Steve Lawson

Yes! try EwePack.com

SW3105

www.tntmagazine.com (am I allowed to post links??!)

In the back of their magazine, they have loads of shipping companies advertising with them. Lots of places do a 4 boxes 1 box goes free offer ..

We're going to sell all our big furniture and send personal things / toys / and stuff in boxes and airfrieght them.

To save shipping costs, I'm going to buy a 200 CD holder case, put all my CD's in that with their covers and just get rid of the plastic jewel cases. Then when I get to the other side, just buy jewel cases and re-make my CD collection. Same with the DVD's .. it sounds silly but I have so much music but they would take up so much room and add so much weight to the box.

inOz2008

Regardless of which shipping company used, what are the pros/cons for taking a door-to-door service vs a door-to-port service when shipping belongings from UK to Aus?

Having looked at some of the quotes coming through the post for a door-to-door service, its alarming to see that the port-to-door element is over £600 - that's over A$1300 - isn't that too high a cost for moving your goods from port to your residence in Aus (its as if the shipment cost of £2500 onwards from UK to port in Aus were not enough!!)??? Are we better of trying to source Aussie companies directly from UK to get a cheaper service for the Australian half of the shipment process? Would the insurance sourced in UK cover this part of the move if taking a door-to-port service?

Appreciate anyone's views/experiences on this matter.

Steve Lawson

you havent mentioned where you are moving to in oz, or how much goods, so it s hard to say. in oz the goods go through customs clearance, quarantine clearance, unloading the container, loading back on a truck, unloading in your house, unpacking, dealing with customs, the shipping line and your needs. 600.00 doesnt seema lot to me based on the shipping costs quoted. if you have a full load you can appoint your own agent, but dont expect a big difference.
good luck

flodsfive

HI,
I don't know if this helps, but we have been told that we can't get a 40 foot container on our drive, and because we also have a storage container full of house hold effects (sold our house last year and renting at present). we were told they would send a smaller removal van to our house. they would pack into boxes at our house (including crating antiques and paintings) then pack container at their depots.
two companies (Robinsons, and leatherbarrows) out to us both said this is what they would do.

I guess the down side if there is a certain amount of trust involved at the depot.

inOz2008

1) Steve Lawson (and others in the shipping/removals industry) - because of the time left before the move (early May) I don't have too much time to research different options to the n-th degree - so please free to "sell your services" to me - please PM as to why I should use you AND/OR what I should be looking for in a shipping/removal company (what's the difference between the two?) - as I mentioned, I have read some of the threads on this subject and seen a couple of companies for quotes but could do with either a check-list of things to ask for/expect/clarify etc OR see some sort of independent validated league table for such companies (yes I know this probably doesn't exist!). With the companies asking for money upfront, I get nervous, especially seeing some of the comments on this site, about packers having a a low TLC threshold when it comes to packing especially as the goods are likely to be covered by insurance - SO Please help as best as you can!

2) The idea of asking the question was to get a subjective perception of end-customers on whether they felt they recieved value for money, especially if you take currency exchange rates, cost of living etc into consideration - does £600+ or rather A$1300+ sound too much for that last leg of the process? (I am assuming a full container going to Perth, WA) Naturally the people working in this industry will say no as its their business to sell these services (which I totally appreciate the value associated with the services offered, as I myself am in sales in another industry)...however I want to hear actual customer views on this as well...

Steve Lawson

This is a good request here inOz2008. In my case I have a policy of not promoting my business here (although I live/operate in Herts).

Firstly the reason we all ask for money in advance is to secure our own businesses - I could tell you about the woman whose goods were loaded in a 20ft container on 7th January, and who has disappeared off the face of the planet (leaving me with a 2 grand bill and reponsibility for disposing of all her stuff)! So it is for good reason - most of the big shippers offer a financial guarantee for your peace of mind. Yet if you used a credit card card for payment, or paid for the different shipping elements individually, you would have some financial security, I believe.

As for what to look out for, heres a few tips:

1. Packing and/or loading - if you plan on doing this yourself, use a firm with the procedures to cover 'owner-packed' shipments. Steer away from a pure freight forwarder as they are not necessarily au fait with personal effects.
2. If you want your shipping firm to pack and load your container, personally I would ensure that they employ 'professional export packers' who do this kind of work every day. If you check the advertisers on this site, you'll have a good choice. Some of your local removal firms can do it (or think they can do it), but may fall down on the shipping side.
3. Compare the shipping options given to you - avoid 'groupage' at the level of expense you are looking at and get a container of your own for any shipment larger than a transit luton load (a 2 bed house contents, typically).
4. If a salesman visits you with a laptop computer and a slick presentation, just grill him/her about something that is important to you (such as how are you gonna get your truck up our narrow lane). Some sales people in the big firms are recruited as sales people and their lack of removals knowledge can impact on your job.
5. Make sure you have a timescale for the company to work to - decide whether it is best to ship asap or slowly, and work out if you need the funds from your house sale to pay the shipping - how this could be done (we accept a solicitor's letter, for instance from the house sale).
6. When your shipment arrives in Oz, it needs an accredited importer to handle it. Again, grill your salesperson who/how this would be done. Usually the whole contents are offloaded into a bonded store for customs/quarantine inspections. They {customs/quarantine} are not removals men - so you need to know the bonded store is in the warehouse of a removals firm or some-one who cares about your goods in Oz.
7. After release from customs, delivery is required and you should check this included in the overall 'door-to-door' cost.
8. Insurance - a whole website could be written about this subject. You need to know that your remover is only legally liable to you for any damages caused by him (i.e. at your house, or en route to the loading point). So don't think you can sue him for a bad packing job, because he will deny it - instead buy an insurance for 'All Risk, Marine Insurance' (or Marine Sendings) and study the policy, compare costs with others. Most shippers/removers have a policy they sell or recommend to you.

Remember you are not moving round the corner, it is a big big job and needs a firm with the right knowledge to handle it. There are a vast choice available and some belong to trade associations (some dont), but always talk to the boss, as it is the boss who will sort out any hiccups and employ the men he trusts to avoid a dissatified customer. Dont listen too much to the salesman, unless he is the boss or will give you the bosses number. Thats my advice.

Good luck - get 4 quotes and make your choice!

inOz2008

Thanks for that insight Steve - some interesting points you raise!

* Money upfront - I see your perspective. Do companies in your industry operate on escrow/trust account type set-up ie deposit plus full payment released on delivery at destination? At the end of the day, I as the paying customer am happy to pay for a satisfactory service but feel slightly exposed when full money is asked up front with no guarantee to me on level of service I will get - I want to avoid being left to hang dry if issues do arise and was curious if there was any "middle-ground" option to ensure both sides are satisfied?

* Owener vs professional packing - got some contradictory comments from the 2 companies we have seen so far. Eg when we asked question on chest of drawers that could be flatpacked, we got 2 answers that both sound valid in their own rights but leave us confused what is the best option. The answers were
a) leave drawers standing as is and stuff with clothes, soft things. The volume difference will not be that much.
b) no always flatpack as it will shrink voluem to about 2/3rd of current volume and in the period when container is at sea, the up/down, side-to-side movements may end up damaging your drawers by wieght of stuff inside them!
Also, if a) is the way forward, does it get labelled as "owner packed" in that case even though it is being recommended by the company? What happens to insurance cover for this item in that case?

* Types of operators - from the posts so far I can see 3 types of companies - removers (my interpretation is that these specialise in mainly inland moves), shipping companies (experience in packing/moving house-hold contents amongst other things from one country to another by ship - full door-to-door service experience) and freight-forwarder as you mention (not sure) - what are the differences in that case and what questions would identify/differentiate one from the other category? [You can see I am shipping/removal virgin now!! ]
Also do companies provide written stats on their damage statistics versus industry average? To me that would be a sure sign of companies providing a professional service as opposed to cowboys approach!

* Groupage vs full container - our estimates are between 550 and 650 cubic feet, so not a full container load of 1050 cubic feet nor less than half volume either that would be suitable for groupage. So what are the factors that should influence our decision? Its ok for the companies to say that its not that much more expensive but from our finances point of view, every pound spent on the move (shipping, flights, etc) counts...where it makes sense I am happy to incur cost but likewise, money is not something that is readily available to me as and when I want it!!

Told you to sell to me...it would have been easier than the yet-another-load-of-questions approach that I seem to be taking!!

Steve Lawson

Fact is, Oz, you have a minefield here that is questioned all around this site! Alll your q's are valid, and I understand them. Try these answers:

1. money upfront- -imagine you are buying a holiday where the money is requested 10 weeks before you depart. It is pretty much for the same reason. The same financial guarantees are in place. The men packing your house are paid every Friday. Your remover is probably making 3-500 only out of the 3,000 outlay from you - the rest is cost. So the only bargaining is the 3-500, which most would give you back if you weren't happy. If you have a sole-use container, it is possible to pay the foreign agent direct (the 600 you mentioned earlier). I have delievered goods to Spain, USA, Australia last year and the shipper avoided paying (costing me 5,000). I wont ship without payment up front. Most firms are the same.

2. packing - you are not insured for goods you pack youself, if they are breakables (china/tv's, etc.) This is a matter for you and your insurer - and policies do vary, so study them! ...and yes a chest of drawers packed with clothes will be similar volume to that flatpacked and the contents boxes separately - just check your chest of drawers is solid. I prefer a) - you shouldn't pack valuables in anything without over-wrapping, just clothing/bedding.

3. types of operators - mostly on this site, people use removals firms with a shipping dept or a large firm specialising in in overseas moves only. They are the ones offering door-door with a full pack. Freight forwarders only move containers, and are not interested usually in the contents travelling safely. Freight forwarders usually also don't have move managers and a large back-up team.

4. usually (strangely for you), the cost effective point to choose a full load, is around 550-600cubic feet (20ft containers hold 32 cubic metres / 1150 feet) - so you have a hal-load here. The reason is because the unit is loaded outside your Watford house and taken directly to Tilbury or Felixstowe. If groupage is looked at, the load will be taken to Wembley (or elswhere); unloaded; warehoused; re-loaded into a container AND THEN taken to Tilbury, so you have all that extra cost and handling (each end) - road freight is more expensive than seafreight. Anything carried by road in England will be expensive. Your seafreight only charge from your 3,100 bill will be just around 1,200 (ish) - the rest is packing and land transport, dock handling, documents, customs/quarantine, etc.

Hope this helps you understand the process. Both firms you mentioned earlier are good firms and the figures quoted seem about right to me for the volume, but if you shop around you might get a deal at the moment. I recommend ringing round about 4 other firms picked out of this website, or a migrant magazine or TNT mag, or from Google. Avoid your local Yellow Pages as a source to this specialist job.

Good luck.

James516

We've used Excess to move our 3-bed house contents from Bucks to Brissy. The boat arrives on the 10th, and we've had good communication with the people in the UK and also the local agent here in Brisbane. Excess came and packed all our stuff for us. We also had quotes from Whites, PSS and Pickfords, but Excess seemed most professional and also happened to be cheapest. Of course, it might all go wrong once we actually unpack, but fingers crossed!

snoo

Thank you SO much Sheff-Sparkey....you've saved us sooooo much time and effort! Much appreciated!!
Lisa,x

Ryem78

Hi Sheff Sparky,

Any update on this? We're booking our movers soon but are torn between John Mason, Anglo Pacific, Excess International and Pickfords... Just can't decide what my gut feel is saying and so far the costs are all pretty similar!

Thanks

michaelab

Does anyone know a good removal company from Glasgow to Canberra, Any idea of the cost involved for a full container?

MarkMC

We used Burke Brothers in the Midlands, I would not recommend them to anyone. From our agreement of between 6-8 weeks delivery time it took them 20 weeks. No one would ever answer your calls or explain why our container never got shipped after leaving our home. So anyone living in the midlands don't use them.

Disco01

We looked at using Burke Bros when we came out here glad we didn't now! We used another local Birmingham company Across the Ocean Shipping and they were great