'Loading' and 'Unloading' shipping containers....

Just wondering, how did you load and unload the shipping container you sent from 'home' to your 'new home' in Australia?

I imagine there was lots of hands of deck to load it (family, friends), but still, how much effort and how long did it take?

I am particularly interested in how you unloaded the container as, let's face it, you were probably in a new neighbourhood etc (did the truck driver help?)

Also, how much time did you have for each action, how long did you have container 'time' for!

Thanks a mill!

B

The shipping company did it all. In fact I think we packed some boxes (books etc) but left them open so that they could be checked by the shipping company before they were loaded, but most were packed by the shippers. On delivery the shipping company unloaded the boxes into the house, and we then unpacked at our leisure. They did offer to empty the boxes and take the rubbish away, but I wanted to do it myself.

The shipping company did it all. In fact I think we packed some boxes (books etc) but left them open so that they could be checked by the shipping company before they were loaded, but most were packed by the shippers. On delivery the shipping company unloaded the boxes into the house, and we then unpacked at our leisure. They did offer to empty the boxes and take the rubbish away, but I wanted to do it myself.

Great, easy peasy so!

I should have mentioned, I know someone in a shipping company. He's quoted me a price for 'the container shipping only'. So, I / we have to load and unload it ourselves.

B

You must allow the removals company to pack or inspect your packed but open boxes as hey have to sign the customs declaration to confirm nothing illegal etc packed.

Unpackng, we had the boxes dropped off, furniture placed and we did the box Unpackng at our own pace.

S

This is getting interesting (!)...has anyone loaded / unloaded / self-shipped their 'own conatiner' at all?

B

They have to inspect it, so you will have to leave the boxes open for them to see, but to pack our three bedroom house (not much furniture but lots of boxes of books etc) took a day and a half. It took about an hour and a half for them to offload it :cute:. OH seems to remember that it was delivered in some big wooden crates rather than the container, although it is almost 8 years ago so I wouldn't 100% rely on this.

Bear in mind, you may save money on packing and loading your own stuff, but, customs will pay particular attention when inspecting boxes packed by owner. You will be charged for their time plus they will be more likely to 'find' things that they are not happy with.

We were very glad that they didn't pay too much attention to our stuff as we found loads of things that slipped through by accident once we unpacked it all.

The other thing to remember is that depending on when you arrive, it could be considerably hotter this end than when you loaded it. Our stuff arrived in 42 deg and it took 4 men about 5 hrs to unload. No way could we have coped with that by ourselves.

This is getting interesting (!)...has anyone loaded / unloaded / self-shipped their 'own conatiner' at all?

 

B

Not many people do it this way. There are a number of pitfalls/hassles to doing so and I think for many its just easier to get a shipping company in rather than buy a container to load yourself.

I can recall a few over the years on here going the route you mention but most don't.

The closest I can compare is using a Move Cube which even the largest one is nowhere near as big as a 20ft sole use container. That took a couple of hours to load and unload either end and that wasn't furniture, mostly boxes and packed tight.

Having moved ourselves a few times within the UK (hiring a truck and loading/unloading etc I can say its a right royal pain and hard work and a day either side. Plus the other stuff. I'd not want the hassle of a container to go overseas and then the customs check etc. I'd rather let the professionals pack it all so I know its loaded correctly and pay the customs fees the other side.

Bear in mind, you may save money on packing and loading your own stuff, but, customs will pay particular attention when inspecting boxes packed by owner. You will be charged for their time plus they will be more likely to 'find' things that they are not happy with.

 

 

We've been given indicative custom fees, and port and door to door (ex sea) haulage charges....

B

We've been given indicative custom fees, and port and door to door (ex sea) haulage charges....

 

B

It will probably be a chunk cheaper than using a shipping company but a lot more work in every other way. Keep in mind the work you will have to do to load and unload it (and don't rely on anyone helping, especially on a week day), pack everything safely to ship the other side of the world (shippers don't just bung it in) and that everything boxed will need sealing, furniture may need wrapping etc. And then there is the list for customs etc. Has anyone mentioned cleaning the container? You may need to do this before you can use it and at the other end. Also look into insurance from an independent and see if they will cover a self packed container like this. I'd not ship without it, not a sole use with all my possessions anyways.

If you want to go self shipping, go for it. Someone may be along with their story of self shipping a sole use 20ft but as I said before, many don't do this so people who have a few and far between and you might not hear back anything from them if they don't happen along.

If found this on another forum - written by a contributor called: JJanj

Looks like they found it very straight forward.

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[TD=class: alt1, bgcolor: #F9F9F9]Hi,

We are not experts nor do we claim to be but we have now done it several times. We have moved by self pack container and also the professional international removal method, both methods more than once between UK, Australia and Canada. However, we have saved an absolute fortune every time we self packed/self hired a sea container compared to the total service move and it was quite straight forward. Get the container dropped off at your house for a few days, load it and make a good inventory then seal it with the special seal the driver will probably give you. The driver then should take it away and it will hopefully your stuff will be delivered to your new house in a few weeks where you can unload it in a few hours. You may have to go to customs to clear it or pay a fee for someone to clear it for you, ask the container company about that but even that is no big deal. I must point out that I am not knocking the international full service removal companies as many have great experiences with these companies, I am only stating my own preferences and experiences.

We have personally never had any problems doing this self pack container thing but I am sure given the law of averages that someone may have a bad story to tell. In fact, we have had bigger problems with certain "professional" full service removers than by doing it our selves and also have had less damage by doing our own packing/loading but that is just in our own experiences.

Even if you hire a local furniture removal company at each end to load and unload whilst you supervise and "motivate" the loaders,(they usually charge by the hour especially in Oz so either get a very firm quote or watch them like a hawk because they have little tricks to drag the process out. I even had one bloke off one of the Oz removal teams go to the toilet with a paper for 30 minutes while he was on the clock) I would advise that if you can load and unload yourself, do it. However, if you do decide to use local removals to load and unload only, you will still be well ahead in cost because there is an awful lot of competition for sea container hire and you should get a real good price if you shop around.

The international removal companies are just doing what you do when you hire the container except they also pack and load and provide the packing materials, all at a massive markup. Quite often, some international full service removal companies will take your stuff by truck to their warehouse then load it into a single container or shared container as a full or part load. It is during this time that stuff can go missing or get "lost" or damaged or misplaced. If the item that gets lost or damaged is part of a set, some companies will only replace the cost of the single item and not the set (again I am speaking from my personal experiences of these things happening, yes I said experiences ) With a self pack container it used to be sealed at your door and you knew that it had been packed and would hopefully not be touched again until you saw it at your new place that is unless things have changed since we last did it. Even if Oz customs want to empty the container you should be able to stand by with your removal truck then have it loaded for transportation to your house. We used Chess removal in Perth the one time to collect it from customs after self pack/hire process. However, when we took one back to UK, they just delivered the sea whole container to our house.

You should also ask the container companies loads of questions about what the whole door to door procedure is so you are totally aware of what goes on. I am very surprised why more people don't do it on cost alone but I suppose it's personal choice. Stuff your belongings in as tight as you can get them preferably with your mattresses last so that you have to squeeze the doors shut against them and you should be fine. That way nothing should move.

Good luck

JJanj

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this is exactly what we want to do , and for the same reasons. but i can't find anywhere that does this . i did get a reply from Grace removals in brisbane and they said they do not pick up from port and take to your address , they want to do it all or nothing.

has anybody found the shipping companies that do that please?

I've had a good quote of £3300 from Pearsons, but we really don't have a lot of spare cash to take out with us and this could go towards a better banger car.

this is exactly what we want to do , and for the same reasons. but i can't find anywhere that does this . i did get a reply from Grace removals in brisbane and they said they do not pick up from port and take to your address , they want to do it all or nothing.

has anybody found the shipping companies that do that please?

I've had a good quote of £3300 from Pearsons, but we really don't have a lot of spare cash to take out with us and this could go towards a better banger car.

I have an Irish Company who can ship (20 foot) cheaper than that. I will clarify whether haulage from portside to your address can be included.

Will PM you.

B

Like others the shippers did everything. It took them 3 days to pack and load, they did make customised packing for some items. I have to say that I thought everything wouldn't have fitted into the container but it did, all packages had ID stickers and the port they were going to. On arrival the container was moved to our home and the company this end unloaded, the fitted together anything they had taken apart to shipping and offered to unpack the other containers - we said we would do that ourselves, we then rang them to collect the empty boxes.

I am also considering a DIY as there is quite a saving, and I have someone who can handle the paperwork.

My concern is the professional pack/load and also how to load heavy items - the container is 5ft off the ground and there is no tail lift to help.

Gale.

is there a lot of paperwork involved? i would have though it would be just the customs declaration form? can i ask who is handling the paper work GMacp?

I have a client who ships goods abroad regularly and they have offered to do the paperwork. I'm happy to send them a spreadsheet of what is in each box and they'll do the formal customs forms.

I've been told the container arrives at our house on the artic and we have 3 hrs to pack - floor of container is 5 ft off ground. This concerns me as it's quite a height to lift heavy furniture.

G.

I have a client who ships goods abroad regularly and they have offered to do the paperwork. I'm happy to send them a spreadsheet of what is in each box and they'll do the formal customs forms.

I've been told the container arrives at our house on the artic and we have 3 hrs to pack - floor of container is 5 ft off ground. This concerns me as it's quite a height to lift heavy furniture.

G.

If you get the right company, for a few extra quid, they'll bring the container a day earlier, leave it on the ground and save you a bit of hassle.

You need to talk turkey with them.

B

The stories I have heard about shipping and port authorities, I would never ship my own goods. Consider.....

• Removals companies are fully insured for damage either end.
  
• Most insurance companies will not insure self packed goods in transit, all losses are therefore on your shoulders.
  
• You will have to arrange collection, customs, paperwork etc and be there to ensure the container leaves
  
• Removals companies have good working and ongoing relationships with the shipping companies and container companies. Our container was Maersk and was as good as new. We used Bournes who are part of a global moving network and guaranteed our container would be loaded early on the ship. This was very important to us as we did not want too much heat exposure and part of the shippers rights are that they can deliberately tip the container off if it becomes dangerous or for the good of the greater load.....you have to insure against this as the shipper will pay you nothing if they do!
  
• Customs Australia side will have a self packed container stripped bare. Ours got opened with about 10 boxes opened....they reseal in clear tape which is a tell tale sign. We had 1 Christmas decoration removed and destroyed. We had no charges with Chess Removalists dealing with the Brisbane end.
  
• Self packing you will need to supply all boxes and packaging, this can be very expensive, easily £100's. A few sainsbury's boxes will not do.
  
• You can negotiate very competitive rates for storage if you need to delay delivery when in Aus. We did and helped us loads.
  

Personally I would not self pack/ship, penny wise, pound foolish as I was told by so many that it likely will cost you more money but certainly much more stress.

I guess it depends how risk adverse you are and whether you want to concentrate on enjoying the overall experience or adding additional stress.......believe me there is plenty of that to come without removals on top.

Only my opinions and like most people.....feel free to ignore them all.

S

Read the long message above.....price the packaging yourself vs removals companies yes marked up but not as much as you would expect. There is no mention of no insurance which I will guarantee will not be possible for a self pack. Regarding local removals, a lot are not allowed to collect from dockside so your choices will be limited. Brisbane has some amazing guys and gals working as Removalists however all that we have used locally are not allowed dockside.

A very important point is made regarding repacking.....DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN AND HAVE YOUR CONTAINER SECURITY SEALED BEFORE IT LEAVES YOUR HOME. Most breakages occur whilst packing and they are correct in that most companies will re-pack to create more space and re-sell it ie your exclusive container is now shared unknown to you!

S

Well, We went ahead with the DIY. We had the large furniture items down the driveway for 8:30, container arrived at 8:50 and was loaded by 9:50am. We had 3 friends in the container and 6 outside. The 5 foot lift was not a problem (old bit of carpet on the container edge assisted the lift).

Easily loaded within the 3 hour allocation. Approx 1200 Cu ft in total over 176 items.

Will keep the thread updated with the arrival (Port - 18/10/16)

Gale.

I'd say one of the issues with unloading it yourself is simple access to the property! The last place I lived in Oz was at the end of a narrow lane.I doubt a continer lorry could have got into the lane, it would have had to drop the container about 300m from the driveway - leaving an uphill walk with all the stuff from the container, in Queens;and's heat. When you laod in the UK, unless you now the access and unloading ability this end you could be in for a lot of trouble.

Even an ordinary removal van, shipping my stuff home, had to park at the driveway entrance, 50m from the house.

After having moved a small amount of stuff in a Movecube-type container recently, I'd say don't underestimate the loading/unloading difficulties.

We made the arrangements without much thought because it was such a small move - and then when they dropped it off, we realised we were missing one vital thing - removalist blankets. You can't just stack furniture in without protection, so we should've bought blankets. We had no idea where to get them so we ended up buying a huge (1.5m tall) roll of "moving" bubblewrap (it's got bigger bubbles than normal bubblewrap) from a self storage place for over $100. Also removalists have straps and cords to secure stuff which we also didn't have.

We damaged a few things unloading because it was a long haul from the delivery point to the flat on uneven ground and we didn't have a flat-bed trolley or any friends to help.

On balance I wish we'd just paid the money for someone to do the move for us!

So here we are 75 days later and the container arrived. In short, I am happy that we did it ourselves, and we saved money. Here's the detail:

Customs opened 48 boxes of the 176 items, generally all Hobbies/Garden items were checked, footwear, ornaments, box with spice rack (think they may have thought they were full), box with placemats (cork base?), a carpet, a safe (ensure unlocked), and most of the suitcases.

Only item to be confiscated was Dihydracodeine 30mg tabs - even though I had a prescription. These are banned as an unaccompanied entry, but OK in your travel suitcase.

Only breakages were 2 small plates and 3 glasses (our fault, the box was not sturdy enough for glass). All 16 packs that had pictures or mirrors arrived safe.

We used 4mm foam roll and cling film for all pieces of furniture. Only 2 of 5 vaccuseal bags arrived "sealed" however all the contents were fine - no mildew.

An advantage of DIY is that you are more thorough with what you pack/take, so at the "other side" you have less to store/unpack.

Gale.

PS

Scottish Company who picked up goods was Duncan Adams of Grangemouth.

Bought insurance with Letton Percival (cheaper than others).

Adelaide end of move with Chess Moving.

B&Q for cling wrap!

So here we are 75 days later and the container arrived. In short, I am happy that we did it ourselves, and we saved money. Here's the detail:

Customs opened 48 boxes of the 176 items, generally all Hobbies/Garden items were checked, footwear, ornaments, box with spice rack (think they may have thought they were full), box with placemats (cork base?), a carpet, a safe (ensure unlocked), and most of the suitcases.

Only item to be confiscated was Dihydracodeine 30mg tabs - even though I had a prescription. These are banned as an unaccompanied entry, but OK in your travel suitcase.

Only breakages were 2 small plates and 3 glasses (our fault, the box was not sturdy enough for glass). All 16 packs that had pictures or mirrors arrived safe.

We used 4mm foam roll and cling film for all pieces of furniture. Only 2 of 5 vaccuseal bags arrived "sealed" however all the contents were fine - no mildew.

An advantage of DIY is that you are more thorough with what you pack/take, so at the "other side" you have less to store/unpack.

Gale.

 

PS

Scottish Company who picked up goods was Duncan Adams of Grangemouth.

Bought insurance with Letton Percival (cheaper than others).

Adelaide end of move with Chess Moving.

B&Q for cling wrap!

Thanks for sharing. We're at the planning stages of a similar move.

Was it a 20 foot container?

Also, how did you secure the goods inside the container?

Finally Gale, had you 'hands' on the other side to help you unload?

B