Stevie P

We have begun packing up ready for our move, and are currently looking into shipping container companies. We've had a few quotes etc, but I'm wondering as some of these companies are wanting to do all the packing etc and telling us we can't take tinned food or jars ( unused ), that all garden equipment and shoes have to be spotless of any dirt and even any untreated woods like whicker furniture can't go.
This all seems a bit of a mine field, I know we can pack our own things and even load the container ourselves. But not sure about tinned foods, jars and untreated wood?
I have already cleaned up the garden tools and shoes but I'm thinking maybe we should use some sort of spray bleach to be sure? We were also told to put these sort of items at the doors of the container so if its opened and inspected they'll see how clean the items are and won't feel the need to go digging.

tom169

Garden tools are a few dollars at Walmart. Is taking old tools, cleaning them off to ensure they're spotless of dirt, sanitizing etc really worth it?

Stevie P

Hi Tom, yeah it's worth it. We are shipping over a container of everything we own, so there's room for those kind of items, besides they aren't Walmart quality if you know what I mean 😉.
On top of that its a daunting task starting from scratch, our bank balance isn't unlimited, so to save even a few dollars on those kind of items and shoes is certainly worth it to us.

tom169

I don't. I'm out working in the yard every weekend with my basic set from Walmart. Holding up quite well.

Fair enough. I assume you weighed up the cost of transportation vs selling and buying new.

petitefrancaise

The tools just need to be free of dirt/soil.

I hadn't heard that wicker might be a problem. There's a woman on BE called Kirsty I think who knows about all this, I'll try and find her and get her to confirm.

If you're not paying the transportation costs then throw everything in the container!

Pulaski

We shipped "everything", and didn't have any problems. YMMV.

We shipped tins and jars, though officially our shipper said we couldn't, and we shipped a number of bottles of spirits, all fully declared and duty paid, though I learned later we were probably lucky and that it was a bad idea. ..... It did however lead to the staff in the office of the US agent of out shipper dubbing Mrs P "the lady with the liquor"!

We cleaned our garden tools, but without taking any special precautions (spraying them with bleach will make them rusty), nor did we experience issues with our wooden furniture.

I doubt you'll be packing your own container will you? I don't know about putting the tools near the door, it probably makes sense, but won't stop them emptying your container if they want to.

Stevie P

Tom, it's virtually impossible to get a decent price for anything second hand. I posted a thread earlier about this, seems like we will have to give away most of the kitchen appliances etc we have as no one will buy them because of places like Walmart selling things so cheap these days.
We are getting a container as my U.S. wife originally brought over a house full of furniture etc that she has a lot of sentimental attachment to. ( I know it's a woman thing ) haha. So it's going back over with us.
So having a container to fill, we might as well bring as much as possible.

ottotheboar

It is not worth taking the risk of packing tinned food, if you get flagged for an inspection the basic charge for a tailgate inspection meaning they just open the doors is around $1300, for an intensive examination at least $2000.
Furniture should be fine, but any pallets must be made of wood stamped ISF15. Check with a broker for wicker.
Clean garden tools are fine.
Packing and loading your own container is fine and can save a lot of money but do not underestimate the process, you will have a limited time to load and unload.
We do it all the time but have a loading dock and a forklift.

Stevie P

Thanks Pulaski, you've given us a lot of info there, 👍. I'm making it my personal mission to empty the house of alcohol before we ship anything 😄😄.
As regards to packing the container, if it saves us a few grand overall then yes. My wife with a little help from family managed to pack it up and ship it here 7 years ago without breaking anything more than one ornament, so I think we can do the same going back. He says hopefully!

steveq

We used the OSB style pallets for that very reason.

There's a lot to be said for BUYING your own container, even if you sell it off in the US, because the cost of renting one for even a couple of weeks during the filling process is easily saved in the purchase. Then you can load at your leisure. Otherwise you often get 2 hours max to empty and an hour to fill your container.

kirstyp

Hello, thanks for thinking of me, hope I can help!

The international Association of Movers (IAM) put together a pretty good guide for shipping to the USA here. United States Country Guide - IAM

There is a also really good official list of restricted and prohibited items here: https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citize...stricted-items

Some shipping companies advise against groups of products, e.g. Food Stuffs because SOME items are restricted and listing them on the inventory can risk additional attention from Customs which means additional inspection costs OR because of additional risks they believe the item may pose (for example risk of any liquids leaking or odours escaping and damaging other items in the consignment).