transporting goods to south africa

yully

just wondering if anyone can help me. A couple of years ago I went to south africa and dworked with a charity. Since then we've been fundraising and have also collected clothes, stationary etc. i've now been given the job of finding out how to ship them out to johanesburg. I've no idea where to start has anybody any idea what's the best way to approach this?

zulubabe

Postage to South Africa costs a fortune - not sure if it would be cheaper to courier it?

Errata

Get some quotes from shipping agents?

Hapless_2

if it weighs up to 70kg it would cost about £370 by parcels 2 go, but there are also size restrictions. the example quote I got was for 23 x 24 x 30 inches.

Lazy_Ike

What you are looking for is a Freight Forwarder.
"A freight forwarder organises the safe, efficient movement of goods on behalf of an exporter, importer or another company or person, sometimes including dealing with packing and storage.
Taking into account the type of goods and the customers' delivery requirements, freight forwarders arrange the best means of transport, using the services of shipping lines, airlines or road and rail freight operators. In some cases, the freight forwarding company itself provides the service"
It does not matter how big or small the consignment, with smaller consignment the FF can consolidate your shipment with others, especially if there is no deadline for the shipment. Use a search engine to locate a freight forwarding/shipping agent. It is worth it, there are so many complexities involved with correct tariff declarations, which would be the case with a mixed consignment. They can usually offer a "door to door" service with their SA associates handling that end. Unfortunately even though your goods are charitable, be prepared for the recipient having to pay duty and taxes, which often defeats to whole object of the exercise.

gil13

Hi, you will need to check if the price you have includes customs clearance and onward delivery/handling in JB. If you go down the LCL route then usually the price is to Arrival only. There are then local terminal handling and other charges inc customs clearance, the consignee would usually pay these. make sure you are comparing like for like.

yully

thanks for your help. this just seems like more trouble than it's worth. i don't want to sound ungrateful to people who've donated but we we're only raising money - as requested by the charity but someone took it upon themselves to start collecting clothes and have now backed out and dumped it on me!