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Thread: Is it worth buying more things prior to shipping?

  1. #21
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    Oct 2018
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    Read every bit of this. My question is i was hoping to replace a mattress and a couch. A lot of our other furniture seems newer(new couple, no kids) How picky Do you think customs is about this?

  2. #22
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    May 2012
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    NZ (Auckland; via Canada)
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    We brought left our mattress in Canada. When it was time to replace it with one here, bed shopping in NZ proved to be super-duper expensive. Like twice as expensive--and, it turned out, not great quality (from a major bed retailer). Last year we found a smaller operation in Henderson that ended up being cheaper than what we paid for a similar quality mattress in Vancouver. And no, I can't recall the name of the Henderson company

  3. #23
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    Jan 2018
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    USA
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mariem84 View Post
    Read every bit of this. My question is i was hoping to replace a mattress and a couch. A lot of our other furniture seems newer(new couple, no kids) How picky Do you think customs is about this?
    Hello and congratulations on the move! Here is our experience:

    We just moved from the USA to NZ, and we shipped a 20-foot container, packed to the gills. We bought new mattresses, patio furniture, and couches. Also brought most of our original furniture, focusing on the good quality wood and metal pieces that cost a fortune to replace here. Vintage pieces, things bought with care and forethought that would last forever, etc.
    We took the wrapping off the couches and the mattress (we used the latter for a couple of months), but left the patio furniture and coffee table in the boxes for easy packing. We declared the boxed items, and had the receipts handy for everything in case there were any questions. Also bought new towels and sheets (flannel for winter, linen for summer) and some other stuff (see below). We used and laundered bedding and clothing, so did not declare them.
    Customs held and inspected the shipment for plant/animal contamination (camping gear, BBQ, our other outdoor patio set), but they didn't charge us duty or GST for the boxed items.

    We had a house purchased and waiting for us, so we pretty much knew what we were going to need for the layout. It was totally worth the $12-15$k we ended up forking out for moving. Replacing all of this stuff would have cost way more than that. I very strongly recommends stocking up on:

    Sheets, if you care about quality and value
    Towels, ditto
    Wooden and metal furniture, or any quality pieces/rugs you have for the home. Replace mattresses, blankets, duvet covers etc if they are old.
    Shoes and clothing.
    Hiking and outdoor gear.
    Kitchen ware, especially good pans and knives (if you are a fussy chef like me - I bought All Clad pans from the annual seconds sale in the USA and I am SO GLAD I did)
    Dishes - get a nice new set, if you don't have good dishes already

    Hope this helps. You can find lots of household stuff here, either in the bigger cities or online, and there is even a place to get IKEA furniture online for "filler" pieces: https://www.urbansales.co.nz/

    But in my personal experience, if you like good quality and want things that will last a long, long time, they cost and arm and a leg and a kidney here.

    hope this helps!

  4. #24
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    Jan 2018
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    USA
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    Quote Originally Posted by EnRoute View Post
    Hi Everyone! I was hoping to get some advice, and I don't think this hasn't been asked before.


    Side note: I read somewhere that Ziploc bags can be hard to find? If we also ship non food disposable items (cling wrap, diapers..) would customs raise an eyebrow? Cause we do not want to annoy the guys at the border! That never ends well...

    Thank you!
    If I may speak to this point as well:
    While it is true that the "true" Ziploc bags (w/sliding lock) are hard to find, and you can bring them, other Ziploc products are available here.
    However, think on this: you are moving here because it is a relatively pristine refuge from the over-crowded, polluted world that often values convenience over the environment.

    We talked quite a bit about this. In the end, only brought the leftover bags and wraps we had in our US house. We try to store foods in glass containers, wax paper, etc, and we are re-using the Ziplocs we brought over and over and over. Plastic takes hundreds/thousands of years to degrade in landfill. There are a lot of people migrating here. It's your choice, but do the math and think about it why you are moving here, and how you would like NZ to be in 100-1000 years. If we all bring a mountain of plastic ... we will end up with a HUGE mountain of plastic.

    Not preaching, just food for thought.

  5. #25
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
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    NZ
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    A good point, and found myself collecting waxed cloth wraps during my visit - they're so cute! Their production is a growing cottage industry in NZ, seems like. Lots of sizes from sandwich to snack. Combined with reusable sistema containers, I didn't need nearly as many baggies. I do still like to have the larger sized plastic bags for things like traveling with toiletries. For even bigger things like wet swimsuits, however, I'm still using wetbags that I originally bought for cloth diapers - check out Planetwise brand before you leave amazon territory, many sizes and patterns. It appears they even make sandwich bags now.

    Quote Originally Posted by SpotSpot View Post
    If I may speak to this point as well:
    While it is true that the "true" Ziploc bags (w/sliding lock) are hard to find, and you can bring them, other Ziploc products are available here.
    However, think on this: you are moving here because it is a relatively pristine refuge from the over-crowded, polluted world that often values convenience over the environment.

    We talked quite a bit about this. In the end, only brought the leftover bags and wraps we had in our US house. We try to store foods in glass containers, wax paper, etc, and we are re-using the Ziplocs we brought over and over and over. Plastic takes hundreds/thousands of years to degrade in landfill. There are a lot of people migrating here. It's your choice, but do the math and think about it why you are moving here, and how you would like NZ to be in 100-1000 years. If we all bring a mountain of plastic ... we will end up with a HUGE mountain of plastic.

    Not preaching, just food for thought.
    Last edited by Juniper; 19th October 2018 at 08:40 AM.

  6. #26
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Auckland
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    241

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    I will tell you my experience...

    When I moved from Melbourne to Auckland I was like: " Once I am in Auckland I will buy everything new... with the exchange rate (Australian dollar to kiwi dollar, and US dollar to kiwi dollar) we will get more from our money! not need to ship everything!"

    I was soooooo wrong!!!!

    I regret not bringing my Christmas decorations... I regret not bridging my home decoration... and many many more

    I didn't have a clear idea of how expensive NZ can be!

    And don't get me wrong, time to time, we have a lot of offers and that's the time buy goods (furniture, tv, phones, clothes, etc)
    And the quality of NZ products are incredible, top 1!!!

    Soooo... long story-short, Bring as many things as you can... just remember the electronics can be a challenge, and to avoid 'explosions' and 'burn cables' just buy them here!

    ----

    And talking about goods in NZ! Sometimes it can be a challenge to find some 'normal' products that you might find in your home country, for example Ziploc bags, but nowadays we have a lots of shops with imported products (from America for example, there is shop that sells: Ziploc bags, Cheetos, Vienna sausage, pumpkin products for thanksgivings, mac and cheese, Gillette deodorant, bounce, etc )

    it is just a matter of adjusting to the culture and customs from here...

  7. #27
    Join Date
    Nov 2004
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    NZ
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    We just received our shipment (40' container') and I didn't hear a peep from our movers about customs, other than paying the standard fees. It doesn't even look like they opened any boxes. I guess we were some of the lucky ones.

    One thing we did misunderstand though - the duty free allowance for tobacco and alcohol does not apply to unaccompanied baggage! We had to pay hundreds of dollars in duty for the 100g of cigars and 4 750ml bottles of whiskey, which we had declared. My costume swords went through without comment, and nothing was considered too dirty. I wiped down our bikes with regular spray cleaner, but they were undisturbed (the movers had wrapped them in a ridiculous amount of paper and tape). Everything that was brand new (like sheets, clothes, and lots of board games that hubby collects), we took out of packaging just to be careful.

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