Shipping to Australia  

Well I've shipped high value merchandise from the USA to Australia using White Glove Shipping (out of New York). Perhaps they have a spot in the U.K. Had 1 bit of clumsiness, but it was worked out. Take many photographs of the chaise prior to it leaving your sight. And ask for a photocopy of the pick up persons drivers license (if he'll let you). Declare your Eames chaise to be over 100 years old to avoid customs fee's (I think). And insure for the full value. It is important to find a shipper who can get the goods to the buyer in one or two days. Things get lost in airport warehouses. Plan on Customs unpacking/repacking the chaise. A crate would be the best method.

Good luck,

Aunt Mark

Gander&White London

When I worked in the fine art/antiques shipping business they were considered the go-to international shipper in the UK. Top-shelf service.

I shipped a 670/671 Herman Miller to Sydney last January. We cut 2 custom made reinforced cardboard boxes ( 25 & 15kg shipping weight), and screwed the back panels off to keep within the dimension restrictions of UPS.

Make sure to make pictures of the packing, the sealed boxes, and the chairs in detail to avoid any "misunderstandings". Declare full value, ensure to keep receipts of everything in hardcopy.

UPS did their job nicely, however buyer decided to do a credit card chargeback after 5 months.. Thank god I had all the paperwork to prove him wrong, as he announced never to have received the chair. Good luck!

Wow Flipster,

How do you know he DID receive it?

Having a printed out copy handy of the receiver's signature was a rather convincing argument.

Also, since we're talking about a lot of money so a quick phone call was enough to convince the buyer to withdraw his claim: These days filing a mail fraud report can be easily done online with the Sydney police I found out.

Thanks everyone for your advice. Will do a bit more research and see how I go...