Movers that are good

Hello albarooq,

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You can get a free quote for your move to Canada from one of our partners here > https://www.expat.com/en/movers/north-america/canada/

Cheers,

Cheryl

Expat.com team

Thank you for the info

After a long search I chose Classic Moving in Kuala Lumpur but there are a lot of problems about shifting goods.

Classic, like the others, and we are talking about using boats, have minimums of either 2 or 3 cubic meters which is a huge amount of boxes. You have almost nothing but you'll pay for the minimum. Second, Classic picked up my boxes in June, 2023 and I have yet to receive them. Be prepared to wait a year or more while the moving company tries to fill shipping containers.

Air freight. You'll pay, i dont know, 5X or 10X the boat rate per kilo or cubic meter but you'll get it fast and you'll only have to pay for what you are actually shipping. You can even arrange all this yourself by calling an airline cargo department-- airlines that otherwise serve your destination. The main thing there, like any shipping company, is the abundant documentation, beginning with a detailed inventory list consisting of the item, if its new or secondhand, its value and its origin. You can note if an item is being returned to its country source or purchased new in Asia. Multiples of the same items may be taxed at a commercial rate when you get to Customs in your country. You may or may not need help in filling up the various shipping and Customs forms. Shipping involves a lot of paperwork.

Insurance. This will greatly increase the shipping cost but there is no choice.

First thing I would do is reduce what you want to ship as much as possible. Then if you are traveling at the same time, pack your suitcases to the maximum limit with your goods. Alternatively, in the case of airplane shipments, you can also appear at the airport with your boxes at the time of traveling and pay for excess weight. Thats an option because though you'll pay a lot, the goods leave with you and arrive with you.

I never asked Classic about airfreight because I was patient about time and wanted the most cheap way which is a boat but they probably handle air shipments too. I would call them and ask. You can also google all this and get onto forwarders to get rates from them. There are only a few companies in Malaysia that will serve small users, most of them want commercial accounts, like shipping huge amounts from factories.

Based on your small shipment, air is probably the best answer. Your load isnt big enough to justify the work needed for a sea shipment but you certainly can to save the most money and if you have the patience for it.

If the stuff you are sending back to Canada are really that important, then consider sending by airfreight, perhaps you could reduce the weight/quantity of things you want to return. If you use a freight forwarder and send the stuff by sea, be aware that often freight forwarders often try to take advantage of inexperienced customers.

One of the most important things is to measure the volume of each carton so when the forwarder comes back with a massively inflated volume and price, you can let them know the true total volume of your boxes. What I mean is that freight forwarders standardly overcharge for boxes and other loose items. A rule of thumb is that there are 9 - 10 standard export cartons in one square metre. So measure them yourselves and make sure that the freight company agrees with you and that it is mentioned in the contract.

I shipped about 2.5 cbm of personal effects from the UK to Malaysia years ago with Pickfords. Make sure that you name and value items that have a higher insurance value than the normal stuff so if it gets damaged then it'll get covered.

I'm not sure about which freight companies are around in Malaysia, but they are easy to find online. When I moved stuff from Malaysia to Indonesia I contacted three of the bigger companies, and they all quoted really high. In the end I used an Indonesian company that ships personal effects for Indonesian workers and maids back to Indonesia and the price was good.