10weeks door to door. (Surrey to Melb). Cost was 1000 quid for about 1/4 or 1/3 container

However one unique item did go missing....turned out it was delivered to someone else and we had to tell Pickfords that it had turned up, while they still thought it was missing.

We used Crown relocations (stuff was packed last week and shipped last Friday).

They were very efficient, however we did take the step to use a full container with sole use even though we could half fill it.

The reason for this was to try and limit the theft of our items following some of the threads on here.

Total cost was just over £4000 with insurance, and a little piece of mind. Dont get me wrong, things could still go missing however we have a container with a sealed key which I have a photo of and we are present the other end when the seal is broken.

Its a shame we have to do this as shipping isnt cheap and the last thing you want to worry about is some thieving git nicking your possessions.

I will keep everyone posted on if things arrive in one piece but sorry to hear you have had something taken (I read about one major culprit on hear who has already been mentioned, however I wont name any names (stupid rule if this is rife tbh))

Cheers

Sean and Rach

The busy period in Australia commences ,from The end of Nov till the end of March . most of your military postings are done in this period, school teachers ,bank managers , stock company employees, and general corperate postings , during the summer vacation...............mm

Ta.

Price for 3/4 of a box will be almost identical to a FCL... LP are deffo the ones to go for AFA insurance is concerned...

Which city or state? Perhaps another poster with similar time frames, destination and origin could team up with you?

Adelaide. Good suggestion!

Terrific, thanks.

Once you comit ,to a FCL , you cannot add to the container.........mm

Well, it looks like we'll be going with a shared one.

OK, I KNOW THIS MIGHT BE DUMB BUT IS A 20FT CONTAINER A SOLE OCCUPANT OR IS IT SHARED? Sorry, typed badly again there!
We are about to book shippers Vash and i think its really tricky.... Take it/ leave it/ cheap or costly?
My friend reccommended John Masons but have read mixed reviews on here.
Anyway, is a full container40ft and a half 20ft and therefore shared? Thats my question!
Lou

Boxes come in all sorts of sizes, but the main ones are both 20' and 40'... so depending upon how much stuff you have you can get a sole use 20', sole use 40' or shared use of one of them...