VasSur

Thanks for the tip Dunwa, I will need to makre sure I double check I have covered all the little hidden costs aswell before choosing a shipping company !!!

Some shipping companies will refuse to pack aerosol cannisters on their containers due to them being a hazzard, not only to your goods but to other peoples aswell (if going groupage), we did ask this question when interviewing shipping companies. Other companies did not have a problem with it being packed. So you might want to check with your shipping company on that one.

Thanks for the post Snifter, was about to ship our baby car seat we have in the uk to Perth Australia, and I'm glad I read this post, thanks a lot for the info, very useful !!

Yep I agree it is good to have both partners or at least 2 of you, meet the surveyors so that both of you can ask questions, and one of you might be taking notes, while the other is asking the questions ... !! They surveyors also said that they did not have any claims for the mould and mildew, but its just something that they advise on, at the end of the day the choice is yours. I however did not know that baby car seats from the UK would be illegal over there in Oz ! I will need to look into that a bit more then if thats the case .... I thought that they were all standard sizes and would be universal ? Its no surprise then that none of the 6 shipping company surveyors mentioned that the baby car seat would be illegal and of no use when they did the survey ... thanks for the tip !! :smile:

Hi Thorn, We did not get charged for any companies coming out for our initial survey and quote, the first survey should be always be free. I did ask if they would come back for a second survey to asses the exact volume, but they were also saying that the exact volume would not be established until they come to pack the goods on the collection day, which is understandable, as they will need to take into account the packing materials and box sizes etc. As far as I know we were told the only costs that were not included in their quote was AQIS fees, customs inspections (for example if we had declared new items that were not over a year old, customs may want to inspect it) and any fumigation and cleaning charges again with customs (ie cleaning old tools or lawnmowers etc) But having said that I read another thread on this forum from someone who found out there were hidden charges on the other side when it came time to get their goods when they arrived. I can't seem to find the thread now ... :arghh: I guess the best thing to do is before going with the company confirm all the details and costs again and double check the hidden costs !!!

When I spoke to the shipping companies, they all did say that the more cubic foot you send the lower your quote, so it is worked out on a pro rata basis. There were a couple of companies who were giving me a quote based on the volume, and that the price also would be the same if the volume was 20cubic feet up or down, but this I thought was not going to be a good thing as if the volume was less, I would be paying the exact same if the volume had been slightly more. So I made sure I got the price for the volume and made sure it was on a pro rata basis.

We are shipping to Perth, sorry forgot to mention that.

Hiya everyone, Just thought I would share our shipping quotes that we had from 6 companies in Nov/Dec 2011, yes I know its not that recent, but might help give an indication on prices for those of you, who like me are wondering whom to go with for shipping .... We had the following companies in and this is what we got so far: [TABLE=class: grid, width: 800] [TR] [TD]Company [/TD] [TD] Total Volume (Cubic Feet) [/TD] [TD] Total Volume Price [/TD] [TD] Price Per Cubic Foot [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]PSS [/TD] [TD] 403 [/TD] [TD] £2049.00 [/TD] [TD] £5.20 [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Anglo Pacific [/TD] [TD] 445 [/TD] [TD] £2354.00 [/TD] [TD] £5.29 [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Excess Int'nl [/TD] [TD] 409 [/TD] [TD] £2067.00 [/TD] [TD] £5.05 [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Crown [/TD] [TD] 435 [/TD] [TD] £2650.00 [/TD] [TD] £5.39 [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]John Mason [/TD] [TD] 438 [/TD] [TD] £2150.00 [/TD] [TD] £4.91 [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Pickfords [/TD] [TD] 439 [/TD] [TD] £2095.00 [/TD] [TD] £4.77 [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] We got all of the surveyors in over one weekend (Fri - Mon) and showed them all the exact same things and made it kind of like an interview and asked them the exact same questions ... lol !! :GEEK: Anyone in the same boat getting surveyors in to assess their volume, prepare lots and lots of questions for them .... my wife and I bombarded them with questions relating to the shipping process, the costs, insurance, hidden costs eg ... storage costs, getting boxes early to prepare for packing as some companies were charging for this. This was the most crucial time for us to get as much info out of them as we could. In some cases, some of the surveyors were struggling to answer some questions or even understand the terminolgy which showed how much they knew about what they were trying to sell and did make them look rather unprofessional. To our amazement one surveyor did not know what BAR Overseas was, and another selling insurance, had to flick through the T&C's and narrate them to us when we asked general questions relating to insurance? Another thing to notice is that some companies will advise one thing and others will not advise it, for example, we asked whether we should pack some things into vacuum packed bags to save on volume, some surveyors were saying not to as when shipped in the container, the items will start to sweat due to heat changes in transit and this could result in condensation and mould happening. We weren't planning to anyway but wanted to see what they would say. Others were saying that this was fine and you won't get condensation or mould issues, so sometimes it can be confusing. Anyway, we are still debating who to go with but are trying to filter them down from 6 to 3 and then see who can do a better price, I guess you have to go with your gut instinct of who you feel will look after you and your belongings (even if it means not choosing the cheapest option), but it is tricky as everyone is finding out ... we don't know yet who we are going to go with yet.... :unsure: As for those of you wondering what we are planning to take hence the above quoted volumes, its not even a full 2 bed house ... bits and pieces of everything ... just the bare essentials to get us started (just to name a few things, excluding the obvious like clothes): Biggest items: Bedstead & Mattress x 1 Small dining table with 4 foldable chairs Duvets + pillows 1 x two seater sofa 1 x Small 22" Flatscreen TV 1 x Glass Coffee table 2 x Games Consoles Lots of DVDs 1 x Baby Cot flat packed 1 x Baby car seat 1 x Baby pushchair Boxes of Toilettries Vacum Cleaner Ironing Board Lots of kitchenware Ok then hope that helps some of you out with prices and quotes and good luck with choosing your shipping companies !! :biggrin:

Thanks for the post, I also rang Singapore airlines on two occassions and they also told me the same thing. This was also confirmed by the company who we booked our flights with. As long as you meet the requirements stated inthe email received by "china", you qualify for double baggae allowance. A bit strange that normally a passanger not going on a visa is entitled to 23kgs per person, but double baggage is set to 40kgs per person. I would have thought it would be 46kgs ... anyone heard of this or has it always been 40kgs?

A big hello to all the PIO members, have been following the threads for a while now and it has been a great help from everyone sharing their experiences. My wife and I are looking to move to Perth, WA next May 2012, we've got our GSM 175 visas a few months back now, which was a long process on its own (tip of the iceberg ... so to speak), but looking at everything required for the move itself looks like the rest of the iceberg ... !! :eek: Anyway, we have begun the fun and its all underway, started off with a few rounds of garage and car boot sales to get rid of things we don't need .... and currently in the process of buying things we do need whilst checking up on Shipping companies ... !! :confused: So onto the Shipping section of the forum .... !!