Our destination-specific customs advice explains the documents you'll need to complete and the requirements you must meet when shipping belongings.
Just because you’re students, doesn’t mean we’re going to start lecturing you on how to pack your boxes properly. However, packing is very important to us here at Seven Seas Worldwide so we thought it worth running through a few hints.
Watch Our How To Pack Video:
First of all, let’s start by talking about our own boxes because there’s a good chance you’ll be using them if you're taking advantage of our student shipping service:
- Our boxes are chemically-hardened and designed specifically for long journeys and storage. They’re a better option than the dozen or so boxes you’re planning on knocking together that are so old you probably built a fort out of them when you were little.
- The large packing box we supply is called a ‘Large Box’ or ‘Tea Chest Box’. This box is particularly useful for packing bulky but light items such as shoes, bed linen, clothes and cuddly toys you’ve yet to grow out of. The dimensions of the Large Box are 24” (height), 20” (depth) and 16” (width).
- The standard packing box is called a ‘Standard Box’ or ‘Book Box’. This box is designed to look after the heavier items such as hand tools, books, big photo albums, that sort of thing. The dimensions of the Standard Box are 12" (height), 20" (length) and 16" (width).
- Assembly and packing instructions can be found printed on the flap of every box.
Remember not to exceed the maximum weight of 66 pounds (or 30kg) for each item or else a charge will be applied. No wants that. Our driver may ask you to repack the items into another box if they load their van and lift a box that they consider heavier than 66 pounds (or 30kg).
If you’ve over-packed too many boxes, our driver may abandon the collection – they’ve got other customers, you see, they can’t hang around. This means you’ll have to repack and reschedule. There will be a charge for this.
Also, we advise you order more boxes than you need. No one can accurate forecast how many boxes they’re going to require for a move so it’s better to have too many than not enough. You can just return any unused ones, free of charge.
Packing For Student Shipping
So – packing. Well, our handy video on the main parcel packing page will probably cover your student packing list but there are a few things we want to tell you about below:
First of all, if you believe you’ve exceeded the maximum weight allowance of 66lbs, just weigh them on the bathroom scales. If you stand on the scales holding the box, all you need to do is subtract your own weight from the total. Pretty handy hint there.
If you have any large items that do not fit our boxes, give us a call – we’re always here to help.
Something really important to remember is that the quarantine departments of some countries (such as Australia and New Zealand) will check items such as shoes, boots, sports and camping equipment. Make sure you clean these items thoroughly and place them at the top inside the boxes. This will make it easier for quarantine officials to inspect them. We know this stuff because we do so much international shipping, you see.
And finally, if you’re packing valuable goods, we would recommend checking out our parcel insurance page. Just for peace of mind.