[janet]

Hi Everyone,

My name is Janet and I'm planning on moving to Auckland with my husband in about 18 months. At the moment we're tidying up our debts and getting the house ready to sell, and trying to save as much as we can.

Is it worth me shipping over any furniture or electricals? I'm not sure of prices and availability of goods in NZ so I don't know if it would be a saving to ship things over or just buy new/second hand when we get there.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated,

Janet

[kzn2nz]

Hi Janet and welcome to the forum.

We have been in a similar quandry, with a washing machine and microwave that are on their last legs. I do not see where you are from, but my advice is to look at www.trademe.co.nz and search for the items that you think you may need. From there, you will have a good idea of what things cost in NZ second-hand, or new in some cases.

The warranty aspect of buying new may also come into play when you finally get your stuff to NZ, and then there is electrical compatibility, if you are in the US (110 Volts).

You also need to deduct the actual cost of shipping the stuff, and maybe factor in the waiting period...

All the people that have given us advice so far say take all the good stuff and leave the junk behind.

[holland]

All advice I have read seems to say, TAke, take, take..we are buying new washing machine and fridge freezer a couple of weeks before we go and testing them out, then taking them over.

These links may be some help:

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12255&highlight=white+goods

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=9765&highlight=white+goods

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=2966&highlight=shipping+washing+machines

http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=167&highlight=shipping+washing+machines

Some of the threads are quite dated, so prices may have gone up!!

J x

[Silverwing86]

Hi Janet and welcome to the forum !

Where furniture is concerned I suppose it also depends on your tastes. Some things are more affordable here (f.i.; in our case, coming from The Netherlands, we find solid wood furniture to be very affordable here whereas we find MDF, which is generally cheaper in The Netherlands, is fairly pricey here), and others more expensive.

I seem to remember a thread recently where caroline&dave put up a list of links for furniture stores, albeit ones with branches in Christchurch, but some of them were nationwide. I'll have a search, never know if it might be of help... Okay, found it, here it is: http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?p=148369#post148369

Whilst searching I also found this link: http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=3691&highlight=furniture+links
which admittedly is from way back in 2005, but perhaps some of the links might still work ?

(Just goes to show what a great search feature this forum has ;) !)

TradeMe is indeed also a great site to have a look at, we've just bought a second hand chest of drawers for the spare bedroom, brilliant ! By the way, I've also heard of people being given the advice to "bring whatever you can ship as practically anything will sell on TradeMe and often for a decent price" :laugh !

Not sure if it's useful, but another website I tend to look at when comparing prices for things like home appliances is www.ferrit.co.nz (http://www.ferrit.co.nz).

Good luck with your research !

Silver

[veronica]

Definately endorse the above. if its working fine then bring it, its worth filling things like fridges freezers etc (once they are dried out) and obvious things like chests of drawers . but not being funny even little things like the stationary thats been amassed over the years costs a lot to replace when it has to be done all at once. so if you can then bring it all.

[holland]

Sorry Janet...forgot to say Hi and Welcome!!

J and G x

[andreamatt]

We brought everything except washing machine. (I now have a top-loader Fisher & Paykel and love it!). I know that my old UK front loading washing machine just wouldn't have fitted in some of the laundry areas we've seen in NZ homes - differnent dimensions.

[Nettie 2]

The thing I am most pleased about bringing is my Dyson! Having stayed with my Sister in law and now in furnished rental the vacuums here seem to be hopeless. So when my stuff arrived in container the first thing I unpacked was my Dyson, sad but true! :roll So if you have one , bring it!

[kellyfamily]

I agree with other post about bringing as much as possible , when replacing things like plates,pans,gardening equipment and even blankets etc you can spend a small fortune , we have been fortunate as a friend of ours moved to Wahike island from a big house in Auckland so i have been given 2 settees , washing machine and loads of small bits,so from being a (must buy all new) i am now a convert to the careful kiwi culture:)

[mgbridges]

Welcome to the forum! Haven't got our stuff yet but... the advice we received when packing up was bring it all, particularly white goods. We purchased a brand new front loader washing machine to bring with us as our old one was on its last legs. Ironically the house we have purchased has the washing machine included in the price and I have concerns that our front loader won't fit in the slot where the top loader is! :roll

The one big thing I would say is bring sentimental things with you.. photographs, pictures, keepsakes, scrap books etc. Stuff that really makes your house your home and holds memories for you. I can't wait to get hold of all the pictures of our family. Equally we packed all of the toys that our son owned with the exception of ones that were broken on he had grown out of - he is itching to get his hands on his wooden railway again!

Good luck with your move,
Anneliese

[Familyofmonkeys]

If you have decent quality stuff....bring everything!
There are loads of other threads on the subject. When you add it all up, it costs alot to replace stuff....even everyday items like crockery and cutlery. Plus, you will have enough to do when you get here, than spend time searching shops to replace stuff. It is easy to hire furniture while waiting for you stuff to arrive.

[janet]

Hi everyone and thanks for the great advice.

I'm currently in Edinburgh, UK. I have a fitted kitchen at the moment so the fridge, washing machine etc, will be sold with the flat. Having had a look on trademe at second hand goods, the prices seem ok.

I think I'll try to bring most of my other furniture (IKEA) and the sentimental stuff Anneliese mentioned.

Nettie - I don't have a dyson ... yet! It's been on my wish list for ages though.

Thanks again everyone!

[Graham Cross]

I am takiang my Dyson but am leaving my white goods as I found them to be very reasonable over there. My fridge freezer is a few years old now but the washer and dryer are in good condition. But my son got all the white goods over there for under £1000, washer, dryer, fridge freezer, and something else but just can't remember.Just thought that I would mention it. I feel like you about the Dyson as the vacuum cleaners that I have seen that you plug into the wall system I don't care for. So I am definitely taking my Dyson