GSRIDER

Has anyone here ever paid movers to help the move.

The days are gone of calling up a couple buddies on the weekend to help move my futon, TV and porn collection from apartment to apartment.

I'm on the verge of possibly moving into new digs after bursting the seams of my current home.... and the thought occoured to me that i have to be out of here in one day.... and i got 3 floors of stuff.

So has anyone had any experience with professional movers and costs?

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Rodney

It's not cheap. I couldn't tell you the cost these days, but you will call them and they'll send a estimator over to look at your stuff. The estimator will decide how big a truck you'll need, what services your require (items that require special packing or handling), and give you a quote.

I wouldn't go with a lowball company or bid; there are many good movers out there, and some bad ones. If you can get a recommendation from a friend, do it.

Movers will do as much for you as you like, even pack boxes or wrap special items. Of course, you pay for that. So to save money, pack everything yourself.

Finally, the one way to really cut moving costs is to have a _really great garage sale_ before you go. Preparation for moving is a great time to consider whether you _really_ need that complete set of VHS tapes of Star Trek: the Nex Generation, or those two old game consoles you don't use anymore and the games that go with it, or two boxes of death metal CDs you never listen to anymore.

GSRIDER

But I may listen to them again........

We plan on packing everything ourselves but this move is different. On the day we sign all the papers we have to be out. Theres gonna be a guy w/ a truck waiting to move into our house... plus it's a weekday. So i need some help.

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yournamehere

It depends on how far you're moving. If it's across town, you might want to rent a truck and a storage room and move stuff over the course of a week or so.
If it's cross country, you probably don't have a choice but to let others do it. If so, you're going to pay by weight, so don't move anything you don't need - especially stuff like refrigerators, bedding, washers & driers, entertainment centers, books, etc.
Also - get a by-weight charge and make sure the truck is weighed during the process so you know you're getting charged correctly.
Don't get a not-to-exceed price - they make it sound like they're doing you a favor this way, but what it means is "We estimate your stuff weighs 2000 pounds, but to cover our asses, we're charging you for 3000."
Good luck.

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shakran

try to have several people on hand when the movers are packing your stuff. I've moved across country 5 times now, and EVERY time they've pulled the damage scam on me. They'll list furniture in much worse condition than it really is (typically your brand new dining room table will be listed as "scratch,nick,chip,gouge,scar,varnish damage, water stain") - - then, when they bust your stuff en-route, they're covered because, gee, it was like that when they packed it, and YOU signed off on it.

They'll also try to get out of compensating you properly. They moved my easy chair and ripped a big rip in the cushion. They gave me $100 (it's a $700 chair) and told me to take some fabric off the back of it and recover the chair. WTF. Of course, you're so busy moving in, and getting your life back in order, that you don't have the time or energy to fight it. Totally sucks.

Anything you have that's especially valuable, move it yourself. Computers, antiques, photo albums, the china your grandmother gave you - - if it's valuable it WILL be "lost" (read: stolen) or busted.

Movers suck.

sherpahigh

It all sounds like good advice so far.

What about a couple pictures with a digital camera to atest to the condition of the furniture and the like prior to the move? I don't have any experience with real movers, it's always just buddies helping me move. But I reckon having a dated picture of the goods might prevent being hurt too bad in the end.

GSRIDER

I have a fuckin PIANO!!! We got it free from a nieghbor... it's an old school house style piano... prolly 75 years old.. we don't even play it.. well the kids bang on it. i knew that piano wasnt free... it's gonna fuck us.

We're trying to look into getting a huge huge truck, w/ a pro driver... me and the boys bring it out to the van and he ... being a pro figures out the best way to load it. He drives it and We then unload it. We need to get this as close to one load as possible.

We already have a storage room, used to to clear out much of the clutter while we were showing the house. So it looks like i might want to start taking in more non essencials.

Funny part about the storage room. We rented one close to an aera we were looking to live... end up putting a contract on a house the complete opposite direction.

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ratbastid

When we moved into our house we hired professional movers. It was only a move across town, but still, it was the best damn $500 I ever spent. These guys were GREAT--young, hardworking guys, total professionals.

They took more care with my stuff than I would have taken. Nothing was damaged, everything came out fine.

Now that I have a housefull of crap instead of a 1-bedroom apartmentfull of crap (plus a piano), I'm definitely a professional mover customer next time.

LewisCouch

When my wife and I last moved, we used professional movers and the experience was excellent. We were extremely organized, however, with all of our belongings staged in the garage where they could be easily moved into the truck. I worked right along with the two guys and the three of us finished the move within four hours. Definitely will do this again.

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GSRIDER

I've heard alot about "2 guys with a truck". I think I'm gonna head that route. Pack everything and have it all centered and ready to move out the door.

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Cynthetiq

I spent close to 2 large moving into manhattan. get a binder agreement if you settle on a price. Pay NO MORE than the binder. check with your local BBB for complaints against the moving company. also check with your local government since they may regulate them.


the 2 guys with a truck will not have the right insurance to cover you for breakage to large items.

good luck!

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GSRIDER

You were tricked like me <b>cynthetiq</b>

2 guys with a truck... which i always though was really just 2 guys with a truck who had a cute logo done by one of their kids is really an international moving company that really just looks small. i seriosly thought they were a local outfit. But then I found thier website and copywritted logo and franchise oppourtunities.... I was duped.

But that company has a good rep around here. And their prices are right.

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mtsgsd

I used them once and will never do it again. I too thought it was a small operation, but that doesn't bother me. What does bother me is that I was quoted a certain time and rate over the phone for the move. When the movers arrive they tell me that the woman I talked to is new, and quoted the wrong price. It's actually twice as much. Oh gee and there's a lot more than we thought there would be too!

I warned the woman that there was a lot of boxes and she indicated she could send 3 guys if I thought it would be a good Idea. I said she should, and of course I got 2 young kids. Instead of the quoted price of $400, and 3-4 hours (all it should have taken) It cost me $1000.00 and 8 hours!! I threw a fit, but they have you by the short hairs.

I later read in a consumer advice column that this is a common scam that you should look out for. Never use a verbal quote etc. etc. Yeah, now you tell me.

6 months later I bought a house and moved using a real two guy operation (which I thought was a major one!). They not only moved the same amount of goods for the same distance, they had a harder move because of stairs at both locations. These were two very strong men, not kids and they did the whole move in 3 hours for $350.00. And the way they did it was really educational. These guys were MOVERS, not some people hired to move things. They knew some pretty interesting tricks.

denim

I've done it twice with pros, and once by freight. Doing it by freight costs as much as with pros and they lose more stuff and have less service.

Definitely get a written estimate which follows a physical visit by a professional estimater and which gives a hard limit to what they'll charge. If the move is between states, they're under federal laws and can be held liable for certain kinds of failure.

Oh, and Read The Freaking Contract!!!!