FRAYNE

Just wondered has anyone used there own boxes for packing we have moved about 18 times while we were in the army so i am used to packing and would like to do it myself but can you use any type of box the reason i ask is i can get boxes from work that are reusable I'm not a cheapskate really just into recycling,wasn't sure if you had to use the boxes from the removal company Janet

marco121068

Don't think there's any problem. Just make sure not to use any boxes used for transporting fruit & veg etc that you can pick up from the supermarket.

FRAYNE

Thanks for that there boxes that have been used mostly for toys and lighting Janet

wanderingwombat

The removalist boxes are sized for space efficiency in a container, etc.

You may find you have to pay more to ship non-standard sized boxes as they waste space and take longer to sort out (think jigsaw puzzle).

Ask the shipper.

WW

pootle26

our shipper wrote PBS & PBO on our boxes - packed by shipper - packed by owner - apparently the ones that are PBO are under more scrutiny customs end -
so the shippers told us
not sure if this is true but thought id mention it

hth

pootle26

spalen

thisis all pants with exception of - do not use any old fruit boxes or food package boxes they are a no-no

read AQIS website it tells you what you cannot use

The scrutiny of any box by customs is done the same, all containers are emptied and all have a sample of boxes opened.

As for packing optimisation in a container ? er yeah... sure...

The only good thing about buying proper boxes is that they have things like book boxes which are small so you dont put 2.5tonnes of books in and cant lift them. Other than that they're just paper boxes.

FRAYNE

Thanks for all your replies Janet

Larissa

We used export quality packing boxes, they have another layer of cardboard and can easily be ordered over the net. Moving overseas is much riskier than within the UK as the ship may pitch and roll, causing boxes to shift in transit... plus they will basically chuck your boxes about for customs inspection. So that extra bit of protection and rigidity is worth it.
Maybe you can get away with recycled boxes for non breakables though?
BTW Can't find the link for the company we used, sorry! It was over a year ago now.
ATB
Larissa

karenjc

As the people taking our stuff over were local we popped around and got a load of boxes of them and packed them ourself. We also had pre packed curver boxes as well.All we did was label the boxes we packed and put this down on all the paper work that we had packed certain boxes.

mr mover

Teachest cartons fit 5 across a container tight , book cartons [`1/2 teachest]ART pacs [picture boxes] take up any slack ,we do this for a living so pack at your own discretion.............. mm

fishface

hi apart from packing your own boxes has anyone arranged shipping container off their own steam, as in not paid through the nose for companies like pickfords etc? Can you do this? We moved to oz woth pickfords and it cost approx 3000 pounds and I found it unsettling having other people going through my stuff, and when we got to the other end couldn't always find stuff and there was also stuff that i wouldn't have packed.
You end up needing to go through all you stuff anyway so you may as well be putting in a box.
thanks.

spalen

yes i did it, 68mevy did it too. Its easy and its about 1500 quid cheaper.

fishface

Great news who or how did you sort the container through?
Thanks for the reply

spalen

if you search for DIY or self ship or shipping maybe the word inventory as well you'll find loads of long threads about it with lots of advice and contacts.

In yellow pages/ yell.com you look for freight forwarders.

A container full of your personal good is no different to a container full of t-shirts or auto-parts to a shipping company.

Also check out www.aqis.gov.au for advice on what you can pack.

You need a freight-forwarder in UK who arranges a container to turn up, you pack it, the freight forwarder takes it to the port (and asks you for customs declarations etc) you also need to find a shipping agent in Australia - teh freight forwarder or a search on here or www.yellowpages.com.au will find one. Then speak / fax / email them get some details about charges etc.
It shoudl work out 1700$AU this end in Aus and about 1500 quid to have a 20ft container shipped from UK house to Australian Port.

Most of what the 'shippers' will tell you in the UK is BS because they dont know their arse from their elbow when it comes to the detailed workings of Aqis as evidenced from a ton of people posting on here about 'surprises' at the Aussie end. So dont think for one second the extra premium they charge you is because of their 'special knowledge', nor will they act to liaise with the shipping company this end - (again from evidence of peoples problems with shippers on here).

Good luck.