Choosing Shipping - Movecube or Allied Pickfords

[Bumblebee]

Hi All, 

I think I've got the things I'm shipping down to my minimum and filling the virtual movecube on sevenseas website I will need a medium move cube (3mcubed). The price quoted is $879 door to door, with 230GBP due when its in the UK. So in all around $1300 (depending on the exchange rate for the 230). This is  me packing it all and loading/unloading.

Allied Pickfords have quoted $1418 for 3mcubed - I'm just confirming with them this is an all in price and there won't be any extra to pay. I also believe this is them packing everything (?) but again I'll double check but they definitely do the inventory: (this was in their email to me)

 This price includes:
• Wrapping & padding of all furniture items in Allied Pickfords exclusive export wrapping.
• Preparation of complete inventory of all packages.
• Loading of consignments into appropriate freight containers.
• Transport from your residence to destination.
• Pickup and Delivery on a weekday

 

So for $100 more is the Allied Pickfords a better choice? Or is it actually just as easy to pack and load myself, do people like the movecubes? 

My concern is that I need to check all I really have is 3cubicmeters so I'll kind of have to pack before anyway rather than leave it all out for them to pack. 

Help me choose! 

Thanks  In Advance

[Catherine]

For the $100 more I would let them do it as it will take a lot of stress away from you.  Just make sure insurance is in place as well.

[Amber Snowball]

2 hours ago, Bumblebee said:

Hi All, 

I think I've got the things I'm shipping down to my minimum and filling the virtual movecube on sevenseas website I will need a medium move cube (3mcubed). The price quoted is $879 door to door, with 230GBP due when its in the UK. So in all around $1300 (depending on the exchange rate for the 230). This is  me packing it all and loading/unloading.

Allied Pickfords have quoted $1418 for 3mcubed - I'm just confirming with them this is an all in price and there won't be any extra to pay. I also believe this is them packing everything (?) but again I'll double check but they definitely do the inventory: (this was in their email to me)

 This price includes:
• Wrapping & padding of all furniture items in Allied Pickfords exclusive export wrapping.
• Preparation of complete inventory of all packages.
• Loading of consignments into appropriate freight containers.
• Transport from your residence to destination.
• Pickup and Delivery on a weekday

 

So for $100 more is the Allied Pickfords a better choice? Or is it actually just as easy to pack and load myself, do people like the movecubes? 

My concern is that I need to check all I really have is 3cubicmeters so I'll kind of have to pack before anyway rather than leave it all out for them to pack. 

Help me choose! 

Thanks  In Advance

Check that what you think is 3m is what they work it out as. When I had a removalist come out they said what I had was alot more in cubic metres than what I had worked out because they use so much packing in the boxes they don’t get as much in a box as I would. So use more boxes. Hope that makes sense!

 I ended up using a move cube and they were great. I had a large cube and the driver helps you. Couldn’t fault them. If you are going with insurance then check out an independent insurer like Letton Percival as the removalists are expensive and people have had trouble getting a pay out from them.

Good luck.

[Marisawright]

Another thought to consider is that Allied Pickfords is quoting to put your stuff in a shared container with other people, which means there's more risk of stuff going missing.  

Interesting that the Movecube driver helped you, Amber - I wonder if that's always the case?   We had a Taxibox once (a local equivalent).  The driver didn't help at all and we found it a very stressful process.  The box arrived in the morning and we had only a few hours to get it filled. Although we had done a test pack it was still really hard to work out how best to pack stuff in. We realised too late that we should have bought more packing blankets and other padding for the furniture. We also realised that we are getting too old to handle such heavy work!   

[Amber Snowball]

1 minute ago, Marisawright said:

Another thought to consider is that Allied Pickfords is quoting to put your stuff in a shared container with other people, which means there's more risk of stuff going missing.  

Interesting that the Movecube driver helped you, Amber - I wonder if that's always the case?   We had a Taxibox once (a local equivalent).  The driver didn't help at all and we found it a very stressful process.  The box arrived in the morning and we had only a few hours to get it filled. Although we had done a test pack it was still really hard to work out how best to pack stuff in. We realised too late that we should have bought more packing blankets and other padding for the furniture. We also realised that we are getting too old to handle such heavy work!   

I think you can add driver assist when you book the cube. It was included in my large cube price. I got it all out onto the deck and he packed it in the cube. They aren’t allowed to enter the house. Driver helped me unload into the garage at the other end. I’ve seen the taxicubes, bit rough they don’t help.

I only did it because I had very little furniture otherwise I couldn’t have managed on my own. Boxes are nice and even shaped to pack which made it easier. I only used official packing boxes that are a standard size which made it less like a game of tetris!

 

[VERYSTORMY]

We used above cube and were very happy with it. The only surprising thing was how much it held. We thought we had calculated well, but could have fitted a lot more in. 

[Bumblebee]

On 03/11/2018 at 20:18, Amber Snowball said:

Check that what you think is 3m is what they work it out as. When I had a removalist come out they said what I had was alot more in cubic metres than what I had worked out because they use so much packing in the boxes they don’t get as much in a box as I would. So use more boxes. Hope that makes sense!

 I ended up using a move cube and they were great. I had a large cube and the driver helps you. Couldn’t fault them. If you are going with insurance then check out an independent insurer like Letton Percival as the removalists are expensive and people have had trouble getting a pay out from them.

Good luck.

Yes this was my thought - they'll.pack it all and make it take more room. 

Wondering is it OK to mix boxes as you.like in movecube, so pad things with clothes rather than packing paper etc? 

 

[VERYSTORMY]

6 hours ago, Bumblebee said:

Yes this was my thought - they'll.pack it all and make it take more room. 

Wondering is it OK to mix boxes as you.like in movecube, so pad things with clothes rather than packing paper etc? 

 

Yes.

[Amber Snowball]

6 hours ago, Bumblebee said:

Yes this was my thought - they'll.pack it all and make it take more room. 

Wondering is it OK to mix boxes as you.like in movecube, so pad things with clothes rather than packing paper etc? 

 

Yep. My boxes were a big old mish mash. Padded with clothes, tea towels, pillows, cuddly toys!

[TazG]

I wonder if it is worth shipping any household items at all... The estimated transit times for movecube are pretty much 3 months.  I think that within 3 months of being back home we would get sick of waiting and just buy new stuff.  What have others done?  did you take much furniture? or just personal items in boxes?

[Marisawright]

4 hours ago, TazG said:

I wonder if it is worth shipping any household items at all... The estimated transit times for movecube are pretty much 3 months.  I think that within 3 months of being back home we would get sick of waiting and just buy new stuff.  What have others done?  did you take much furniture? or just personal items in boxes?

Everyone makes their own choice.   There are two reasons it's worth considering.  One is cost. Most of us accumulate our household goods gradually and never add up how much they cost.  It's scary how much you spend when you have to outfit an entire home from scratch.  

The other is time.  You're going to have to find the shops you like, for a start.  Forget about buying just the right sofa or picking the right dining table - you'll have to settle for what's in stock.  Many stores sell big furniture to order so you'll have a six week wait - you might as well have shipped yours.  You'll have several trolley loads of towels, cutlery, crockery, bedlinen, pots, pans, small appliances...it's a lot to grapple with while you're trying to cope with new jobs and getting kids into new schools. 

I strongly suggest that before you make your own decision, you do a pretend shop in Australia, to see how much it will cost you to replace all your household goods.  Where you decide to shop depends on your tastes and preferences.   Harveynorman.com.au is a popular choice for furniture in Australia.   if you're more on the budget end, you can buy cheap stuff at Amartfurniture.com.au or Fantasticfurniture.com.au, but bear in mind the quality is sometimes dodgy.  If you're an IKEA fan then you could use ikea.com.au.  For white goods, there's Thegoodguys.com.au.  Don't forget pots, pans, sheets, towels, cutlery, crockery - Myer.com.au or Kmart.com.au.

Bear in mind the average person will spend a month in a holiday place when they arrive, so there's the first month gone already.  Most people would ship their goods a month or so before they leave, and either "camp" in their own home with a few basics (perhaps borrowed from family)  or go and stay with the folks.  That means you won't have to survive very long without all your stuff.  It can make sense to leave beds behind, then you can buy new when you arrive and at least have something to sleep on.  Chances are you'll buy a better outdoor setting for your new Australian home, so you can use that as your dining table and seating until your own stuff arrives. There are ways to manage.

Having said all that, if all your current furniture is completely knackered and you'll be glad to see the back of it, that's obviously a different story.

[Bumblebee]

On 08/11/2018 at 11:11, TazG said:

I wonder if it is worth shipping any household items at all... The estimated transit times for movecube are pretty much 3 months.  I think that within 3 months of being back home we would get sick of waiting and just buy new stuff.  What have others done?  did you take much furniture? or just personal items in boxes?

I literally won't have money to buy anything there so I'm taking all those things that add up to replace, like cake tons, knives, mixers etc Not taking furniture as couldn't afford a big cube but I feel happier eventually buying pieces I love in the uk will be worth it, but buying little bits and bibs won't be. I'm with family for a good while first so I dont think we'll miss much before shipping arrives.

[Bumblebee]

Packing in earnest now and apart from stressing my stuff won't fit (I'll map out the space to know for sure before), I'm worried my packing won't be good enough. 

Books - did you put them straight I to the box or layer with some paper?

Ornaments - I've bubble wrapped everything, would the go in one box all together or spread out? I've got some heavy salt lamps in the same box as tea light holders and thinner glass. 

Any packing advice greatly appreciated, I've got a medium move cube coming. 

Also TOR doesn't need to be back until the shipment lands so am I OK to just wait till I have full inventory when boxes complete or should I do before? 

 

Thanks! 

[Amber Snowball]

9 hours ago, Bumblebee said:

Packing in earnest now and apart from stressing my stuff won't fit (I'll map out the space to know for sure before), I'm worried my packing won't be good enough. 

Books - did you put them straight I to the box or layer with some paper?

Ornaments - I've bubble wrapped everything, would the go in one box all together or spread out? I've got some heavy salt lamps in the same box as tea light holders and thinner glass. 

Any packing advice greatly appreciated, I've got a medium move cube coming. 

Also TOR doesn't need to be back until the shipment lands so am I OK to just wait till I have full inventory when boxes complete or should I do before? 

 

Thanks! 

I put books straight in with no padding. I looked at weight of the boxes and put heavy at the bottom of the box with lighter stuff on top. I did spread stuff out but that was so I could lift the boxes.

I did my TOR prior. I listed everything I would possibly be taking. What arrived in the cube was about half of what was on the TOR. Overclaim rather than under seemed to work. Things listed but not in the cube is probably better than things in the cube that haven’t been declared I would think.

When submitting your TOR use low resolution scans as they have a very small attachment limit, unless they have increased it since June. There is a thread somewhere where we have all posted handy hints!

[Judy]

11 hours ago, Amber Snowball said:

I put books straight in with no padding. I looked at weight of the boxes and put heavy at the bottom of the box with lighter stuff on top. I did spread stuff out but that was so I could lift the boxes.

I did my TOR prior. I listed everything I would possibly be taking. What arrived in the cube was about half of what was on the TOR. Overclaim rather than under seemed to work. Things listed but not in the cube is probably better than things in the cube that haven’t been declared I would think.

When submitting your TOR use low resolution scans as they have a very small attachment limit, unless they have increased it since June. There is a thread somewhere where we have all posted handy hints!

We have started packing for our cube. They are delivering the starter pack this morning. Please tell me what TOR is. I'm dreading this bit. 

[Amber Snowball]

1 hour ago, Judy said:

We have started packing for our cube. They are delivering the starter pack this morning. Please tell me what TOR is. I'm dreading this bit. 

Transfer of Residence. It is the form you need to fill in, send to HMRC and they give you a reference number which means you won’t be charged VAT on your items when they arrive in the UK.

Sevenseas would also want this number from you asap as they need it to clear customs in the UK. You can pay the VAT and then get the TOR and claim the VAT back but wouldn’t want to have to deal with HMRC getting a refund!

If this still doesn’t sound familiar have a look in this part of the forum, there is a thread on it with all of us posting our experiences. Start at the most recent posts though as the system is being improved and changed all the time. I think the thread is a sticky at the top of the forum list but can’t swear to it. I’ll look now!

ETA: yes it’s at the top. Starts with “changes to customs......” as the title.

Edited December 14, 2018 by Amber Snowball
Added info

[Judy]

49 minutes ago, Amber Snowball said:

Transfer of Residence. It is the form you need to fill in, send to HMRC and they give you a reference number which means you won’t be charged VAT on your items when they arrive in the UK.

Sevenseas would also want this number from you asap as they need it to clear customs in the UK. You can pay the VAT and then get the TOR and claim the VAT back but wouldn’t want to have to deal with HMRC getting a refund!

If this still doesn’t sound familiar have a look in this part of the forum, there is a thread on it with all of us posting our experiences. Start at the most recent posts though as the system is being improved and changed all the time. I think the thread is a sticky at the top of the forum list but can’t swear to it. I’ll look now!

ETA: yes it’s at the top. Starts with “changes to customs......” as the title.

Thanks for the information. We are moving UK to Australia so looking at the thread I don't think it applies. 

[Amber Snowball]

13 minutes ago, Judy said:

Thanks for the information. We are moving UK to Australia so looking at the thread I don't think it applies. 

No it doesn’t. Only the other way.

Sorry, should have looked at your signature and I would have seen that......

Good luck with your move!

Edited December 14, 2018 by Amber Snowball
Added info

[Bumblebee]

Eeeeek! The shipping gets taken in just over a week and THIS is what my packing area looks like! Please tell me that's normal and it'll all be OK !! 

I haven't logged any inventory online yet either but have all the contents listed ready to enter.

[Judy]

1 hour ago, Bumblebee said:

Eeeeek! The shipping gets taken in just over a week and THIS is what my packing area looks like! Please tell me that's normal and it'll all be OK !! 

I haven't logged any inventory online yet either but have all the contents listed ready to enter.

Yes that looks like my packing area we may have got more boxes filled at the moment. Don't have a date for shipping yet as we are still waiting for visas. I am finding the inventory the worst bit. We had started packing up but didn't put how many so had to open boxes to count things up. You can start the inventory and then save it for later. It's a bit of a chore so maybe worth taking a look now. Good luck.