Moving is a huge undertaking. You’re literally packing up your life and settling down in an entirely new location. Whether that’s the next city over or a country halfway across the world, it’s nothing to take lightly, and it’s certainly not something you want to take on alone.
So, you probably want a moving service to help you get your stuff to your new home. What should you expect?
Don’t feel embarrassed if you don’t know the ins and outs of hiring a moving service. Very few people need one on a frequent basis.
We’ll walk you through the basic things you should expect, and we’ll give you a few pointers to help you make the experience go more smoothly.
First, you should expect to pay a fair amount for any quality moving service. After all, it’s not easy work, and it includes transporting your entire life to a new location. However, there is a basic formula to gauge whether you’re paying too much, and you should try to stick close to it.
On average, you will likely pay around $40 per hour per mover. For a studio apartment, this usually comes in around $300-$400 for the full project. With larger properties moving to a place that isn’t too far away, you can expect that to get closer to $1000-$2000.
This is based on an hourly pay scale. Some companies prefer to quote a flat rate. This typically takes into consideration how long the job will take, how many movers are working, and where the items are going. So, it should be around the same price; give or take a couple of hundred dollars.
However, international moves and long-distance domestic moves can easily cost far more than that. Don’t write them off, though. Tackling that type of move by yourself will always be extremely difficult, and it can be flat-out impossible in some cases. You get every penny worth of service for such demanding moves, and you won’t regret the investment.
In any case, try to call around a bit before you commit to one company, and don’t just look for surface-level information like the overall price. Some companies can provide a low initial quote, and then turn around and toss surprise fees at you. In other cases, the price might be lower, but the service might not meet your standards.
We cannot stress this enough. Do not call a moving service if you have no idea which rooms you want your items in, haven’t boxed anything, or are more or less winging the entire experience. This adds a lot of stress on you and the workers, and in terms of an hourly pay scale, you can end up paying a lot more because of a lack of foresight.
Have a good idea of where each item will go in your new home and box items that go to the same room together. Then, clearly label each box with the exact room the items belong in.
This does a couple of things:
There are other ways to minimize the work of hourly movers, too. You can stack most of your belongings outside right before the movers are supposed to show up, use packing options that allow a lot to be placed in a single container to limit how much has to be picked up separately, and you can also bring as much as you can in your own vehicle ahead of time; only using the service for things that you simply can’t handle on your own.
Different companies do things differently. Some expect you to aid in the moving process, some prefer for you to stay out of the way, others have strict rules for how things are boxed and labeled, and different companies have different features in general.
Learn the expectations of the company you’re dealing with, and make sure you comply with them if you decide to hire that company for your move. Few things are as frustrating for you and the moving company as movers showing up to find that none of the company’s requirements are met; thus, the move is delayed or far more difficult to execute until those issues are resolved.
Also, every company has a different list of offerings. Some will provide optional insurance packages for your belongings, a certain time or money guarantee, and other things that might interest you. Learn about these add-ons before hiring them, and make sure they know if you’d like to take advantage of any of those features.
Failing to understand what your service provider expects, or telling them about additional services you would like, can lead to huge delays, costs, and friction.
We’re a moving company. We respect and trust our employees, and we trust that our industry is comprised of trustworthy individuals who put their clients first; even our competition. However, things occasionally happen.
Perhaps a new hire passed their background check, but isn’t as honest as they made themselves out to be in the interview? While the company itself will most certainly work to correct any issue that stems from a rare situation like that, it may still happen. What if your prized jewelry box is crushed by your couch due to the jostling of things in the moving truck? Again, most moving services will do their best to correct the problem, but that doesn’t mean they can restore destroyed items with sentimental value. Furthermore, what if the drivers of the truck are victims of a hijacking or other crime, and your most cherished items are lost at no fault of theirs? Sometimes, despite how responsible or trustworthy a company is, things happen.
For this reason, we highly recommend storing your most valuable belongings and bringing them with you in your personal vehicle. Things such as high-value jewelry, your decades-old family album, heirlooms from long-lost relatives, and other things that simply can’t be replaced are always best in your care.
Again, we trust our industry deeply, but due to the craziness of the world, bringing your most valuable belongings with you is key to preventing friction with the company or letting uncontrollable accidents ruin an otherwise amazing experience.
Of course, starting the process with the right company is key to having a great experience, too. In most cases, that means hiring us. At 1StopPacknShip, we put you and your needs first. We handle domestic and international moves of all sizes, and we’ve built a reputation for being the best in the industry.
If you have a move coming up, call 1StopPacknShip, today!
Divorce is unfortunately very common in these modern times within our society. Every day, there…
Over the last few decades, the United States has witnessed especially horrific acts of gun-related…
While being a friend can come easy to a lot of us, this is usually…
Let’s face it – no one likes going to the dentist. However, it’s hard to…
Nothing can impress someone more than a perfectly cooked steak, and there’s rarely anything that…
Tech stocks are widely considered to be some of the best type of stocks to…