Hiring of a container

[Russell]

Hi all,

From a budget point of view, I was just wondering which company's offer container hire and how much does it cost? Is it possibly to go directly to the shipping line and hire a container or is it advisable to use the services of a well known removal company to do all the grind work as I am sure that charge a hefty fee for their services? I see from various forum's that of you have immigrated with a lot their personal belongings and furniture. I know that one can hire a 20ft, 40ft or a 40ft HQ container and obviously the price differs.

That also leads me to my second question which is how efficiently can you make use of a 20ft? If I try and think about it, it doesn't seem as though you can fit much into a 20ft container.

Many Thanks

Russell

[Lee]

Hi Russell,

We are busy with this at the moment as we are migrating on 3rd Feb 07. We made contact with Britannia in Jul 06 who basically quoted us R32,000 excl insurance, cargo dues, taxes etc for a 6 metre container. We have found their service so far to be very professional. As a result of this web site, I made contact with Crown Removals who came to see us today and will let us have a quote on Monday. Magna also came highly recommended by this site, however I called them and am yet to receive a call back to set up an appointment for a quote - I have a policy of not asking twice, so I will not be calling them back!!!!

I will let you know what Crown comes back with, however I would like to know whether anyone has moved with Britannia and if so, what their feeling are/where with regards to their move.

Good luck and please kep me posted as to what you decide to do - I will do likewise!

Lee

[Guest Bronwyn]

Hi there. Lee, that's bad about Magna! We have had great service from them, maybe (obviously) something went wrong. We even tested them out on a trial move when we sold our house & moved into a smaller cluster, and they were tops.

We went with them because of their seminar which was free & very informative. Russell, if you would like to call them on 011 824-0720 and find out when the next seminar is, all your questions will be answered there. You don't have to go with them after attending the seminar, but you can find out a lot of information there.

We have been quoted R36,200 at a rate of exchange of R7.50/USD1.

A 20-footer is not very big, in fact the size of a single garage. Seems they pack every square foot of the thing, putting all your linen into crevices and cupboards, and filling up the fridge too!

They say you can fit in the contents of an average 3-bedroom house if you get rid of all your junk.

Personally I wouldn't try the DIY route, some things are best left to the professionals. You risk a container inspection, which you will be charged for anyway. Customs clearing and trying to stay on top of where your shipment is on the shipping line won't be easy if you don't know the drill...probably end up 'donating' it all to someone in Singapore

It would be interesting to find out if anyone has ever tried it themselves?

Bronwyn

[Daller]

I'm moving from NZ to Oz & my container (20ft) will cost approx. $10,000.

I doubt if managing it yourself will really be cheaper, because you will have comply with a bezillion regulations etc. Also, once the container arrive in Oz, it is to be quarantined (I believe) for 10 working days at an (QAP) Quarantine Approved Premises for inspection. I suggest you find out more from (AQIS) Australian Quarantine & Inspection Service. If you do plan to do it yourself, you will have to comply with all their requirements; some of these I have heard of (I may be under correction) include: (1) Boxes used for packaging must be NEW - - - or they may want to inspect each to see if it is safe(!!!! !!!) AND CHARGE YOU FOR IT....

You will also have to state the contents of each (!!!!) box (I heard 1 A4 for each box ) as per their requirements...

Now, for risk items - things Quarantine will (most likely) inspect:

> Garden tools, weelbarrows & garden furniture - wash, clean, polish & oil them boy !

> Lawn mowers --- good luck cleaning that !!!!

> Bikes, Cars, Golf buggies, motorcycles, trailers, watercrafts.

> Ornaments, drums, curios, souvenirs (esp. Africa & Pacific islands)

> Shoes (time for spit & polish...)

> Camping gear

> Christmas decorations (I was told to not even take it...)

> Furniture, any wood/cane (most likely to be fumigated by them @ A$350 approx.)

> Foodstuffs/groceries (don't bother - container may be too hot for a start)

> Flowers (artificial & dried); Potpourri

> Saddlery etc.

> Seeds/Plants (stay away!!!! Except if you are brave/crazy)

> Candles

> Models (wood)

> Straw/wood packing, Fruit/egg cartons used for packing (trouble... thats where new boxes comes in...)

> Feathers, skins, horns, shells, biological specimens, soil/earth.

If you plan to crate your wine etc. be warned, you will have to pay import duty.... (same for cigars/sigarettes)

Re. your Question on how much will go into a 20ft; the belongings I plan to take (3bedroom home) will just go into a 20ft (just ) & I thought I'd only need a part container, so I suggest you get 3 or 4 Quotes, as they will be able to give you an accurate estimate re. size of container you need.

Truthfully, I do not think doing it yourself is worthwile, but then, who knows. Please keep us posted, as I am sure most of us would like to know !!!

Regards.

[Guest Bronwyn]

To anyone still in Pretoria, FYI

You can have your lawn-mower steam-cleaned at the lawnmower shop in Lynnwood Road, in the Center with the the Lynnpark Slaghuis and the VideoRama. They give you a certificate that you can attach to the lawnmower in the container. I think it costs about R200. Better than trying to strip the thing yourself....

More likely to strip something else..

I'm sure other lawnmower shops do it too.

Bronwyn

Edited November 8, 2006 by Bronwyn

[Bob]

My wife and I lived in the island State of Tasmania, just to the south of the State of Victoria where Melbourne is located in.

We took a Ute (bakkie) with a couple of dozen tea chests over with us and a 6' x 4' trailer with a dozen tea chests loaded.

That was Feb 1981.

In March 1994, we headed back to Adelaide where we lived beforehand.

I priced out three removal companies and they were then charging around $4,500 to $5,000 to shift all our household stuff.

It's amazing what gear you can accumulate in 13 years and, being the hoarder that I am, wanted to take it with me.

I sauntered along to A.N.L., an Australian shipping company that ships between Hobart and Adelaide, enquiring about the cost of a full sized container . . . . . $1,600

Interestingly, the same container from Shanghai, China to Australia was $1,600, so it seemed that handling costs were the chief component in pricing.

I organised a local freight company to drop the container off at one end, pick up when loaded and take to the wharf and the same at the Adelaide end.

I was given 3 days each end with the container to load and unload.

Basically, half the township turned up to help me load the container in Tasmania . . . . dunno if they wanted to get rid of me??? . . . . and my brother-in-law and old mates helped out in Adelaide.

A bloke from work who had done a bit of removal work loaded it all while we all "ferried" the stuff from the house to the container situated in the driveway.

Mattresses and bedheads, etc. were stood on end and the space used efficiently and packed tightly to stop gear shifting around and getting damaged in the process.

My wife, being the born organiser that she is, got boxes and boxes . . . and boxes . . from the local supermarket weeks beforehand, packing everything in newspaper and tightly placing them in the cardboard boxes AND numbering them. She kept the inventory, so that in Box 37 she knew was the linen, for instance. Quarantine Australia will need such a list if doing it yourselves., even though there is no immigration or quarantine between Tasmania (being a State within the Commonwealth of Australia) and the rest of Australia.

It can be done yourselves. I've done it myself and saved 70% of the cost.

One jar of Vegemite, which I call "Vegemite crystal", was all that got broken.

The 70% savings went to building a house in Adelaide.

I think one of the things with older Aussies is that are prepared to give anything "a go" themselves . . . . removalling their own household stuff, building a house themselves, fixing their own car, etc.

You've heard it said that "an Englishman's home is his castle" . . . . well, the Australian equivalent is the shed out the back for the bloke. Everything gets fixed there and has a welder, compressor, planer, power tools, etc. My son even makes his own diesel out of old chipoil with methanol and caustic soda!

I don't know if South Africans are daunted by this, but I reckon you'd be up for it if you're resourceful enough to have a go at living in another country.

Don't be phased by it all.

Take a day's worth at a time.

[Daller]

Russell,

After Bob's reply, I was keen to investigate this avenue myself (Thanks Bob), but I guess moving within Oz is a lot easier than moving there from NZ

I Spoke to a really helpful lady at a freight forwarding company here in NZ. She also gave me a quote, but strongly suggested using a moving company. She said Oz Quarantine REALLY inspect self-packed containers agressively, unwrapping/opening each parcel etc (unfortunately not at your home - would help if they did, & also packed it where you wanted it) .... at A$80/half-hour (!!!!!). Her last clients paid A$2300 extra just for that "welcome". So do factor that in.

[Russell]

Thanks everyone for all the prompt responses, it is really appreciated. I guess at the end of the day it is the same with any other financial decision and one would need to do a detailed "what if" cost versus benefit excercise together with the level of personal involvement.

One the one hand you could decide to do things yourself, as what Bob suggested, and save 70% of the cost. To do this you would need to have an extremely detailed knowledge of customs and excise laws for both Australia and South Africa and this would definately be a time consuming (not to mention stressful) route. Get this wrong and the inspection in Australia could could quite easily make up that 70%. Get it right and you could save a lot of money.

In outsourcing the function you will definately pay a premium but there is more peace of mind involved when you delegate to professionals. But the cost is definately a factor here.

Another option is to sell everything and then start all over. It might be cheaper????

I also think that one need only take over essentials over. Daller, looking at that list of high risk items I ask myself if they are essential. Garden Tools, Lawmovers, plants, seeds, Xmas decorations - I would think that buying these items is Aus would be a better option. You are however quite correct of the shoes and furniture side which I would definately consider essential.

Decisions, decisions

Bob, you really seem to be a resourceful guy but I am not to sure if I have the stomach for all the additional stress and admin involved - moving your whole life half way accross the world is stressful enough!!

Lee, thanks for all the feedback and I will definately keep you informed. Just to keep you all updated, we submitted my wife's , Mandy, spousal visa application last month and we even went for an interview at the Australian High Commission in Pretoria. At that meeting they said that we must given them Mandy's passport asap. My thinking is that they are pretty close to issuing the visa. We are planning a LSD trip in March 2007. At the moment we are getting our ducks in a row and looking at all the costs involved.

Thanks again and we both look forward to meeting some of you at the Coffee Club next Saturday.

Chat later

Russell

[Guest Bronwyn]

Russel take a look at my topic entitled ' Check my furniture budget'. I'm sorry I'm a computer dunce & don't know how to attach the link to it here. According to others the budget is about right. My thinking is that as you are paying for the container anyway, and they charge for the size, not the weight, you should pack it to the hilt to get your money's worth.

There are many threads on this discussion which you will find in the 'Search keywords' function. Some decided to make a clean break & buy all new stuff. Makes for interesting reading, take a look.

All the best with your plans, Bronwyn

[Russell]

Jeez Bron, thank you for doing all the ground work for us. Best to hire a container and pack it to the hilt!!!!

I cannot beleive how naive I have been.

[Springbok]

Hi everyone,

Just want to get your opinions, I have received a quote from Biddulphs today for moving my stuff to Australia. Going to sell most of my household content, but keeping a few valuable things like leathercouch, diningroom table & chairs, sleigh bed, etc. The estimated volume is 12.23 cubic meters in a 30 cubic meter (20 foot) container (i.e. 40% of total volume). The charges are R4,752 for removal from my home in Joburg to the depot in Kempton Park, and then R12,289 for groupage shipment to Sydney. i.e. total about R17,000.

The price includes:

- full export packing

- transport to Durban

- S.A. cargo dues

- export docs & freight to Sydney

- Customs clearance in Sydney

- unpacking service

- 1 day delivery to residence in Sydney

- same day removal of debris and return of container

Does this sound reasonable or should I get another quote?

Anyone who has experience with Biddulphs?

Thanks

Charl

[Ninaricci46]

Hi Russell

I helped friends relocate from the RSA to the UAE and got quotes and found Master Movers to be the cheapest.

Master movers

011 444 4875

Fax 011 444 4823

e-mail: mmovers@cebertrade.co.za

I arrived in Aust 3 months ago (Sydney) will be moving to Canberra in Jan. Left all my stuff in the RSA until I can get a shared container with someone.

My stuff is in Midrand, but Master Movers take the container to your house and they pack for you (this is included in the price) and they do this for share containers as well. They also give you a tracking number and the website and you can track the movement of the ship all the way.

I will need my stuff to go to Melbourne or Sydney.

So let me know via this forum when you or anyone has space to share a container.

Shop around, dont just take the first one.

GOOD LUCK - but do the move, you will not look back, only long back with fond memories.

[Lee]

Hi everyone,

Just want to get your opinions, I have received a quote from Biddulphs today for moving my stuff to Australia. Going to sell most of my household content, but keeping a few valuable things like leathercouch, diningroom table & chairs, sleigh bed, etc. The estimated volume is 12.23 cubic meters in a 30 cubic meter (20 foot) container (i.e. 40% of total volume). The charges are R4,752 for removal from my home in Joburg to the depot in Kempton Park, and then R12,289 for groupage shipment to Sydney. i.e. total about R17,000.

The price includes:

- full export packing

- transport to Durban

- S.A. cargo dues

- export docs & freight to Sydney

- Customs clearance in Sydney

- unpacking service

- 1 day delivery to residence in Sydney

- same day removal of debris and return of container

Does this sound reasonable or should I get another quote?

Anyone who has experience with Biddulphs?

Thanks

Charl

Hi Charl,

We have also decided to use Biddulphs for our move from Cape Town to Perth in Feb 07. They have quoted us R34200 which was slightly cheaper then anybody else, but price aside, I was impressed with their service and the fact that they will see to our slightly unusual need of having to crate and load two Harley's directly into the container at our house, which nobody else seemed willing to do.

Our second choice would definitely have been Britannia.

When are you moving - perhaps I will be able to give you a progress report as they are packing for us during the last week of Jan?

Lee

[Springbok]

Hi Charl,

We have also decided to use Biddulphs for our move from Cape Town to Perth in Feb 07. They have quoted us R34200 which was slightly cheaper then anybody else, but price aside, I was impressed with their service and the fact that they will see to our slightly unusual need of having to crate and load two Harley's directly into the container at our house, which nobody else seemed willing to do.

Our second choice would definitely have been Britannia.

When are you moving - perhaps I will be able to give you a progress report as they are packing for us during the last week of Jan?

Lee

Hi Lee

Thanks - I won't be moving before April, but yes please let me know how it goes for you.

Charl

[Russell]

Thank you Ninaricci46 and everyone else for valued comments and references,

I will get a number of quotes. I have a fair amount of things to take over so at this stage I cannot tell you if I will share a container. At this stage it looks like we will only be moving only at the end of 2007....earliest. I still need to go to Aus and "sell" the idea of Australia to my wife.

Russell

[rsteyn]

Thank you Ninaricci46 and everyone else for valued comments and references,

I still need to go to Aus and "sell" the idea of Australia to my wife.

Russell

Hi Russel

That is going to be the easiest sell you will ever do !!!!!

Cheers

Rudi

[Bob]

Bringing your wife with you will help to sell Australia, especially if you come at a good time of year.

For instance, if you're thinking of going to the tropics, don't show her that bit of Australia when it's hot and sticky and bucketing with rain each day and cyclones threatening!

Bring her six months later when it's 28 degrees every day and let her swim among the coral reef.

Just get the "good oil" from the locals who live in that part of Australia first on what is the best month to visit.

[Russell]

Thanks.

LCD trip is going to be in the next four to five months, once my wife has got her Spousal Visa (submitted in October, should be issued by March). Unfortunately the trip has to happen at that time as leave is limited and secondly we want to move as soon as practical.

I will keep everyone up to date.

Russell

[Guest Die Carelsen's]

Hi all,

From a budget point of view, I was just wondering which company's offer container hire and how much does it cost? Is it possibly to go directly to the shipping line and hire a container or is it advisable to use the services of a well known removal company to do all the grind work as I am sure that charge a hefty fee for their services? I see from various forum's that of you have immigrated with a lot their personal belongings and furniture. I know that one can hire a 20ft, 40ft or a 40ft HQ container and obviously the price differs.

That also leads me to my second question which is how efficiently can you make use of a 20ft? If I try and think about it, it doesn't seem as though you can fit much into a 20ft container.

Many Thanks

Russell

Hi Russel,

I don't know if you've made up your mind already to rather opt to use a moving company. But just incase your interested. My hubby is very stingy and he want to save every penny, so he's opting on doing it himself, even more after he read Bob's post. I have downloaded a book on the internet called Oz Down Under, (only to find out later one can by it from CNA here in SA ), they have a whole section in there about moving it yourself, with very handy links to the necessary websites one can go to that give you all the necessary information one need to know with regard to customs and so forth.

Neels has phoned around with regard to container hire and has found one place that quoted us USD1200.00, they bring the container to your home and give you 3 days to pack it and then collect it again. Thus far it seems that this route is going to work us out much cheaper. I don't know, but I prefer to pack things myself and then your well organised once you get your stuff that side.

We'll I hope this helps. The address for the book is ozsdownunder.net and the webpage for australian customs is www.customs.gov.au, also have a look at www.aqis.gov.au/icon (they provide information on bringing items of Quarantine interest to Australia). Sorry I have no clue on how to add the links to this post.

Tania

Edited December 31, 2006 by Die Carelsen's

[Russell]

Hi Tania,

Thanks for all the useful info which I will definately have a look at. I will keep you posted on what we decide.

Regards

Russell