If you’re planning on making Australia your new home, no doubt you will want to bring your belongings with you  – which is when a cost-effective way of shipping furniture to Australia is of real benefit.

Read on to discover how to trim your shipping costs right back when you relocate to Australia, without compromising on the safety and security of your possessions as they are moved from one continent to another.

Pack Less and Pack Smarter

It’s common sense to declutter before you move, even when planning a local move. When every ounce of weight is potentially going to add to the cost of shipping, make sure that you only pack items you really can’t bear to be parted from. Remember that, particularly for cheaper items, it’s probably going to cost less to buy them once you’re in Australia, rather than paying the shipping costs.

As well as keeping the number and weight of the items you choose to ship to a minimum, it’s worth considering their dimensions as well. Shipping is cost by the amount of space items take up, as well as how much they weigh. Expert packing, including disassembly of larger items, frequently results in a shipment that has more compact dimensions.

If you’re struggling to minimize the size of your shipment, or are shipping furniture to Australia and are wondering how best to pack it to reduce the volume of space it takes up, it’s often worth enlisting the help of professional international movers, who have plenty of experience in packing goods in a space-saving manner.

They’ll not only be able to advise on the best way of stowing your goods, but they’ll also provide suitably durable containers to hold your items during their journey. If you’re shipping items that are fragile, have significant sentimental value, and/or that are costly to replace, get advice from professional movers to optimize the chances they’ll arrive at your Oz address in one piece.

Consider Import Taxes

The good news is that if you’re taking up residence in Australia, you won’t usually need to pay import tax on your personal belongings. You will, however, need to complete the appropriate paperwork for your belongings to be processed by the Australian customs officials. It’s important that the paperwork is completed correctly, or you could face anything from delays in your belongings being cleared by customers through to demands for import tax, or even goods being impounded.

In addition to completing the Australian Customs and Quarantine Declaration (B534), you’ll also need to provide a copy of your passport, as well as an inventory that details everything in your shipment. 

The correct paperwork doesn’t just help to ensure the speedy passage of your goods through customs, it also minimizes the risk of incurring additional charges that may be applied if your shipment hasn’t been accurately inventoried.

Inventories can be particularly challenging to complete – if you haven’t completed one before, or aren’t sure how to go about making one, an experienced, international shipping company can help.

Check Restricted Items

To minimize the risk of alien diseases, parasites, or pests being introduced into the Australian ecosystem inadvertently from abroad, there is a long list of items that can’t be shipped into Australia, or that need to be declared and subsequently cleared before they can enter the country.

As well as items that it’s fairly obvious will be restricted (alcohol or guns, for example), items such as seeds, soil, animal parts (such as tanned hide), fruit, and many other items with an organic origin are either banned from entry into the country or will need to be declared.

Importing banned items, even if they belong to you and aren’t usually considered dangerous or illegal, could still see you potentially fined and your items confiscated. The easiest way to avoid the expense and inconvenience of customs hold-ups is to make sure that you’re prepared!

If you can’t face having to cross-check all your possessions against the list of banned items, or items that need to be declared, enlist movers who are used to dealing with Australian customs regulations. 

They have the expertise not only to quickly identify items you will need to declare (or not bring), but also the experience to ensure your goods reach Australia safely and on schedule.

Save Money – Use An Established International Haulage Firm

When you opt for a seasoned haulage company that’s used to shipping to Australia, you’ll be working with a business that knows all the tricks and tips to keep costs as low as possible.

Not only can they advise on everything from the right packing materials to the cheapest way of moving your belongings from a to b, they can also help with tricky topics such as:

• the right sort of insurance for your goods when they’re in transit.
  
• how to safely transport fragile and/or awkwardly shaped items.
  
• the cheapest and safest way to ship vehicles, boats, machinery, or other large possessions.
  
• the right container size for your move.
  
• the type of timescales you’re looking at to get your goods moved.
  
• how your goods are tracked and what happens in the unlikely event your belongings get lost in transit.

UPakWeShip Offers An Affordable Straightforward Shipping Solution

If you’re moving to Australia and want an economical way of shipping your possessions to your new home, UPakWeShip is the solution. 

We provide secure crates in a selection of sizes so that customers can tailor their crate to the size of their move. 

There are also options to access pallet shipping and container shipping.

Get in touch with UPakWeShip for a FREE discussion of your requirements and a no-obligation quote.

The post Shipping Furniture (and Other Household Goods) To Australia On A Budget appeared first on UPakWeShip.

One thing you need to consider when moving abroad is how you will ship your furniture without spending a fortune. While it won’t be cheap, there are several ways to save money on shipping furniture to England when you’re ready to make the big move. 

Keep reading to learn how you can save money and start living in your new country surrounded by the furniture that makes you feel at home! 

How to Save Money Shipping Furniture to England

We’ve compiled the best tips to help you save money on your big move. Let’s take a look at the top five money-saving ideas for international shipping! 

1. Choose The Right Company 

The reason for this is that shipping companies can get good deals on shipping costs because they ship things so frequently. It’s similar to ordering in bulk.

Additionally, they also have better ways of shipping such as offering containers on boats that you can fill rather than trying to cram your furniture into a box. This prevents damage to your items and saves you money due to the nature of the shipping industry.  If you haven’t yet decided where to live in England, check out this list of the best places to live! 

2. Pack Everything Yourself 

Sometimes you can save money by packing your furniture yourself. You might use fewer materials and less labor. It’s a good idea to look up examples for how to pack furniture so you can properly protect your valuables. 

However, if you have very expensive furniture or family heirlooms it may save you money in potential small repairs to have the company pack it themselves. They have more expertise in the type of movement your furniture will experience and can prevent scratches or wearing from furniture rubbing against each other. If you’re interested in having a company pack for you, check out UPakWeShip Plus. 

3. Choose Container or Pallet Shipping

While there are companies that will help you ship several individual boxes overseas for cheaper, it’s often difficult to do with bulky items like furniture. You can save even more money by using a pallet or container. 

The reason these are often cheaper is that it doesn’t go by weight (as furniture is often quite heavy and traditional shipping normally calculates the cost by weight) but rather size. If it fits, it ships. All you have to do is decide how large your pallet needs to be or how many cubic feet a container needs to be. 

4. Choose Boat Shipping Over Air 

You’re probably thinking to yourself that something being shipped by boat is going to take forever. And you’re not wrong. Depending on where you are shipping from it could take several weeks. 

Despite this, it is often easier and far cheaper than shipping via air. Space on cargo planes is at a premium due to the fact that planes are simply much smaller than boats. If you only have a few pieces of small furniture or boxes then air shipping may get some of your essentials to you faster. 

Overall, however, you can expect prices to be anywhere from 5 times the cost and up. Regulations of what can be shipped are also much more strict. If you have something that might be considered hazardous to fly, such as equipment with batteries in it, you may not be able to ship via air. 

5. Do a Cost-Benefit Analysis on Your Furniture 

If you have decided to go with pallet or container shipping it is a good idea to do an estimate of how much of your furniture will fit before you get bumped to the next size. If just a few pieces are pushing you over it may be time to think about the relative value of your different pieces of furniture. 

For instance, there are IKEAs in the UK. You won’t have any problem replacing some of your cheaper furniture once you move. Even furniture that is easily replaceable might be a good idea to donate locally as long as you don’t have an emotional attachment to those items. 

Especially when it comes to larger electronic furniture like massage chairs, it can be far better to sell your items and buy new ones once you get to England. Different voltages and plugs can make setting up your old electronics somewhat messy. 

Sometimes it can be hard to realize that most likely England will have everything you have at home. But you should absolutely prioritize your family heirlooms and pieces that hold sentimental value for you. There’s no point in buying something new if it won’t hold the same memories. 

What Else Should You Know? 

Now that you know all about saving money while shipping furniture to England, you’re probably wondering what company to choose from point number 1. Luckily, there is a shipping company that is there to help you with all of your international shipping needs. 

UPakWeShip is a company that specializes in pallet and container shipping. They can do it all, from helping you pack to helping you share a larger container with someone else to save money. Get your international shipping rate today to start your international moving journey!

The post Shipping Furniture To England: 5 Money Saving Tips appeared first on UPakWeShip.

   In most cases if you want to ship furniture, you might as well ship the whole lot and ship it in a 20-foot or a 40-foot shipping container. A 20-foot container is about the size of a single garage and yes, you guessed it, a 40-foot container is about the size of a 2-car garage.
The most economical way of shipping a container is packing and loading it yourself, letting UPakWeShip do everything in between and then you unload and unpack everything at your new house overseas. If you think this is going to be too much like hard work for you, then you can always hire a local mover to help you pack and load the heavy items into the container or there is a web site called www.movinghelp.com that supplies crews to help you load.
The other alternative is to get quotes from full service movers like www.eurousa.us allowing you to sit back and relax while everything is done for you, but remember that will probably cost you at least an additional $3,000 – $5,000 extra.
Either way, my advice is go and visit in advance and make sure your furniture is worth shipping. If you are going to ship furniture, ship everything in a container. If you really want to save money moving overseas, use UPakWeShip’s self-load shipping container service. That $3,000 minimum you save buys a lot of pizza and beer for friends help or even local professional help.
   Ship Smart and always ask UPakWeShip for a quote.

Moving overseas from the USA? See all inclusive door to door international moving rates online here.

The post Shipping Furniture Overseas. Is It Worth it? appeared first on UPakWeShip.