Up-to-date INFO on shipping costs and companies

[Guest rachellh]

Seeing as there always seems to be people asking about the cost of shipping etc, I thought (seeing as I've just finished organising ours) that I'd share what I've uncovered.

 

Just to add that we are packing all the household stuff ourselves - the company will only be wrapping up furniture/ packing mirrors and pictures etc. This is definitely worth doing as (like the companies will admit) when they pack, they don't do it with your best interests at heart, i.e. the less they stick in a box, the more you go over your allocated space and the more they clobber you for!

 

We'll also be taking apart anything that can be flat packed, just to ensure that we can squeeze as much in as possible.

 

 

 

So, of the many, and I mean many companies that I had troop around our house - here are some of the results and the best deals we got.

 

 

Quotes based on a 20 foot container from Perth to UK (East England) leaving in June:

 

Allied Pickfords - $10,600 for a complete pack - never asked them how much for self pack as I tossed the quote straight in the bin with a laugh when it arrived!

 

Crown - $9,000

 

Kent Movers - $7500

 

Movements International - $7995 down to $7400 when asked for discount

 

Keys Bros - Between $6500 - $7000

 

Transglobal (same people who own Chess, meant to be cheaper but admit they don't offer the same level of service as Chess?!) - $6500

 

Chess Moving Perth - $6358

Additional hard casing for 42" plasma - $90

 

 

 

Please note none of these quotes include insurance - and this is where they try to make the money of you. One agent wrote down that 3 ornaments in our lounge should be insured at $6000! Last time I checked we didn't have any Faberge eggs!

 

 

We personally won't be insuring the shipment. We've done so in the past and couldn't get them to pay out for damages they had caused when packing. Short of the whole container going over the side of the ship - which is highly unlikely as I should know after having written a whole boring book on the subject of shipping - we'd rather take our chances. Nothing we have is that valuable and things that matter aren't replaceable anyway.

 

 

Needless to say we're going with Chess. They seem OK and they're partnered up with Britannia in the UK, which is at least a removals company I've heard of.

 

 

The one thing I would say when dealing with agents is:

 

a) Tell them you have made plenty of international moves (even if you haven't) so they don't think they can treat you like an unexperienced idiot.

 

b) Play them off against each other to get the lowest price - competition is rife at the moment.

 

c) Get a quote for self pack to compare to a full pack.

 

d) Get the quote in writing ASAP.

 

 

Chess did try and pull a fast one on me by giving me one price by phone and then add $200 more to it the following day in the written quote they emailed over. I said that I expected the pay what I was originally told and if they didn't stick to that I would carry on shopping around. Needless to say 5 mins later they called back to re offer the original price.

 

Anyway, I know that finding the right company can be a long winded and stressful ordeal, so I hope all our homework is of help to someone else out there. Of course these were the prices we were offered, or rather I asked for, but at least it gives a guideline.

 

Good luck all!

 

Rachel :biggrin:

[k8bug79]

Ah brilliant thanks. We are no where near ready to go anywhere yet but those prices and info are really helpful. Our local company is Britannia so I will be contacting them when it comes to it. We are taking a part load so I think my guestimate of about £1500 seems about right which is promising. Good to know about the insurance. I will be looking at quotes and assessing what we actually have and are taking compared to the cost.

Godd luck with your move

[Guest lindawob]

well I am in the process in booking on to move at the end of the month....it is very stressfull!!

 

thanks for your tipsxxx

[aharcall]

S**t, will never be able to go home at those prices.

[alimay68]

I emigrated 13 years ago and we're going back to Staffordshire (Aussie hubby and kids, 11 and 8) at the end of May. We sold our house late last year, sold the business in Feb, my mother-in-law's house a few weeks ago and I've been painstakingly packing since before Christmas, e-baying our stuff and M-i-L's deceased estate and sorting out 13 years worth of papers like crazy. It's so overwhelming! I think I'm going to have a nervous break-down!!!! Where's the Doctor and his tardis when you need him - oh for the room inside for our stuff and to be able to go forward another 6 weeks in time without these awful weeks in limbo!

 

Anyway, looks like we're going to go with 'Across the Oceans'. They're a Birmingham based company, with an office in Melbourne. Very helpful guy here. Quoted $7k for 40 ft self-pack , with a couple of items of furniture internationally wrapped, and $4.6k for 20 ft self-pack, but we're in a dilemma as to whether to go the 40ft or try and scale down and cram in what we've got into a 20ft.

 

Just heard back from some friends who shipped over a 20ft container in January. They went for the full pack service with Pickfords and yet have had a huge amount of damage to their effects, with items not packed properly, seemingly just 'shoved' in to boxes with no packing material around them etc etc.

[Guest Woodmill]

Great post. Thank you.

[Guest Woodmill]

Chess have quoted me just short of $8,000 for Perth to Scotrland!

[Conniebygaslight]

Chess have quoted me just short of $8,000 for Perth to Scotrland!

 

Hi woodmill was that 20 ft packed?

[Guest Woodmill]

Yes, excluding insurance but with us dismantling wardrobes, gym equipment, tables etc. Might pack myself now and leave them to wrap. Quite surprised at this first quote as we are taking home less than we came with but are paying more!