Containers....to use or not to use?

[Julieo]

Hi
We are undecided on whether or not to ship a container over to Brisbane with all our furniture etc. or just send packing cases etc.
Has anybody any advice on which are the best companies to use and what experiences have you had with them?
We hope to be in Oz by the end of the year...furniture or no furniture!

Any help would really be appreciated.
Thanks
Julieo

[Helaine]

we are taking most of our things so that it makes the kids feel more at home,you know strange country, strange house but at least it will sort of look like familier to them,
a couple of shiping companies are PSS and John Masson, we are going with the second one a shared container aprox 800 cubic feet £2900 they come and pack it all and even un pack in oz.......sweet oh and they deal with all the customs paperwork which i understand can be a real nightmare.
good luck

[Lynandsean]

We used Robinsons Intl - Sole use of 20ft container collected Herfordshire, shipped from Southampton to Brisbane £3100 plus £900 full insurance. They have been brilliant so far and I am sitting a computer now while waiting for it to be delivered to our home on the Gold Coast this morning yay!!!!!!!!
We don't have any youngsters - just me, OH and 17 yr old but decided it was the better option than buying everything all over again - although it has been hard living in an almost empty house for a month I can tell you. Didn't ship beds though cos we knew we'd have to buy here and our old ones were worn out anyway!
From a personal point of view, I would say you will not appreciate how much you will appreciate having familiar stuff around you. Sounds daft but when you are starting afresh in an unfamiliar environment it can mean to world to have your old stuff around you.
Lyn x

[markt225]

Hi, I used Worldwide Shipping in Hampshire and they (Paul Gandy) did a fantastic job organising everything from the UK - I was already in Brisbane but Paul arranged collection packing and shipping of all my belongings.
I didn't bring furniture so only had a relatively small container - sadly the process was floored when it arrived in Brisbane as the port authorities took 2 months to release it - I think they actually lost it temporarily.
Anyway, everything arrived (delivered to my door by Chess Removals Brisbane) and all is okay.

Mark

[ali]

You'll probably get a mixed response to this question, personally we decided to ship our stuff, some of it was new and some we'd had a while and was good quality - we'd have got little for it in the UK. We used John Mason (excellent service for us), £3,800 - there is no way we could have replaced the quantity/quality of stuff here in Aus for the same price. We also found that houses are generally bigger, we also needed to buy extra furniture. As Helaine mentioned, the kids getting familiar stuff and having familiar things around them was beneficial - my daughter commented "now it feels like home".

If your stuff is in good nick then look at bringing it - you then won't be eating into your savings having to kit out a house, also you won't end up making impulse buys because you need something at that moment.

Ali

[calNgary]

We used Crown Relo to ship 18 large boxes,we decided not to bring furniture,bikes etc as the prices arent bad here.Obviously if its valuable and in good condition or sentimental id bring it but other than that id buy here.It is personal choice in the end though,
Cal x