How many boxes???
 

I am trying to figure out the best and cheapest way to have my 'stuff' sent to Canada. By stuff I mean: photo albums,paperwork, sentimental nic nacs, toys we can't part with, clothes, and general belongings. I do not plan to send any furniture or kitchen supplies, or anything that can be replaced easily when there.

I have searched this forum and just called a couple of the companies reccomended (Anglo Pacific and Cargobookers) to try and get an idea of where to start with this. I have got off the phone feeling even more confused!

What I can't get my head around is what I need to tell them with regards to the amount of stuff I want to send. I just cannot seem to visualise in my head how many boxes I will need in order to get a quote. Anglo pacific said their boxes are 48x43x61 cm and cargobookers said their's are 50x50x50 cm.

The stuff will be going from the Midlands to London, Ontario. I'm a Canadian citizen, if that makes any difference.

Can anyone please help me on this? I would like to hear from the people who just shipped over 'stuff'. How many boxes did you need in order to accomodate your stuff? How should I go about getting a good quote. i am afraid that because I feel so thick about all of this, they are going to try to rip me off. Already I had conflicting info. AP told me door to door service is no problem, whereas CB told me that I would have to pick the stuff up in Toronto.

Anyways, I just need to get quotes at this stage but I can't seem to figure out what to say to them. I explained I was having trouble imagining how many boxes to the girl on the phone. I asked if she had any idea of the average amount of boxes people in my situation used and she said she had no idea and I must give her a figure in order for her to work out a quote.

I feel so thick! Any help would be gratefully received.

Kellie

Re: How many boxes???
 

Can you get hold of an old cardboard box with roughly the dimensions listed to give yourself a rough idea?

Re: How many boxes???
 

Funny that you say that, it is what I just did!! It did help but, short of packing my stuff to see how many boxes it fills, I'm still unsure about how many boxes I should be thinking about. I am guessing 15-20, but would love to hear from someone who has been through this

I just had a quote for door to door service from excess baggage, who I thought would be good based on threads on here. For 15 boxes (51x41x61) he quoted £945 plus some delivery and collection charges for the boxes, which confused me! Add to that insurance (have not even got there yet!) and it seems alot more expensive than I thought.

Cargobookers have quoted me £322.52 for 20 boxes (50x50x50) door to port (Toronto). She also mentioned some kind of handling charge at the Port which she 'guessed may be in the region of £150.

I am feeling so confused by this!!

I will keep searching this forum for tips and hope to get more replies.

Kellie

Re: How many boxes???
 

Kellie,

Have PM'ed you.

Re: How many boxes???
 

We just picked up hubby's boxes that were shipped through cargobookers
we had 9 boxes clothes, CD's, books and papers, pictures and small stuff. shipped from London to Vancouver BC it cost us $500 at point of shipping and another $260 at point of destination. We shipped by sea not by air as it is cheaper it took 7 weeks to arrive.

Island Girl

Re: How many boxes???
 

Hey Kellie

We had Anglo Pacific and the lovely lady from the Manchester office (Annette) just walked around my home with me and I just told her what we were taking, ie that, and that and that..................and she worked it out from there. She looked at how many CD's we had, books we were taking, how many cupboards full of crockery etc, and was experienced enough to estimate the boxes we would need from that...................and she wasn't far out on the cubic feet either. We owed a little more when it was all boxed up, but not much. We had a part-container.

Don't stress about it, honestly, they should do all the maths for you !

Re: How many boxes???
 

Kellie

I know what you mean. All I have is a set of golf clubs, bike, pannier * 2, snowboard equipment, clothes, CDS and a poker set. I don't know what my box requirements are until I can get them in the same room.

I seen shipping boxes for golf clubs, but how do you ship a bike??

How are you planning to list your clothing? Apparently listing shoes and boots can cause trouble at customs. Again any advice would be most welcome.

I will watch this thread with interest.

Thank you

Re: How many boxes???
 

Anglo Pacific made no mention of coming around to my house to give me an estimate. Maybe I will ask them to do it. Do they charge you to do that?

Can I ask, what was your cubic feet in the end? And what did it end up costing?

Re: How many boxes???
 

I think I heard this on another thread. Is it true? If so, why? Have other people had any trouble with sending/listing clothes or shoes?

Re: How many boxes???
 

I was asked if I had shoes, and having been clued up here I smiled sweetly and said "Yes but I scrubbed the soles with disinfectant before packing them". Ahem. Honest I did ;)

Re: How many boxes???
 

:) Ok, now I'm getting even more curious.....what is the deal with clothes and shoes?

Kellie

Re: How many boxes???
 

Nothing with clothes, they think foot and mouth can be transmitted by the shoes of a city dweller who only ever pounded pavement between Starbucks and the salon ;)

Re: How many boxes???
 

Should I be seriously considering not sending my shoes? Can it actually cause a problem with the shipment?

Re: How many boxes???
 

Depends.
Are you sending them yourself or via a shipping agent?
If the first then possibly
if the second then HIGHLY unlikely.

Re: How many boxes???
 

No, send them! You could *actually* scrub the soles with a mild disinfectant solution, then you can answer truthfully. If you're not bothered and/or are certain that your shoes will not be carrying nasties that will cause the downfall of Canadian agriculture, then don't. Up to you.

Our customs officer was lovely, I'm pretty certain that if I'd said I hadn't scrubbed the shoe soles, it would not have made a difference. Sounded like he was just reading from a script. I just didn't want to take the chance. I did own up to a bottle of whisky I was planning on hiding so I felt my fibs cancelled each other out ;)

Re: How many boxes???
 

Please excuse my total thickness, but is a shipping agent a company like the ones I have been mentioning (such as Anglo Pacific, Cargobookers,Excess Baggage)?

I think I will be packing myself but using one of those companies-if I can get my head around this maze of cubic feet, cubic meters, quotes, extra charges.... :confused:

Kellie

Re: How many boxes???
 

Yep I'd class them as shipping agents, as far as I'm aware ITS assumed that they will have been SENSIBLE enough to ADVISE you to clean anything that could carry soil contaminants etc (eg garden ornaments, gardening implements, footware, even bikes and golf equipment).

Re: How many boxes???
 

I have about 25 pairs of boots, the kind you go clubbing in as opposed to hiking in....would I list these as "25 pairs of boots" in the inventory list? Could this cause trouble?

Anyways I have gone into detail on this footwear thing, which is very useful to know, but I don't want to stray too far from my original enquiry.....

Going back to quotes...I had a message from a local Britannia movers. She said door to door, 75 cubic feet= £535, I pack, they supply the boxes. I will need to ring her back tomorrow to find out if there are any hidden/extra charges to this quote. I am thinking this sounds good. I have decided I do want door to door service because I don't drive, I'll be on my own with 2 kids, and I'll be busy trying to get a job/work/get a home/and nurse my Mum, so trying to arrange getting the stuff from Toronto to London Ontario will be too much for me.

So, in anyone's experience, are Britannia good?

If you have used them, anything to watch out for, any tips?

Does 75 cubic feet sound like the right amount of space for the essential belongings of a 29 year old, a 9 year old, and a 7 year old? This will include: photo albums, paperwork, some books, clothes, shoes, boots, CDs, some toys, and sentimental nic nacs....no furniture, no crockery, no bedding, no electrical items?

Does £535 for 75 cubic feet sound like a good deal?

Thanks in advance (You guys are really helpful, and I do mean it)

Kellie

Re: How many boxes???
 

The price sounds good, BUT the amount sounds too litle (IMO). I'd say closer to 100.

Re: How many boxes???
 

Hi Kellie

We have just finished packing up all our boxes today - leaving next week.

We are using Excess Baggage and have 14 boxes - 8 are 51x41x61 and 6 are 51x41x27. You can fill each to a max of 35kg. In total we have packed clothing, photos, books, footware, Cd's ornaments etc. Total approx 400kg.

We are going to be paying around £1200 I believe - this will be confirmed either tomorrow or Thursday once they receive the boxes and weigh them. Then there is the additional insurance at 5% of the declared value.

We have been told to expect additional charges at the airport (Toronto) of around $150.

Once we get confirmed costs and exact weights I will post for info.

regards
Jane

Re: How many boxes???
 

Ah...........see we had the full package from the movers.............they packaged everything up for us, door to door service and as we had a part shipment,(albeit quite a large part shipment), it went off on a truck to the depot in Machester first.

Can't remember the cost now or the size in cubic ft, but it included all port charges etc too. It was more than you guys are looking at though. Well over 1000 gbp. Then you have your ins costs on top.

We never even considered packing ourselves ............for 2 reasons :
1........we wanted it all done and out in one day, the day we moved out of our rental property.

2...........although it wasn't enough to warrant paying for a full container, there was still a lot of stuff and awkward shaped stuff too and some large items.
It would have taken me forever to export wrap and that would have meant living with hardly anything for weeks...........we had enough of that at this end.

As for bikes..............the guys from Anglo made it look easy. Pedals came off , and it was all loosened so the handle bars went flatish etc. Quite a neat little package when done, heavy export wrap on to protect and then into its own box.

Re: How many boxes???
 

Hi Cancov, the shipper is trying to volumise your load to see who / what else they can get on the container. If your unsure of your specs 27 cubic feet is just under 1 cubic metre, this might sound daft but try putting masking tape 3' by 3' on the floor and have a stick /piece of wood 3' high. If you can pack all your belongs into this space in just under 3 times you'll be fine. As for the price because your shipping personnel belongings, shippers panick and give higher rates because the insurance scares them.

Stuart.

Re: How many boxes???
 

Hi all,
I've just shipped the following with FOX from Cardiff to Mission, BC. Door to door service for £1,300 including insurance. I sent over 30 boxes, a telescope, 3 bikes (jet-washed to remove grime), a 4drwr filing cabinet, 3 wardrobe cartons of clothes, 5 CD boxes packaged together to form a large box/parcel, various pictures, frames, prints etc and I was quoted up to 15 weeks. The stuff was shipped last week and I had a call to say they expect to make it to my new home (which I haven't yet purchased or moved anywhere near!!) possibly by the end of July! I'm impressed. The service was excellent and the follow up so far (after just a few days) has been great. No issues, no worries - so far, anyhow.

As for packing, I self-packed, but left the cartons open so they could put their own seals on, thereby effectively packing professionally and avoiding custom hassles further along (I hope). The whole process of loading took two hours as I had already boxed things, placed the majority in my garage and measured the floor space (very roughly) to see how much cu ft I had. I estimate about 125-150. It came out as 140, so I was pretty chuffed. I didn't bother with furniture, pretty much the same amount as Cancov; try boxing and taping the EMPTY cardboard cartons, place them in a room stacked and then work out the approx footage. We also used a shared container to save on costs. I think we had a good deal. My price was all inclusive, too.

Hope this helps. Sorry for any typos.
Sid

Re: How many boxes???
 

Mate,
did you know theres a spell check facility???? :p

Re: How many boxes???
 

It sounds like I have a bit less to send than this....no telescope, no bikes. then again, add some toys etc, maybe not.......

Is my maths right here?:

75 cubic feet is approx equal to 2 cubic meters, which is approx equal to 15 boxes of approx50x50x50 cm dimensions

Have I got this right or am I way out?

Kellie

Re: How many boxes???
 

Hi,

We moved 17 boxes over in December. A man from Glasswells came and quoted us in advance, free, and came and packed them himself which only took about 3 hours. We had toys (lots), photos, cds, dvds and nic nacs.
Only 500 pounds, no extra costs anywhere.

Shan

Re: How many boxes???
 

Kellie,
Our load 12 Boxes, of approx50x50x50 cm.
1.6 cubic meters Wt 365 Kg
Cost 750 door/door as per PM

Re: How many boxes???
 

Hiya

This is a good price. Was it door to door service? Where were you in the Uk and where did you ship to?

About to go google this company......

Thanks

[/QUOTE]Our load 12 Boxes, of approx50x50x50 cm.
1.6 cubic meters Wt 365 Kg
Cost 750 door/door as per PM[/QUOTE]

Thanks for that. Gosh, I really hate maths!

Kellie

Re: How many boxes???
 

Hi everyone

You have all been so helpful and I really feel like I have learned so much about this just since yesterday, thanks to your help.

I have just spoken to the lady at the local Britannia Movers, here in Coventry. By far, she has been the nicest, most helpful person I have dealt with and I have to give praise to that.

So, this is the quote:

£532 for 75 cubic feet (approx 15 boxes sized 46x46x69cm)

£634 for 100 cubic feet (approx 20 boxes sized 46x46x69 cm)

They supply the boxes (£100 deposit), we pack. It is a full door to door service. They said I could expect up to 12 weeks to receive my stuff.

The insurance is 3% of the value claimed, with 5% tax on the premium, and £35 admin fee.

I think this sounds like a reasonable deal overall and like I said she was very nice and helpful. Its amazing what a bit of good customer service can do for a company!

The only cheaper quote I got was Cargobookers, but the woman made me feel quite dumb and wasn't overly helpful. The quote was:

£322.52 for 20 boxes at 50x50x50 cm dimension

Only door to Port service (which, as I already explained, would be problematic for me as it will be difficult for me to arrange to pick up my stuff from Toronto)

A further 'handling charge', which was 'guessed' at £100/£150 at the Port, when I go to collect my goods.

Only the first 8 boxes supplied free, then a charge of £1.50 per box.

No mention of the insurance cost

On the surface of it, Britannia looks to be twice as much as Cargobookers. My initial response would be to go with Cargobookers.

But then when I factor in that guessed 'handling fee' of up to £150, and the the extra £18 for boxes, then Cargobookers creeps up to £490.52.

Ok, there is still a difference of £143.48.

But then I still need to factor in the cost (and inconvenience) to have my stuff picked up from Toronto and brought to London Ontario. And I am presuming that there will be storage costs if my stuff has to sit in Toronto waiting to be picked up?

I don't drive and I can't think of anyone who could drive a van for me if I hired them one. So, I'm not too sure how I would go about arranging that final bit. I have no idea if it would likely cost less or more than £143 (or the Canadian dollar equivalent).

So, now the question is: Is £143 extra worth it for the convenience and peace of mind of a door to door service, and for the far superior customer service I received from Britannia?

I think my mind is already made up if you didn't notice!!! :)

Does anyone have any further advice for me on this? Any reviews of Britannia vs Cargobookers?

I wonder if these companies read these boards and realise how much the customers act as spokespeople for their businesses?......

Thanks again

Kellie

Re: How many boxes???
 

"So, now the question is: Is £143 extra worth it for the convenience and peace of mind of a door to door service"

ABSOLUTELY - It will cost you at least 100pounds for van hire, gas, insurance, etc then as you say theres the hassle of getting it from the warehouse to yourself.

Whoever you use be prepared for a price increase as you will likely exceed the weight that you originally quoted your shipper.
Best of luck !!!

Re: How many boxes???
 

My thoughts exactly!

I think I am going to aim for 75 cubic feet, but budget for up to 100. I hope this will work out.

Thanks again.

Kellie

Re: How many boxes???
 

We'll be taking just 'stuff' too and I already had boxes similar in size to Cargobookers ones (I gave them the dimensions) ans estimated about 30 such boxes. They quoted about £600 door to port (Toronto), which seems good to me. I don't think we'll need 30 boxes though...

Re: How many boxes???
 

This is the qoute i just received from AMJ Cambell in Toronto. I use them as they were the second half of the journey for my goods coming in.
I used the Withiam brothers of bexhill and it cost 350 pounds to send out 20 boxes door to door.
AMJ Cambell have quoted:

OUR RESIDENCE TO RESIDENCE QUOTE…………….. CDN $1,110.00
FOR 60CUFT NET

CDN $ 1,410.00
FOR 100CUFT NET
Excludes insurance (2.5% of valuation of shipment)

Transit time between terminals approx 3-4 weeks

not too bad but it is still a struggle trying to decide what to take home and what to sell!
good luck!

Re: How many boxes???
 

Bike Update

I went to my local bike store and for £15 they will box it up for me. Apparently they do this sort of thing quite a lot.

Information worth sharing me thinks! :)

Thank you

Re: How many boxes???
 

Hiya

You didn't mention earlier if you have decided on a shipping company, but some do supply the boxes for bikes I think. Not sure if it worth looking into?

Have you had any quotes yet from the companies?

Kellie

Re: How many boxes???
 

Kellie

Sorry, I haven't got that far yet. I was going to jump on that bandwagon at the start of August, but I wont be using Pickford's as I've read unhappy experiences from other members, though goods were not lost. They seemed a little absent on the tracking.

How are you getting on with the shipping forms? I assume that we will need to complete the B4A and B4E forms? I'm also assuming that I will need 3 copies in total, one for me, one set to go with boxes (I'll attach of the documents to the actual boxes with in a clear plastic cover) and one for customs upon arrival.

This is good communication, you're giving me confidence!

Thank you

Re: How many boxes???
 

I think I have decided to go with my local Britannia mover. if you read through this thread you will see all of my reasoning.

I think what we are going to do is go and buy the boxes from them (which will be deducted from the final bill) very soon.

I am going to pack up and label all of my 'stuff' and do the inventory forms, goods to follow etc at that time.

Then when I arrive at Canada I will explain to customs that I have this list but I am not 100% sure that I am staying yet. I will explain about my Mum dying etc.

Then after a couple of weeks in Canada if I do decide to stay for absolute sure, I will give the go ahead to my hubby (who is staying behind in Uk for a few months at least) to book the shippers and send my stuff.

Or I might just make a firm decsion that I am going for good and send my stuff ASAP, so it gets there ASAP.

Not quite sure yet.

Re: How many boxes???
 

There is a new development on the quotes-front that I thought may be of interest.....

The other day I had a quote from "Excess Baggage" for £1, 185 for approx 100 cubic feet. I thought this was really high and questioned it, but the guy said it was correct. The insurance was quoted at 5% and it was pack myself, door to door. There was also another fee, which I can't remember (and stupidly didn't write down because by that point in the conversation I had thought 'forget it').

Well today I had an email quote from "Mini-moves at Excess International", which I think was on the very same website, and it was for £678 with them packing/unpacking etc etc. The insurance was 3%. It then said 'this quote is based on us having a vehicle in your area'. So I have emailed back to ask them to clarify what they mean.

Seems weird that the same website has two totally different quotes dependant on me ringing them or emailing them.

Probably won't use them based on that alone.

But thought I would share this to help others when they come to ask the same questions that I am.

Kellie

Re: How many boxes???
 

Just thought I would let you know we just got confirmation of our shipping costs.

We are using Excess Baggage and had 15 boxes in total which weighed 440 kg.

We are using airfreight and the cost came in at £1,268, so my estimate was not too far out. We are also paying for insurance coverage at 5% of the actual value, so an additional £400 on top of that.

As I mentioned before we will also have to pay an additional $150 (approx) when we collect the stuff from Toronto airport.

Fingers crossed now that it all arrives safely.

Flying on Friday, sooooo excited!

Jane

Re: How many boxes???
 

Thanks for that Jane. That price is over my budget, but I guess you have the advantage of it getting there more quickly by air.

You had 15 boxes- do you know what dimensions the boxes were and can you tell me did you find 15 boxes enough space for all your 'stuff'. How many people's stuff did you ship? I have mine and two children's stuff. I am planning to get the boxes this week I hope so I can start packing and get a better idea if I can afford to send all that I want to, or if i am going to have to make some sacrifices.

Good luck for Friday!! Where are you going to live?

Kellie