[arya]

Hi
I was going through previous threads regarding shipping, I found that the cost and paper work involved is a bit too much. I am wondering if it costs rather more than the worth of the goods to ship them. Wouldnt it be better just to buy new/used goods in NZ?

[Will_2007]

I think it depends on how much stuff you're taking. Our costs will be about £4k including insurance. If we sold everything except the stuff we were taking in suitcases, and bought all new stuff in NZ, I think we'd be a lot worse off than £4k, as the second-hand value of our stuff isn't all that much, but would be expensive to replace at full (new) cost.

[mikewalkerfrom]

We're taking our whole house contents. Even if we sold all our furniture (sofas, beds, tables etc) we'd get so little that even with the £4k we'd save we couldn't replace it with anything like the quality we have here.

And not to mention all our clothes, kids stuff, sports gear, personal effects, pictures (oh god there's so much!). And this weekends job's to ditch a tonne of this so we can actually fit it in a 20ft container!!

[IanW99]

Hi
I was going through previous threads regarding shipping, I found that the cost and paper work involved is a bit too much. I am wondering if it costs rather more than the worth of the goods to ship them. Wouldnt it be better just to buy new/used goods in NZ?

Each persons circumstances are different, but most people will want to ship some belongings over, so at this point the question becomes how much to ship.

At this point, if its a couple of boxes, no problem but if its more then it starts getting economic to use a container and at this point you are paying for a container so you may as well fill it, so bring everything. You can always sell it in NZ if you don't actually want it anymore.

You will find that most forum members will say bring as much as possible and that they wished that they had bought more.

A lot of items in NZ are more expensive than in the UK and also there is a lot less choice, and do you really want to spend all your time when you arrive having to buy everything again? Especially as you won't even know if its a good price or not.

Ian

[Angelonthemove]

Just make an excel sheet of your main stuff and price it, you'll soon see it add up to more than the cost of a container. I would think it would also be more hassle to sell the stuff. My shoe collection would be more than a container cost:laugh

[mossum]

every last tea spoon , cup , pillow case .... you will soon be amazed at how much stuff you actually have , re sell is rubbish in the UK - If you can afford it bring it & sell it on trade me .

HTH

Vic

[kanatakiwi]

also depends how attached you are to your "stuff" . we didn't fill a container because frankly we decided some of the stuff wasnt worth bringing we would buy new stuff. We filled part of a container and it was mostly our "treasures" things that make a house a home. There is something to be said for "letting go" of some stuff. But as mentioned many little things that take up no room are worth bringing as their replacement cost here is high. I wish I brought more stuff like razor blades and sunscreen and less bedding which is relatively cheap here and quite nice.

True things are more expensive here but we were ready for an update on furniture etc. We were eally lucky to find a lovely south african couple who had done their 3 years here to get citizenship but really wanted to be in Australia. So soon as they got their citizenship they were off to Aus, and we bought all their stuff and furnished our entire house for less than $2000.

[Familyofmonkeys]

I would bring everything. Whilst you could well sell your furniture and buy second hand stuff when you get here...try adding up the replacement value of an average kitchen worth of stuff as an example (in most cases probably adds up to more than you expect) then try and work out replacement costs. Alot of kitchen utensils, crockery, cutlery etc just cannot be bought second hand so you would have to replace with new equivalent items.
And what about CD's, DVD's, Books etc....very expensive iterms to replace.

Then there is the hassle involved in trying to replace stuff....there is plenty to sort out when you arrive without having to worry where to get replacement items from.

[tomo1340]

Having read this thread I have come to the conclusion I am officially bonkers. I kind of like the idea of 'starting again'. I had to start again here after I got divorced and I liked the fact I didn't have stuff cluttering up the place everywhere that I feel I couldn't throw out. The OH disagrees but then again it's mostly her junk. The only thing I would miss is my massive fish tank. Oh and the fish of course.

[JandM]

M said, yesterday evening after reading this thread, with the air of one making a great discovery, 'Actually, we haven't really got much that's worth bothering with, apart from our books and music.' As he's always been somebody it was hard to convince that ANYTHING ought to be thrown away, this was quite a turnaround.

Still, I think it's definitely going to be a container for us when it comes to it, knowing we're starting the list with 'piano, bookcases, oak table, oak cupboard,' and that's before we get to all those books.

[Den]

Hi Ayra, just backing up most of the other replies really, our costs are approx 2K with insurance and I reckon we would have to fork out 8-10K to renew the items. Have done a rough estimate - not finished packing yet! This site is addictive, still got loads to pack yet and time is ticking!

[arya]

You are quite right Den, this site is addictive. Thanks for all the replies everybody. I have decided to bring as much as I can which leads to the next question as to how much can I fit in 20' container.

[Familyofmonkeys]

You are quite right Den, this site is addictive. Thanks for all the replies everybody. I have decided to bring as much as I can which leads to the next question as to how much can I fit in 20' container.

Most shipping companies say on average a 20ft container will fit the contents of an 'average' 3 bed house.....fairly reasonable guideline I think. We had a large 4 bed house and needed most of a 40ft container.

[Ojai]

I admit, I am torn. One the one hand, we have some nice furniture. But as a young couple, we only have a few nice pieces. Couch, chair, TV stand, toy chest. I'm not sure how much I care about that, perhaps not enough to live without for four months while it comes over.

Perhaps we should just bring our books, kitchen stuff and "treasures". Hmmm...