Is it worth shipping our stuff or buying new?

[aconcannon]

We live in a rented fully furnished house in the UK with our only belongings being 2 large TV's, Xbox 360, DVD player, stereo, some quite expensive kitchen equipment and of course ornaments, pictures, books/dvd's, clothes/shoes and 2 bikes... my question is... has anybody else emigrated and took a similar amount of stuff as us? We don't know what this equates to in terms of "half a container/a palette" etc and so if anybody can reccommend the cheapest way of us getting our stuff over please? or is it not worth the expense and easier to buy it all new when we arrive? Thanks

[Guest]

We are looking at the same kind of thing (although our rented accommodation is furnished with our own furniture but we are not taking it to Australia).

 

There are a couple of options you can take - send as excess baggage through a variety of different companies (google excess baggage from uk to austraila and you will have a wealth of different companies to look at - all of whom have horrible stories as well as good ones) or you can take the option of what we are going to do......its called a Movecube and is organised by SevenSeas (google it, there is a lot of information).

 

If you send as "excess baggage" it basically means packing all your belongings into individual boxes and sending them as one shipment (you wont use a container or a palette for that amount of belongings - containers are really for shipping whole houses/cars etc) and hoping that all the boxes turn up in one lot and none get missed or lost in transit. The movecube is basically a large wooden crate (it comes in three different sizes and they are really quite big when you measure the space out) into which you can pack anything and everything you like in any way you like - in boxes, in plastic crates, in vacuum bags or loose.

 

We have chosen the small Movecube and just plan on packing a couple of computer screens, my partners game consoles, clothing, books, kids toys, extra clothing not needed straight away for all four of us and a few other misc bits and bobs and personal stuff. The Movecube should be big enough to contain everything we need and it all arrives in one shipment. It also is going to cost around what it would have cost us to send individual boxes so I prefer going with the Movecube as everything is contained in one crate.

 

There are quite a few threads on here about the Movecube as well as people's experiences - some good and some bad. We havent booked or sent ours yet (hopefully in the next couple of months once we have the visa through and a leaving date set) so I cant give any stories but I do know they seemed the better option for us given we dont have furniture to send and its just personal belongings.

[aconcannon]

Thank you so much amdaloia that's really useful information - I hadn't heard about the Movecubes but it sounds exactly like the kind of thing we need! I'll have a google and a nose on here as well to see what experiences other people have had using the Movecubes - don't suppose you have any idea how long they take to arrive from the day you send them please? Thanks again :-)

[Guest]

About 3 months for a Movecube but it can vary.

 

Everyone is different in what they ship. If you use the forum search you can find loads of threads on this.

 

FWIW we shipped personal effects, a few smaller bits of funiture and that was it. Bought most of our furniture again this end. Has worked out well as our sofa in the UK would never have worked in the house we bought. We have a large family room and a living room and it would never have fitted either space. We also have built ins and walk in wardrobes so no real use for free standing ones now. We also found some great buys on Gumtree and on the street

 

Our house is now fully furnished bar a sofa for the living room. This we can't decide on but have narrowed it down and will buy new. The only other new things we have bought have been a sofa from Ikea for the family room and a bed for the guest room. The rest, second hand or given to us by friends/family. These include fridge, freezer, washing machine, Welsh dresser, table and 6 chairs x 2, coffee table, single bed and frame (hand made). Got the coffee table off the street for free and as I was loading it in the car the guy came out and said they were moving interstate and they had a dresser and table and chairs to match but wanted money for those. Checked Gumtree, lo, they were listed, made an offer and brought them home that weekend. Great buy, they look fab.

[CaptainR]

We've moved a few times as I've had several expatriate jobs in the Middle East and Asia, and we learnt pretty quickly that all the little stuff you never think about such as kitchen utensils, tools, bedding etc ends up costing a lot to replace. We have never moved with furniture as our companies provided furnished housing and what we did have of the large items can be easily sold on.

We have always shipped with groupage, so we just send 10-15 cardboard boxes all packed up and ready. Takes a bit longer then sending your own container, but is reasonable cheap and worthwhile.

[Haze9229]

Our Movecube is arriving within a week. Try not to think necessarily about the financial value of your current belongings/furniture but how much it would cost you to replace everything as furniture/electricals can be much more expensive in Oz and as stated above kitchen utensils and other silly things that get overlooked soon add up and quite frankly are a pain in the bum to replace as you don't think about needing one until you reach for it and it's not there!

 

By the time we priced up our Movecube, we realised it was cheaper than replacing 4-5 of the more expensive items we are putting in it let alone the rest of the house that would fit in it too!

 

I'd recommend getting some quotes and checking out your options, also do a bit of research of replacement prices by looking online at Aussie shops.

 

Hope that helps, all the best!

 

Hazel x

[Guest]

While it may be expensive to buy new things in Australia when you settle there you have to look at the alternative which is buying new here in the UK, paying for a larger shipping container, sending it all over and then getting hit with a rather large customs bill as you are sending over new products (they class it as importing as you generally have to own items for 12 months to avoid customs fees) - effectively wiping out any kind of saving you would have made by buying here and shipping to Australia. As Snifter says, you can get a lot of good second hand items in Australia for relatively cheaply and of course if you time it so you can buy a lot in the sales you are likely to save a bit on the more expensive items. Also some places allow you to haggle while others will offer a discount if you pay with cash.

 

We are in the enviable position of living with my mum when we first arrive so we dont have to worry about all the little things to furnish a house in addition to the more expensive larger items on top of just having spent a huge amount to move to another country but if you start your journey in rented accommodation or a hotel/hostel etc and spend some time looking around for items at good prices or even second hand you might be able to find a good bargain and it will work out cheaper than buying/shipping from the UK.

 

I have read that the Movecube takes about 3 months to arrive from date of shipping - and that is what they quoted to us when we enquired. However I have read on here where someone didnt get theirs for 5 months. I guess everyone has a different experience and some are more unfortunate than others, but if you arent shipping a house and all your furniture will you need to have everything there when you arrive? It might be easier if it doesnt arrive until after you have found yourself a long term place to live. I keep thinking how are we going to do without a lot of the things we want to ship while we are living in the UK where its more convenient to have them here as opposed to needing them when we arrive in Australia. I mean things like the kids toys, additional clothing (given UK weather changes so frequently), books, computer screens etc are all used on a daily basis here in the UK but arent that important when we arrive in Aust so we probably wont ship until a day or two before we leave, which means we have to wait a full 3 months or so before they arrive in Aust - which should be fine for us, others might not like it so you have to work out which end do you want to be without things.

 

Oh and one other thing I have found reading the forums here - your bikes (and any shoes not taken in your luggage but shipped) are going to have to be VERY well cleaned and disinfected in order to avoid additional quarantine fees.

[aconcannon]

Thanks so much for all the info guys - I didn't realise they charge you again once your stuff arrives if it's no less than 12 months old, seems like it could end up a lot of hardwork and very expensive! I'm quite happy to buy second hand and as we won't be buying a place to live for a good few years yet we could probably go with the option of renting somewhere furnished. I think I'm going to have to get some quotes and take it from there... I also have been wondering how you live without the items you use daily that would be in transit to Australia! Another nightmare to add to the list. Lol.