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Thread: Christmas Decorations - Have you got through customs with them ok.

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
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    New Zealand
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    Default Christmas Decorations - Have you got through customs with them ok.

    Hi,

    On speaking with removal companies the general consensus is that Christmas decorations are ok as long as there are no pine cones, dried flowers, shells, twigs, feathers etc on them. So the likes of crystal balls and lights are ok.
    There is one company who is dead set against us taking ANY decorations.

    Just wondering what other people experiences have been. Have you got through customs with them ok. If you were stopped was it for certain items of decorations.

    Is a fake tree ok?


    Thanks in advance.

  2. #2
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    Jan 2010
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    New Zealand (Cockle Bay- Auck)
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    crystal balls and lights are fine. all fairy lights are not just for xmas. people have them outdoors too. so that is ridiculous that they say dont take any xmas stuff. its just natural flora/fauna they wont allow (as you said, pine cones, twigs, etc..) check on the MAF site and point that out to the numpties. and compare with what other removalists have to say. we found inconsistancies between companies too. one saying you cant take any herbs/spices at all, which is rubbish. the site clearly tells you what is allowed and what is not.
    personally we didnt bring any tree decorations. cant imagine having them up in the middle of summer, but did bring fairy lights etc..

  3. #3
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    Jun 2010
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    Ōtepoti, Aotearoa
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    We brought the whole lot with us including organic material. It was declared and MAF did not even take a closer look.

    Of course, our whole container was fumigated.

  4. #4
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    Aug 2008
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    Wellington
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    If you bring Christmas stuff, even without the organic matter, MAFF will 95% sure want to have a look. That will cost you....check the prices but it might cost more for them to look than the decorations are worth!

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
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    in my own little world...
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    we took all our Christmas decorations, including artificial tree! Christmas just wouldn't have been the same without that tree & my decorations.

    no issues with MAF, I assume it was all checked as the Removal Co had packed & labelled all the boxes & the MAF inspection took place before we knew about it.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
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    Stanley Bay, Auckland, NZ
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    We took all of our Christmas stuff, including organic material, and declared them as such. MAF didn't even want to look.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
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    Ditto above comments. We brought our fake tree and all of our xmas decorations, apart from the pine cones. It was all declared and the box was opened so MAF definitely had a peek, but there were obviously no issues as nothing was removed and my carefully packed tree and decorations arrived just as I'd packed them.

    As for cost of MAF inspection.....I imagine there are almost always going to be things MAF will check and this doesn't mean you'll end up paying some outrageous fee. Just make sure that all of the items MAF are likely to inspect are packed together and clearly labelled so they check the minimum number of boxes. Make sure you get all of these sorts of items together if you have shipping company doing your packing and discuss this with them before they begin.

  8. #8
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    Jan 2008
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    Tauranga, Bay of Plenty
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    Ours came with us i had removed the pine cones and ferny stuff and it was declared. We were unlucky enough to be the chosen container to be x rayed and our decs were opened and checked but no problem they were ok. Crystal balls, lights, etc came through unscathed.

  9. #9
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    Aug 2008
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    Wellington
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    Quote Originally Posted by Familyofmonkeys View Post
    Ditto above comments. We brought our fake tree and all of our xmas decorations, apart from the pine cones. It was all declared and the box was opened so MAF definitely had a peek, but there were obviously no issues as nothing was removed and my carefully packed tree and decorations arrived just as I'd packed them.

    As for cost of MAF inspection.....I imagine there are almost always going to be things MAF will check and this doesn't mean you'll end up paying some outrageous fee. Just make sure that all of the items MAF are likely to inspect are packed together and clearly labelled so they check the minimum number of boxes. Make sure you get all of these sorts of items together if you have shipping company doing your packing and discuss this with them before they begin.
    OOO here's another scam I think. I'll have to dig out the paperwork but I think I was charged by the shipping company on a per box inspected basis. Something like $X for the first 5 boxes and $Y per box / item thereafter.

    Checking the MAFF charges, they charge per hour. Given that the inspection at my house took about 20 minutes a per box charge is almost certainly higher!

    I'll get back to you if I can confirm this.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wooly_Cow View Post
    OOO here's another scam I think. I'll have to dig out the paperwork but I think I was charged by the shipping company on a per box inspected basis. Something like $X for the first 5 boxes and $Y per box / item thereafter.

    Checking the MAFF charges, they charge per hour. Given that the inspection at my house took about 20 minutes a per box charge is almost certainly higher!

    I'll get back to you if I can confirm this.

    Yep, you can insist on paying the MAF bill directly, and if the shipping company aren't forthcoming, go directly to MAF and they'll figure out what you charge should be from your bill of laden documents. This is such an old scam now

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