5. Home Delivery - Australia Wide

We can deliver Australia wide, and the cost of this option depends on the location, weight and physical size (dimensions) of your finished order. Start quoting all your cabinetry needs first, then select the home delivery option and the computer will calculate a delivery estimate for you instantly.

The components will be packed into a box(es) ready for the freight company to pickup from the factory. A typical kitchen has 300+ individual parts plus the hardware, so there can be quite a number of individual items.

After pick-up from the factory, the box(es) may pass through several different depots/hands and sometimes even forwarded to another (local) carrier for final delivery. There is not one single company in Australia that delivers to every corner of Australia solely by themselves. For this reason, the flat packs are freighted in a solid box (to reduce the risk of possible courier damage) and where possible, we try to use only 1 box, (as this reduces the chance of the courier only supplying you with part of the order).

A total flat pack can weight anywhere from 40kg to 1+ tonne, depending on the size of the order. If the package is small enough, then it will be bundled, wrapped and shipped as a normal parcel, however, given that an average base cabinet weight is around 42kg, this does not happen often. It is not uncommon for a flat-pack kitchen to weigh between 700kg and a tonne.

Many customers opt to have the flat packs delivered to their work address (so long as there is a fork lift available), because it's more convenient for them. From there they can ‘strip’ the box at their leisure and transport the parts to their home using a work vehicle or trailer. This is also cheaper, as the cost of a tail-lift truck for the final destination is not required.

In most cases, the delivery estimate will be correct (especially when deliveries are required within major capital cities). For home deliveries to some outer capital city destinations (country type areas) however, these are more expensive and more prone to possible change, as they fall outside major national freight lines ('line-hauls'), and often require on-freighting via third party (local) couriers.

Note: Freight companies charge extra for unusually large sized freight, for example, bench tops that exceed 2400mm in length (including packing), but our software handles this automatically, as it can work out the longest part to be freighted.

You will be notified as soon as your package is ready to leave the factory. Once final payment has been made (cleared), it will be marked 'ready for dispatch' and the freight company will be organised to pick it up. You will then be sent the freight company's details, consignment note, box size(s) and weight(s), etc, so you can 'track and trace' your job in real time on-line. If necessary, you can organise a more suitable delivery day/time directly with the freight company (but only once they actually have your freight).

When the box arrives, you will typically need a battery drill to remove the screws that attach the lid, and then manually unload the flat pack items to your home. The freight companies do not unpack the freight or deliver inside your home or up flights of stairs. They just deliver the box(es) to ground level only.

Note: Your job will be packaged as best as we can at our end. The box will be supplied undamaged from the factory and the transport driver will see this as it is loaded onto the truck. If the truck driver notices any damage on the shipment packaging, they will not accept it (as they may be held liable when it reaches the other end). So rest assured that when it leaves us, it is in the best possible condition. A good way to tell if goods have been mishandled during transport, is by looking at the box when it arrives. Check for any external damage, as sometimes if there is external damage, there could be some minor internal damage as well.

NOTE: There is an option to take out freight insurance and you can enter the estimated amount that you want to insure for. This is not mandatory and is entirely up to you. 

Once the quote/order has been submitted to OzFlatPacks, the freight allowance will be checked and verified, as sometimes the cost varies depending on current fuel prices that the freight companies work their costings from. Don't worry, you will be notified if any such changes occur and we won't start manufacturing until you give us the go ahead.

Note: In a few (very rare) cases, the transport company may not be able to deliver the flat-pack box right to your physical delivery address. This may be due to lack of access, or a suitable truck not being available to off load at the destination, (typically only affecting possible country destinations). This is because some of the trucks are pantechs or curtain-siders, and they do not have a rear tail-lift or a hand fork lift (to move the box from inside the truck to the tail lift). It could also be that the box is too big to fit in the rear of the local delivery truck (for example, the package is over 2400mm in length and/or the box weighs over 750kgs). What happens in this case is that the job will be delivered to the nearest depot to your delivery address, and from there you will need to organise your own means of transport to get the undeliverable box to your home. Customers in this situation can use a ute/ trailer to pick it up from there. The freight company will fork lift the box into your awaiting FLATBED trailer/ute, and you can then get it home and un-load it at your leisure.

Living in a non-deliverable location is very rare however, and it is not always possible to know until the freight company tries to deliver. Most delivery drivers are very resilient and normally find a way to get it unloaded, but just on the rare occasion they just can't.

The only other issue that sometimes happens, is a difficultly to deliver to an apartment building/unit for reasons of accessibility. So if you live in either an apartment building or a unit, we suggest contacting the freight company direct and liaisiing with them about the best drop off point, time and any other access issues they may face (e.g. space, traffic, etc).

 

Here are some of the variables that affect freight costs:

• Number of cabinets and their total weight.
• Size of of the components. - package sizes under 2000mm are normally not a problem, but those over 2400mm might be more difficult to off-load (unless a local forklift is available), as the freight is difficult to get out from the rear of a truck.
• Local or Interstate delivery - interstate is naturally more costly.
• Number of trans-shipments involved - each increases the cost (along with the possibility of damage).
• Main route or far removed - there are large cost differences when comparing shipments to main city centres, than there are to places off the main transport routes.
• Cost of freight logistics (cost of trucks, depots, wages, OH&S, etc).
• 'Weekly' changes in freight cost depending on the cost of fuel at the time.

 

Why does freighting flat pack cabinetry sometimes seem expensive?

• It's not like buying a DVD pack and just sending it via Australia Post. As Australia Post don't deliver flat packs (they have a max 20 kg size that they can deliver).
• Dedicated, professional, Australia wide freight companies can only deliver flat packs correctly.
• Flat packs can be heavy and the weight adds to the cost.
• Flat packs can be large and more awkward to move.
• Flat packs needs to be carefully packaged and custom boxes made to reduce the possibility of damage.
• Australia is a huge country and sometimes the flat packs need to travel very long distances, adding to the cost.
• Freight insurance (if chosen) adds to the cost.
• Cost of fuel and transport logistics is expensive.
• Some flat packs need to be delivered to remote locations, adding to the cost.

*However, please bear in mind that if you bought a traditional kitchen for example, the typical delivery cost for this is around $600+, so often the cost of freighting flat packs is way less than this.

Below is an example of a flat pack job, ready for delivery:

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