Thursday 5th December 2013: 2.01am. So quotes for relocation from Waterloo, Canada to Cork, Ireland are in! I asked only FIDI FAIM accredited relocators as those relocation companies in Canada advertising their ability to "internationally relocate" mean by "international" as equal to North America, not global, so the FIDI FAIM accreditation ought to mean they really do have global experience. There are in fact only six FIDI FAIM removers servicing Ontario, and here are the quotes for 221 cubic feet including $30,000 of goods insurance:
AMJ Campbell (Groupage) $3305
Brytor (Groupage) $3539
Taylor (Groupage) $4050
Tippet (Groupage) $5000
Armstrong (Groupage) $5410
Armstrong (LCL) $6945
MI Group Failed to provide quote within a week
Groupage is where you share a container, and therefore must wait until the container is full before it ships which could be many months. LCL ships immediately. As the Christmas break is one of the busiest times for relocation, I very much doubt that Groupage will incur much delay as they ought to be filling containers without issue.
Price isn't everything of course, and I also got each to tell me the receiving end agent they will use so I can research those too. And then comes much searching of expat forums on the internet to figure out how well each copes when things go wrong e.g. do they hold your goods hostage until you pay up more money? Do they fail to pay up on insurance if there is water damage? What about customs impounds and charging extra fees for that because we'll be dealing with UK as well as Irish customs? That sort of thing.
Sigh. I think transatlantic relocations are probably one of the most stressful things you'll ever do in life. It was bad enough when it was BlackBerry taking care of everything for us - now all this is on me, and I haven't been earning since August now nor expect to earn any time soon after we get back. And then of course there is a baby to provide for. Anyway, first things first, let's get the removers booked and paid for ... selling the stuff we're not taking with us on eBay comes next!
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