helcat12

Oh, that explains that then - we live in the sticks!
I actually live down a very narrow drive past another house and there is no room for a container lorry either to come down the drive or to park on the road in my small village, so I have put all my big furniture into storage already and they can collect it much easier from there.
I'll post again when the others get back to us.
I suppose ours should be a lot more because we are going a long way across Canada compared to Toronto folks, although I am not sure how the money stacks up based on ship transit and cross-country transit mile for mile.

Scotia Girl

We used PSS not bad... but remember you can haggle

Scotia Girl

Isn't it EVL who have gone bust????

helcat12

yes, they have.

joepublic

The GB Liners chap has been this morning pricing up for our move from Bristol to Angus, Ontario. He's going to quote us on a 20' container, although I think we have less than 800 cft. Will let you know what they come back with.

davidsk

Bear in mind the quote is not final. You can negotiate the price and insurance.

They initially quoted £1,130 for the UK end + £3,530 from London to Halifax (£4660 in total for 20' solo container), plus 3.5% insurance.

We told them we got a much better quote. Then they came down £3660 in total + 2.75% insurance.

It is still not as good as the Fox International, £2770 in total + 2.6% insurance. So we chose Fox.

helcat12

I'm getting Fox to quote for a 20ft container today and also 1st Move and GB Liners. This is all to Abbotsford, Vancouver B.C. I'll also post the responses.
Movecorp quoted £4700 and when I said it was higher than other quotes they moved but only to £4544, so I will probably put them out of the running.Their excuse was that fuel as gone up since March.
That looks really good from Fox for you, davidsk.

davidsk

We also got a quote £3300 + 2.5% insurance from Excess Baggage.

GB Liner quoted on 650 cuft, Excess Baggage quoted on 585 cuft, but Fox quoted on 495 cuft.

davidsk

One thing maybe useful to do is to pack your spare duvets, pillows and winter bulky clothes by using some vacumm bags. So when they come to survey, they will get less volume, which will be more accurate to the final volume.

Even using a solo container (most space will probably be empty), the actual volume usage will affect the price as I was told.

sinbad23

Hello

I am going to be flying over to Canada in about a month or on IEC. At present I am only going to be taking the following items:


Playstation 3 + games (1x box doubles up as my blu ray, media centre thingy...this might be sold due to voltage)
Clothes (I have got about 8-10 boxes worth of clothes)
Shoes (20 paris- spead over 4 boxes)
Random documents (1x box)

The rest of the stuff I need I will buy once I am there. I am going to staying at a friends place (Mississagua) in the first couple of weeks, just while I find my own place to live.

I want to get this stuff shipped over, I have no idea about how to get it over to Toronto. Would you recommend shipping it? If so what size container will I need? Or how to this stuff over to Toronto, costs and timeframes.

Your help is much appreciated

helcat12

With so little the airfreight option might be best. Also, it will take a lot less time to get there. Sea freight via sole container takes 6 to 10 weeks or thereabouts and it is usually longer if you do it by groupage because they have to find other people with enough to fill a container. I assume you will want your shoes and clothes fairly fast so air is the better option. You an ask your air carrier if they do it, other wise I know Air Canada do it and Air Transat.

sinbad23

Thanks, I will check them out

oceaneoneill

Ah would London to Halifax be cheaper than London , Vancouver I wonder..?

helcat12

I would certainly have thought so, as it is way across the whole of Canada to the Pacific coast to Vancouver, whereas it is just a hop across the pond to the East coast and Halifax. I am not comparing my quotes to those from others going to different areas of Canada.
But even so, my quotes thus far vary by just short of £1200, which is a huge difference and they are all quoting to go to the same postcode with the same stuff.
The guy from GB Liners was really lovely on the telephone and their assessor is coming out to me on Friday, plus there are at least two others I am still waiting for, so I've a little while before they are all ready to compare. I'll post them when I have them.

helcat12

I have just had a quote from a company called 1st Move International who do what I suppose is "no frills" service to get a container or smaller quantity of goods to Canada and the price is fantastic!
The payment doesn't include some charges at the other end, though and I wonder of this might be the sting in the tail?
"Your Charges Include:
UK container transport from load point to port of departure, UK terminal handling, export documentation and administration charges, freight charges to destination.
Your Charges Exclude:
Destination costs such as terminal / port handling, customs / quarantine inspection, treatment and clearance charges, duty or tax, administration fees, storage, delivery to residence."
So it is basically they just put the stuff on Canadian soil and push off!
Other companies have quoted inclusive of these things;

• Standard Customs Clearance.

• Delivery to residence as mentioned above, assuming good access.

• Unpacking and removal of debris.

• Unpacking of items including glass and china to a work surface only.

So, my question is does this basic service sound like a good deal, bearing in mind it is £2000 cheaper than all the other quotes I have had? Has anyone used them before?
The price is very tempting but I am wondering if the other charges might be unpredictable and that is why it seems so cheap.