Advice wanted please!

Hi all

I have requested a few quotes from shipping companies for a 20 ft container from UK to Brisbane and they all came in the same range.

All our stuff is currently stored in a 20 ft, but not packed for an international move, so they all said that they will unpack and repack everything in their own boxes. The question is: some companies want to do that at the storage facility, which is pretty much a large car park with containers all around it, so if the weather is bad stuff could get damp even wet during the process, others want to take everything to their warehouse and repack everything there but would not allow us to be present. A single company would let us be there but it is the most expensive of the lot......... what would you do on the basis of your previous experience? Risk to get stuff damaged by the rain, or have everything packed away from your eyes? Or pay for the premium of watching them packing?

Also, we had a much cheaper quote from a company for a shared 40 ft container instead based on 600 cubic foot, but we have a lot of stuff which we would not want to be stacked up on top with other heavy items and that cannot be put on top of other boxes either (surfboards, leather sofas, etc.) will they be able to safely pack floor to ceiling 600 cubic feet of goods into 600 cubic feet of space if they cannot go on top of each other ?

Cheers

Hi rustypie, I have recently returned from the UK to Brisbane and although my furniture and other goods were packed by Anglo Pacific back in mid-July I still haven't received a delivery. My stuff sat somewhere in the UK for 6 weeks before it even saw the ship and although the ship arrived on time into Brisbane on 30th September, I still haven't got a delivery date. Am totally over it. I have moved internationally several times and never had this problem before.

It's all up to luck really, but the guys packing for overseas generally do know what goes where and probably wouldn't be stacking heavy stuff on top of lighter goods. If you have good insurance cover anyway that should cover anything that goes wrong.

If you go with a reputable company I'm sure they would have a covered warehouse to unpack and repack your stuff. I had a shared container this time round, the only thing is its taking much longer to get here than before when I had a container to myself. If you share obviously the container has to be unpacked with your stuff and the goods of the person sharing the container with you and separated for delivery, this all takes extra time.

Good luck with everything, some people swear by certain removal companies and others wouldn't touch them, so its just a matter of choice and good luck I think. I haven't seen my stuff for nearly 4 months now, so hope you don't have the same experience.