Nextstep Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Hi I've been following the various shipping posts with interest and they've been very useful so far. We are about to ship a 40ft high cube London to Brisbane. We have had 4 quotes and now I need to make a decision. We own a lot of Ikea bookcases (Billy bookcases). Some have quoted on shipping them flat packed while others have said to keep them as is (do not flatten as each time you flatten and reassemble it weakens them). We don't have the time to flatten them and it's another cost to pay for an extra guy to flatten them during packing up process so keeping them intact is appealing. Does anyone have any experience of shipping Ikea bookcases? Will they survive the journey? Would love to hear your feedback. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Tom Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Be interested to find out who you went with, I've had to have a 40ft High Cube due to Campervan height. I would flatten your book cases, flat pack furniture doesn't like being moved about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 Have you compared the cost of shipping to the cost of buying new? I bought one last week and it wasn't very expensive. It was much sturdier than other items i have bought in the past so i would imagine wrapped and strapped tight they would transport ok assembled. Could you maybe fill the shelves with bags of clothes or linen and wrap the entire thing in industrial type cling wrap ? your utilising all the space this way too. Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicF Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 We moved a load of IKEA bookcases and didn't flatten any of them. Or any of our other flat pack furniture either. Just took the shelves off and put the little peg things in a bag and taped the bag to the side of the bookcase. Everything made it to the other end with no problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nextstep Posted October 1, 2015 Author Share Posted October 1, 2015 Thanks for your replies so far! Much appreciated. Strangely the quotes for shipping flat packed are higher than for shipping as is! We will still need a 40ft either way so if we can get away with not dismantling that would be great. Not yet decided who to go with, but need to make the decision ASAP as we need to ship the stuff by the end of October. Have had two British based quotes (Pickfords and Anglo Pacific) as well as two Australian based quotes (Conroys (who use Robinsons here in UK) and Chess (who use Britannia here)). Interestingly the two Australian based quotes have come in substantially higher than the British based quotes. Currently leaning towards Pickfords. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Tom Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Thanks for your replies so far! Much appreciated. Strangely the quotes for shipping flat packed are higher than for shipping as is! We will still need a 40ft either way so if we can get away with not dismantling that would be great. Not yet decided who to go with, but need to make the decision ASAP as we need to ship the stuff by the end of October. Have had two British based quotes (Pickfords and Anglo Pacific) as well as two Australian based quotes (Conroys (who use Robinsons here in UK) and Chess (who use Britannia here)). Interestingly the two Australian based quotes have come in substantially higher than the British based quotes. Currently leaning towards Pickfords. I'm leaning towards Puckfords also, they are the cheapest quote so far, although Crown are very close behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nextstep Posted October 8, 2015 Author Share Posted October 8, 2015 I'm leaning towards Puckfords also, they are the cheapest quote so far, although Crown are very close behind. We have gone with Pickfords. They come in two weeks to pack up the house. Eeeek! Still some much to sort through. Now trying to ascertain value of goods to ship for insurance purposes. Have been talking to Letton Percival which is less than half the price of Pickfords' insurance quote. It's a never ending list of things to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benthomas010 Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Lol. My wife suggested we left our furniture assembled rather than flat packed - and I didn't think it was a good idea. Clearly I was wrong. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Provided you have enough space in your container then assembled would always be the best way to go. Flat pack furniture is really only designed to be assembled the once, it's not like camping equipment or other items which are designed to be folded up for storage and opened for occasional use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungbean Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Flat pack furniture is really only designed to be assembled the once, it's not like camping equipment or other items which are designed to be folded up for storage and opened for occasional use. In the case of IKEA I would disagree. Have moved house many times and disassembled/re-assembled plenty of furniture -- Billy Bookcase and others included. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nextstep Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 Well the container left on Friday so now we just wait and see what condition it arrives in on the other end! One of the most exhaunting weeks of my life. So glad it's done now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nextstep Posted February 18, 2016 Author Share Posted February 18, 2016 Quick follow up to my original post. In the end we went with Pickfords (lowest quote). The bookcases were packed as is (ie wrapped in export wrap and not dismantled). Only one (out of around 14, was damaged as was one chest of drawers. Both items were from ikea so no huge loss. Everything else was intact bar one vase. Was pleased that all our items of any value (sentimental and monetary) were intact. They use a huge amount of butchers paper to wrap everything in. No wonder they charge by volume! Transit time was exactly 3 months door to door which was several weeks longer than initially indicated by shipping company but seems this is typical transit time. So glad our "camping" phase is over. Renewed appreciation of own bed and sofa. Good luck to those still in the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Ling Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Surely its cheaper to sell them on gumtree and buy new ones! Thats what we did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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