bobcaygeonjon

Hi , has anybody on here ever heard of persons arranging the packing and shipping of there furniture etc by themselves?
I already own a 20ft container that is used for work right now and I know that it wont cost more than £100 to have it driven over to Liverpool. But after that I dont know. How would I book a place on the ship, insure it, get through customs etc.

Any insight?
BTW I'm thinkin about moving in Dec.

bobcaygeonjon

Anybody?

Stu-pot

Your best bet is contacting a major freight forwarder who covers the areas your looking to move to as they will have contacts at the other end who could arrange for off loading and onward transportation to where you want to go. This might be cheaper than trying to do it your self as you are ( no offence) a nobody in the world of shipping.
Also make sure you have some very good insurance, if your container gets damaged or worse damages someones elses its gonna cost big time.

Stuart

BC Hopefuls

Hi, That is something we wanted to do. We were going to buy a container then keep it for storage once we arrived over here. In the end we didn't do it because each shipping ccompany we spoke to insisted that the container had to have the required safety inspection and stamp before it would be allowed on any ship. We were looking at buying a container that was no longer in service hence it wouldn't be certified for shipping. And of course, it would no longer pass the inspection, otherwise it would still have been in service! To buy a container with the certification didn't make $$$ sense.

If your container has a valid stamp then, as the previous poster said, you will just have to ring around freight forwarding companies to find someone who can do it.
Good luck!

bobcaygeonjon

OK Thanks you two.
I'm gonna look into it a little more.

destinationnovascotia

When you are getting quotes factor in a much greater likelyhood of the container getting inspected which will probably cost in the region of $800

Biiiiink

Look for posts by Tiaribbon, she owned her own container iirc and presumably packed it herself.

jba

Hi I have been reading the posts on shipping costs and experiences, I was wondering if this poster has found out any more regarding shipping a container himself? It is something I have thought possible, but didn't know how to begin to research.

PS I am new to this site and to this board, First Post!

Arris

I asked a similar question a while back, as someones already pointed out on this thread & in replies 2 & 3 of the link, containers have to be of a certain standard to be used for shipping.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=496288

Good luck & hope it all goes well

bobcaygeonjon

Hi I'm the original poster. Just to update you we have decided to basically sell or dump as much as we can so we are no longer thinking of a container. What we are going to take doesnt amount to much any more so we are using air freight instead.

Good luck.

JLT

Hi there, You could maybe give P&O or one of the shipping lines who will direct you and give you costs, time etc. Re packing your own goods. Not sure if you are taking out insurance, I know when we shipped over it was a bit iffy with the insurers about doing your own packing, so just check it out. Not really sure if you will save much by doing your own thing so best check out both options.as if you do not have too much to go in, remember the shipping line charge on volume not on weight! Is it a 20ft container? Good luck to you

Stu-pot

Not sure how much stuff you have to take with you but have you considered how much it will cost to replace what your not taking on the otherside?. It was something we've thought about until we realised that it would cost more to replace.
A 20ft container will cost between £3500-4000 to ship to Nova scotia, insurance is approx 2.8% of the value of goods ( you decide how much things are worth baring in mind you might need to replace with new). So if your worldly goods can be replaced for less go for it if not have a re-think.

Stuart

bobcaygeonjon

I know what your saying stu but I have thought about it and honestly most of our furniture is Ikea crap not only do I not consider it worth shipping over but it probably wouldnt make it. It was hard enough when I moved the last time from one end of Bolton to the other. Then there's electronic that isn't worth bringing so all I'm left with is really just clothes, a few guitars, one painting, and some books that I just cant bear to part with, OH - and the cats

Booked flights for Dec 11th so gonna start packing soon.

LotteW

We had cheap Ikea furniture too (it has a suprising resale value on Ebay!). WE decided it wasn't worth shipping for seveal reasons

- it is cheap enough to replace Ikea furniture with like over here
- we would either have to buy stuff to use while our furniture was in transit or rent a furnished place
- it gave us a chance to replace stuff, especially the kids furniture that they had somewhat outgrown


We brought 10 boxes over with us (books, ornaments, a few "family" bits and pieces, paintings, photographs, a few of the kids special toys etc). Beyond that we just had a suitcase each.

We went to Ikea and furnished the whole house for less than shipping all the furniture would have cost, took the kids to Toys R Us, gave them a trolley and told them to fill it..... and it was FUN!

bobcaygeonjon

Yeah thats what I mean. It's not that Ikea furniture is crap but it is cheap and not worth shipping. I actually love Ikea.