Tag Archives: moving services

Moving Services Explained

Types of moving services including DIY, full service, white glove, piece by piece, door to door, self service, guaranteed date and more completely explained by our experts. With so many moving options these days, it is really hard to know what you are getting into or what moving services you may actually need. Some movers only provide specific services. In order to find out what kind of movers you should contact for moving assistance, you need to know the level of help that you will require.

Types of Moving Services

DIY

DIY moving places all of the responsibility ( financial and physical) on the consumer. Do it yourself moving service requires you to take care of the packing, loading, driving, unloading, and unpacking yourself. Whether you are using a pick-up truck or a rental truck, getting the help of friends or relatives, many do this to try and save money. However, this moving option may not be suitable for many people depending on the schedule, size and distance of the move. Moving truck rental rates have been skyrocketing and a quick search of rental truck review shows that there are so many additional fees. When there are large amounts of furniture or valuable items, Do-It-Yourself Moving is less successful because of the greater chance of damage. Those moving more than 30 miles to your new residence, this option is not the more economical as most companies charge over a $1/mile on top of their base rate. Find local movers near me.

FULL SERVICE

Full-service movers are on the opposite spectrum of a DIY move. You choose the company based on price, customer service, reliability, professionalism, and reputation. Full-service professionals take care of all the supplies needed, packing, loading, transporting, and unloading your items at your final destination. Full-service movers will give you a moving quote according to a list of items that you’ll provide. Full service moving companies can pack, load, unload, hoist, crate items, move pianos. They literally do it all. Full-service movers are fully licensed and insured professionals and they will also offer you different options to ensure your belongings against damages during the move. Find full service movers near me.

SELF SERVICE

Self-service moves require you to pack your items and do the load and unload of your goods yourself while movers are only responsible for transporting your items to your final destination. The price is based on the linear feet used and/or size of container transported. These containers and feet range greatly. Keep in mind, many HOAs do not allow these containers to be placed in their communities so an incredibly expensive shuttle fee of $1000 or more may be required. The reviews on these containerized service movers are very iffy so proceed with caution!

DOOR TO DOOR

Door to door movers are moving companies that are moving your household goods a considerable distance, usually over 150 miles. These movers do not stop along the way to pick-up, offload, reload, swap or sell another shipment. Door to door long distance movers are not affiliated with any third party and will take your items right to you. Find long distance movers near me.

WHITE GLOVE

White glove movers are movers that go above and beyond. They show up wearing booties so the floor does not get scuffed and the like. White glove movers bring floor runners and shrink wrap for every piece of furniture. This option is best if you are moving priceless antiques or items that need crating and are worth a consider amount of money. Find Movers Near Me.

PIECE BY PIECE

If you are looking to move one piece to another house, you should hire piece by piece movers. These movers can move a desk up the stairs or a piano across town. Many movers have minimums of 3-4 hours whereas piece by piece movers generally charge a flat rate to move an item or 2.

GUARANTEED DATE

Movers with guaranteed dates are long distance movers that guarantee pick up and delivery dates. This is especially expensive as larger van lines and franchises make their money by loading large tractor trailers for delivery. The best guaranteed date movers will be smaller, independent moving companies. Find independent movers near me.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Movers have been opening shell companies all over the US, faking moving company reviews and moving scams are at an all time high. Avoid moving scams by looking for movers that have been in business for a very long time.

List of Moving Services – Prices, Inclusions and Decoding Your Moving Estimate

Moving Services – Prices, What’s Included and Decoding Your Moving Estimate

So, you have a bunch of moving estimates – all with different moving services, prices for each service  – but do you really understand it?  All moving services are not created equal by any means so we are going to break it all down for you starting with some moving slang vocabulary words, moving on to help with what moving services are availble, and of course what you should be paying for any moving service.

Moving Help
Moving Services – Moving Help

 

Moving Services – Terms

When planning a move it’s often difficult to navigate through all moving services and fees for moving services.  Here are some terms you will need to be aware of when hiring movers and getting a moving estimate:

full service mover– a mover who provides the broadest range of moving services including local moving, long distance moving, packing, crating, overnight storage, short or long term storage, etc

binding estimate– means that the price quoted in the estimate is the amount you pay for moving services regardless of your shipment weighing more or less than than estimated.  The binding estimate for moving services must accurately describe the shipment and all the services the company will provide which means you have to be completely honest with your movers. If you asked the moving company to provide additional services, such as long carry charges, shuttle servies, etc.

binding, not-to exceed estimate – the same as a binding estimate so you will pay for moving services in relation to the weight without a minimum.  If the actual weight of your shipment is more than the written estimate, you still pay the amount quoted. However, if the actual weight is less than the written estimate, you pay the lesser amount.

Moving Services
Moving Services

List of Moving Services

Full services moving companies should offer a variety of moving services.  Because things can change quickly when moving and waiting for closings it is best to hire movers who offer packing and storage services as well just in case you get caught in a bind.

  • Local Moving
  • Long Distance Moving
  • Commercial Moving
  • Overnight Storage
  • Military Moving
  • Packing
  • Custom Crating
  • Packing Material Delivery
  • Corporate Relocation
  • Piano Moving
  • Hoisting

Packing Options

  • Full Service Packing – Your moving company should have the ability to pack your entire home in detail. Movers are trained to pack your home with the utmost professionalism and respect for your belongings.
  • Piece By Piece Packing – For items that are delicate, breakable or irreplaceable in value, we encourage you to let us know so that we can pack them with the utmost care. Your moving company should offer full service or pay by piece packing services
  • Material Delivery – If you are planning on packing your own boxes, your movers should offer free material delivery.  Don’t get your boxes from home depot, walmart or the like – as expected they are usually cheap and not the best.  Your movers will have high quality moving supplies

Basic Household Moving Services

  • Loading – Loading your moving truck.  Your movers should provide moving blankets shrink wrap etc. Your personal contents are systematically loaded onto our moving trucks where they will be transported to their new location.
  • Transportation – The transport of items to the new residence
  • Unloading – Part of a basic moving service means movers will carefully place all of your boxes and furniture into each room.

Additional Household Moving Services Available That Usually Have an Additional Fee

Private local and long distance movers don’t usually charge for the services below but van lines usually do – here are the approximate fees for these moving services:

  • Unpacking – Unpacking of boxes. COST $120/hour
  • Crating – Customized crates designed to provide optimum protection for your electronic equipment, as well as large, expensive items that cannot fit into standard moving boxes and packaging.   COST $100-250/crate
  • Cars/Boats COST $1,200-$2,000
  • Assembly/Disassembly – Most moving companies incude this in their basic services but van lines will not and usually charge for this.  COST $400-$600+
  • Third Party Services – For additional assembly and disassembly services, as well as disconnection, reconnection and cleaning services, we provide third party resources who specialize in the household moving process. Again most private moving companies will do most of these things for you including disconnecting washer/dryer etc. but a van line will charge. COST $300-$1000+
  • Shuttle Services – Private moving companies do not charge for this as they usually don’t use 53foot tractor trailers for your move but a van line charges.  COST $700-$2000+
  • Storage – Varies depending on number of days/weeks/months but expect a charge.  COST $150+/month

What You Should Expect from Your Movers

  • Transparent pricing
  • Licensed/Bonded
  • Insurance coverage
  • Strong references
  • Full service options
  • Quality customer service

Moving can be a stressful task, full of its fair share of unwelcomed surprises, but what should not come as a surprise to you is the total amount you see on your moving invoice once your move is completed.  Ask your movers for a binding and binding not to exceed estimate.