Shipping Piano from Sweden to UK

[Colin Nicholson]

I'm planning a flight over the Sweden, possibly Jan/Feb 2011 for a friend's brother's (friend of a friend) upright German piano to be assessed for restoration, with a view of shipping it to the UK. Not sure yet exactly where he lives, so just typed in Stockholm for now. I have asked for various quotes from shipping/removal companies from Sweden to UK, and some of them are on a bidding system? No one got back to me yet.

I have no idea yet about the condition of the piano, what needs doing and how much he is willing to spend - nor do I know the piano name/ action design etc., but the info/ photos will shortly be sent to me. If he was just planning on an "action overhaul" - I was contemplating stripping the action parts, boxing them up, and sending them by post to UK...... but that would involve me returning and assembling the action/ regulation/ tuning etc - and not sure how much he can afford, as he will also be paying for my flights etc. Also not sure if airports would allow a box through customs, full of action parts & possibly ivory keys.

The thing I also want to avoid is becoming too involved with repairs in the middle of Scandinavia!

So.... has anyone done this before? any rough idea on costs of shipping/ timescale/ - would it be best for them to arrange their own piano chap!! I also don't speak Swedish!!

Any ideas gratefully received......

[MarkGoodwinPianos]

I've used Nortex for international piano shipments. This was when I used to export Bechstein grand pianos to North America & Japan. I would only be sending one at a time but it went very well and Nortex were good.

This was export not import so they may not be able to help, I'm not sure. They are based in Burnley and this is their website
http://www.nortexinternational.co.uk/

I used to deal with Donna back in the day.

Donna did forget to insure a piano for me on one shipment so be careful to confirm that.

Othewise, I've sold a Yamaha U3 upright to a chap in Finland once. He found a company in Finland that made occasional runs to the UK for house removals etc and he asked them to collect the piano for him. It worked out cheaper than a dedicated shipment and the movers did a good job of loading and packing the piano.

So you might want to ask your friend to gather a list of companies who do runs to the UK.

Hope that helps a little

[Colin Nicholson]

Thanks for that Mark, will give them a try.

[MarkGoodwinPianos]

this website popped up in the Google Ads just now too
http://www.channelmoving.com/?gclid=CJK ... 2Aodbn_GQA