Any advice for shipping?

[MacGyver]

We've had a few quotes for shipping UK back to Australia and they seem to be around what we expected and fairly close in price.

Just wanted to ask if there's anything I should check is and/or isn't included with shippers as part of their quote? Anything they sneakily leave out and charge you for later, ways they might artificially keep quotes low etc etc

Any advice would be appreciated

Thanks

[rammygirl]

Ask about the actual shipping. That is will they give you a choice of ships/routes.  If a sole use container you should be able to lock into a ship.  Some are faster routes than others by several weeks, it may cost a bit more but might be worth it. We asked about it and found that by choosing a different ship we could keep our stuff until after Christmas in the UK and get it quicker in Aus than their original quote of packing up before Christmas and getting our stuff weeks later.  It cost about £150 more so well worth it. 

If a shared container try to pin them down to shipping times. Ask if they have a container in mind that will take your stuff. Sometimes part loads can wait for months waiting to be full enough to ship. 

Also get an independent insurance policy. 

Most will not include customs and AQIS fees in Australia  they are variable but they should be able to give a rough idea of cost.

Also quotes will be for standard delivery.  If a property is more than two storeys or a higher flat, or difficult access etc  they will charge more.  The house we eventually rented had a long driveway that wasn’t accessible by the truck  they charged us more as it took the guys longer to unload .

some include dismantling and re assembly of furniture some don’t  some include all packaging some don’t.  Some will unpack and remove packaging or return for packaging some charge extra.

 

 

Edited April 18, 2019 by rammygirl

[MacGyver]

5 hours ago, rammygirl said:

Ask about the actual shipping. That is will they give you a choice of ships/routes.  If a sole use container you should be able to lock into a ship.  Some are faster routes than others by several weeks, it may cost a bit more but might be worth it. We asked about it and found that by choosing a different ship we could keep our stuff until after Christmas in the UK and get it quicker in Aus than their original quote of packing up before Christmas and getting our stuff weeks later.  It cost about £150 more so well worth it. 

If a shared container try to pin them down to shipping times. Ask if they have a container in mind that will take your stuff. Sometimes part loads can wait for months waiting to be full enough to ship. 

Also get an independent insurance policy. 

Most will not include customs and AQIS fees in Australia  they are variable but they should be able to give a rough idea of cost.

Also quotes will be for standard delivery.  If a property is more than two storeys or a higher flat, or difficult access etc  they will charge more.  The house we eventually rented had a long driveway that wasn’t accessible by the truck  they charged us more as it took the guys longer to unload .

some include dismantling and re assembly of furniture some don’t  some include all packaging some don’t.  Some will unpack and remove packaging or return for packaging some charge extra.

 

 

Thanks rammygirl, this is excellent information

[Conflame]

There shouldn't be any extra "add on" fees or anything like that if they're a legitimate company. You probably should allow for some variance depending on the distance and how much weight is being moved. Those are the main factors that affect cost as far as I know. I've used a US based company called A1 Auto Transport, Inc. and didn't have any problems or surprises. They gave me an estimate based on what I needed and the final tally was right around the number, if not a little under as I recall. Any mover worth their salt should do the same I would assume. 

[Marisawright]

3 hours ago, Conflame said:

There shouldn't be any extra "add on" fees or anything like that if they're a legitimate company. .... They gave me an estimate based on what I needed and the final tally was right around the number, if not a little under as I recall. Any mover worth their salt should do the same I would assume. 

They only gave you an estimate, not a fixed quote?   

If you get a fixed quote, there are always extra "add on" fees when shipping to Australia, because the shipping company can't predict what Australian customs and AQIS fees will be on arrival. A reputable company will warn you about that and give you a rough idea of what to expect. Some less reputable companies won't mention it, because it makes their quote look lower.