Shipping from Xiamen to Melbourne

Client Information: Ms. Chen;
Shipping Route: Moving from Xiamen to Melbourne;
Case Summary: Ms. Chen from Xiamen commissioned Seapoe Relo to ship her belongings by sea to Melbourne.

Ms. Chen from Xiamen is moving to Melbourne for permanent residence and was reluctant to part with the furniture her family had used for many years. Having heard from a friend who had already emigrated that she could bring it over duty-free, she searched online for international moving services. After comprehensively weighing factors such as service, price, and reputation, she chose Seapoe Relo as her carrier for moving from Xiamen to Melbourne.

Among the items Ms. Chen shipped by sea from Xiamen to Melbourne, the most important was an upright piano. Seapoe staff gave Ms. Chen a detailed introduction to the company's materials and procedures for packing pianos, and suggested building a fumigation-free wooden crate to better ensure the safety of the item.

Pianos are large, very heavy, and cannot be disassembled, so special care must be taken during packing. The first step is to protect against friction and scratches by wrapping the piano once in cotton white paper; the second step is to wrap it again in shock-absorbing pearl cotton to prevent knocks that could throw the piano out of tune; the third step is to cut cardboard to the shape and size of the piano, wrap it around, and seal it.

As a valuable item, after packing is completed the piano is transported to Seapoe's warehouse, where a custom wooden crate is built to reinforce the packaging once more, ensuring the piano will not be damaged during long-distance transport. Besides the piano, Ms. Chen also had other items to ship, including a sofa, coffee table, bed, bedside table, mattress, and TV cabinet. When Seapoe staff came to collect the goods, all of these items were packed according to international moving packing standards. After packing, they were transported to Seapoe's warehouse in Shanghai, then customs-declared, booked, and shipped to Australia. Once customs clearance is completed, they will be delivered to Ms. Chen's new home in Melbourne.

Notes for moving to Australia:

1. Australian customs regulations allow new migrants to Australia to bring in duty-free personal belongings that have been used for more than one year. Seapoe recommends that clients preparing to move to Australia bring valuable items that are hard to buy in Australia or that hold sentimental value, such as Chinese-style furniture.

2. If the shipped items include valuables such as porcelain or pianos, custom wooden crates will be built, which is the highest level of protection in international moving. However, Australia has strict environmental protection rules: all wooden items (except used furniture) must be fumigated before entry. Therefore, when using wooden crate packaging, fumigation-free crates are recommended. If fumigation is required, it is strongly advised to have it done in China, as doing it in Australia would be very costly.

3. If the shipped items include items that easily come into contact with soil, such as floor-length curtains, outdoor tents, and shoes, please clean them thoroughly, because such items may carry microorganisms that could affect Australia's ecological environment. If discovered by customs, they will be returned or confiscated and destroyed, incurring additional costs.

4. Under normal circumstances, the entire journey from China to most parts of Australia takes about 40-45 days, and for consolidated shipping clients it may take about 60 days to complete the service. Clients preparing to move can use this to plan their transport schedule in advance.