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| Shipping a very large box | |
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| Topic Started: May 5 2008, 01:47:24 PM (734 Views) | |
| anater | May 5 2008, 01:47:24 PM Post #1 |
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True Blue Mate
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This has probably already been answered, but I can't seem to locate it in the search function. We're moving to Sydney in a few months and really downsizing. We're selling / donating / giving away about half of our things, so we are just getting a few liftvans instead of a container. From what I understand, they will take a few months to get to Sydney. We have a four year old and I need to find a way to ship his toys and books with us, so that they arrive around the same time we do. Yes, this sounds trivial, but I'm hoping parents out there will understand
 . We're probably going to stay in corporate housing for a few months until we get settled, and as a result I want to try and make him feel at home as much as possible. Any ideas? I have no idea how much they will weigh, maybe 100 - 150 pounds total with books and a few of our things thrown in? any idea of cost? Thanks!
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| (kolohe) | May 5 2008, 01:52:47 PM Post #2 |
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True Blue Mate
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I mailed some things that would not go on the plane the slow way US mail, so by ship before I left Hawaii. . As for books the US mail may have a book rate to Australia, not sure.
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| shylady | May 5 2008, 02:02:25 PM Post #3 |
oldYank
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 USPS no longer sends slow-boat mail, everything is airmail and VERY expensive! I think you'd be better off checking (and paying the extra for) 1 or 2 more pieces of luggage, just my opinion  Lisa in Perth |
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"I could’ve turned a different corner, I could’ve gone another place... " ku,'09 | |
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| Volcane08 | May 5 2008, 02:53:18 PM Post #4 |
True Blue Mate
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Ditto. And the M-bags aren't worth it either. The USPS offers these flat rate boxes, stuff as much as you can at a 20-lb. limit, for ~37.00 US (the price might've changed since I did this, less than a year ago). I think we spent about 800.00US on these stupid boxes, but the USPS couldn't (or wouldn't?) offer us any other alternative. It was really hard for us, as I had a lot of books and my daughter had toys and collections and Mark had an insane amount of cds...we just had to let things go. Whatever you can't sell, use Freecycle...people will come and take the stuff away for you. Freecycle Good luck!
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| Yessie | May 5 2008, 03:22:45 PM Post #5 |
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Chinwagger
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We came over with a 2 year old about 3 months ago and we also got rid of everything except some of our son's toys and books for memories and for feeling at home in a strange place. We used the flat rate boxes another person mentioned. If you print out the labels from home, the boxes are 35.15 for up to 20 lbs. At the post office those same flat rate boxes cost $37. Since we were going to ship a lot of of books and toys as well we invested in a 22 lb postal scale so we could weigh and pack everything from home and print the labels. Once I was done, I craigslisted the postal scale. If you want to send a huge box on it's own that weighs that much you will have to go to USPS and find out the weight and size restrictions that can be shipped to Australia. I know how much of a pain in the ass it is...I was there just a few months ago! ugh! Good luck. |
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Take care, Yessie Lost in Australia - who said moving to Australia was going to be easy? Join me as I chronicle our family's moving experience. www.lostinaustralia.com | |
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| JBark | May 5 2008, 09:35:00 PM Post #6 |
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Chinwagger
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Here's a very helpful page with all the USPS shipping info for Australia (max weights and cost per pound): http://pe.usps.gov/text/imm/ab_012.htm I shipped 2 60+lb boxes and 2 smaller boxes to Perth a few months ago. The big boxes actually arrived in decent condition, which surpised me. I guess they were just too heavy to get kicked and tossed around.
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| Yessie | May 5 2008, 10:09:57 PM Post #7 |
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Chinwagger
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We shipped a whole heap of boxes...about 50 I think and none of them were damaged. We even shipped a projector and it arrived safe and sound so it is reliable but we did take out insurance just in case. |
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Take care, Yessie Lost in Australia - who said moving to Australia was going to be easy? Join me as I chronicle our family's moving experience. www.lostinaustralia.com | |
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| JennINbrisvegas | May 5 2008, 10:26:45 PM Post #8 |
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Chinwagger
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We shipped quite a bit of stuff over as well, and a majority made it just fine. A couple wine glasses didn't make it, but nothing that couldn't be replaced. We payed a good bit to send things over, close to $1000!! And to be honest with you I can't even recall what was shipped vs what came with us. So i'm now wondering if it was worth it, lol... If you can't do with out then go for it, I totally understand with stuff for our little ones. Oh and I wanted to add that if I were you I would check with the post office itself vs going off of the website. We actually had an arguement with a postal worker when we went to ship our first round of boxes. Although the measurements & weight was "ok" through the website, the actual office wouldn't take them and suggested we cut an inch off of all sides of the boxes :headscratch: . We ended up repacking everything in smaller boxes, which made us have more boxes. :rolleyes: |
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| NY'ker | May 6 2008, 01:33:17 AM Post #9 |
True Blue Mate
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We are preparing for the exact same thing. I have a 4 yr old and a 2 yr old. We are shipping (via liftvan) the majority of the toys and books and keeping out the toys and books they just absolutely "LOVE" and can't live without. I am just going to pack them into the suitcases we are traveling with. I guess my saving grace is that we are moving into my Mum's when we first arrive and she is setting up bedrooms for the kids and is getting a couple of toys and books for when they first arrive. We have our shipment going out from our house on May 23 - we are leaving on June 27 and I am expecting to see our things mid August. It might be a little tough but I think the kids are going to be fine. JMO :mrgreen: |
 Natalie (Aussie) and Greg (American) and our two kiddos - Mackenzie (5) and Jack (2) | |
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| anater | May 6 2008, 04:45:49 AM Post #10 |
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True Blue Mate
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Thanks to everyone for the great suggestions - much appreciated! It sounds like the best bet is to buy a large suitcase and pack some items to go with us. His absolute favorite are his Legos but I think we'll ship those because he has so many and I can purchase insurance on the package. I can only image a suitcase full of Legos coming apart en route, the airline would be picking those things out of the machinery for years :rollin: After reading the suitcase option I looked at the Qantas website and it looks like you can ship bags as unaccompanied freight. It may not travel on the same flight but it looks like they give you a good price on the shipping (I have to call for a quote). So, that might be a way to ship some other must have personal items. |
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| imafranktoo | May 6 2008, 06:29:08 AM Post #11 |
Little Miss Key Breaker
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Instead of paying for an extra suitcase, and the extra cost to ship it, what if you took that money and went on a toy shopping spree when you get to Australia? You could bring just a few things for your son on the plane. Just think your son would think he was hitting the jackpot! hehe My Mom shipped me a box full of stuff while we were in Australia. She said the shipping cost more than the things. Here is a list of what she sent: 6 shirts, 1 pair of jeans, underwear, 2 containers of Tony C'hatere Seasoning (large size), 3 Musketeer, Snickers, Snickers w/Almond, Butterfingers, Twix, Milky Way (box of 30 bars from Sam's club), Oreo cookies (box of 30 individual sleeves), Good Seasonings Italian Dressing seasoning packets, 2 5lb bags of M&Ms (plain and regular). It cost her $199 to ship to AU. Needless to say she only sent one box while we were there. |
| FRANKIES[color][font][/color][/font] | |
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| Yessie | May 6 2008, 09:17:39 AM Post #12 |
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Chinwagger
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It's not as easy as it sounds to just dump the stuff and buy new ones here. Kids have special affection for certain toys and if she wants to make a strange place seem more homey then they need familiar toys. Plus a lot of toys that my son had back home and I thought I could replace here were either not sold here or they were expensive. Expect to pay nearly the twice of back home for Fisher Price toys and Melissa & Doug and stuff like that. It's been painful to replace some toys that we sold back home because they were just too big to send over and meanwhile you have a toddler wanting his toys and not knowing what happened to them or understanding why. So while yes some things you have to ditch other things you can't. |
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Take care, Yessie Lost in Australia - who said moving to Australia was going to be easy? Join me as I chronicle our family's moving experience. www.lostinaustralia.com | |
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| JennINbrisvegas | May 6 2008, 10:05:36 AM Post #13 |
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Chinwagger
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How fast did she ship this box? To be honest that price seems a bit high for even the expensive rate to ship things over here. For example, we have one box still in tact (doesn't have the contents in it) and it was 26lbs 4oz and it cost $117.20 USD to ship here. We've also had our parents that are in the USA send us a "care package", containing simular stuff as you posted minus the clothes and it costed them around $40 or so I believe. And that was prior to the Flat Rate boxes. With the flat rate boxes, parents or family can send easier care packages. To the OP, we put Damian's legos in our luggage. We actually lined the bottom of the luggage with legos put together. Like they were stacked... But considering their also pretty light it would be a good choice to mail over... And I agree with Yessie on this one, you never know if you'll be able to find the exact same thing and/or how much it'll cost. |
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| (kolohe) | May 6 2008, 10:09:00 AM Post #14 |
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True Blue Mate
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Wow things have changed since I left Hawaii a year and a half ago...gosh!! I was able to mail boxes for about 38.00 ( some less ) a box shipping the slow way via USPS. I did not know the USPS no longer mails the slow way ( boat ), sorry. I wonder if a currier would be cheaper to use to mail from the US. In Hawaii they have Matson lines and it goes to San Francisco also...but I think it may go to other countries, not sure...here is the site and it has a list of other shipping companies...This is the URL in case someone can use it: http://www.timetableimages.com/maritime/images/matson.htm |
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| JennINbrisvegas | May 6 2008, 10:15:14 AM Post #15 |
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Chinwagger
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Yeah, when we first started mailing things the slow way still was around. I think we mailed 2 or so boxes then cause we wanted an idea of how much money per box. Well when it came time to mail the rest the slow way went away. You should have seen our faces on the prices!! |
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| Volcane08 | May 6 2008, 10:27:52 AM Post #16 |
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True Blue Mate
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Same here. And what really irked us is that the posties we were dealing with didn't seem to have a clue...like the whole thing was news to them...probably was, I dunno. :& |
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| imafranktoo | May 7 2008, 12:22:31 AM Post #17 |
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Little Miss Key Breaker
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Yessie, I'm a mother of three girls and I do know what it is like to "dump the stuff" as I have had to do it on more than one occassion and while it doesn't feel good to get rid of toys it can be done. Not every toy is a favorite (toddlers "feel" they are ALL favorites but it really isn't the case) and the cost to ship them vs buying them can wind up being a wash. I do know how expesive toys are in Australia as I lived there for 14 months. My girls had TONS of toys and we had to get rid of toys on more than one move we made when they were little. When we moved back here last June my daughters had to give up "toys" they had from when they were toddlers. We didn't have the money to ship them back. (They gave a large collection of Barbie dolls to little girls who had none-we just couldn't justify the cost of shipping them back) The thought behind leaving the toys is you get the new ones right away and the said child doesn't have to wait for them to show up because you have the money to go and pick out new ones right away. As for what you experienced, I'm sorry you went through that and it isn't easy watching a toddler get upset, but as parents we make decisions for our children which are not always going to be popular and when their toddlers it is easier than when they get to be teenagers. anater-one thing you could do is if you have family close by leave the toys with family pre-packaged into smaller boxes and have them shipped a little at a time over a long period of time and if you find that you can get some of the toys for a reasonable price then just have them either keep the toys for when the grandkids visit, sell them on ebay, or give them to a charity. |
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| anater | May 7 2008, 03:23:18 AM Post #18 |
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True Blue Mate
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Imafranktoo, I only have one boy, so I can only imagine the problem of having toys for three kids! Thankfully my son is pretty easy going and isn't too attached to things....except for his BearBear and his building toys. After getting our shipping quote yesterday, which was close to $10K, we went through the house again and he thankfully he is open to giving up quite a few of his things. We compromised by keeping his Thomas trains and track but leaving the cumbersome train table for our renters who have a four year old boy. I put a bunch of toys in a box for our open house and he hasn't asked about it, so onto Freecycle they go . I think at this age it's more out of sight out of mind. If we don't take it with us it's not going. |
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| imafranktoo | May 7 2008, 05:38:59 AM Post #19 |
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Little Miss Key Breaker
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anater, Your son is going to :lurve: the toy areas in the stores! If I'm not mistaken, you can get Thomas things in AU that you just don't see here in the US. My nephews are/were into Thomas big time. I just didn't know what they had vs what they didn't have so from what I could tell there were things I hadn't seen when I was looking in the US. I'm glad to hear that your son is so easy going. My daughters are easy going, but we've had to work on it (Mom has had to learn how to be easy going). Oh and with toys for three girls who are very close in age (they are now 16, 14, and 13) it was 3 of everything when they were little. It saved on "fights" of who had Barbie longest. I don't remember the "tug of war" with toys happening often because they each had so many toys that they ended up playing all together. If there was a "tug of war" I immediately stepped in and took the toy. They would cry and say "please" and I would tell them "no and its gone for the day". The soon learned to not do it. Good luck on your move. |
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| flgirlinsydney | May 19 2008, 02:50:59 PM Post #20 |
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Chinwagger
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I agree with the notion that is may be harder to find what you want to replace in Australia-- and when you do find it, it is quite expensive-- even factoring in shipping. Currently my mom sends me a box of stuff about once a month-- here's how it works for me... I order this stuff online from Amazon.com and they ship for free and are tax free to my mom in FL: books tylenol meltaway chewables wheat thins- a few boxes snyders cheese pretzel sandwiches- several bags other snacks that are sendable Zicam nose swabs-- my hero Zappos (again shipped for free and tax free to my mom in FL): kids shoes Adult and kids clothes from Old Navy and gap (ship to mom in FL for $5) All of our mail that was received that month Then she unpacks everything and puts in one medium box and ships to me USPS International Priority Mail-- it costs about $69. For us this is worth it-- about $70 a month and we get all the things we know and love-- not to mention that the shoes books, toys, and clothes are literally about double the cost in Australia. Books I think are actually more than double. I also agree that if you can bring extra luggage and don't mind lugging through customs, etc than bringing a couple extra suitcases and paying may be a good option-- but the hassle of lugging with kids in tow may suck. |
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http://www.floridagirlinsydney.blogspot.com In Sydney since June 2007 for my husband's job. | |
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