There’s no denying that travelling is expensive, so you can only imagine how expensive moving overseas is in comparison. Aside from the obvious expenses like flights, shipping costs, buying a new home and organising visas, there are also many hidden costs that come along with an overseas move.
Due to this, it’s important to work with an overseas shipping company that is aware of the hidden costs and can offer advice to help you stick to your budget. Overseas Packers & Shippers have been moving clients around the world for 40 years and know the importance of making a move affordable.
We’ve listed some of our top tips below for moving overseas on a budget.
Time Saves Money:
One of the most important pieces of advice we can offer is to organise your move as soon as you know you’re moving. Speaking from our years of experience, almost every aspect of your move will be more affordable by getting it sorted sooner rather than later. If you leave organising your shipping to the last minute, you will either have to pay a hefty price to get your belongings moved over in time, or instead wait up to weeks in your new home without any of your belongings.
We recommend contacting Overseas Packers & Shippers at least three or four months before your planned moving date; however, we have the resources to be flexible and organise your move however last minute it may be.
Container Choice:
The number one rule for moving your belongings overseas is that shipping via sea is cheaper than air freight. However, there are also options within choosing to ship your items instead of sending them on a plane.
The three sea freight options are either sending your items on a Full Container Load (FCL) or Less Than Container Load (LCL) or a shared container service. A full container load means you’ll pay the rate for the use of an entire 20ft or 40ft container, whereas LCL or shared involves sharing a container with other people’s belongings. Shared container services are perfect when you are shipping small loads to popular destinations such as NZ, UK, Europe, USA or Canada. With this service you only pay for the space you use instead of paying for an entire container.
If you are shipping to anywhere else, or mainly shipping cartons and small furniture, LCL is the most cost-effective option. With LCL, Overseas Packers & Shippers pack your items in a timber crate to keep them protected from other customers belongings. Choosing FCL, on the other hand, means you get to ship your items as soon as you like without having to wait for others to fill the rest of the container.
If you’ve never moved overseas before, we understand this choice might be hard to make on your own. Therefore, Overseas Packers & Shippers can work with you to decide on the most cost-effective option to suit your budget.
Perfect your Packing:
Navigating customs is another part of moving overseas, however there are steps you can take to ensure that the process goes as smoothly as possible. The most important piece of advice is to never, ever take shortcuts. This is because almost every country will require a detailed inventory of everything you want to import and because most containers are inspected, lying about the contents will get you into more trouble than you think you might be dodging.
Another really important step is to make sure you pack correctly to ensure your belongings can be inspected easily and quickly at customs. A messy box will take longer to look through, meaning you’ll be charged additional fees for the officer’s time. Therefore, the best way to guarantee a neatly packed box is to have professionals pack your items for you. Overseas Packers & Shippers are not just an international removalist but can wrap and box all your items for you to ensure your items are packed to customs standards.
