jdc:
Had a regular run several years ago double manned in a 7.5 tonner. Empty to Chrities in Zurich, load a maximum of 5 paintings, straight to Christies in Lyon, unload, hang around till the end of the auction, reload a maximum of 5 paintings and straight back non stop to Christies…somewhere in London Truck would be driven into the vaulted area and unloaded by Christies staff. Was told that the loads were normally no less than £10million and sometimes a lot more
This was when antiques were worth a lot more and people had a lot more money Shame it stopped because by god was it an easy job
I can assure you that antiques are worth a lot more today and those with (serious) money have lots more than they ever did. The rich get richer and that is a fact. The work you did still goes on and not only from where you mentioned.
The antiques market has completely changed and whilst the very top end might still be going, the less expensive/more everyday antiques market is on its knees. We still work with many of the top London auction houses but have noticed the markets decline. They have closed many auction houses and retained only the best positioned/best earners. Similarly, the quantity of goods entering and exiting these have also declined.
We used to have 2 trucks running to and from the Flea markets in Paris, 1 servicing the auction houses and 1 returning to the warehouse where everything would be export wrapped and shipped to the USA. This market has all but disappeared as there are not the buyers for the furniture.
Everyone used to buy antiques as an investment thinking they wouldn’t lose their value but it would appear they were wrong. The ‘seriously rich’ will still dabble in the antiques market but they are dealing with goods that only a very few people can afford.
When i was on the moffets, i had to deliver a bike and a trike from the bike show in brum to somewhere in surrey.
I think they were called Boss Hoss, it was a few years ago.
The guy reckoned the total value was around the 50k mark for the pair of them.
That was a nice steady trip and taking them off the trailer with the moffet was a scary experience.
Back in the 1990s, Roll-Royce RB211 Jet engines at about 8 million each.
But ‘normal’ loads?.. Vintage Port wine, some at £200 plus per bottle, 6 to a case, 44 cases per pallet X 24 pallets per load.A regular load for us.
Perfume, top brands with a car following as ■■■■■■ but no idea of value as the company we dealt with wouldnt tell us lowly drivers the true value.
Works of Art including statues & sculptures, some by very famous artists, to Museums like the Guggenheim at Bilbao, the British Museum and various exhibitions all over Europe
Oilfield equipment, some items can be a little expensive ie: christmas tree assemblies,bops , Rov eqipment , core samples and geodata if its commercially sensitive ( a good drilling result ).
£40,000 reel of pure (and really shiny) bare copper cable used for the overhead cable on the Tyne and Wear Metro last year when they were refurbing it.
Wasn’t covered on the truck, and got alot of ‘gestures’ enroute to pull over for a moment.
We do anything from £300 per tonne waste twine, to £30k electric motors x 13, the most precious load I’ve carried has to be the 4 rugrats and the missus when we’re in the car .
Got sent into the KG5 docks in Govan last year to do a collection from a boat called the RV James Cook that was berthed there. It turned out to be what looked like 3 heavy duty plastic suitcases to me. But inside each one was some really expensive underwater sonar equipment. Total consignment value was £600k apparently!!!:shock:
Turbine worth a awful lot probably a couple million- but the company I worked with moved loads 10x’s that amount of value - albeit only on site moves or onto a barge but would you want to be responsible for £20 million and if all goes wrong!! because they are not daft and they sign over to your company complete responsibility for the load , 12, 500 tonne of rig module aint cheap
Rikki-UK:
Turbine worth a awful lot probably a couple million- but the company I worked with moved loads 10x’s that amount of value - albeit only on site moves or onto a barge but would you want to be responsible for £20 million and if all goes wrong!! because they are not daft and they sign over to your company complete responsibility for the load , 12, 500 tonne of rig module aint cheap
4 of us used to go to heathrow with 4oft box vans three vans loaded with 20ton of ballast one with 20ton cocain sumtimes opium than run up to a well known pharmasutical comp none of us ever new which moter had what
20 ton?
On the street a gram costs £50.
So 20t would be (1000 grams x 20,000 kgs = 20,000,000 grams x £50) = … £1,000,000,000 worth.
Thats if it ever made the street that pure. At street level it’ll have been cut 3 times at least, so there’d be nearer 50 ton.
With a street value of £2,500,000,000
Truck would be driven into the vaulted area and unloaded by Christies staff. Was told that the loads were normally no less than £10million and sometimes a lot more
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