Moving companies - whats your experience?

[benfranklin]

It depends on how much stuff you have, how much you are willing to do yourself, and where you are. The big van lines are way too expensive.

For a short move like that, I would move the small expensive breakable stuff (art work, computers, etc.) myself in the car. A trip or two in the car should also get all your hanging clothes moved.

Packing and boxes are also very expensive from a moving company. Get a bunch of boxes and pack everything yourself. Wine boxes from the liquor store with the cardboard partions are great for glasses. Those fold-out white file boxes from Office Max/Office Depot are cheap and sturdy. Save newspapers to crumple up to cushion dishes and such.

Check the Yellow Pages for a local moving company. They typically charge by the hour for 2 or 3 guys and a truck. Probably $125-150 an hour, depending on location, with maybe a 4 hour minimum. They have furniture pads and generally know what they are doing. Have everything ready to go; you don't want to be paying $100+ an hour to have guys pack stuff. Depending on how much stuff you have and the locations (stairs can really slow things down) they should be able to move a typical apartment in 4-5 hours.

[drawnasp]

I worked for a company called Two Men and a Truck. We were bonded and insured. We were also inspected by the main office yearly. They have incentive programs for the worker to do a good job. They are nationwide so you may have a local franchise near you. I worked with them for two years and had four damage reports. we were trained well. I hope this helps.


Gene

[Acehawk74]

Thanks for the tips guys. A lot of the stuff I am able to move... except there are a few items that I do not want to move without pros. I have a 51' HD tv - which is very large, it is not a plasma, its one of the big thick heavy ones (sorry, I simply don't know the term). I also have a heavy oak table, couches, and my computer desk (It is a corner desk, and I am likely to screw the thing up). Thanks for the replies and tips.

Ace

[4_2_it]

Get a local moving company for the big stuff. Anything that's fragile or of value try to move yourself. Expect something to get scratches/broken. Every time I have moved (3 times) something (usually a lamp) gets smashed.

[aheravi]

I've been fortunate enough to never have paid for a move. And I've moved 9 times in 13 years.

First ones through the military, and those were hit or miss. Local companies packing, and a lot of the guys would show up drunk. Never had anything stolen, but a friend had movers break into his primo Puerto Rican rum.

Last 2 moves paid for by companies. Extremely professional and took care of everything. Great job packing. North American, and New World. However, I'm guessing it wasn't cheap. I saw the bill to for first move (5 hours away), packing up a 3 BR house. With discount, $11K.

[lgas]

For my first and only moving-company move, I went with a company that came highly recommended by two of my friends. They were by far the most expensive of all the companies I talked to, but both friends said they were well worth it. Well, the day of the move comes and they are supposed to be there at 9am. At 10:30 I'm starting to get worried so I call them. They tell me that they were overbooked for that day, so they had to subcontract to another company, and that I'd have to call them. They eventually show up around 11. They were quick and efficient, but they asked what room to put stuff in and then proceeded to put half the stuff in the wrong rooms (which for the most part we didn't notice until later). Amazingly nothing was broken, but there were quite a few knicks and scratches on the wooden furniture, and one shelf in a bookcase never turned up at all... I'm assuming it got broken and they just didn't bring it in rather than letting us find out it was broken. I ended up having to pay the high price even though I didn't get the good movers.

I guess the moral of my particular story is to make sure that if you go with a mover that was recommended by someone that you will be serviced by them and not subcontracted to someone else.

[Clarkmeister]

If you aren't severely cash strapped, I'd recommend having your moving company also pack for you. Two good packers can do your whole house/condo/apt in a fraction of the time it would take the two of you, and they'll pack things much safer/secure as well. I sprung for the full-boat packing/moving combo when we moved last year and it was some of the best money I ever spent.

[_TKO_]

We have a national moving company in Canada called AMJ Campbell. I used to work for the corporate moving division, and they trained us well and we worked hard as well. I'm not sure how much they charge, but a company like that is well worth the money.

EDIT: Note that things like multiple flights of stairs or very fragile things will slow the job down and end up increasing the cost. Not much you can do about stuff like that, but it's something to think about when you ask around and wonder why final prices are so different.

[benfranklin]

I worked for a company called Two Men and a Truck.

I have had good and bad experiences with Two Men and a Truck, showing that things can vary a lot from one location to another, and depending on the guys that you get.

On a personal interstate move a few years ago, I had then load and unload my rental truck. The guys that loaded it were terrific. The guys that unloaded were good but not great, and put some scratches on some furniture and some dings in the walls. Not a big deal, but they weren't taking enough time with the big stuff.

Then about a year ago, I needed to move my office. Typical office furniture and a ton of packed boxes. The old and the new offices were on the first floor, direct outside access, and most of the stuff could be rolled on/off the truck on two-wheelers. Two Men and a Truck, despite their ads for home and business moving, wouldn't even talk to me. As soon as I said it was an office, they said they didn't want it. So they not only lost a customer, but I bad-mouth them any time I get a chance.

[Blowup Doll]

This is a site all people should read who will be moving soon.

http://www.movingscam.com/theTrueStory.shtml