Hi there has anyone any suggestions in the best way to ship your furniture etc over to Cyprus. We found that the type of furniture that we wanted to buy in Cyprus was very expensive and that we can get much much cheaper here and guess that the cost of shipping far outweighed this. My husband has even thought about hiring a van and doing it himself. What I was wondering was in regard of customs etc, what we would need to do if it did turn out he was going to bring it over himself and who we should contact etc.

Would love to hear from anyone who has either done this themselves or can recommend anyone. The experiences you have had in this regard etc.

Regards
Sheila

Hi Sheila,

We shipped some selected items of furniture over here in a 20 foot container. We used a company called 'Overs' in Camberley who did all the collection, packing, insurance etc. And as we didn't want the furniture delivered until our place had been built, they kept it in storage for two years.

If you don't have too much to ship over, you can also use a 'shared' container (I've forgotten the technical word) where your belongings and other people's are shipped in the same container.

The shipping companies have agents in Cyprus to handle customs formalities, etc. and delivery to your property. It's all very straightforward.

Do not bring your refrigerator - the ones in Cyprus are built to handle the conditions here and your UK one will not last very long.

One thing you need to bring over are 'decent' saucepans and other kitchen utensils. The ones available here are rubbish.

Cheers,

Thanks Nigel, I will get in touch with them and ask them for a quote. I was wondering about the delivery etc how it was all tied up but you have answered that for us. I had heard somewhere that you can share a contained but we were worried about doing that because some people may bring things like washing machines etc and I was worried about dampness/condensation etc getting into our furniture from left over water in these items.

You are right about utensils etc they do not seem to be very good quality we will buy everything over here. Anyway thanks again as always.

Regards
Sheila

Hi Sheila,

I've just been speaking with my wife about how we brought our things over. It came in two batches:

When we first came over we brought our crockery, cutlery and other essential items over in a shared container (technical term 'Groupage'). We used these in the house we rented while ours was being built.

We brought the rest over in a 20 foot container when our new house was nearly ready - furniture, kitchen hob, microwave & oven, etc. (We bought the hob etc. in the UK because they were a lot cheaper there than they were in Cyprus - I don't know if it's still the case).

We didn't have any problems with damp - all our things were wrapped or boxed and then wrapped in polythene and strapped on pallets.

But I do remember going to the warehouse at the Limassol port to identify our belongings. Some people had just dumped their things in boxes without bothering to sort them out and I recall seeing a hosepipe that was leaking water.

But if you use a decent shipping company, everything should be OK.

There's a company that advertises in the Cyprus Weekly - 'Britmovers'. Bob was Over's agent in Cyprus - it might be worth giving him a call.

Cheers,

Thanks Nigel, I will give Overs a call today to get the information I need.

All the best
Sheila

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