Savitar

That was the key problem for us, the did not know where it was along the way. So the key stress was that they could not tell me what ship it was on or when it would arrive. We asked for piece of mind, like "Just tell us the ship and I will track it myself" and got the response "We can't tell you right now, these containers change ships".....Given it was 5 months, we were all but convinced it had gone missing....but lucky for us it had not... Now its not about the money, we had insured it so would have received payment, it was the personal belongings that we had that were the issue. You will probably be OK, this is just our experience and as the others here have said, its not always like that. Great to hear. I am sure there are lots of examples of arriving on time and without hassle. My issue is that from start to finish it was incompetence and complete lack of any tracking that was the key issue for us. When you are told less than 3 monts door to door, when it hits 4.5 months and you are still being told they don't actually know when it will arrive, the stress levels were very high....alls well that ends well I gues.. Interesting. Not sure why then they could not tell us then. From what we can piece together it sat at the docks in Newcastle for 4-6 weeks (again, they have NO idea why) before being loaded then changed ships a few times, but they lost track of which ship it was on. I am sure there are lots of examples of straight forward pick up and one ship delivery, unfortunately ours was not......I can understand delays and changing ships, but when you get 5 different stories from 5 different people, each COMPLETELY different to the last, and they have your file open, it begs the question how much real control they have.... Also, on the website, where you can "track your shipment" it stayed blank (no information to report) from the day we booked it till after it was delivered....completely unacceptable for a company that prides itself on being a shipping professional....

Having read so much about the move cube my partner and I decided to go with the small move cube for our stuff from Edinburgh to Melbourne. Before we signed up we marked out the space in the spare room and did a dummy pack (empty boxes) just to see what would fit, its actually surprising how much you can get in there. How much can you get into one of these anyway and what can you bring???? So that is the big question that most people ask. The easiest way to find that out it to get some masking tape and a corner of the room, mark it out and then get some empty boxes and start stacking. You will be VERY surprised how big a small cube is, if you don't have furniture that is. These two photos show only about half to 3/4 of the hight you can go to : In terms of what you can take, basically anything. Here are some highlights of the things people always ask questions on : We purchased about 300 pounds of toiletries (face creams, shower gel, deodorant (non aerosol) etc) as its about half the price of Aus. We had two large boxes of food (BBQ sauce, hot sauce, jams, biscuits, candy etc). Nothing fresh and all long life, none of it was removed by customs We bought a thermomix about 6 months earlier and did not declare it as under 1 year old, it was not touched and we did not have to pay anything We had lots of Xmas decorations, all plastic / glass etc and none of it was taken Lots of wood stuff, mirror, frames etc, all passed no problem. The pre-site visit, AKA the start of the incompetence So when you book the move cube SS (SevenSeas) organizes for a pre-site visit. This is to check the area for parking restrictions and to provide you with some packing materials should you wick to use them (you can just hand them back if you don’t use them, which is what we did). Now we rang up to book, they took out deposit and told us they would call back to organize a time. This was early December, for an early Jan cube pick up. I ended up having to call them 3-4 times to get them to organize a pre-site visit, they either did not show up when they said they would OR they just did not get back to me when promised. When the guy did arrive, he was “a contractor” who knew very little about the process. When I asked him about permits for parking he said, “Don’t worry, it will be sorted out”….. The day of the packing, AKA the storm is on its way So the day of the packing arrives we are ready to go having done and almost complete pack to ensure things will fit. The guy turns up and says “Where is your coned off area and parking permits”. Now if you have been reading you will know we were told not to worry. So long story short, we don’t have the permits and there is no space anywhere near our house to get the cube parked. You could argue that we should have been more awake to this but having been assured by the previous driver that it would be taken care of, it was just something we did not think about. The unfortunate part of the pack was that it was POURING rain (Hey, it was Jan in Scotland) and the cube was 70 meters away from our house, and to top it off, it was parked without a permit so the driver was giving us the hurry as he did not want a fine. We packed, and left it to him to take away (see next photo). Here is a photo of what it looked like packed, we used EVERY inch of this thing : And with the front on (it took the driver and myself to FORCE it on before it would fit) : The transit time, AKA Around the world in FIVE months So early March, about 2 months after they picked up the cube, I call up to find out where the cube is, I am told its 1-2 weeks away…..Wow, amazing, that would be 2-3 weeks early. So two weeks later (now mid March), I call back, as I have not heard anything, and am told its actually 2-3 weeks away still (so late March, early April). So two weeks later (now early April, I call back again, and am told its due early MAY…..At this point I get so fed up that I resort to Facebook and their “customer service” emails to try to get a response. The short answer of around 15 LONG emails back and forwards with their customer service is this : - They don’t know where the cube is at any point. - They have no idea why its late - They have no idea when its going to arrive - They have no idea what the condition of the cube is. In the end, it arrived towards the end of May, nearly FIVE MONTHS after they picked it up. To this day they still cannot tell me where it was at any point I the journey, how many ships it has been on as, according to them “it can change ships along the way” or the condition it has been left in at any point. The delivery – AKA taking a day off work as SS don’t work weekends So after much back and forwards with SS customer service our cube was “prioritised” for delivery after it arrived in Melbourne. They booked in a window of time in the morning, during the week, as they don’t work weekends, so if you work, you will need to take a day off to sort this out. To our surprise they actually turned up on time and we were unpacked in about 15 minutes. The cube had been taken apart by customs and put back together very well it must be said by the SS team. Lucky for us we only had a couple of minor breakages, luckily nothing expensive. So when it arrived it looked very much like we left it, but if you look carefully you can see some of the boxes have moved indicating that this was repacked at some point : The verdict – AKA Prey nothing goes wrong Would I use SS and the move cube again, no. From my experience, they were incompetent, unorganized and unprofessional. They did nothing when they said they would do it, they had no clue where the cube was and each person you talk with will give you a different story as to where it is and when it will arrive. I am guessing that for the majority of people, you will live in an area with no parking issues for pick up so that site visit will be smooth, as long as it arrives give or take when they say it will you will not have to deal with the incompetence as you will be living in ignorant bliss that SS knows what is going on and are looking after your goods, when in fact they have no idea and just hope it arrives roughly when they think it will….I don’t know about you, but when you are talking about tens of thousands of pounds of your goods, I would like to have a company that takes some pride and care in the shipment of my goods. P.s. Some of you might think I am being a little harsh on them, this report is as kind as I can get, I really did want to use far more four letter words in there but realized that this should be as subjective as I can be based on a very unpleasant experience that has left us stressed, confused, angry and exhausted over the last 5.5 months. SevenSeas has really dropped the ball on our shipment bringing out the true nature of their operation, well, true in our case. I am happy to answer any questions on my review or the process in general

5, YEP FIVE MONTHS!!!! Ours arrived yesterday..... I will have a full report up soon....

nice!!! we are looking to ship it in the original box though as that should be the most secure. But is the suggestion to put it in a different box? It's clearly used but using trying to avoid the hassle.... thanks...

Hey all. Have a move cube booked for early jan. Most things i am not worried about but we have a thermomix that we have owned for about 18 months that we want to ship (and as they are about $1,700 is oz, it's over the normal allowance). We no longer have the receipt as we throw them out when they are out of warranty (probably not a great idea in hindsight) how will customs know we have owned it for the required 12 months? Do they just trust when you say it's over 12 months? Any experiences here? thanks....

I would go something like this : http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Hyundai-Getz-2005/SSE-AD-960352/?Cr=1&sdmvc=1 Even if you put it up for $3,500 in 9 months time, you will sell it quick and for just over a grand for 9 months, it should be quite a good way to go...

Ahh, well that would make sense then. Agree 100% that £55 (even £65 at the airport) is a bargain considering that Qantas charge $210 per 5kg so a 23KG suitcase would cost and eye watering $1,050!!!

Here is what the site says, directly from your link.... [TABLE=width: 100%] [TR=class: tableCellIlluminated, bgcolor: #3C78C7] [TD]ravel class[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2, align: center]Online in advance[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2, align: center]At the airport[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: tableCellIlluminated, bgcolor: #3C78C7] [TD=align: center]1st additional bag[/TD] [TD=align: center]Other additional bag[/TD] [TD=align: center]1st additional bag[/TD] [TD=align: center]Other additional bag[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: tableSubHeading, bgcolor: #2E5C99] [TD=colspan: 5]Economy[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: firstColumn]UK Domestic Euro Traveller (hand baggage only)[/TD] [TD=align: center]£20/$30/€25[/TD] [TD=align: center]£34/$51/€43[/TD] [TD=align: center]£40/$60/€50[/TD] [TD=align: center]£40/$60/€50[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: firstColumn]UK Domestic Euro Traveller (with inclusive allowance)[/TD] [TD=align: center]£34/$51/€43[/TD] [TD=align: center]£34/$51/€43[/TD] [TD=align: center]£40/$60/€50[/TD] [TD=align: center]£40/$60/€50[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: firstColumn]World Traveller Eco (one-bag allowance)[/TD] [TD=align: center]£55/$85/€64[/TD] [TD=align: center]£120/$170/€128[/TD] [TD=align: center]£65/$100/€75[/TD] [TD=align: center]£140/$200/€150[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: firstColumn]World Traveller Eco (two-bag allowance)[/TD] [TD=align: center]£120/$170/€128[/TD] [TD=align: center]£120/$170/€128[/TD] [TD=align: center]£140/$200/€150[/TD] [TD=align: center]£140/$200/€150[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: firstColumn, align: left]World Traveller on some routes*[/TD] [TD=colspan: 2]Advanced purchase not available[/TD] [TD]$120[/TD] [TD]$120[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: tableSubHeading, bgcolor: #2E5C99] [/TR] [/TABLE] Its the last one here, World Traveler Eco - £55 if you purchase in advance, £65 at the airport....It use to be £34 but that was only if you purchased your ticket before June 2013. The £34 is now for UK domestic...

Its £65 for OZ.

The problem is they are worth $15+ each (they are very good / hot ones) so not going to be binning them. I will take them on my checked in luggage though. Lucky for me I am going to OZ for a short trip to try to setup some things (job / house / car etc) before returning so with £65 for an additional checked luggage, I will be doing that. Having just checked on one of the USA stores in OZ, the BBQ sauces are $9 each and hot sauces minimum of $15 each so we are talking about close to $400 worth to replace.....so for £65, I guess that will have to be the option.... Are there any issues with perfumes / toiletries in MoveCube?

Thanks for the responses. I always thought there was a "restriction" on liquids in the move but sounds like you can move anything you want. I do appreciate thought that putting them in the cube will attract attention at the other end, slow down the process and cost more. So hardly worth it..... Oh, I just checked and I currently have over 20 bottles of BBQ sauce, 6-7 hot sauce totally around 15kg! Good buy luggage allowance..

Hi ALl, Just wondering what are the restricted items for a MoveCube? We are looking to ship some usual things as well as the following (which might or might not be restricted) : - BBQ sauce and hot sauces (strange i know but got a great collection from the US and would like to keep them if possible) - A couple of great bottles Whisky (I believe this is restricted but can't hurt to ask) - Deodorants (pressurised cans) - Perfume - Misc bathroom liquids (Shampoo, hair gel etc) - Chocolates Any thoughts or a website we can look this up would be appreciated. (the sevenseas site I can't seem to find a list of what is and is not restricted) Thanks!

Have you looked at movecube? http://www.sevenseasworldwide.com/shipping/movecube Then the costs : http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/transport-shipping/154508-move-cube-anyone-used-3.html As requested the cost for sending the MoveCube Door-to-Door service from Tamworth, UK to Perth, Australia is listed below: a. Small MoveCube: INTERNAL: Height 1.88m (74 inches); Width 1.11m (44 inches); Length 0.96m (38 inches) = 2m³ or 70 cubic feet or 15LBE Price : £420.00 plus Destination Charges = AUD249.00 b. Medium MoveCube: INTERNAL: Height 1.88m (74 inches); Width 1.45m (57 inches); Length 1.11m (43 inches) = 3m³ or 105 cubic feet or 23LBE Price : £570.00 plus Destination Charges = AUD299.00 c. Large MoveCube: INTERNAL: Height 1.88m (74 inches); Width 1.45m (57 inches); Length 2.27m (89 inches) = 6.20m³ or 218 cubic feet or 48LBE. Price : £990.00 plus Destination Charges = AUD349.00 Our Prices Include: • Customs and AQIS clearance (exclusive of any customs Tax and Duty or AQIS treatment charges if any) • FREE Starter Pack: measuring tape (3m), tape dispenser (basic) with 1 roll of tape, knife, black pen • FREE initial delivery of Starter Pack & other requested packing material including the loan of: § Arranging UK parking permits if the MoveCube is parked in the street § Traffic cones to mark off an area to park the MoveCube § A trolley to move your belongings from your address to the MoveCube • FREE initial delivery & collection of the MoveCube from your UK address • FREE initial delivery & collection of the MoveCube from your Australia address • FREE pre-notified time slot for deliveries & collections, depending on area • FREE storage for ONE MONTH prior to shipment overseas • NO HIDDEN CHARGES guarantee at the destination, see below for details • Price freeze GUARANTEE, if you place your order within 7 days of the date on this quote then from the date of your deposit being paid we will freeze the transportation and shipping rates for 60 days or until your shipment is collected and invoiced whichever is the earlier

They do not need to be one each in each of your names. As long as its insured to be driven by both, there is an existing relationship (husband / wife etc) and you both live at the same location, you can bring one back in each of your names...

Give this site a go : http://matrix.itasoftware.com/ Really REALLY good for finding flights. You can't book on this site but it will allow you see what prices are around and covers lots of airlines and options. I just randomly looked at Tuesday 21 Oct (randomly chosen) and found Virgin for $1,021 and singapore airlines for $1,079 Hope this helps.

Have you tried contacting IronLadyImports, a site sponsor? They do all sort of vehicle imports and I am sure can help you out....

That is certainly one view point. However there are many people out there that would disagree. Yes, there are some cars that are not worth taking but there are many that are, to the point of being able to make quite a bit of money out of it (compared to selling in the UK and buying the same car in OZ). And if you can't be bothered doing it yourself, just get IronladyImports to do it for you, simples!

Just paid my car tax here, just over £400! So on my last calculation that just on is $700 a year, really not a lot of difference.

Are you talking travel insurance? Or goods insurance? If travel, try : http://www.confused.com/travel-insurance

Sarah - I really don't think that milage will be the issue here. Even if the milage was 10,000 miles (rather than 110,000) 09's were never sold in Australia. According to red book the 11's are $22K, if you assume you could even get the same price as the 11 model, given its an import it will be worth less (10-20%). So lets say you could get $22K (Lets just say a miracle happened, your car only has 10,000 miles and you get $22K) you have to compare it to what you would get in the UK, around £13K, which on the current exchange rate is around $22K. Therefore when you factor in the costs of shipping, compliance, etc you would lose money and if it does have 110,000 miles you would get significantly less. Shipping cars like '04 M3's where they are worth £8K in the UK Vs $40K in Australia makes far more financial sense, so that at least you can break even. It sounds to me like your car would be better off with staying in the UK. Then take the $22k you sold it for, add say $6K for the import costs and buy an Australian version when you get there. Something like this perhaps, 2012 model with only 9,000KM : http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/details/Abarth-500-2012/AGC-AD-13910586/?Cr=2&sdmvc=1 At the end of the day its completely your decision but financially it does not seem to make sense.

There are no 2009's on the redbook site but if you look here: http://www.redbook.com.au/cars/research/used/details/2011-abarth-500--595748?R=595748&Silo=spec&Vertical=car&Ridx=1&eapi=2 You will see the second hand prices for a 2011 model with average of only 35,000K Vs your 110,000km. So it would seem yours would be worth far less that this.... : Valuation Prices [TABLE=class: prop-list] [TR] [TD=class: item, bgcolor: transparent][TABLE] [TR] [TD=class: label]* Private Price Guide[/TD] [TD=class: value]$22,000 - $24,500[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: item-alt, bgcolor: transparent][TABLE] [TR] [TD=class: label]* Trade In Price Guide[/TD] [TD=class: value]$17,700 - $20,200[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: item, bgcolor: transparent][TABLE] [TR] [TD=class: label]* Average Km[/TD] [TD=class: value]20,000 - 35,000[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=class: item-alt, bgcolor: transparent][TABLE] [TR] [TD=class: label]* Price When New[/TD] [TD=class: value]$34,990*Price Guide (EGC)[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

Hi Craig, Just looking at the new forms for importing a car. http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/vehicles/imports/application_forms.aspx#io1 As you may remember (as I have posted here a few times), my partner and I are planning on bringing in two cars (one each) to OZ. The documents don't allow for any space for "is this car in your partners name" but you have mentioned a few times that its quite possible. Are you able to let me (and the other readers) know how you go about filling in the form for the import for this (not line by line here, just in general) and what supporting documents you need? The reason I ask is that almost all the documents I have on the car are in my name (ownership, tax disc, insurance etc) so not sure what they look for in terms of supporting documents other than a licence in her name with our home address? Thanks,

I looked at this a while go. From what I understand you could do this but an importer in OZ will charge you $15,000 for the privilege of doing the import under the SEVS scheme (this is on top of the car, import changes fees etc). Most of the time it turns out to be very little value in doing this unless there is really something in OZ that you can not get OR you are happy paying over the local car prices...... Quick search on UK / OZ web sites. The UK price is around 15,000 pounds, OZ is around $40,000. For the UK car it will cost you about say $8,000 import fees, then say $10,000 for the SEVS service so around almost $40,000AUD......but the imported car under SEVS might have a lower value in OZ and its a BIG hassle / time to do this...... So very little value unless there is something very specific you want you can't get in OZ, probably not worth it...

Great advise Craig. Just one concern with your maths. There are no 2010 M3's in the country (UK) for sale at the £27K mark. Well, almost, there are two but they are both cat D (previous accident repair) and I personally would not suggest anyone touches them. I took a look at AutoTrader and Pistonheads and the cheapest non cat D coupe in the UK is around £34K. Now the things you need to be aware when purchasing a M3 to sell in the Aussie Market : - In the UK they had different stereo options. Base, Business, HK (Logic 7) and Individual. In Australia, there was only HK and Individual. Therefore if you bought one that was less than HK (which a LOT of them in the UK are) then it would be harder to sell in Australia I think and very expensive to upgrade (well over £1,000). - Most cars in Aus have EDC (not all, but most) where as the UK many don't have it. - There are actually quite a large number that have the 18" wheels in the UK, almot none have it in OZ - Mileage is generally higher in the UK than Australia. Really not sure why that is actually but its quite common to see 20,000 milage 2 year old cars in the UK whereas you can get lots of less than 20,000 KM cars in OZ for the same year. So if you are looking for a M3 the a HK or individual stereo, EDC and less than 20K on the clock for a 2010 you are looking far more like £35 - £37K. But, having said that, find the right one, with the right miles / features / service history / condition etc and I certainly agree you should be able to off load it (should you want to do that) for more than you paid for it. I, personally, look at it this way. I would never spend $130,000 on a M3 in Aus for a M3, I love them but I can't justify the $30 - $50K depreciation over 3-4 years. This way I get a 2011 M3 which I will have great fun driving around, ship it over to Aus and hopefully at least break even but if it was to seel for more, that is a bonus. My advice, having spend many months looking at the M3 markets between Australia and the UK is - Go for as lower milage / KM as you can in the UK as that seems to affect price more than anything. - Ensure the spec you go for was available in Australia (i.e. at least HK stereo) - Ensure it has full BMW service history so that it can be verify easily - If you go for a AUC (BMW Approved used car) you will get a very good example, normally with 12 months warranty - Typically, the more you spend on a car in the UK, the more it will be worth in Aus (I.e. if there is a 30K, non EDC version for £34 and a 10K, EDC, Individual stereo, competition pack for £40 there will probably be $20,000 difference in the price in Aus).... - But the best advice, research yourself (the people buying, not you Craig) to ensure you know what you are getting into! Happy motoring!

Hey G, You really need to plan this very carefully if you plan on trying to make money. While the difference in the price of cars between the UK and Australia looks large, you have to factor a lot of things in, for example : You might look at a E92 M3 and think WOW, they are going for $150,000 but I can get one in the UK for £20,000! But you have to compare like for like (year for year, feature for feature etc). So lets say you spend £40K on a 1-2 year old E92 M3 which is retailing in OZ now for about $130,000 second hand. If you factor in costs in the UK to keep if for a year (insurance, tax, servicing etc) lets say worst case its £45K it owes you. Then you need to take into account importing costs, lets call that $20K, with the current exchange rate that makes it around $68,500 + $20,000 = $88,500. So you think, WOW, thats $130,000 - $88,500 = $41,500 profit, but wait!!. Now take a look at the cost of a 2-3 year old M3 in Aus right now (as your will be a year older), and that are going for more like $105 - $115K, hmmm, now down to around $16,500. Still good you think, then you realise that as this is an import, its going to sell for lower than a local car (its just the market), so perhaps you get $95K for it as an import.....that leaves you with $6,500. Now that's a VERY fine margin and given that prices can change, import rules / costs can change, you might find that turning into a loss very quickly. Seriously not trying to turn you off this, I am sure there is money to be made, but you need to go into it with your eyes open and some good research. Don't just look at now, think about all the costs, depreciation etc and set yourself a realistic goal.... Hope this helps P.s. My and my fiance are bringing back (planning to) 2 X M3's.....so I have done the research.....