Guest oldmarried Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 I just did a quote for Seven seas and one of the options is teachest? How do you say there is no such thing? X Because its an industry terminology that actually goes back to the days when removals were actually done using wooden t chests. Its still used because years ago it actually meant something to the general public when you said a tea chest and they could visualise one. These days they are so rare that I would think Joe Public probably has no idea what you are talking about but because the terminology gets passed from old staff to new in their training it perpetuates. What they are really referring to is a standard size removal carton, should be 3 layers of cardboard for strength in shipping, which measures circa 45cms x 45 cms x 50 cms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basil Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Hope it's ok to ask my Q on this thread, my thread title would be v similar albeit i'm taking more stuff than the OP :biggrin: So we moved a few years back and just about filled a 20ft container sole use. This time we'll have a big clear out and if I had to take a stab in the dark I think we'd be half to max of 2/3 of a 20ft container tops. We will be taking stuff that mainly fits in boxes, plus irregular shaped items like a sofa, 1 bed frame (dismantled, no mattress) and some giant plastic dog beds (super cleaned!). But mainly boxes. My Q is, am I going to find paying for half a container broadly similar to a full one (and obviously it'll be slower). I'm guessing it's not half - anyone any ballpark on costs (essex to gold coast) 2nd Q, where you've had companies quote and your home is a mix of 'this is going' and 'this is not' in each room and indeed each kitchen cupbaord even, have you felt the quotes were accurate.....my worry is by guestimating like that we'll end up being over quoted v's simply saying 'all is going' I'm starting to think we might be better off leaving the few 'big' things behind and sitcking to all boxes, it seems so much cheapr when i look at quotes for boxes v's where people have had half a container etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PositivePixie Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Hope it's ok to ask my Q on this thread, my thread title would be v similar albeit i'm taking more stuff than the OP :biggrin: So we moved a few years back and just about filled a 20ft container sole use. This time we'll have a big clear out and if I had to take a stab in the dark I think we'd be half to max of 2/3 of a 20ft container tops. We will be taking stuff that mainly fits in boxes, plus irregular shaped items like a sofa, 1 bed frame (dismantled, no mattress) and some giant plastic dog beds (super cleaned!). But mainly boxes. My Q is, am I going to find paying for half a container broadly similar to a full one (and obviously it'll be slower). I'm guessing it's not half - anyone any ballpark on costs (essex to gold coast) 2nd Q, where you've had companies quote and your home is a mix of 'this is going' and 'this is not' in each room and indeed each kitchen cupbaord even, have you felt the quotes were accurate.....my worry is by guestimating like that we'll end up being over quoted v's simply saying 'all is going' I'm starting to think we might be better off leaving the few 'big' things behind and sitcking to all boxes, it seems so much cheapr when i look at quotes for boxes v's where people have had half a container etc. Q1 - Back when we started we were taking *everything* and two of the original quoting companies both told us that it was (/cubic foot) cheaper to take a whole container than a part of one, as (quote!) "we make the bulk of our profits on groupage containers", so I would think you're probably right in thinking 2/3s would be similarish to a full one - you probably will save on the AQIS fees though, so not all bad news Sorry can't help with actual costs, we are going to Adelaide, and only having around 200 cubic foot. Q2 - We have more or less done this, and the companies have come back with a variety of cubic footages, from 169 at the smallest to 296 (!) at the largest - quite a big difference imho as 99% of what we are taking are either boxes or being crated, or are nice sqaurish shapes (eg a blanket box), but there you go. I have a bit of a system to see who might actually be best value with formula that takes a few other things into account, but tbh the actual quotes are all coming out much of a muchness with regards to the actual price (apart from one company that seems to be WAY off the mark - I'm guessing they really don't want our business, although they keep phoning and emailing me to see if I want to book with them, despite me keep telling them they are the most expensive by a LOT - go figure...). With regards to the over-estimating issue - ours (who have quoted - we still haven't decided exactly who we are going with, still waiting for a couple of quotes to come back) have all said that if we end up taking less then they will only charge us for what goes out the door - we pay a deposit when we book (or nothing at all depending on the company), and then the balance after it gets picked up, but before it ships, and thats when they work out the exact cubic footage we've taken up, so no worries there HTH a bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basil Posted December 15, 2011 Share Posted December 15, 2011 Pixi - That is really helpful thank you. I think I might just go around the house and confirm exactly what isn't 'boxable' - is that a word?! then decide on whether we're going to stump up the extra for a container. I'm guessing when you go for a box option like seven seas you can put other things in their boxes, ie my ironing board can go in a surfboard box and a playpen could go in a flatscreen tv box sort of thing?! Sigh: this is so hard, because if i'm paying for a 20ft'er i'm damn well going to fil it.....and that's going to cost me even more money!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2and3 Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Seven seas do a move cube. Have you had a look at these? From what I see they are like mini containers into which you pack your stuff and it then gets sealed up. So for those with irregular sized items they would be ideal. three different sizes - I have phoned and the cost for size one is £420 with a destination charge of $249 the other side and cube 2 is £570 with a destination charge of $299. No weight limit at all. Take a look below at the dimensions of our MoveCubes™: Small: Height 1.88m Width 1.11m Length 0.96m Volume 2m³ Medium: Height 1.88m Width 1.45m Length 1.11m Volume 3m³ Large: Height 1.88m Width 1.45m Length 2.27m Volume 6.20m³ I also just phoned pss and for 3 box's = 51x40x61cm - weight of 30kg it is £175 and then each box after that is only £20. But no good for larger shaped items or heavy stuff for that matter. So what do you reckon about these movecubes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PositivePixie Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 So what do you reckon about these movecubes? IMHO they are only good if you are taking boxes ONLY - if you are taking irregularly shaped stuff, getting into the box to maximise space will be either a massive headache as you spend hours and hours re-arranging it all ala Giant Tetris, or you will lose a % of space with air gaps. A company who are used to packing things to maximise space (or rather, minimise wasted space I guess) will be able to do it a lot better than me (you might be far better at packing things though than me lol) and then I won't be paying for air to be shipping to Oz As a quick price comparison, the second box is about 105 cubit foot, which costs £769.33 for the box, picking it up, shipping it, and delivering it the other side. Do they pack it for that though? If so its not that bad I guess - but for a comparison we have had a quote for 160 cubic foot for £898, them packing everything etc, with Marine Insurance of 1.5% of total value of stuff, so only another £130 for another 55 cubic footage. The other good thing about them packing it as well is they should put the things that will need inspecting in one place apparently, which speeds up AQIS inspection, which means it costs you less - if you've packed it yourself apparently they are more thorough in their search through things so its going to take longer and cost more But as I say, if you know you only have boxes (2/3 of our move is a huge rocking horse and some oil paintings that are also HUGE), they may be good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basil Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 I did see the movecubes on the webby, but didn't know prices - thanks. Would those fees include or exclude all the quarantine, inspection charges do you know? I'm new to all this, so not sure if the full container quotes I see mentioned include/exclude all fees.....just would like to compare eggs with eggs sort of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2and3 Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Thanks for that. Seems to have made things a bit clearer. I think its just that decision to take anything or not. We don't want to take the furniture -it would just be washing machine, the dryer, flat tele and the usual kitchen and kids sort of stuff. But we could perhaps bung the odd extra item - bed frames/drum kit? scooter - whatever we think may be useful sort of stuff - photos,wall pictures - .whatever fits. Just need to decide to cart our stuff/junk -lol - or start again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2and3 Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Unless you have to have your cube inspected,have wooden stuff - dirty stuff - soil/tents type thing I did not get the impression there was any other charge. But I could be wrong as I too am just starting to look. Insurance wise - its up to you to cover or not but it only covers for total loss. So I suppose if anything gets damaged then its tough. They also said 50km raidus of a cdb - outside of that the charges seemed steep - can't remember what they were. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PositivePixie Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Unless you have to have your cube inspected,have wooden stuff - dirty stuff - soil/tents type thing I did not get the impression there was any other charge. But I could be wrong as I too am just starting to look. Insurance wise - its up to you to cover or not but it only covers for total loss. So I suppose if anything gets damaged then its tough. They also said 50km raidus of a cdb - outside of that the charges seemed steep - can't remember what they were. No, you will be inspected whatever you put in, the minimum charge for everyone is $155, which is about £110, and then it goes up from there depending on how much you have - you will get more inspection if you are taking outdoors things, Christmas decorations, shoes - basically the common things that are dirty or likely to fail inspection (lots of pine cones in those decorations you see). Also with regards to Insurance - there it two main factors to it. The first is if anything gets damaged they will give you money or replace the damaged item, but the second is for 'total loss' that is if the boat goes down, or your container gets pushed off it - it covers you for the salvage charges that you are liable for a proportion of, if that should happen (ie the costs to recover the boat/container, as they can't leave it in the shipping lanes as it is dangerous). You can either take your shippers insurance, or get your own private insurance (which sometimes can be cheaper, so shop around). Be aware - 100 cubic foot really is not a huge amount at all...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2and3 Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Yes I have just measured it out in the corner of the utility.....ummmmmmmm decisions... The only thing is his bloomin tele - he can't seem to let that go - what is it with men??? lol. I know I can easily pick up washers etc and I am all up for gum tree and garage sales.ummm what to do. Might just go for a few boxes. Regards the insurance they only mentioned the total loss - I thought it was because you packed it yourself. And they 'gave' the impression that the destination charge covered the inspection thingy - unless there was tax to pay on stuff or stuff that needed cleaning etc. Think my mind is on boxes at the moment - although that would be about the tenth time today I will have changed it. Is it possible to phone them up the week before you fly and sort it out then?? That way I will have packed flight luggage and seen exactly what was left??? You can have as much luggage on the flight - as many bags/boxes as long as its within the weight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2and3 Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Oh pixie tell me what to do...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PositivePixie Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Oh pixie tell me what to do...... lol don't go for that option, as I'm in massive favour of hiring a skip, putting everything in it and taking nowt at the moment the headache I have with movers etc LOL! :biglaugh: I would phone them back and be very specific - ask 1) Does the final amount include the AQIS fee - if they start umming and arhing, get them to state just YES or NO (I would think not because most of the shippers don't have their own bonded warehouses where the goods have to go when they get off the boat, then AQIS come and inspect it, and then it goes to where-ever. The only company we have come across so far that has its own bonded warehouses and therefore can offer AQIS fee as part of the overall moving fee has been Crown). 2) If you have anything that needs treating/confiscated there may well be a fee ontop of that as well (and I've heard weird things about this so it doesn't seem like there are hard and fast rules on it, however if you try and make sure everything is really really clean (with milton and jayes fluid) and DO NOT include any prohibited items, you should be ok for that. I've heard some people get charged for things that are confiscated, and some don't so don't know what the official line is there really. 3) With regards to the insurance, generally if you pack a company will only offer you total loss insurance, which covers you for the salvage thingy I was talking about in my previous waffle - but you don't have to go with their insurance for that, it might be cheaper from somewhere else so have a hunt around. TBH we are only not taking stuff because a) its 90% ikea etc stuff that is either knackered or just not what we really wanted anyway, but couldn't afford anything else AND b) we are putting it in storage for anything up to 12 months whilst we travel around, so the costs of storage would cancel out any savings of buying it again from Adelaide Ikea from the virtual shopping online we have done, AND it means I get to go shopping for new things once we settle as well (yeah!). If we were settling straight away we would be taking more, like the washing machine, bed, and so on (but still not the knackered sofas or fridge lol). Yes you can have as much luggage as you want as long as you are within your allowance - no single bag is allowed to be over 32kg anyway, so if you have more than that per person, it will need to be split up at any rate. I wouldn't personally leave it until the week before, because if they can't come out to you to pick it up that week (ie fully booked) you are a big shafted then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janice1uk Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Seven seas do a move cube. Have you had a look at these? From what I see they are like mini containers into which you pack your stuff and it then gets sealed up. So for those with irregular sized items they would be ideal. three different sizes - I have phoned and the cost for size one is £420 with a destination charge of $249 the other side and cube 2 is £570 with a destination charge of $299. No weight limit at all.Take a look below at the dimensions of our MoveCubes™: Small: Height 1.88m Width 1.11m Length 0.96m Volume 2m³ Medium: Height 1.88m Width 1.45m Length 1.11m Volume 3m³ Large: Height 1.88m Width 1.45m Length 2.27m Volume 6.20m³ I also just phoned pss and for 3 box's = 51x40x61cm - weight of 30kg it is £175 and then each box after that is only £20. But no good for larger shaped items or heavy stuff for that matter. So what do you reckon about these movecubes? i have been emailing and ringing seaven seas for 4 days now to get prices for these and still nobody has returned either my calls or emails. Great customer service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basil Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 2and3 you sound like you are having the same dilemma as me. Originally i only wanted to take the bare minimum, just a few boxes. But DH pointed out that when we've moved overseas before having to go out and start from scratch buying furniture, everything down to mop buckets and irons is incredibly stressful and time consuming.....and although you plan to buy 'better than we had' it often doesn't end up that way because you need it all, like yesterday, so panic buy. I'm not sure I agree with DH still tbh as Pixie describes most of our stuff is ikea and old at that tbh. BUT the big factor for me is that if a container is say £4k to ship, that's equivalent to say $6k aussie as an alternative to buy all, which isn't that much really (I still work to the old 2.5 as being like real money ie $6k is really equivalent to say £2.4k of spending power....and that doesn't go far to replace all we have) IYSWIM. We won't have jobs on arrival so any spending will be converted £'s and so will feel pricey. Really what i'd like is to take all for about £2000 - that would be luvvly jubbly and if someone else could come and sort this tatt that needs chucking that would be great too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bessiedoll Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 No problem- you can order say 3 tea chest boxes and a book box and they will also send you extras that you can return if not used... how big are tea chest boxes? i have all of my things boxed in my own boxes, so i just need to get it organised, but i am getting messed around with transglobal so i am looking to try someone else. xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oldmarried Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 T chest size boxes are 45 x 45 x 50 cms. The cost of shipping is not actually in the freight, its in the cost of the packing and unpacking. I would be very wary of any company who cannot give you a definitive volume and you will pay a deposit and then the balance based on the final volume. How will you know if the volume you are given is correct? The biggest cost involved is labour. A removal company is going to assign the level of resource it needs to pack your stuff in advance of the day they come. If they then turn up and you have reduced the stuff by half and they only charge you for what you sent they will lose big time as they won't have enough to cover the cost of the labour they sent and it will be commercial suicide on their part. If you were the last move that pushed them over the edge and they went bust whilst your stuff was on the water where does that leave you? These commercial tactics are partly driven by the fact that there are too many removal companies out there in the current market conditions and some who have nothing else to attract you but a cheap price are desperate. If you are making your decision on a removal solely on price then tread very carefully on what you are getting. Whilst I do understand that differing volumes can be very confusing I can also tell you from the other side of the coin this is because the message given to removal companies by potential clients can also be very confusing. A 20ft container holds just over 1000 cuft. So whilst a difference of 100 cuft from one to another might seem massive is really isn't a huge difference and estimating is not an exact science. The classic is when a couple decide to share the burden of the appointments and the husband tells the company one thing whereas the wife says quite another. I quote the example of the TV from the earlier post. Typically a man is more interested in the pragmatic things and especially the entertaining electricals whereas women are more concerned with the emotional such as kids first pictures and the things needed to live such as an iron! So that you give a clear message to all companies who come to view my advice (as a professional with nearly 2 decades experience!) is that you go round your house before having a visit and make a note of the things that you absolutely must take and the things that you would like to take in an ideal scenario. The estimator will then (if they are professional) take a list of everything and mark it accordingly. They can then give you the best and worse case scenario and if you need to will have all the information to help work with you to find a solution that works to your budget. It also gives a very clear basis for you to compare like for like quotes. Moving your goods can seem expensive as you have to pay it as a lump up front. But remember that the 2nd value of household chattels here in the UK is non existent and the cost of replacing these things in Australia is high. A set of half decent pans is £100, never mind everything else you have in your kitchen. And then the rest of your house! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalejaneaustralia Posted April 28, 2012 Share Posted April 28, 2012 Hi, thought I would give a bit of an update. Our 14 large tea chest, 2 bikes, golf bag and painting are bobbing their way to Melbourne through Sevenseas. I've been really happy and impressed so far with the service they have offered. Once you have sorted how many boxes etc you need and paid your deposit, you will get your flat pack boxes delivered with a huge roll of bubble wrap, markers pen and and plenty of tape. You will be given an hours delivery slot (the day before) which in our case they turned up in the first 10 mins. There is no time limit on how long you can keep your boxes, before sending. The instructions for packing and customs is pretty easy to follow (compared to a visa application anyway!), there is a lot of paperwork, but you can see why they want to know so much. All this paperwork is put in the supplied envelope and taped to box one. You can either use their online service to arrange collect or call then up. This is my only gripe. I couldn't get the online form to work, so had to call, but the person on the phone didn't have the best grasp of English. So my numerous questions were a little difficult to explain, but we got there in the end. As with the delivery of the boxes, you get a one hour time slot for collection. The guy turned up early, in a van that fitted on the drive (great - less carrying!) and was again helpful with my questions. Within 24 hours they had sent the final invoice, which you can pay online, over the phone, through your bank etc. I left it a week and called to check and they were already loaded and on their way. You can log into your account and get the vessel name, date it will arrive at destination and estimated time before you can arrange your delivery. Overall it has been far less stressful than I imagined and (as long as our stuff makes it) I would have no issues recommending using this company. The insurance options are a little strange, but we figured it our and you have the flexibility of increasing the values for certain options etc. Anyway, hope this is of help to some of you. Happy shipping! We're flying 10 weeks so it's all getting a bit real!! Cheers Dale Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnboyW Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Hi Dale How did you box your bikes up? Did you do it yourself? My local bike shop is quoting £45 per bike to pack, which seems a bit steep... Ta John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalejaneaustralia Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 Hi DaleHow did you box your bikes up? Did you do it yourself? My local bike shop is quoting £45 per bike to pack, which seems a bit steep... Ta John Hi John, All we had to do was take the pedals off. They secured them in the van and then boxed them up back at their warehouse. I'll update once we get there.....12 days until we fly Last time I checked, the boat was bobbing its way to Vietnam! Cheers Dale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest72634 Posted July 14, 2012 Share Posted July 14, 2012 I am taking 5 boxes of clothing and personal belongings. Pickfords have quoted door to door £65 for first 3 boxes then £25 for each box after. Insurance 5% of total value. My issue is I found that I am going to Oz before my 300 visa is granted on an e-visitor but you can't ship belongings until visa is granted, so I have to leave the boxes with a relative and they will have the hassle of shipping it for me. Real Pain. Any one else have this trouble? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dalejaneaustralia Posted July 15, 2012 Share Posted July 15, 2012 A final update!! I arranged for the delivery of our boxes on the 13th July (2 days after we arrived) and they (once again) turned up at the time they said they would. The guys helped me get them in the garage and had a nice chat about Melbourne! We've opened them all up and nothing seems to be damaged, bikes and golf clubs survived the trip!! So all in all I can only give positive feedback for Sevenseas. Cheers Dale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gwolst77 Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 (edited) I am also thinking about using Move Cubes and doing my move in two stages. Move Cube one will go just before I go out to Oz at the end of August, and then Move Cube two will go when I come back in November to bring the family over and finialize my affairs. Here is the link to my thread if it helps http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/transport-shipping/156878-shipping-advice-please.html Edited July 18, 2012 by gwolst77 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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