Falcon / Amit - Thanks for the info.

Falcon - what was the cost to ship the container from Dubai to Vancouver door to door. Was it a 20 ft or a 40 ft container? You mentioned that your container was 3/4 full - does this mean that the packers use the remaining 1/4 to pack other people's goods or 1/4 th remained empty and you were charged for the full container?

Regarding door - to door delievery -
I do not yet have an address - is it possible to give a friend's address and then request the forwarders to deliever to your address once you have a rented? (assuming that you have your own address before the goods arrive at Vancouver). How did you work around this problem?

Thanks again and keep us posted once the goods arrive and your experiences on clearing them in Vancouver and the service provided by the Vancouver end of ISS Worldwide

AJ

AJ,
It cost me AED 15,300 (including insurance-paid almost AED 1000 for insurance). It was a 20 ft container. The container was all mine. The shippers actually sealed the container once they finished loading the stuff in it.

I actually had to pay for the whole container as the volume I shipped was close to a full container (it ended up being 27 cubic metres against the full container capacity of 32 cubic meters). Don't forget that these guys can only estimate the volume of the goods shipped and you have to leave some contingency especially when you're close to full capacity. The other way is to pay by the cubic meter but of course you will pay more. It depends on how big is your shipment to decide the way you want to calculate. You can always ask for both rates to make up your mind.

As for the address, I gues you should have an address even if it is a friend's address. I don't think it makes a difference initially but you should sort this out prior to the goods' arrival in Toronto which usually takes approx. 7 weeks (I think your stuff needs to be sea shipped to Montreal and then trucked to Toronto, it would take 5 weeks fromDubai to Montreal and for the rest say 2 more weeks). The only thing is that, in case of a door-to-door option, the destination services charges (delivery to the address in Toronto) will be dependent on the location and also on which floor is your place at (they charge extra for any delivery above 2nd floor (ie condo) unless there is a decent cargo/service lift in the building). I had to pay an additional AED 450 for that reason. So you'd better clarify that with them in the negotiations phase.

I'll keep you posted about the events to follow.

Falcon,
Thanks a lot for your reply.
Keep us posted with your experiences of ISS in Vancouver? Do ISS have their own office in Vancouver or do they have to use others?
BTW - you mentioned that you would be staying in an apartment block - would that be somewhere in Burnaby? or Vancouver proper?

Good Luck!
AJ

I moved in from UAE last July. I sent my cargo (self packed) and abt 15 cbm thro' freight systems. It reached me around aug 2nd week and not even a glass broke! As regs electronic items, most of the leading brands come with a range of 110-220v. The PCs have a conversion button behind. Mind u , i calculated and realised that I saved abt 1500$ on the stuff by bringing them in.Firstly we lose quite a bit trying to sell it there plus pay addl taxes buying them here! Also, ensure that u get the flat plug pin attachment (that we normally get with all the gadgets when we buy them new). As regs items that work on 220, one can get a couple of converters (available in the rolla area near al khwair market for Dhs 65).Purchase them before the shipment leaves as its quite heavy. Believe me, though the prices appear to be similar, the tradeoff results in a loss if one buys here, especially the items that one already has over there. If u feel, the assets have atleast 3 years of life, left in them, bring them down, cause, as new immigrants, every $ counts...

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Good luck to everyone

AJM,
They don't have a branch company but they seem to have some collaboration with a logistics company in Vancouver called Homebound Logistics.
We'll see how it goes

Hi Falcon!
Hope your experiences with ISS were good! and the goods arrived on time. Please share your experience regarding Homebound Logistics at YVR. Did you have to go personally to the Customs for clearance or was this all taken care of by the Logistics Co?

Keep us posted
AJ

Hi Falcon,
Hope your goods have arrived !
Could you please share your experiences of clearing and delievery of Homebound Logistics in Vancouver?

AJ