White goods

[Annierobrigado]

hi rich

i like reading the articles in escape artist too! will visit that site and see yours.

about your book... go go go! and we can have it in my coffee shop for leisurely reading over a cup of steaming freshly brewed coffee with some croissants or pastries... eeeh, here i go, dreaming again. nice to imagine, though, yes? its free anyway

(is it rich as in richard? or just rich?)

annie

[Raeven]

Hi, Rich,

Thanks so much for putting our minds at ease over the shipping aspects of this move!! I'm taking your advice (as usual) and we're planning to use Allied. Actually, when they came along to give us a quote, they were extremely professional.. the guy had this cool little computer where he plugged in estimates of our belongings as we went through the house, so he was able to give us a fairly accurate estimate of weight and cost on the spot. He then pulled out his little portable printer and gave us a written summary. Very impressive!!

I'm surprised your post made no mention of MAF or their inspection of your container.. was it such a non-event?

Congratulations on your upcoming publications!! I wouldn't miss reading them for the world. And why not a book? A limited audience, but I'll bet it's growing!!

Thanks again, and so pleased to hear that everything arrived in good order!!

All the best, Rae

[SoCal Gal]

Thanks so much, Rich, this is exactly what I had hoped to here! Put me down as another fan of Allied! I'm just getting more and more excited about being able to take it all!!! :cool

[MelissaLG]

Rich, thank you so much for your description of your experiences with the container process. We just had our quote from Allied in the US and like Rae's experience, the guy who came to us was very professional. I thought the little computer scanner he used was a pretty cool tool. Just like taking inventory! The guy even sent me a handwritten thank you card in the mail prior to us receiving the actual quote letter. A nice touch.

I feel pretty good about the quote-- about $10 or $11k to move 6500 lbs of goods plus our truck which is another 6500 lbs. Rae, is that consistent with the quote you received?

I also would be interested in hearing about your experience with Customs/MAF. Not only are we wondering how closely they inspected everything, but we are wondering about whether you got hit with any taxes or duty (I cannot recall whether you already have obtained residency or LTWV, if so this would not have been an issue for you obviously). But we definitely will be arriving in NZ prior to obtaining residency or LTWV (we arrive in January but just got selected Sep 15) and so we are concerned we will be hit with big fees for tax/duty. I have heard from some people that as long as the items are used, don't worry about it, but official Customs policy (and the Customs people I called) say differently (no residency or 2-year work visa, no exemption from tax/duty). So we are wondering, do we need to put everything in storage in the US prior to shipping, so stuff does not arrive until after we (hopefully :hopeso ) get residency? That could be months from January! Anyway, whatever insight you have on this would be appreciated.

[Raeven]

Hi, Melissa,

We were quoted $8,800 for a 40' container which at the time, included a car. We have since sold the car (boo hoo, yes, Rich, it's sold!!), so hopefully it will be a few nickels less than the $8,800. This did not include insurance but did include packing up this end. I think we had roughly 4,500 lbs. of stuff, but I'll have to double-check that when I can find that paperwork!!

Hope this helps! - Rae

[richsadams]

Hi All :cool

Sorry to have left out the MAF/Customs aspect...as yes, it was a non-event. Phew!

Allied handled everything. Before our belongings arrived we filled out a declaration form the moving company supplied and listed a few things we thought MAF might want to know about including golf clubs, some faux trees, a couple of chairs with cane seats, etc.

If you're moving to NZ permanently (24 months or longer) you are allowed a one-time "no import duty" shipment of personal belongings. Since we arrived on long-term work visas (P.R. Visa should come through in a month or two :hopeso ) as Melissa points out, Customs was interested in our shipment. :booby

We had a letter from our immigration consultants stating that we had an invitation from the NZIS to apply for permanent residency and we were in the middle of buying our house. So the moving company asked for copies of the letter and our contract for the house. Of course we were a bit concerned but the very next day they said Customs cleared everything overnight! A couple of days later they said MAF had a quick look (not sure they even came out by the sound of things) and that was it. Phew again!

Your quotes from Allied are right in line with our actual costs. The inventory computer/printer thing they use is pretty cool. (It helped us to list our personal belongings for "chattels" insurance later as well.) However the fellow that gave us the estimate had no knowledge of NZ rules and regs...not his fault I suppose, but it would have been nice if he'd at least had the knowledge you guys have!

Oh, sorry you decided to sell your "baby" Rae...know the feeling all too well. But take heart, they do have cars here too!

[MelissaLG]

Rae and Rich,

Thanks for the additional info! Every little insight helps!

Melissa

[Yogi]

How much is a big huge obscene American refigerator with freezer comaprtment and the lot likely to cost in NZ? They seem to be around UKP 1000 here upwards at the moment.

Cheers,

Yogi.

[richsadams]

Hi Yogi :cool

The big, huge, obscene American-style refrigerators are not very common in NZ, but there are a few side-by-sides that fit the bill. They sell for around NZ$2K to NZ$3K. :eek

The thing is that, as previously mentioned, most NZ kitchens aren't built for them; the space is just too small. By American standards the one we brought was just average size and it wouldn't fit in our new house.

We're coming to find out that many Kiwis shop for groceries every couple of days and that's why the refrigerators are a bit small by American standards. Most Americans shop once a week or so and fill up the shelves. It must be hard for Kiwi families with lots of wee ones!