shellmat

Hello,

We hope to arrive in NZ early Jan 2013. We are trying to figure out if it’s worth buying furniture in the States and ship it over or whether the cost of furniture in NZ is similar to the UK (I’m from the UK and am aware of the prices – the US tends to be cheaper I believe than the UK). I know for new items we would potentially incur taxes, but I assume if they have been assembled Ikea/used then this would not be a problem. Any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks in advanced.

MrsFychan

not sure on prices comparable but their isn't a heap of choice here and the two experiences we have had trying to get stuff has been a nightmare. after 10weeks we are still waiting for a piece of glass for the tallboy for the bedroom. we have had 2 provided but each did not fit. Our coffee table came all scratched and the TV cabinet had nicks out of the wood, but at least that did get sorted in a week and we didn't buy cheap. $6000 for a tallboy, dressing table and mirror and 2 bed side tables. $1750 for TV cabinet and coffee table.
If I had to do it again I would try and buy in the UK

ellenarosemary

Bring it, if you like it and intend to keep it for a while. Also if its good quality you could always sell on if you fancied a change. But as Mrs F says there isnt much choice and what is available is expensive.

Caz8NZ

agree - if you see stuff you like/already have, and are happy to pay for the shipping bring it. There isn't much in the way of cheap furniture that is half decent quality so you tend to get the "cheap" stuff that isn't that cheap and there isn't much choice - or it jumps right up in price.

Good websites to look at to get an idea are:

http://www.furniturecity.co.nz/
http://www.nood.co.nz/
http://www.freedomfurniture.co.nz/
http://ultimateliving.co.nz/
http://www.danskemobler.co.nz/
http://www.targetfurniture.co.nz/
http://www.harveynorman.co.nz/

elasticated17

Bring as much IKEA as you can possibly squeeze in!

love30stm

thanks for those links im looking to get a new sofa and bed

Caz8NZ

don't forget Big Save and PK Furniture (if you have those) i didn't include the links as the websites aren't too great for prices. I also went to a Big Save store this weekend and was totally unimpressed with quality for price ratio.

love30stm

Thanks i know about Big Save furniture.

Caz8NZ

are you speaking from experience?? ha ha!

I'm looking for some bedside tables and dresser at the moment - all the stuff i like is soooooo much money! PK do have a good deal on though for a set of stuff at the moment but i'm umming and ahhing about it!

MOSO

Definitely bring it. There are companies that ship Ikea stuff to NZ but at a premium of course.

We managed to get round the problem last year when we went on holiday to the Gold Coast, we bought a tv stand from Ikea in Brisbane to match the rest of our Ikea furniture from the UK and used one of the kid's luggage allowance to bring it back to NZ in its box. Air NZ and customs were fine about it and it was obviously quite common....."just another Ikea box" was their attitude

love30stm

Haha no I've looked in big save and was impressed I'm looking for two new sofas and a loft bed with desk under for daughter as her room is not massive for all her stuff.

shellmat

Hello MrsFychan,

Thank you for the advice. You confirmed my suspicions that there is not a huge choice and what there is tends to be pricy or the cheaper items are not very good. Sounds like we will be heading off to Ikea soon :-)

shellmat

Hi MOSO,

Good tip – thanks. We have some pieces of furniture we were planning on bring anyway but will probably buy the majority of other items here as well. There are some pretty good deals on items in the US. Shipping costs are a lot cheaper then what I expected. You can also deduct moving costs from your taxes which help a bit.

shellmat

Hi Caz8NZ,

Thanks for the links. I will check them out and see if I can avoid shipping a few items over although if we do end up with half a container it may make sense to just buy it this end.

Justcol

without comparing prices I'd say bring it with you.
Most things here are far more expensive than most other places