# Shipping advice - London > South Island



## Fuzz (Nov 19, 2012)

We will be moving to Ashburton around early April for at least a year (my wife's contract is for a year, with the option to renew at the end). So we're starting to think about shipping. Her work will provide us with a furnished house, so we won't be shipping too many things. But given that we've heard that it takes about 3 months door-to-door from London to NZ, we're thinking of trying to minimize having to ship via sea as much as possible.

First question: any recommendations and/or experiences with any moving companies for a London to NZ move? Anything in particular to watch out for? We've moved from Colorado to London -- the shippers came and packed everything up (in fact they specifically told us not to pack ourselves since they needed to know what went in each box for customs purposes). Obviously experiences in other countries will be different.

Here's what I'm thinking of in terms of shipping...

1. Things we'll take ourselves in luggage when we fly:
- Clothes
- Laptops
- Camera gear

2. Things we'd like to ship via air (either by post or if the shipping company offers an air option):
- Two pairs of skis + ski boots
- Down comforter/blanket
- A few of my son's toys (he's almost 7 and loves his Legos)
- Some left-over clothes
- Maybe some electronics (e.g. printer, Blu-ray player, etc.)

3. Things we can ship via sea (i.e. willing to wait a while):
- A small Ikea office desk or three
- Bicycles (two adult + one child)
- Exercise equipment (weights, workout bench)
- Books (two or three bookshelves worth - yes, I know they're heavy, but we love our books)
- Maybe a few pots and pans (my wife and I both love to cook)
- Remaining clothes, toys (maybe 3 boxes worth), knick-knacks (e.g. DVDs), etc.

Items in 1 we will obviously take ourselves.
Items in 2 we'd ship perhaps the week before we leave, so that we'll get them a few days after we get there.
Items in 3 we'd like to ship as soon as possible, so that we'll get them sooner in NZ.

Any thoughts on these plans? Wildly unrealistic, too expensive, crazy? What could we do better?

The main question I have is about the Ikea office desks. How easy/cheap is it to get them in NZ? The Ikea ones we have here are small (50in x 25in = 130cm x 65cm), light, and inexpensive. Not sure if the shipping cost would be worth it, but also don't know what our options are in NZ.


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## Kimbella (Jul 4, 2013)

Fuzz said:


> We will be moving to Ashburton around early April for at least a year (my wife's contract is for a year, with the option to renew at the end). So we're starting to think about shipping. Her work will provide us with a furnished house, so we won't be shipping too many things. But given that we've heard that it takes about 3 months door-to-door from London to NZ, we're thinking of trying to minimize having to ship via sea as much as possible.
> 
> First question: any recommendations and/or experiences with any moving companies for a London to NZ move? Anything in particular to watch out for? We've moved from Colorado to London -- the shippers came and packed everything up (in fact they specifically told us not to pack ourselves since they needed to know what went in each box for customs purposes). Obviously experiences in other countries will be different.
> 
> ...



You will be VERY hard pressed to find Ikea here, period, and, when/if you do, it will be incredibly expensive. When I first arrived, my kiwi husband and I went window shopping for furniture at some point and found an Ikea beech sideboard for $1000NZD. At the time my own furniture was in storage in California while I figured out whether to replace items here, or ship from home. Ultimately I decided to ship my stuff from California (since my move here was permanent) and returned home to coordinate it. I went to the lcoal Ikea store and purchased the same sideboard there for $199USD--an $800+ difference! They do not have Ikea stores here, so it is all imported. 

In general, after reading your post, my first thought is that if you don't know whether you will be staying beyond one year, it's probably more work and expense than is justifiable to ship just the few things you've listed. You'd probably be able to replace those same items with the money you would use to ship them.
If you were staying on long term or permanently, shipping would make more sense (to me); but, if it's probably only temporary or relatively short term, do you really want to pay to ship here, and then pay to ship home once your time here is done?

If you are flush with money and it's irrelevant to your decision, by all means, ship what you feel is needed! However, if you are trying to be practical and pragmatic, I would give the plan to ship so few items a little more thought. Firstly, you'll probably find it hard to find a shipping company willing to ship anything less than 250cf, secondly, as I noted above, anything you ship here, if you move abroad again in a years time, will need to be shipped again.

Although Ashburton is small, you should be able to find good replacement items between there and here in Chch.

Just my initial thoughts--hope your move goes smooth.


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## Fuzz (Nov 19, 2012)

Hmm, thanks for the reply...food for thought. On the one hand, it sounds like furniture in NZ will be expensive. On the other hand, as you said, it may not be worth dragging furniture around year after year (if we leave NZ after a year, we have no idea where we'll go (we're open to moving around); we don't have a permanent home/storage in the US (sold everything before we moved)).

The other thing you brought up that I hadn't thought about is whether companies will ship if we have too little stuff! I think calling around to some shipping companies and getting quotes with and without the furniture may be in order.


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## Kimbella (Jul 4, 2013)

Fuzz said:


> Hmm, thanks for the reply...food for thought. On the one hand, it sounds like furniture in NZ will be expensive. On the other hand, as you said, it may not be worth dragging furniture around year after year (if we leave NZ after a year, we have no idea where we'll go (we're open to moving around); we don't have a permanent home/storage in the US (sold everything before we moved)).
> 
> The other thing you brought up that I hadn't thought about is whether companies will ship if we have too little stuff! I think calling around to some shipping companies and getting quotes with and without the furniture may be in order.


Since you've moved abroad before, you know how stressful it can be. What I did, before I shipped my stuff over, is put it in storage while I decided if I could satisfactorily replace my already owned items (and if I was going to stay permanently). Once my decision was made, I shipped my stuff over. You might consider this option, since you don't yet know whether your stay will be longer than a year. For such a potentially short stay, you might find it more economical to simply put your items in long term storage in London, and bring only that which is essential. Furniture here can be expensive, on the other hand, so is ocean freight shipping! Some options you have would be joining a gym here in lieu of shipping equipment, and bringing a selection of books instead of the whole lot (I was an english major and had my own huge collection, which I did ultimately bring as well, so I do understand the love of books!); and favourite toys for the kids. If you fly over on Virgin Australia, you already have a 2 checked bags per person allowance, plus a carry on each. You'll be able to bring quite a decent amount of things with your luggage allowance (and at no extra cost) if you are mindful of the weight limit, and/or are willing to add additional luggage at extra cost... 
If you decided to stay on long term after the initial contract was up, you can coordinate with a shipping company to retrieve your items from storage and ship to you then. It's a little extra work, you'll have to sign some documents that show the storage agency that you've delegated property over-sight to the shipping company, but it shouldn't be too difficult beyond that... you can check with the storage company and potential shippers on the details of this process.

Just want you to know I'm not meaning to sound as though I'm talking you out of it, only suggesting you and the family have a long, hard think about how long you anticipate staying, and whether the cost of shipping a few things is worth the time, effort and money involved.


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## Fuzz (Nov 19, 2012)

Kimbella said:


> Just want you to know I'm not meaning to sound as though I'm talking you out of it, only suggesting you and the family have a long, hard think about how long you anticipate staying, and whether the cost of shipping a few things is worth the time, effort and money involved.


Absolutely, and I really appreciate all your comments and ideas! We got news of her registration coming through right before we left for Chicago for Christmas, so haven't really thought about it. Now that we're back, we have to figure it all out pretty quickly, given the ~3-month transit time and an early April arrival.

I did not know about the option of having storage delegated to the shipping company, so definitely worth looking into. On our last move, we sold everything that we didn't plan on bringing to our tiny 900 sq.ft. house in London (in other words -- we got rid of a lot and kept only the essentials! But I'm sure we can still cut out more), so we didn't even look at storage options.


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## Kimbella (Jul 4, 2013)

Fuzz said:


> Absolutely, and I really appreciate all your comments and ideas! We got news of her registration coming through right before we left for Chicago for Christmas, so haven't really thought about it. Now that we're back, we have to figure it all out pretty quickly, given the ~3-month transit time and an early April arrival.
> 
> I did not know about the option of having storage delegated to the shipping company, so definitely worth looking into. On our last move, we sold everything that we didn't plan on bringing to our tiny 900 sq.ft. house in London (in other words -- we got rid of a lot and kept only the essentials! But I'm sure we can still cut out more), so we didn't even look at storage options.


Yes, sounds like the rush is on! Also be aware that once your items arrive via ocean freight, they can sit waiting for customs clearance for a while as well. My belongings sat for a month waiting to be cleared (my actual shipping time was only 4 weeks, tho), so, altogether, approx 2 months from pick up date to doorstep delivery.
Also, my things were stored with a relative, not a storage unit, but, I know this is an option because the shipping company did not know it was a relative, so they initially sent me the documents to fill out which would allow my things to have been released by a storage company, into their care.
If you do decide to store things until your decision to stay longer is made, it might be easier if you can store it under a friend or family members name (and pay up the long term fees, of course), that way, if you decide to ship, you won't have to do any legal documents in order for the storage to release your things to a moving company... you could just have the moving company meet your friend/family member at the unit to pick the stuff up (they would be signing off pick up on your behalf). 
Anyway, it sounds as if you know what questions to ask, and what to give some thought to. Have fun, be excited, and welcome to NZ when you arrive! Ashburton is about 45 mins to an hour from where I am in Chch. We drove through it just a few days ago on our way home from holiday in Central Otago. It is small, as are most places in NZ, lovely scenery (it is inescapable in NZ!), small town feel to it from what I could gather from our drive through--but, we didn't go into the central city, so who knows what I would have seen!


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