Sending Hockey Gear to Melbourne...

[hoyhoy]

Hiya Folks,

I am moving back to Melbourne from Ontario in the new year and I wanted to send my hockey gear (along with some extra clothes, etc.) ahead of me. I have been skimming over most of the posts in this forum, looking for some advice on shipping, but unfortunately everything discussed has been on shipping large quantities of items, basically people shifting all of their belongings. Also, I have researched the internet and have had minor success, costs seem to hover around $300-$400. I just need to send one hockey bag to Melbourne.any advice? Thanks.

Kind Regards,
Luke

[cherieboberry1]

You may be able to bring it on your flight and pay the excess baggage .it will probably still be expensive but you will have it when you arrive. Trouble with "shipping" is it could be months before you see your stuff again. We sent stuff through Beakin in Vancouver and I know they offer a minimum space for $1000 .so pretty expensive, but if you call around the companies I think there are places that just charge you for your piece and wait until they fill a shipping container with other's belongings.it could take months before the container fills and then months before it gets to Oz. Best bet is to check your Airline, they may have a better option for you or know the best way to get it there. Good Luck!

[comet555]

It might be cheapest (& fastest) to just pay for an extra piece of luggage on whatever airline you are on.

Looks like Air Canada charges $225 for an extra piece of luggage on international flights.
http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/ ... ggage.html

We brought over all our equipment as part of our checked baggage. Mind you we had purchased 4 seats (us and two kids) so we were allowed 8 pieces of luggage. So we brought 3 sets of hockey bags and 2 sets of golf clubs, plus some clothes of course.

You'd have to double check with the airline on how much it cost. But when we flew we just made sure the hockey bag was within the weight limits and it counted as one piece. The hockey equipment itself was still fairly light so we filled it up with clothes until it was about 5-10 pounds under the weight limit (their scales suck!).

The other option is an excess baggage company. I've not used one so don't know what they're like. I had a quick look and found this one.
http://www.excess-baggage.com/baggage_shipping.php

I have no idea if they do Canada, but I'm sure there's a company like that who does.

Good luck, definitely bring all your gear because it's expensive here. In fact if you think you need to replace any of your stuff do it in Canada, and bring lots of sticks too. A regular wooden Sherwood stick is like $70 here, so make sure you bring enough. Also, if you happen to use t-blades bring a bunch with you because you won't find them here.

[Molson_EX]

hey mate, i brought my hockey gear to melbourne from Toronto and it only cost me 50 dollars for the extra luggage. i also brought 4 sticks that they didnt charge me for.just ask your airline.they should be reasoalbe in prices and a lot cheaper than mailing it.
cheers

[hoyhoy]

Wow, thats great. Thanks for the info everyone, now all that remains is the task of lugging it and my golf bag through the airports at the same time.

Cheers!

[Jeff_Klinck]

Mate,

Bring plenty of tape and sticks. The new rink in Melbourne (docklands) has got momentum now, planned opening in late 2009 (most likely 2010).

Jeff

[comet555]

I second the tape bit. Tape here in Brisbane costs about $7 a roll, which sort of explains why you see some guys using packing tape instead!