If you are facing an upcoming move, you might not know where to start. Do you buy a bunch of boxes? When do you turn off the electricity? When should you start packing? What’s the best route to drive with kids? Can you find movers to handle your antique piano?
The list gets long.
That’s why I always start with quotes.
Quotes at least give you some footing from which to take your next steps. But what is the best way to get moving quotes?
The easiest way is to use a moving calculator, and then use a moving box and supply calculator. From there, look at the fine print, check the type of quote you are receiving, look for discounts, and negotiate that final fee.
#1: Use a Moving Calculator
A moving calculator is a service provided by a third party company that generates a wide list of non-binding quotes from respective moving companies.
If you try to go at this the old fashioned way, you’ll end up like my grandfather, phoning each moving company in the white pages and asking for a quote, then writing them down on a yellow legal pad until the numbers got small enough to work with the budget.
Moving calculators basically do all of this for you in an instant.
What’s more, good moving calculators like MoveBuddha generate quotes from several types of moving services, not just comparable moving companies.
This is important because it helps you compare the cost of things like:
- Full service movers
- PODS or container moves
- Freight shipping
- Truck rentals
With this type of side by side comparison you can see not only which one is cheaper but what services are included or excluded in that cost.
Now, I suggest MoveBuddha as opposed to other comparable third-party moving calculators because MoveBuddha doesn’t require an email address or phone number. Many other calculators will require personal information like a phone number or an email and that just gets passed along to all of the respective companies with whom they work. Suddenly your phone won’t stop ringing and dinging as text messages and phone calls come in from moving company sales reps.
MoveBuddha isn’t like that.
#2: Use Moving Box and Supply Calculators
Okay so now that you have your basic non-binding estimates out of the way, there is still so much more to a move.
For starters, if you choose anything other than a full service professional moving company, you might be responsible for boxing your personal goods and that means having the right number and size of boxes as well as other moving supplies.
You can use MoveBuddha here too, as they have a moving box calculator but I would go with Home Depot. Home Depot has a wide array of specialty boxes and packing supplies, things that you don’t realize you need but you definitely need. For example:
- Stretch tape
- Mattress bags
- Moving blankets
- Labels
- Furniture sliders
- TV boxes
- Picture boxes
- Dish boxes
Most calculators do a basic generation for small, medium, and large sized boxes. If you go through U-Haul, they even include options for book boxes which are much smaller and sturdier, designed to be stacked on top of one another without the walls crumbling from the weight of the heavy books.
Now, Home Depot has better moving supplies with their moving supply calculator, in my experience, but you can also go with companies like U-Haul for the sake of simplicity, especially if you are renting a truck or van or trailer from them.
U-Haul also sells things in nice packages which are the same price as you would spend trying to add all of those respective individual supplies together, but it just makes ordering easier. So basically all you have to do is add the primary package that is based on the size of your home or the number of bedrooms, and then you can add a la carte things to that order. Plus, anything you don’t use you can return for a full refund.
#3: Check the Type of Quote
When you use a third party moving calculator or you reach out to moving companies directly, be aware of the type of quote you are receiving.
For example, the things you get from third party sites are generally a financial range like $3,000 to $10,000 to move across two states and the reason you get that range is because the actual binding estimate is based on what possessions you have.
These sites can only generate non-binding estimates or quotes and you have to contact the moving companies you are looking to use directly in order to see the availability and get a binding quote.
If you are thinking of renting a moving van and moving everything yourself, you might get a moving quote from a third party but you still have to contact places like U-Haul or Budget directly to see what the cost would be and, more importantly, what the availability is. Just because you need a 22 ft moving van doesn’t mean they’ll have one available nearby.
The quote should also be verified for any additional fees that you might not expect like insurance coverage or special fees if you are moving up a flight of stairs or down a flight of stairs or if you have collectible items or special items that have to be moved in a specific way like a gun collection or a piano.
The reason you want to check this ahead of time is not just so you avoid unexpected financial surprises but so that you avoid unexpected hiccups come moving day; not all companies will handle things like moving guns or pianos so if you have to work with a third company for that, you want to know ahead of time.
#4: Ask About Discounts
Each company or service is different with regard to the discounts they offer. Resources like MoveBuddha put discounts in an easily digestible table but I still think it’s better to check whichever company you are planning to use directly because a lot of discounts and promotions change with time.
Things like student discounts, senior discounts, or military discounts tend to be pretty stable but there are seasonal discounts and promotions that might apply at any given time and these will vary based on the type of service you are using, like free storage with U-Haul or discounts on truck rentals with Budget rentals.
#5: Negotiate
No company will actually talk about this but you can totally negotiate the price. Just because a company tells you your cost is going to be $7,800 to move one state over doesn’t mean that’s your only option.
These are businesses and they all have margins so don’t be afraid to negotiate by asking if they can give you something like 10% off or $500 off, arguing that that $500 discount will make it possible for you to cover hotel costs while driving your own vehicle or something.
This can be a really good way to secure a discount even if one isn’t offered. You might even bring up the fact that a competing company has a more attractive discount especially if, for example, you are an EMT or a student and you are trying to get one company to lower their price by leveraging the discounts offered by another.
That’s why I think it’s so important to directly check with different websites right before you negotiate so you know exactly what those discounts are.
Summing Up
So, what’s the best way to get moving quotes?
- Use third-party moving calculators, especially those that don’t require your email address or phone number in order to generate results
- Don’t forget about things like moving supplies and specialty boxes for your move
- Check the terms for the type of quote you are being offered like binding versus non-binding versus not to exceed estimates and look for any fine print that might result in higher costs
- Ask about discounts
- Negotiate
If you do all of these, especially in the correct order, you can very easily get quotes no matter what stage of the moving process you are in. I think MoveBuddha is a great resource when you are first getting started and after you have compared the cost of different options and you know which direction you’re going, then you can look into supplies and boxes, start to review the fine print of the different quotes you have, apply discounts, and negotiate that final price.