Introduction
Shipping your goods half way round the world will be an uncomfortable worry as being without your home comforts for up to 2 months can be stressful. We suggest that you use a well known international removals company. The other thing is that you pay the right amount of insurance, as accidents can happen and being under insured in a new country is not what you want when trying to settle down.
Shipping Agents
Deciding on which shipping agent to use is simple. The criteria can either be based on price or reliability. A 20 foot container door to door will cost in the region of R30,000 to R50,000 depending on the company. This usually takes 6 weeks for delivery. The other option is to take ‘groupage’, which will be delivered only when the container is full. This can take up to three months to deliver.
Get a number of quotes as the prices can vary dramatically. Make sure that they come and look at your contents before submitting a quote to you.
Packing the container
Most shippers will pack the container for you. They are all very efficient but bank on 2 to 3 days packing time. It is useful to first make a list of all contents before approaching any of the shipping companies. This list can then be divided into what you will be taking and what you want to get rid of.
Be aware that the cost of furniture in most other countries can be very expensive, so if you are going to replace anything do it before you move and save.
Electrical Goods
The good news if you are moving to England or Australia is that they use the same voltage as South Africa (240v) however USA and Canada uses 110v. Check the voltage for the other countries as you may have to buy new!
No matter where you go you will need to change all your plugs. This also applies to all extension cords, which if they use moulded plugs, cannot be used in your new country.
Check to see if the washing machines, tumble dryers etc can be serviced overseas. Usually the small brand names cannot and so any warranties or guarantees are usually not valid outside SA.
Cars
If you have a company car, you have no problems unless you take a month off to make the move and you will not have the car available to you, therefore you will have to consider hiring a car.
If you own a car, the best place to sell it is through Autotrader. They charge a nominal rate to place a advertisement in their paper with a photo. Usually they run the advert for two issues (two weeks) and if your price is right, the car will be sold before the second issue comes out. Their service is good and we sold an old Golf and a brand new, top of the range, Audi through them.
Remember to contact the finance house before you sell to find out what the settlement payment will be and to inform them that you are going to sell the car. Get a roadworthy done before the car is sold. It only costs R400-R500 and it is worthwhile.
What not to take
There are a number of items that you cannot take with you in your container. These include the following:
- Food
- Plants
- Animal furs/skins
- Aerosols
- Detergents etc
Our advice is to nominate someone who will adopt your plants. The other idea is to throw a party and try and use up all your food in the freezer or donate it to someone. This also includes all your spices and other condiments lurking in the cupboard.
