Packing own boxes for shipping

[SophieTheSoph]

Does anyone know any shipping companies who let you pack your own boxes (but not furniture) for shipping?

 

I had PSS round to do a quote and they said as we only have about 200 cubic foot it would cost the same for them to pack it as if we packed it ourselves, which seems a bit weird.

 

We partly wanted to pack it ourselves for convenience, partly to save money, but also as it's all done on space I (perhaps stupidly ;-)) think I can pack a bit more in (or at least have a greater incentive to).

 

Anyone packed thier own?

 

Thanks

 

Sophie

[rammygirl]

You can but often insurance companies will not cover you if not professionally packed. Ours did pack very efficiently and much faster than I could have done TBH we had to put everything we didn't want them to pack in one room and keep them out! They even packed my slippers cos I nipped out for a bit!

 

Best thing you can do to make space is have a good clear out before they come.

[SophieTheSoph]

The issue is that we're putting the house on the market soon (next few weeks) so want to pack up everything we're taking (as well as have a general clear out) but don't want to ship it all yet, as there are some bits of furniture going too which we'll need in the meantime.

 

So, it makes sense for me to pack the boxes now, put them in storage then just add them to the furniture and stuff when we get ready for shipping in September.

 

I know it will make the insurance slightly more expensive, but will save it having to be repacked wich seems a bit silly somehow.

[Guest rache&matt]

I have heard that Sevenseas are quite good, you pack your own boxes with them, they also do tvs, bikes etc but no furniture or white goods.

We were thinking like you, we would cram alot more into boxes than the packers and we wouldn have to pay for the packers time in doing it.

We were thinking of using sevenseas for boxes, packing ourselves. Then if we need to take any other big stuff we will use another company.

This also means you could send your boxes that you have packed earlier and so get to you in Aussie earlier.

I maybe off the track but thats what we are considering.

[SophieTheSoph]

I have heard that Sevenseas are quite good, you pack your own boxes with them, they also do tvs, bikes etc but no furniture or white goods.

We were thinking like you, we would cram alot more into boxes than the packers and we wouldn have to pay for the packers time in doing it.

We were thinking of using sevenseas for boxes, packing ourselves. Then if we need to take any other big stuff we will use another company.

This also means you could send your boxes that you have packed earlier and so get to you in Aussie earlier.

I maybe off the track but thats what we are considering.

That sounds like a definite possibility, sending the two parts seperately. Will look into it an dpost any useful info I find...

 

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

S

[marta]

We used PSS and recently packed ourselves. However, we mainly had books and clothing. No furniture apart from a couple of IKEA book shelves.

 

Yes, we also had a discussion with PSS about the fact that owner packing costs the same as packing by them because it doesn't seem to make sense at all.

 

We did not take insurance because it's obviously a rip-off in combination with owner packing. Also, they described the condition of the boxes they collected in a very strange way, like, most of them were "2" whereas some were categorised as "5" without reason (they were all new boxes).

[Danny&Em]

Hi. I've done a bit of leg work on this own. We're also looking around the 200 mark in terms of volume. And also wanted to pack it ourselves. I wanted a fix cost. If anything wouldn't fit I'd just leave it out. Instead of paying the extra for something I thought I could cram in.

the price is very reasonable also. We are using movecube. A large container. About the size of a shed. Dropped off, 3-5 hours later picked up,,, 12 weeks it's then dropped off. This is £990 + aquis ($350 approx) plus destination charge of about $120. Also need insurance but were going with a separate company said to be cheaper at around 1.5%.

 

There are post on here reporting good experiences. Booked mine today. Good luck

[rikyuu]

we packed about 70% ourselves (for convenience as a lot was in storage) and went with Crown, but I would not recommend them because it took from August until just before Xmas for them to deliver our stuff and that was after dozens of phone calls and emails.

[Quinkla]

When I was young, we packed ourselves when moving. Everyone did. It took days and weeks and was soul destroying. It was a revelation to me the time I first har professional packers. I was able togo to bed the night before the move with everything in place as normal - then quickly and efficiently, everything was just scooped up whilst I drank tea and popped out to say goodbye to friends. When you pack yourself, you are too careful and spend too long looking at stuff and worrying about what can't be put on top of something else. It is a job that is much easier without emotions.

[Bobbsy]

FYI, we hit the insurance issue exactly as Rammygirl mentioned--anything packed by the professionals was covered but anything we did was at our own risk.

 

(That said, the shipping company "looked the other way" on our boxes of books etc. that weren't in any way fragile at all.) I won't name the company involved because we were unhappy enough not to recommend them.

 

As others have said, until you see the professionals pack, you can't believe how fast and efficient they are. All our stuff was in storage and they were happy to work there.

[Guest bambamyeovil]

Hi all.

I've moved internationally a couple of times myself and with my family and bizzarely work for a large international mover now... for my sins! Oh... and its not Pickfords! This may/may not help/make sense....

There certainly is no harm in packing yourself if you want to. Most movers will happily include the supply of packing materials for you to do so. Their insurance policies won't normally cover owner packed goods for damage though. What that basically means is that if, when you unpack, there's a broken plate/glass etc the mover cant be liable as they didnt pack it and for all they know it might already have a chip or a crack in it etc etc. However, movers will provide cover for 'total loss only' at a rate of usually around 1.5%.

I would suggest that you leave movers to export wrap anything that doesn't fit into a box though. They will use some of the space inside bookcases, drawers etc for soft and light items to save space. A point worth noting - if you put the same volume infront of a packing crew and told them to pack it twice, once for a domestic move and once for an international move, the international consignment would be approx a quarter less in volume. Moves are costed very differently for domestic and international and so volume is much tighter when shipping overseas.

Any quality mover should provide a no hidden fee, fixed price quotation for your move based on the volume they have surveyed and also provide a packing list that their surveyor has based that volume on - you should be asked to check that list and make any adjustments before making a booking. The packing crew should also have a copy of this list when they arrive so everyone knows what they're taking and what they're leaving.

Believe it or not, it's not in the movers interests to try and bump up your volume by not packing tightly - it actually gives them a giant headache! On the smaller volumes that tend to be shipped as part loads/groupage (typically up to 500-600 cubic feet), by the time that job is booked and been collected, the mover is already planning their next groupage container and which shipments they have in the system to make up various containers. If the crew come back saying the volume is more, then that just creates problems for everyone. Also bear in mind that the mover has committed to collect X volume for X price based on what their surveyor has seen. If it turns out the volume is more but the packing list matches what the crew has collected then the surveyor has boo boo'd and its the movers cost to bear. Naturally, there's always going to be some folk that will try it on from time to time though!

Ref the PSS comments above - The very small volumes (probably upto 100-200 cubic feet) actually fall into the minimum charges column of a movers rates matrix, so it can be that you pay the same amount whether you pack or not. Its always worth asking if your volume falls into those minimum charges as you might actually be able to ship a few extra cartons for the same price.

To be fair though, in the grand scheme of things, the saving for packing cartons yourself is pretty minimal.... and next to nothing on a full container load.

Apologies for my ramblings. I hope this helps.

[bwatt99]

say i got a survey and got a quote on what i had been taking and i asked them after a price was given i have another 20 boxes and i will pack them myself would that price then need to go up or still be the same?Im not sure right now if i will be told i need a 20ft or 40ft,if i have a 40ft i may want to take extra things,some of which i want to pack myself,all im doing is using up empty space that there will be in container and its no extra work for them if already packed by myself?