Emigrating; has anyone had to ship their collection abroad?

[JamieH]

Hello all,

I've been browsing the game collections on this site for a few weeks now and thought I'd introduce myself. I've been collecting for years, starting with a Sega Master System. I'm most interested in Mega-CD, 32x, 3do and Saturn, but collect just about anything – lately Tiger/Systema and other obscure handheld stuff.
I'll (hopefully) be moving to Toronto next year and have been wondering exactly how to get my stuff over. I have hundreds of CDs, cartridges, tapes and many systems along with their accessories. Has anyone gone through the inconvenience of having to move all their stuff abroad? Would a regular removal company be my best option? I'm currently in the UK.

Thanks.

Jamie

[Mayhem]

Don't go, you won't like it!!! ;)

Heh, don't listen to the ramblings of an old retro Brit here. But welcome to DP anyhow.

I have a few friends of mine who have moved to Canada from the UK in the last year or two. And one has gone to New Zealand. I'm fairly sure most of the stuff they did take with them (after selling off however much) was shipping in containers by sea. Still I can but ask if I remember.

[JamieH]

Thanks for the welcome Mayhem.

[Haoie]

Oh, this seems like a dilemma I may face in a few years.

I've got a number of boxes full of PS games, all PAL, and I may need to move to the US, for work opportunities.

I guess it'd be worse if I collected arcade blocks, or worse.

[Mayhem]

Which brings me to my other point. Most of the stuff you have bought here in the UK is going to be fairly unplayable in any NTSC country cos their TV system won't be able to handle PAL.

Another hoorah for me cos most of the stuff I own is US or Japanese :P

I tease there, so pay no attention. But seriously, if there's loads of stuff you have and you don't want to part with it, it might be better finding someway of keeping it here in storage than shipping it over cos you're not gonna be able to use most of it most likely.

[tom]

Guess I had it easy then, moving from the UK back to Germany.

All my stuff was stored in a container in UK, once in Germany I hired a 4.5t truck, drove from Germany through Luxenburg, Belgium, France (Calais), no passport needed as all borders are shut down, then onto the Ferry to UK (Dover).

Once in UK, Passport needed, as UK is paranoid and you still need to show passport, they even checked my (empty) truck. Off I go, from Dover to Cornwall in one swoop. Unloading container, loading the truck. Heading towards Bournemouth, resting over night, next day same way back, Dover-France, Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany.

Back to the house, unpacking.....

[tom]

BTW, don't worry about the NTSC issue, as you probably take UK TVs and VCRs and DVD players along.

The real problem you have is 120 Volts only in Canada, so all your UK appliances need step-downs.

[Mayhem]

The UK appliances will need step-up transformers not stepdown. Stepdown is converting 240V here to the 110V that US appliances need. Step-up hence is the opposite (converting 110V to 240V).

Step-ups are a LOT harder to find, but LikSang do sell them I believe. I think Maplins in the UK might sell them too.

[sisko]

Just curious...do you have to pay customs fees when you move?

[GaijinPunch]

I relocated from Japan to Hawaii. The company picked up the tab, so I didn't make any efforts to trim down before I left... probably added on in the last few months, if anything.

I shipped mine with the rest of my effects and furniture. I did the packing though. You will see very quickly that international moves are very pricey. We got a company discount as 10 families moved at once, and that was about $5000 each, and they didn't ship direct. Normal price is probably $8000 or $9000.

[jferio]

If someone else is shipping your stuff, then I recommend that you pack such stuff in a box labeled 'Entertainment Accessories' or some such, in case someone goes through the container, and is not entirely honest. Also, make sure you have a manifest of all property shipped, signed by the supervisor of the group that loads the container for you.