# MAF inspection & cleaning charges



## Fuzz

We've moving to the South Island in April. In preparation, we're shipping our stuff this coming week (movers are coming on Tuesday). Question about MAF inspection and cleaning charges...

We've cleaned our two bicycles (mountain) as well as we can at home (pressure wash w/ a hose + scrub). The tires were quite muddy, so we spent quite a bit of time going over them with toothbrushes. Unfortunately, there are still some brown stains here and there and some tiny dirty spots in some nooks and crannies that were impossible to get to even with the toothbrushes (on the base of the ridges/knobs). We've also put Jeyes fluid all over.

So the thing we're worried about is if MAF decides that they're not clean enough and they have them cleaned. Anyone have anything similar happen? How much did they charge for cleaning?

The bikes are about 8-10 years old, still in good/great shape and cost US$500 - US$800 each brand new. If we spend money to ship them and then get hit with NZ$200-500 each for cleaning, we're wondering if it would be better to not ship and buy in NZ instead.


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## escapedtonz

Fuzz said:


> We've moving to the South Island in April. In preparation, we're shipping our stuff this coming week (movers are coming on Tuesday). Question about MAF inspection and cleaning charges... We've cleaned our two bicycles (mountain) as well as we can at home (pressure wash w/ a hose + scrub). The tires were quite muddy, so we spent quite a bit of time going over them with toothbrushes. Unfortunately, there are still some brown stains here and there and some tiny dirty spots in some nooks and crannies that were impossible to get to even with the toothbrushes (on the base of the ridges/knobs). We've also put Jeyes fluid all over. So the thing we're worried about is if MAF decides that they're not clean enough and they have them cleaned. Anyone have anything similar happen? How much did they charge for cleaning? The bikes are about 8-10 years old, still in good/great shape and cost US$500 - US$800 each brand new. If we spend money to ship them and then get hit with NZ$200-500 each for cleaning, we're wondering if it would be better to not ship and buy in NZ instead.


Yeah we have some experience of it. I did exactly as you with the MTB's and Maf were happy with them. The only thing they weren't happy about was a 10 man tent.....that was brand new in the bag. All I'd done was open it all out in the garden (when dry) to remove all the new packaging so it didn't look new.
On opening the bag the Maf officer said there was a single grass seed so with that ordered it to be cleaned at our expense. It only cost $70 extra.
Funny though, the moment he mentioned it I knew there was a smaller 2 man tent somewhere in the boxes that I'd completely forgot to wash and that had been used many times 😃

When your inventory arrives at Maf, they will decide if any of your boxes need inspection. We had around 250/275 boxes and they picked 35 of them.
These boxes are inspected at the address where the shipment is offloaded. You just have to keep them aside and unopened.
You are charged extra for this "service". This alone cost us $440 plus the $70 cleaning fee for the tent.

With respect to the bikes, it's a fine line between deciding one way or the other. Bring them or leave them ?
There are many bike shops here and there's always one or two that are having a mass half price sale on everything, plus there's a big used mtb market.


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## Fuzz

Thanks very much for sharing your experience. I think we'll just ship the bikes and chance it. 

Also, sounds like you had to physically be there during the inspection? You said the inspection is done at the address where the shipment is offloaded -- is that the port where the shipment is offloaded from the ship to land, or at the final delivery destination (i.e. your home)? I'm guessing the former, but just wanted to check.


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## escapedtonz

Fuzz said:


> Thanks very much for sharing your experience. I think we'll just ship the bikes and chance it. Also, sounds like you had to physically be there during the inspection? You said the inspection is done at the address where the shipment is offloaded -- is that the port where the shipment is offloaded from the ship to land, or at the final delivery destination (i.e. your home)? I'm guessing the former, but just wanted to check.


Yes you have to be there at the Maf inspection and yes they come to your home address where the shipment is delivered.


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## Kimbella

Fuzz said:


> Thanks very much for sharing your experience. I think we'll just ship the bikes and chance it.
> 
> Also, sounds like you had to physically be there during the inspection? You said the inspection is done at the address where the shipment is offloaded -- is that the port where the shipment is offloaded from the ship to land, or at the final delivery destination (i.e. your home)? I'm guessing the former, but just wanted to check.


Well, my experience was different than escapedtonz's. I was NOT there for the MAF inspection. The shipping service I used arranged with the receiving/delivery service to have all the MAF stuff done on site at their facility. I had 4 items that were inspected--cane baskets,, etc. Nothing was deemed as requiring cleaning of any type (including my mountain bike), and it was completely seamless. So, I think where the MAF inspection takes place would be dependent on the coordination of your shipper. Everything went from my house, to a warehouse in California, then to NZ, warehouse in NZ, MAF inspection there, then delivered and unpacked at my doorstep.

Also, there was no extra fee for anything once my stuff hit NZ. The standard quarantine and MAF fees were included in my shipping contract. If my items had required some sort of bio treatment, THAT would have cost extra. Also, not included in my contract were port fees, which were about an extra $800 I think. Definitely make sure you check your contract so you know exactly what is covered and what isn't. If your contract includes MAF inspection and fees, that will happen at the facility site, and then your things will get delivered after it's cleared!


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## Fuzz

Thanks for the info, all. The movers came today, packed everything up and left. We had a relatively small load (~320 cu. ft., 59 boxes). Here's hoping everything goes okay. 

Re: fees, we know for our shipping, port fees are included, but MAF inspection and any subsequent cleaning charges are not (seems to be standard for shipping from the UK, based on multiple quotes).


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## escapedtonz

Fuzz said:


> Thanks for the info, all. The movers came today, packed everything up and left. We had a relatively small load (~320 cu. ft., 59 boxes). Here's hoping everything goes okay. Re: fees, we know for our shipping, port fees are included, but MAF inspection and any subsequent cleaning charges are not (seems to be standard for shipping from the UK, based on multiple quotes).


 Congrats. No shipping company from UK will include Customs inspection, MAF inspection and any MAF cleaning fees with their quote as it's an unknown cost. It's something that can't be calculated so it is left to the owner of the shipment to get through on its arrival.
I see kimbella had this cost included in her shipping quote from the US, however if MAF don't carry out an inspection or only carry out a small number of inspections (as in Kimbella's case) then is the % of the shipping cost attributed to MAF money well spent ?


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## Kimbella

escapedtonz said:


> Congrats. No shipping company from UK will include Customs inspection, MAF inspection and any MAF cleaning fees with their quote as it's an unknown cost. It's something that can't be calculated so it is left to the owner of the shipment to get through on its arrival.
> I see kimbella had this cost included in her shipping quote from the US, however if MAF don't carry out an inspection or only carry out a small number of inspections (as in Kimbella's case) then is the % of the shipping cost attributed to MAF money well spent ?


That's interesting about the customs and MAF inspection costs from the UK. I shipped 250cf of household belongings for $3,000USD, with the only additional cost being about $1500USD (rough estimate) in port fees, insurance premiums, and incidentals here and there. The contract included packing and pick-up from home (although *I* elected to pack my own things since I was back in California arranging shipment of my pets as well), handling of all paperwork domestically and on the international side, and delivery and unpacking at my NZ address; insurance coverage, customs and MAF inspections and costs (excluding fumigation if required). Overall the price was pretty great, I thought, (approx $4500-$5000USD total) compared to other places I researched. The customs and MAF fees for my pets arriving was also included with their shipment contract as well, but excluding any vet or treatment fees--if they had come over sick or flea/tick infested. So, I can't say whether the price was worth it, compared to what someone from the UK shipping an equivalent amount would pay, but for me, I found it to be quite reasonable--basically $4500 for door to door delivery!


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## escapedtonz

Kimbella said:


> That's interesting about the customs and MAF inspection costs from the UK. I shipped 250cf of household belongings for $3,000USD, with the only additional cost being about $1500USD (rough estimate) in port fees, insurance premiums, and incidentals here and there. The contract included packing and pick-up from home (although *I* elected to pack my own things since I was back in California arranging shipment of my pets as well), handling of all paperwork domestically and on the international side, and delivery and unpacking at my NZ address; insurance coverage, customs and MAF inspections and costs (excluding fumigation if required). Overall the price was pretty great, I thought, (approx $4500-$5000USD total) compared to other places I researched. The customs and MAF fees for my pets arriving was also included with their shipment contract as well, but excluding any vet or treatment fees--if they had come over sick or flea/tick infested. So, I can't say whether the price was worth it, compared to what someone from the UK shipping an equivalent amount would pay, but for me, I found it to be quite reasonable--basically $4500 for door to door delivery!


 Yeah shipping matters, prices, what's included / not included always gonna be different across the world. In our case we shipped a full 40ft container for £5000 door to door. This also included a large airfreight package of 10 or so boxes. Approx 150kg's. Complete insurance cover was free as my new company provided that  The only extras for us were any Customs fees for both the shipping container and the airfreight package (there were none), MAF inspection fees ($440) and MAF cleaning fees ($70). My company then gave me $10000 for shipping when I started


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