jaycee
29th June 2007, 11:41 PM
I just thought I'd post this because there are many bad stories about shipping (I've enough horrific memories of removals within the UK), and sending all your worldly goods on a 6 week voyage is scary - so this is to say sometimes it all works out :)
I used PSS (Croydon UK) with NZ Van Lines this end, sole use of 20' container, £4200 including insurance.
The PSS packing guys were excellent - their office messed us all around by changing and shortening the packing time, but the guys made sure a minimum of that affected me, by working very long hours and rearranging the container delivery - beyond the call of duty.
The container arrived as scheduled (6 weeks) and my contact at NZ Van Lines was friendly and efficient. I avoided shipping stuff which would be of interest to MAF, but NZVL did question two items - pharmacy items and a suitcase. I duly declared my Evening Primrose Oil as plant-derived, and the contents of the suitcase (a vintage one which I use as a decorative item) as cuddly toys :) No query on my tools.
I was told that I couldn't have the MAF inspection done at my house because it's in a rural area - don't know if that's really the case, but it seems logical - but as I needed to have the goods stored for a while I had no choice anyway. I was expecting trouble, but it didn't happen - no MAF inspection, no fees, and very reasonable storage rates (about $35 per week).
My stuff arrived on Tuesday, unloaded and unwrapped by three young guys in two hours. Luckily the rain held off. The highlight was watching a hunky Pacific guy lift my three door solid wood wardrobe right above his head for the other two to retrieve from the first floor balcony - there are two other ways into the room, but they chose the brute strength route :) A far cry from the UK removal people I've used in the past for whom everything was too much effort.
I've a few boxes of books and clothes to unpack still, but so far the only casualty is my CD player. Everything else is perfect - I've had far more damage done just moving things 30 miles. I think much of that is due to the quality of the packing - you don't see how good it is until you unpack it - I have about six cartons of paper, not including what I've kept for lighting the fire.
And finally - I'm finding having my things here rather unsettling. All this stuff has memories... and yet it feels as though my life, in the shape of some boxes, has finally moved here, to this little island at the bottom of the world. Familiar yet strange, it's an interesting contrast.
I used PSS (Croydon UK) with NZ Van Lines this end, sole use of 20' container, £4200 including insurance.
The PSS packing guys were excellent - their office messed us all around by changing and shortening the packing time, but the guys made sure a minimum of that affected me, by working very long hours and rearranging the container delivery - beyond the call of duty.
The container arrived as scheduled (6 weeks) and my contact at NZ Van Lines was friendly and efficient. I avoided shipping stuff which would be of interest to MAF, but NZVL did question two items - pharmacy items and a suitcase. I duly declared my Evening Primrose Oil as plant-derived, and the contents of the suitcase (a vintage one which I use as a decorative item) as cuddly toys :) No query on my tools.
I was told that I couldn't have the MAF inspection done at my house because it's in a rural area - don't know if that's really the case, but it seems logical - but as I needed to have the goods stored for a while I had no choice anyway. I was expecting trouble, but it didn't happen - no MAF inspection, no fees, and very reasonable storage rates (about $35 per week).
My stuff arrived on Tuesday, unloaded and unwrapped by three young guys in two hours. Luckily the rain held off. The highlight was watching a hunky Pacific guy lift my three door solid wood wardrobe right above his head for the other two to retrieve from the first floor balcony - there are two other ways into the room, but they chose the brute strength route :) A far cry from the UK removal people I've used in the past for whom everything was too much effort.
I've a few boxes of books and clothes to unpack still, but so far the only casualty is my CD player. Everything else is perfect - I've had far more damage done just moving things 30 miles. I think much of that is due to the quality of the packing - you don't see how good it is until you unpack it - I have about six cartons of paper, not including what I've kept for lighting the fire.
And finally - I'm finding having my things here rather unsettling. All this stuff has memories... and yet it feels as though my life, in the shape of some boxes, has finally moved here, to this little island at the bottom of the world. Familiar yet strange, it's an interesting contrast.