domco77

Dear all,

Was wondering whether anyone here has had experience with SevenSeasWorldwide for shipping items from the UK to Australia?

http://www.sevenseasworldwide.com/usp.aspx#1

They seem quite good, would be good to get a recommendation or otherwise!

Thanks,

Dominic

BDAloual

I used Sevenseas to ship 5 suitcases from the UK to Aus as they quoted a good price. My point of frustration with them was that I did not have an Aus address or Aus telephone number to give them. I was still in the UK when I sent the suitcases as it can take up to 3 months to get there, so my plan was to ship the cases while still in the UK and by the time I got to Aus I would only have to wait a few weeks. Although I explained all this over the phone I would get different responses depending who I spoke to. So say someone said, oh its okay, if you dont have to have an Aus telephone number stated on your paperwork its just an address you really need, I would then receive an e-mail a week later saying they had still not sent my cases as I did not have an australian telephone number listed. This went on for my lack of:

- Aus Address (I finally just put down the address of an Aus storage company, and changed it once I knew my Aus address, but dont tell them that)
- Aus Telephone number - turns out it was okay to leave my Mums UK number (found this out only after speaking to 3 staff, who had said this was not acceptable)
- No details of the airline name and flight number that I would be entering Aus on (at the time of shipping I did not know, so I just made it up)

If however you know someone in Aus whose address and telephone number you can use and you know your flight number then I would recommend them as it would have been straightforward otherwise.

jellibaby

We used FREEDOM SHIPPING (the same company as Seven Seas) as they had a deal on at the time of booking which made it cheaper.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED no bullshit straight forward process.

We ordered boxes 6 weeks before we wanted them collected. We over ordered on the boxes and made sure that any unused ones were in A1 condition otherwise there would have been a £5 per box penalty. In the end we had the following to ship

1 x ornamental sword in its own box (we supplied) £4.85
1 x pictures package - in their own box (we supplied) £10.82
1 x skiis in bag (they later boxed it for no extra charge) £16.93
1 x collection charge (from Lincoln UK) £35.00
4 x book boxes (one of these was actually tools) £60.00
1 x tea chest (first one charged higher) £69.00
12 x tea chests £360.00
1 x tea chest - free

ALL RISKS INSURANCE which is 5% of YOUR estimated replacement cost for all items you list included in your consignment - it's up to you if you are honest with yourself on this. We had a LOT of diving equipment and expensive motorcycle kit to insure. We have heard of the container ships being shot at going through the Suez, and we've heard of heavy seas causing water damaged to containers too - its a personal call but we paid for the full whack as it was still cheaper than having to fork out a huge replacement cost.

In the end our insurance cost us £788.50

So for 21 items in total we paid £1235.09

Freedom shipping supply the paperwork. We made a FULL inventory of everything that went into EACH box so that we would know exactly what was missing if anything. Their forms are slightly shorter but we included a full inventory sheet inside every box so should they be opened they would know we would know what was in what! This also helps when they arrive to know what is in which box. At the start of the process they will want a copy of your VISA and a copy of your passport (photocopies or in our case we scanned them and faxed them through).

They collected the boxes on 9th November and they arrived with us in Port Macquarie NSW yesterday! That's the 25th Jan. So that's just short of 11 weeks door to door.

We had to have an Aussie address. We were lucky that we had a cousin who's address we could supply. Bear in mind the address should be where the ship docks and there is no onward charge. We knew we would be changing this before the ship docked and that there would be an onward charge paid upfront. All we had to do was make sure we EMAILED them the new address WHILE the ship was at sea. When we finally had a Port Macquarie address we emailed them straight off and they requested the extra £75.00 (which they'd already told us about). On arrival Freedom contacted us to pay the customs clearance fee which was $144 which we paid through electronic banking from our Aussie bank.

You WILL need an address AND a phone number in Aussie. We could have used a mobile number - just include the country code. Either take your unlocked UK mobile and leave it switched on and charged till your boxes arrive - or buy an Aussie mobile SIM (which will work in your unlocked phone) or new phone and inform them of the change of phone number. The reason they need this info is for customs and to make sure that you are not trying to get business goods into the country through the back door. You will have to complete their unaccompanied personal goods form which is there assurance that you are not a trader avoiding import duty and charges.

The whole process was simple and easy and we could not complain. the boxes arrived pretty much as we'd packed them with only 3 boxes having been opened. One with bike kit in, one with SHOES in and a crockery box (no idea why on that one). ALL boxes are x-rayed so if some shape comes up they don't like then I guess they'll open them.

Make sure all outdoor stuff is thoroughly cleaned - anything which has come into contact with the ground etc - shoes - biker stuff - garden stuff. If there is any dirt found on any item they will steam it and then charge you for it - and they won't ask first. Put all items like this in one box if you can then they only open 1 box!!!!!! Declare everything on their customs forms included wooden ornaments etc. I don't think they're bothered if they expect it to show up on x-ray either way.

They didn't supply fragile tape so we bought our own. We also bought a bulk roll of bubble wrap as they didn't supply much. We wrapped everything in bubble wrap and its all OK. Mark anything fragile such as crockery or glasses etc. Make sure you seal with tape TOP and BOTTOM as the instructions on the boxes say so that no insects, termites, ants or anything else get in while moving through the worlds docks.

After that it should all go well!

benny the ball

Superb service from Seven Seas. We shipped 25 tea chests. Collected at exactly the time they said they would arrive. We took out our own insurance as it was cheaper than theirs. They only charged an extra £75 pounds to ship up to Capricorn coast from Brisbane. All the boxes arrived okay and undamaged ( a few items were broken but that was through our inexpert packing in hindsight!) No further charges, customs didnt even open any of the boxes even though there were plenty of shoes in there and a lot of carved wooden objects listed on the paperwork. The call centre staff are overseas but all speak exceptional english and the ones I had contact with were a pleasure to deal with.

domco77

Thanks for the tips guys!

Mumfords

we used sevenseas and excess baggage....... i would use sevenseas again exxcess baggage can go and :curse:

ice mocha

Do we have to pack everything in tea chests?
or can it be boxed??

jellibaby

They supply the boxes - they are just called t-chests to give you some idea of size. You can use your own if you want but the ones they supply are of standard size which makes life easier for them when stacking in a container. I'd recommend using theirs as they give a good idea of maximum weight etc which for Aussie is 40kg per box. You WILL almost get to 40kg in one of their book boxes when filling with books and magazines. They have scales on the vans when collecting so I recommend that you invest in some decent scales so you can weigh as you go, that way you can distribute the heavier stuff amongst your boxes to make sure you don't over pack heavier items.

ice mocha

Wow, that's great! Thanks.
So that's one less thing to worry about, collecting boxes!!! hahha...

velma

Did you use seven seas in the end?