Home on Mondays: Is Shipping Your Home Items to Your Home Country Worth It?

We did the big move back home in November last year. We choose between sending our items via LBC or by shipping it. It was 10 years worth of accumulated stuff, so we decided to get help from a shipping company. 

We made a detailed list of the items we were set to bring home. We eventually decided to ship our things because of our toy and fabric collection and appliances (TV, piano, several air purifiers and kitchen appliances). We thought it might be too risky to ship those items via balikbayan box. Our cleaner also told us that the TV she sent back home was damaged. 

Requested for a quotation from several reputable companies. They came to our home to inspect the items we were going to ship to assess how much it would cost. We eventually chose the one that was associated with the company that brought my items when I moved to Singapore. We asked a gazillion questions and we were reassured that our items will arrive safely. 

Our things were packed a week before our flight. At the end of the second day all our items were put inside a container van. It was locked and immediately loaded on the ship. The shipment arrived three weeks later and delivered to our new home on the first day of December. 

We finished opening all the boxes last summer. We had a spreadsheet of everything that was packed and how many boxes were packed. It was almost double of what we estimated if we sent everything via balikbayan box. The cost would probably have been the same. 

The advantage of shipping your items back through a shipping company is they have people who would help pack your items. The items are insured and they make sure everything will arrive in one piece. So far, only one item has been missing, my old MSI laptop. The drawback though were unforeseen additional expenses. 

We were charged additional fees for the volume. We were surprised about it because when we unboxed most of the boxes were not full. What was more painful was getting charged the customs fee six months after the items were delivered. The fee was 250% higher than what they quoted. The amount really affected our budget since we were originally told that there were no charges anymore. 

So, was it worth it? I think it was since it was not possible for us to pack the items ourselves. All our appliances and collections arrived in one piece (old MSI laptop still MIA). We could have probably saved money if we split up our items. Sent the appliances and other risky items via a smaller container van. Then send less valuable items via balikbayan box. We could have also de-cluttered months ahead of our scheduled departure, but that would have been dependent on being well enough to do it. 

We were initially happy about getting all our items in one piece, but that was quickly erased when we were given an unexpected large customs bill. The receipt showed that it was billed in November 2021. We were only told about it in April 2022. They also gave empty promises about a discount and allowing us to pay in installments. So the happy service turned sour and left us disappointed. 

We just decided to pay it in full since we just want them out of our lives. Shipping your items back home? Do think twice about it. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

The Tiger has Arrived!

It has been a waiting game the past few weeks. We've been waiting for our boxes from Singapore to arrive and clear customs. The mover told us the ship arrived on November 11. Not bad since we arrived on November 4. It took long though to clear customs so we had to wait. 

Watching the movers work always fascinates me. They are really experts in what they do. What we packed for many weeks, just took them a few minutes. I first had the opportunity to have a mover when I moved to Singapore. At that time I just had them pack a box, a mattress and a folding table (they were very bored). 

A few months later I got help from them to pack and move our stuff from our rented place to our first owned home. They finished packing and moving everything in less than a day. They had a lot of time to unpack our things, but we chose not to have our stuff unpacked since we were still waiting for our cabinets to be delivered. That's how good they are. 

For our move home we got help from Asian Tigers. They packed our things last October and the ship sailed two days after. Today, the local team came and finished in less than two hours. I watched them from the second floor and they would look up and wave at me. They were a really friendly crew and I appreciate the help they have provided. 

Thank you Kuya Jessie and your amazing crew!

I'm glad we got help to move our things. We just also had them unpack a few things since we don't have our storage cabinets yet. It will probably take us a few months to finish unpacking and fixing everything, so now we have another messy home! Haha. 

Cheers to a very messy last month! I hope we can make things a bit more decent before Christmas! Now we have to rethink how to celebrate Mom's birthday! 

#Home29 #NewG217 #Xmas23 #StayHome #BeKind