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Thread: Shipping: a conundrum

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    2

    Default Shipping: a conundrum

    I'm moving the family down to Dunedin from the US within the next few months, and we're being allowed by my new employer a set volume of 28m3. All well and good, but, so far as I am able to determine, this volume does not correspond to any current shipping container standard - the standard interior dimensions for a 20-footer seems to be closer to 31m3. To make matters (somewhat) worse, our goods have been estimated at c. 36m3, which puts us well over the measured interior dimensions of a 20 foot container, but far under a 40-footer. We'll see how much the next two estimates give us, in terms of volume, but there's not a whole lot we'd be willing to part with, at this stage. I'm almost equally unexcited about paying the thousands and thousands of dollars in excess of my company moving allowance (but maybe I'm spoiled to even have an allowance!).

    So my options seem to be biting the bullet and paying the excess, or trying to find a way to freight some of the less fragile items - like boxes of clothes and, less likely, books. Does anyone have any experience with trying to reduce their cargo load through other freighting options? Is there a slow-boat method that might be worth exploring? I just saw that the AirNZ extra luggage option is terribly expensive ($200 per item), so that's not going to work too well, with our budget... This is all very new to us, and not the most exciting part of the move we've experienced thus far, but I'm sure things will get better after these details have been worked out!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    California to Tasman Bay
    Posts
    1,137

    Default

    Are you sure excess baggage is $200? I came over with my two children and brought all of our clothes on the airplane. We were allowed one bag each and then it was $50 for the first excess bag per person. That means that we had 3 extra bags at a total of $150. After that the excess baggage went up by a ridiculous amount per bag. Perhaps it has changed since we came.
    I had 12 boxes of books that I had to reduce to 6, it was painful, so I empathise with you!
    However, according to everything I've looked at a 20ft container is actually 38.5m3. It seems weird that your shipping allowance would be 10 below this as it probably costs more to send less than a 20foot container. Perhaps you could do some pricing and convince them it is less to ship a container. That's why we chose a 20ft container even though we only filled it half full.
    I agree that shipping your stuff is one of the worst parts of the move. Good luck!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    2

    Post

    The rates have gone up significantly (twice) in the last couple years. Now it's $150 for the first extra bag, then $200 for each additional (http://www.airnewzealand.com/excess-...-united-states). Maybe I'll be a gold star alliance member someday, but for now the one checked bag/person policy applies.

    I'd be interested to see where your 38.5m3 volume is from, the standard interior dimensions of a 20ft container seem to be 19.5 x 7.5 x 7.5 ft, which comes to c. 1100ft3, which divides down to c. 31m3 at the standard conversion (c. 35ft3 per m3). Everywhere I've seen a volume quoted, it's close to the 1100ft or 31 m figure that I gave. If a 20 footer holds 1350 ft3, then my allowance is even more difficult to rationalize! Ugh. It will all be finished soon enough, I suppose - maybe our things will arrive in September or October and we'll be able to get on with our lives!

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    194

    Default

    The excess baggaage rates are a little more complicated now, expecially when you fly with code share partners etc. We flew from Denver to LAX on United, then onto Wellington. We had four checked bags, two whoulc have been excess (infant doesn't get one) and we were only charged $75 total.

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