[denalipop]

I'm trying to organize shipping from the US to NZ. I have mostly electronics and clothes, but no big furniture. I think maybe a couple hundred cubic feet of stuff total. Enough to fill up a small bathroom floor to ceiling.

Which companies do you recommend for shipping that amount of stuff from US to NZ?

Thanks!

[denalipop]

I've contact Rainier Overseas and UPakWeShip. They both have different ways to boxing up stuff (crates vs vacuum-pack). For electronics, which method would you recommend? Are there other companies that specialize in shipping electronics and other "small" items (instead of furniture)?

[BkyMonster]

We sent a computer and flat panel monitor (in original packaging we had saved), multiple video game systems and other electronics via UPAK with no issues. Rainier wouldn't even call me back. We packed everything ourselves so no experience of packing methods. We did stuff clothes down between the styrofoam packing gaps in the boxes, but just to save on volume. UPAKs crates vary by region. Some areas do not have the liftvans (the crates), so the method of packing is your boxes (buy good boxes) on a pallet wrapped in heavy duty plastic wrap. This is what ours was. We had about 1 cubic meter iirc.
I know places like UPS store and PakMail do custom packing for items. If you don't have the original packaging I would possibly recommend something like that, or the plastic-wrapped expandable foam that approximates form fitted styrofoam packaging.

[denalipop]

Becky, thanks for the response!

Did customs open up everything on the other end? I worry about packing our stuff "too well" (densely).

[BkyMonster]

No, they just had a look at our packing list after MAF.
If you have a 1 year+ permit you are allowed to bring all your normal household things with no customs fees.

[denalipop]

We have PR. So all we need to do is make an inventory of each box?

[BkyMonster]

There are a bunch of forms you will need to fill out once you arrange shipping, even with DIY places like UPAK, and you don't even strictly need a detailed inventory, but I'd recommend one for insurance purposes. The more detailed your inventory the less MAF needs to get into your stuff. When you fill out the MAF forms you need to list things they may find interesting so having a packing list is handy. AFAIK they do a few spot checks and if what they see lines up with what you wrote for that box then they generally only look at the things of interest they have flagged. (Despite flagging 5 of our boxes for inspection they got into exactly one and just looked at the top of it. YMMV) You can do a search on here for the types of things MAF likes to look at. Decorations, wood, food items (maybe), tools and similar are the usual suspects.
Ours included close to the full contents of each box (with replacement value) as well as a list of every book. (13 of our 17 boxes were books)
I don't know how the type of shipper that packs your stuff works, but I'd imagine they make some kind of list.

[denalipop]

Thanks, Becky! So overall were you happy with UPak?

[Keith C.]

Here's my experience (http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=24353)with UpakWeShip. I's advise you to try somebody else.

[denalipop]

Thanks for the info!

So does it make more sense to use a company which uses a different strategy? I know Rainier uses crates and containers... Is that the safer route?

[BkyMonster]

I'd imagine if you got a crate around your stuff it would be much safer from in container shifting damage and similar. To be honest I'm not sure there is a company I haven't read an individual bad account of. Overall I was happy with UPAK, though getting a hold of the company once stuff had arrived took a bit more persistence than I liked. YMMV will certainly vary as every contracting regional warehouse will treat your goods differently.

[denalipop]

Ah, thanks! I guess there's a point at which things are just not under our control. So maybe the best thing I can do is figure out how I can pack everything as safely as possible on my end. That ties into the customs question - how thoroughly can I pack (and wrap) my stuff without worrying about customs digging it open. Even if I have a nicely written manifest, they still might want to dig through some of my stuff, right? I wonder if some shipping companies have lower customs-inspection rates than others...

[denalipop]

I've only contact the 2 companies so far (UPak and Rainier).

What other companies have people used to ship from the US to NZ? Is there a list or survey somewhere?

Thanks!

[seattle]

Just got our container unloaded/unpacked from Rainier. I unpacked most of the boxes and everything was packed very well (unlike some moves where I'd open the box and couldn't believe how stuff had been poorly packed). The only thing broken was an old pasta bowl - not bad for a 40' container. :clap

[denalipop]

Seattle, I tried to contact Rainier again last night but no answer (and no call back). The shipping seems to be handled by a single guy (Dave), and his availability is hit and miss. That's a little worrisome, but it sounds like you had a good experience with them.

How did you (or they) pack your stuff? What was the procedure?

[seattle]

I'm surprised Dave didn't call you back - he may be on vacation? You may want to email him. They just sent a crew out and packed everything. They have 3 levels of packing - we went with the highest level which was a "dolphin" wrap around our furniture (we shipped some antiques so we wanted to be extra careful). We also have a temperpedic mattress that had to be shipped flat (not on its side) and they made sure that happened. They were also really good about making sure the MAF stuff was all together at the end of the container so it could be pulled out first thing for inspection. They also swept the container before it was closed up since MAF is so picky. But we also told the crew how important it was that everything be clean. I did most of the unpacking of the boxes last week and everything was wrapped up really well. We requested the same crew on the way back that had originally packed us up
so we had the same supervising guy. They did say that things have been "slow" due to the recession and less people relocating so I would think they would happy to have any new business!

[denalipop]

Thanks for the info! I'll give Dave another call today.

[Ana&Steve]

We also have a temperpedic mattress that had to be shipped flat (not on its side)
I did not know that...thanks!

[seattle]

I did not know that...thanks!

We called the manufacturer and the place we bought the temperpedic mattress and both told us it needed to be shipped flat. The movers were trying to tell us it didn't matter and they've shipped a lot of them on the side- but we insisted. So don't let them tell you otherwise.

[denalipop]

I've spoken again with Rainier Overseas and UPakWeShip, and received updated estimates based on what we plan to bring.

The bottom line is that UPak is much cheaper for relatively small amounts (which we seem to have). Transit time also seems a little faster, and since we're shipping my home office, that translates into less "down time". Also, UPak encourages us to pack our stuff ourselves (which I like, since I'm a control freak), which Rainier wants to do the packing themselves. So it looks like UPak fits our needs better.

So now I'm wondering: where's the best place to get packing material (for electronics)? They recommend getting a bunch of bubble wrap, but none of the local shipping-related stores seem to sell bubble wrap. Are there companies online that do it?

[BkyMonster]

Try http://www.uline.com/. I bought our boxes from them and after stuff sitting around in various places in the US and a move to a different house in NZ they are still in great and usable condition.

[BlueDevil]

Denalipop; I will find out what shipping company we used last year if you still need to know. They were fine.

Are you coming to Auckland? The only thing we really miss that we can't get here is a spaghetti sauce Vodka Sauce made by Bertolli. It's sort of comfort food. Maddeningly they have Bertoli here but not that flavor and they won't get it. If you were willing to bring a case or two over (we would pay in advance for it or reimburse you), we'd love to take you out to dinner or invite you over as a thank you?

The customs/MAF people are actually quite nice and reasonable. They usually make you throw away vaccum cleaners and stuff like that but only confiscated a neck pillow of my wife's that was filled with seed husks. They are paranoid about hiking shoes and camping equipment so make sure that is very clean, also gardening/farm implements if your interests should go in that direction. Regards and best wishes. Chris Kenedi

[denalipop]

Becky - Thanks for the tip! I ordered some bubble wrap from uline... We'll see how it goes!

BlueDevil - Sorry, no Auckland for us... We want to stick with the South Island, and will start off by heading to Nelson.