# shipping goods



## lkgirl (Oct 27, 2012)

hi 
I would like your opinion on shipping furniture. is it worth it or is it better to start from scratch.
also whats the story with electricals. does our electric appliances not work in Canada?
anyone that has brought over their furniture, which shipping company did you use?

ju


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## iancollett (May 8, 2012)

Hi Ju. The answer is it depends how much you like your furniture! - We're glad we bought all ours, it would have cost a fortune to replace everything from new, but that was for a 4-bed house. 
Assume Ireland is 240v? - If so you'll need to replace everything. Look at the transformers if you have any rechargeables (drill, screwdriver, etc), some are ok with 110v, some not. For anything connecting to a TV (i.e. X-Box), forget it. You can buy step-down transformers, etc, we did some research, but I personally wouldn't bother.
For moving we used PSS, don't know if they are in Ireland. Very good though. It's not cheap.
You must be in the country when your stuff arrives, else they'll send it back. Be prepared that it'll take longer than they say, and it might get held anywhere (US customs decided they were going to X-ray our container and charge us, even though the container wasn't being opened in US!), so bring essentials for a few weeks or think of buying.
Be careful on the prohibited list for packing, and wash anything from outdoors (bikes, gardening equipment) with appropriate disinfectant. 
Good luck!


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## lkgirl (Oct 27, 2012)

thanks for the reply. 
we rent but we have accumulated a lot of stuff over the years. i cant imagine starting over again. but hey you managed didn't you.
are you renting? were you able to get a furnished house no problem? 
i think if we got furnished house with all mod cons it wouldn't be too bad.
we will need to bring some toys and we will need some sort of container for clothes and shoes and keepsakes. you cant bring it all on the plane.
lots to do and think about.
ju


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

We had a 20ft container, so we got rid of about half of our furniture before we moved to Canada. But I'm glad I brought my own furniture, as it would have cost a fortune here to replace it with things of the same quality. I even regret I sold my dining set back home!
But suppose you have older furniture, of Ikea furniture, maybe it's cheaper to buy it new here, and only ship a limited amount of goods (clothes, toys for kids, photo albums, ...)


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## lkgirl (Oct 27, 2012)

hi evhb,
thanks for the reply. 
do you mind telling me how much the container cost. 
ju


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## iancollett (May 8, 2012)

Hi Lkgirl

We do rent, wanted to see if we were going to stay before buying. We only looked for unfurnished so couldn't really say although I think it's more unfurnished for single family homes than condos. I'd look on Craiglist for the city you're planning to move to for a better idea; in Vancouver most of the rentals seems to be on there. If nothing else it'll give you an idea. 
Note even for an unfurnished there should be oven, fridge/freezer, washer/dryer, microwave. These don't seem to move with people unlike UK. 
We also had a 20ft container, and it was rammed, I think you can get a part-container if you have less stuff. From memory it was about 4500GBP all-in with insurance (if you're container gets lost at sea as an example). We didn't have anything damaged, they wrapped every plate individually in 4-sheets of thick paper, you gets what you pay for I guess.
On what to clothes to bring in your cases look at the weather for city you're arriving in for that period of time.


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

lkgirl said:


> do you mind telling me how much the container cost.


I don't remember it anymore. It was 2,5 years ago, from Belgium to Toronto. Prices will be diferent from other places, so my price isn't relevant.

What I did: I read on messagesboards about the experiences people had; based on that information, I selected 5 companies with good references on the Belgium-Toronto and the Netherlands-Toronto haul (we lived close to the Dutch border). I inveted these companies. Some were crossed off the list because of their excessive price or because they weren't able to give me clear answers to my questions, or because they were much to pushy. I ended up with 2 companies, not the cheapest, not the most expensive. At the end it was hard to decide between the 2 of them, so we picked the Belgian company (their competitor was a Dutch company). That was Team Allied. Locally, they worked with another Allied member, Taylor from Burlington. There wasn't a single thing damaged! And we had lots of fragile/breakable things (like crystal and china).


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## lkgirl (Oct 27, 2012)

thanks for the replies. ill look at craigslist for an idea. thinking saskachewan is the place to go. 4500 is a lot. 
We decided to sell everything and start afresh. like you said itll have all the mod cons anyway. 
lots to do and think about.
ju


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## smurf08 (Jul 19, 2012)

We have just got a full 3 bed house with a shed full of stuff as well in a 20ft container, all in all it cost us £5500 inc insurance but we bought all new in the summer. The furniture is quality stuff. My friend moved over and they advised us to do that as the quality of furniture wasn't the same, but i suppose its your personal preference We fly in the morn to LLoydminster, Good luck with your move!


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## Kathy01 (Jan 23, 2013)

I had to ship many heavy equipments when I was shifting from Florida to Japan. My helping hand was WClogistics. It was recommended by a friend of mine in Florida. Their shipping concern was no way less than ours.


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## RGS (Jan 24, 2011)

lkgirl said:


> hi
> I would like your opinion on shipping furniture. is it worth it or is it better to start from scratch.
> also whats the story with electricals. does our electric appliances not work in Canada?
> anyone that has brought over their furniture, which shipping company did you use?
> ...


You may have issues with electric appliances, and is probably best to leave those. UK/Europe as I remember runs on 240v/50Hz and North American (including Canada) runs at 120v/60Hz. Some appliances are switchable between the two, so you'd have to check each appliance. Alternatively you could bring your electric appliances, but would have to purchase electric converters for each appliance if it wasn't switchable between 240v/120v.


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