Jo_b
17th January 2007, 08:42 AM
Hello,
Firstly, apologies that this runs over two posts - I wrote it all without realising I could only use 10000 words and couldn't face editing!
In September 2006 I started a post called ‘DIY shipping – would you risk it?’, after I got that a rude guy at Anglo Pacific told me that I had to use a company like his (red rag to a bull that one!) rather than deal direct.
So, in the following weeks and months I negotiated my way through the minefield of dealing direct with shipping companies and the associated firms, and now I have my boxes in Wellington I thought I’d share my knowledge, as this forum was a real help to me so it’s nice to be able to give something back!
So, here goes! Stock up on caffeine to avoid lapsing into a coma – it’s not exciting reading but I did save a shed load of cash, and learnt heaps…..
Stage 1: Choosing a shipping firm
When Anglo Pacific gave me a horrendous quote and were rude, and it looked like to ship our 7m3 would cost way over £2k when insurance and fees were added I got on the phone to some shipping firms.
First I called Maersk. They did indeed say that I couldn't deal direct with them, but put me in touch with a company called MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A).
One department there said I couldn’t deal direct, and another offered me a quote that seemed to be extraordinary value - 20ft container for £1600 and cm3 rates of around £65 (actually $115 US at the time).
If I chose a container, they’d bring it to me and allow 3 hours at my house to self-load. In the end I didn’t go for a container. I chose to use their LCL (Less than Container Load) service as it turned out we only needed 7m3.
So, I paid them a document charge of £55, £160 haulage in the UK (for a van to get my stuff from Hampshire with the driver helping me load, and taking my boxes to Felixstowe), and £770 for actual shipping.
It’s worth noting that I had a variety in quality of service at MSC. First I dealt with a guy called Adrian who was helpful and answered all my many questions. He then went on holiday and I got a rather arrogant man called Matthew who clearly wasn’t happy with dealing with a member of the public who didn’t know all the jargon.
Then luckily just before the stuff went there was a panic about some forms they needed, which declared non of the goods were packaged in wood that is not certified free from invasive critters or something. I then dealt with Clare, who was helpful, courteous and put my mind at ease. I’ve kept in touch with her during the process and wish I’d found her in the first place!
So, to recap, call MSC on 01473 277777 and speak to their LCL / Forwarding team. Hope you get Adrian or Clare!
Spent so far: £986
Stage 2: boxing and packaging
So we had the shipping arranged, and now we had to pack!
We did it in dribs and drabs over a couple of weeks and that was fine for us.
I’d suggest a couple of months before leaving you start sorting out what you don’t want to send and get selling on eBay. I sold a few random things and got over £1000!
Try to keep things that MAF may want to look at to a couple of boxes rather than scattered through the whole shipment. Use your common sense here – they are really trying to catch out the sort of people who turn up with a muddy bike and a hoover full. Some things you should consider include:
Prescription medicines
Any food and drink
Wooden ornaments (they are not worried about wooden furniture)
Plants (don’t even think about it!)
Vaccum cleaner
Lawn mower
Camping stuff
Bikes
Clean and disinfect anything you think might be of concern.
Try and take as much as you can of the stuff MAF might like to see on your flight to minimise hassle. It’s easier to be able to take all your prescription drugs through in your flight baggage than to have your whole container checked. If you have special food you can’t bear to not take (tea bags for instance) take them when you fly too. (Go Air NZ via LA to get 44 kilos of baggage allowance! If you pack a bike box they can’t even get it on the scales so won’t notice a few extra kilos!)
Buy double walled rigid cardboard cartons from a specialist packaging place. We got ours on eBay – the cheapest and best I’d seen. I’d also suggest you get some huge plastic bags to line the boxes – this keeps stuff dry, and in the event that a box splits helps keep the contents together. Again, I got some off eBay. Buy lots of parcel tape and do things up good and tight! Do not use wooden containers – these have to meet certain standards and have the paperwork to verify.
Print off labels with your name, UK address, destination address and Bill of Lading or booking number. Number your boxes 1/38, 2/38 etc. DO NOT write exactly what is in them on the box. If you have boxes marked DVD player, stereo, TV etc it just makes it more likely they’ll vanish en route!
Make a spreadsheet and fully itemise the contents of the boxes. We did this down to the title of each book. Also list the value. It makes it easier for insurance and MAF/customs later.
If you have heavy things use smaller boxes. You need to be able to lift them fairly easily, and the lighter they are the less chance they will get dragged and mishandled.
We also found that if you buy rolls of pallet wrap and wrap the boxes it makes them even more secure (and tamper proof). Pallet wrap is also great for odd shaped items. We wrapped our bed parts and mattress in bubble wrap and then plastic pallet wrap and it was much easier than trying to get a box to fit!
Use linen and bedding and towels for packaging to save on the bubble wrap. Put things like glasses in rigid plastic boxes inside the cardboard boxes and pad well for extra rigidity.
So, to recap: sell all your junk! Get on eBay to buy cheap, quality cardboard boxes (much cheaper than the shops I found) and also parcel tape, bubble wrap, large plastic bags and pallet wrap. Itemise your contents on a spreadsheet and make up delivery and ‘Fragile’ labels to plaster the boxes with.
Spent so far: up to £100 on packaging materials
Total: £1086
Stage 3: Insurance
I called a couple of firms, and the best deal seemed to be with Letton Percival. They charged me 1.5% of the total value, plus 5% of the premium extra in insurance tax (they have to do this by law).
I had to fill in a form with total value, but they accepted my printed off itemised spreadsheet so I didn’t have to duplicate effort in filing in all their boxes for individual values. That saved me a lot of time and hassle.
Because I self packed the goods were not insured for accidental damage. This basically means that if a glass within a box gets broken but the box is ok then you can’t claim, but if the whole box gets squashed by a forklift you can claim.
One of my boxes did get damaged, so more on that later!
Spent so far: up to £300
Total: £1386
Stage 4: Dispatch
For me this was fine – a guy in a van turned up and helped me lug my 38 assorted packages into his van. I specifically asked MSC if the driver would help load as my boyfriend had already left at this point – it even specified this on my order form.
Try and have everything ready in one big pile! If you live in a busy area, cone off some space for the lorry to park – or the container if you are having one.
Make sure if you sign a collection note that it has the right number of items listed.
Continued in part 2.....
Firstly, apologies that this runs over two posts - I wrote it all without realising I could only use 10000 words and couldn't face editing!
In September 2006 I started a post called ‘DIY shipping – would you risk it?’, after I got that a rude guy at Anglo Pacific told me that I had to use a company like his (red rag to a bull that one!) rather than deal direct.
So, in the following weeks and months I negotiated my way through the minefield of dealing direct with shipping companies and the associated firms, and now I have my boxes in Wellington I thought I’d share my knowledge, as this forum was a real help to me so it’s nice to be able to give something back!
So, here goes! Stock up on caffeine to avoid lapsing into a coma – it’s not exciting reading but I did save a shed load of cash, and learnt heaps…..
Stage 1: Choosing a shipping firm
When Anglo Pacific gave me a horrendous quote and were rude, and it looked like to ship our 7m3 would cost way over £2k when insurance and fees were added I got on the phone to some shipping firms.
First I called Maersk. They did indeed say that I couldn't deal direct with them, but put me in touch with a company called MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A).
One department there said I couldn’t deal direct, and another offered me a quote that seemed to be extraordinary value - 20ft container for £1600 and cm3 rates of around £65 (actually $115 US at the time).
If I chose a container, they’d bring it to me and allow 3 hours at my house to self-load. In the end I didn’t go for a container. I chose to use their LCL (Less than Container Load) service as it turned out we only needed 7m3.
So, I paid them a document charge of £55, £160 haulage in the UK (for a van to get my stuff from Hampshire with the driver helping me load, and taking my boxes to Felixstowe), and £770 for actual shipping.
It’s worth noting that I had a variety in quality of service at MSC. First I dealt with a guy called Adrian who was helpful and answered all my many questions. He then went on holiday and I got a rather arrogant man called Matthew who clearly wasn’t happy with dealing with a member of the public who didn’t know all the jargon.
Then luckily just before the stuff went there was a panic about some forms they needed, which declared non of the goods were packaged in wood that is not certified free from invasive critters or something. I then dealt with Clare, who was helpful, courteous and put my mind at ease. I’ve kept in touch with her during the process and wish I’d found her in the first place!
So, to recap, call MSC on 01473 277777 and speak to their LCL / Forwarding team. Hope you get Adrian or Clare!
Spent so far: £986
Stage 2: boxing and packaging
So we had the shipping arranged, and now we had to pack!
We did it in dribs and drabs over a couple of weeks and that was fine for us.
I’d suggest a couple of months before leaving you start sorting out what you don’t want to send and get selling on eBay. I sold a few random things and got over £1000!
Try to keep things that MAF may want to look at to a couple of boxes rather than scattered through the whole shipment. Use your common sense here – they are really trying to catch out the sort of people who turn up with a muddy bike and a hoover full. Some things you should consider include:
Prescription medicines
Any food and drink
Wooden ornaments (they are not worried about wooden furniture)
Plants (don’t even think about it!)
Vaccum cleaner
Lawn mower
Camping stuff
Bikes
Clean and disinfect anything you think might be of concern.
Try and take as much as you can of the stuff MAF might like to see on your flight to minimise hassle. It’s easier to be able to take all your prescription drugs through in your flight baggage than to have your whole container checked. If you have special food you can’t bear to not take (tea bags for instance) take them when you fly too. (Go Air NZ via LA to get 44 kilos of baggage allowance! If you pack a bike box they can’t even get it on the scales so won’t notice a few extra kilos!)
Buy double walled rigid cardboard cartons from a specialist packaging place. We got ours on eBay – the cheapest and best I’d seen. I’d also suggest you get some huge plastic bags to line the boxes – this keeps stuff dry, and in the event that a box splits helps keep the contents together. Again, I got some off eBay. Buy lots of parcel tape and do things up good and tight! Do not use wooden containers – these have to meet certain standards and have the paperwork to verify.
Print off labels with your name, UK address, destination address and Bill of Lading or booking number. Number your boxes 1/38, 2/38 etc. DO NOT write exactly what is in them on the box. If you have boxes marked DVD player, stereo, TV etc it just makes it more likely they’ll vanish en route!
Make a spreadsheet and fully itemise the contents of the boxes. We did this down to the title of each book. Also list the value. It makes it easier for insurance and MAF/customs later.
If you have heavy things use smaller boxes. You need to be able to lift them fairly easily, and the lighter they are the less chance they will get dragged and mishandled.
We also found that if you buy rolls of pallet wrap and wrap the boxes it makes them even more secure (and tamper proof). Pallet wrap is also great for odd shaped items. We wrapped our bed parts and mattress in bubble wrap and then plastic pallet wrap and it was much easier than trying to get a box to fit!
Use linen and bedding and towels for packaging to save on the bubble wrap. Put things like glasses in rigid plastic boxes inside the cardboard boxes and pad well for extra rigidity.
So, to recap: sell all your junk! Get on eBay to buy cheap, quality cardboard boxes (much cheaper than the shops I found) and also parcel tape, bubble wrap, large plastic bags and pallet wrap. Itemise your contents on a spreadsheet and make up delivery and ‘Fragile’ labels to plaster the boxes with.
Spent so far: up to £100 on packaging materials
Total: £1086
Stage 3: Insurance
I called a couple of firms, and the best deal seemed to be with Letton Percival. They charged me 1.5% of the total value, plus 5% of the premium extra in insurance tax (they have to do this by law).
I had to fill in a form with total value, but they accepted my printed off itemised spreadsheet so I didn’t have to duplicate effort in filing in all their boxes for individual values. That saved me a lot of time and hassle.
Because I self packed the goods were not insured for accidental damage. This basically means that if a glass within a box gets broken but the box is ok then you can’t claim, but if the whole box gets squashed by a forklift you can claim.
One of my boxes did get damaged, so more on that later!
Spent so far: up to £300
Total: £1386
Stage 4: Dispatch
For me this was fine – a guy in a van turned up and helped me lug my 38 assorted packages into his van. I specifically asked MSC if the driver would help load as my boyfriend had already left at this point – it even specified this on my order form.
Try and have everything ready in one big pile! If you live in a busy area, cone off some space for the lorry to park – or the container if you are having one.
Make sure if you sign a collection note that it has the right number of items listed.
Continued in part 2.....