Has anyone here ever paid movers to pack your stuff? We’re moving in about a month and I really am NOT relishing the idea of packing up this place myself. We would move the expensive and portable stuff like computers and my consoles, obviously, but I was thinking of paying the premium to let the moving company pack everything else.
Bad idea? Good? Any stories of triumph or horror out there?
When we did our big move in 2001, it went very smoothly. The movers came in, packed up all the dishes, disassembled the Ikea stuff, and everything arrived. If we move in the future, we’ll probably do it again.
Troy
If you get a reputable company with good workers, it can go great. If you don’t, nightmares may ensue.
I assume you’ll be looking for referrals via word-of-mouth, but if you’re unable to turn up anything there, try seeing if there’s anyone with a good rep on Google Maps, Angie’s List, or even Servicemagic.
I wouldn’t, but I’m paranoid about my stuff. I’d much rather let them just move the already packed boxes and furniture and not be responsible for the actual packing of any of it. I’ve had too many friends tell me stories about lost/broken things and not been able to do anything about it since it’s just the hourly-paid moving guys’ word against theirs.
It is worth the money and more if you ask me. On my last move I got “free packing” as a part of my quote (I paid for it somewhere I’m sure), but I would have gladly paid some more cash for the service.
My only advice is to shop around and get quotes from as many companies as you can. 4 of the ones I checked out sent an agent to look at what I had before they gave me a price, the others just gave me an estimate. The only thing I brought with me in my car was my computer and personal documents. TVs and furniture came to my new place is great condition, and they did all the work!
When I moved out to Seattle from the east coast in 2002, the company I worked with at the time paid for a company to move all my stuff. They even put my car in a tractor trailer, all I had to do was hop a plane to my destination. I too was nervous about the idea but I had very little actual stuff, just living out of a tiny apartment at the time. But man, it really cut down on the hassles of moving.
We used Gentle Giant for our move to Maine. We had them pack all our stuff, and not a single thing was broken - they did a great job. I think there’s something to be said for having packing done by people who know what they’re doing. It was worth every penny.
Getting a moving quote from one of the “big” movers was one of the few times in my life where I was afflicted with “sticker-shock.” I quickly assumed that they had to be used exclusively for corporate moves, because no one in their right minds would pay that much to move. Would they?
I wouldn’t even dare ask how much the packing service must cost. THOUSANDS!
We used it to pack up my grandmother’s stuff when her belongings and furniture were shipped from California to Connecticut. Not a single problem with stuff not arriving in excellent shape, the only caveat I’d give is that they were extremely literal about shipping everything and packed up a handful of boxes of complete junk. So to be more efficient, you’d want to purge that kind of stuff first obviously. But it was a life saver, really.
Nobody has anything bad to say so it’s definitely looking promising.
Anyone care to share what they paid for it? Like Bal, I’m curious what to expect.
Yeah, I’ve heard they’ll even pack your garbage if you don’t empty the trashcans beforehand.
Well, yeah, I mean why wouldn’t they? They’re there to pack up your stuff and ship it, not clean your house
Well, exactly and I wouldn’t want them making those decisions. It was just something that didn’t occur to us, like getting rid of crap like old hangers, but in hindsight makes perfect sense.
Yeah. My wife was an army brat, and she said they would come in and put ash trays full of ashes into wrap and send it right along with everything else. They just wrap everything they see. Makes sense, but it’s still funny.
We packed ourselves on our last move back in June. We were already paying over 3k just for the move. Plus, we like to know which box is which, etc., and we have lots of books and such to keep together (I’m guessing over 2k…I should count them).
I had movers pack my stuff in 2005 when I moved. I am a pack rat who was dreading the move. The packers came in and packed everything, loaded it, drove it to my new place, and unloaded everything. It was amazingly painless. If you can afford it, it is not cheap, then do it.
I still have neatly packed boxes in my basement full of junk that I should have thrown away 10+ years ago. :-0
My fiancee just finalized a move to Raleigh from Charlotte. We used Allied Movers, and had a… mixed experience. In the first place, try to get a company that sends someone over to do the estimate by hand. Secondly, make sure that the person who makes the estimate knows what you intend to pack yourself and what you expect the movers will pack for you. Keep in mind that furniture with removable tops (marble, glass, etc.) will have to have their tops removed and packed separately. This, typically, means higher costs and risks. There is also a very wide margin between companies that charge per item or by weight, so compare companies that use both billing methods.
In the case of Allied Movers, the person they sent to do the estimate specifically lowballed our estimate in order to get the job. The movers they sent were three greybeards and a big ol’ boy; they managed to move the stuff back and forth, though it took a while, and I swear a heartattack was one hardcover book away from happening. Despite their good intentions, some of our extremely heavy furniture did come out a little worse for wear, but that was to be expected…
In the end, movers will save you a LOT of hassle, basically proportional to the distance of your move. If you’re going down the block, it’s best to do it yourself. From one city to the next, let the movers take care of it.
The government moved us several times in my youth. The movers would come in, wrap everything in newsprint, put the smaller wrapped items into boxes, and then load them on a truck. Mom and dad would hover around and write locations such as ‘KITCHEN’ on the boxes.
It was a great way to unwittingly smuggle antiquities like my Roman coin collection out of the country. Oops.
In the end, movers will save you a LOT of hassle, basically proportional to the distance of your move. If you’re going down the block, it’s best to do it yourself. From one city to the next, let the movers take care of it.
I seem to recall a relatively recent chronicle of one Qt3er’s moving experience.
Ah, here it is!
I appreciate the info on movers themselves but that’s not even up for debate. We’re getting movers. It’s just a question of whether I want to pay for them to pack everything up or not. There’s no way in hell I’m moving all of this shit into a different house myself.
We’ve found a good company that has a bunch of rave reviews and good word of mouth. The guy is coming out here in person on Wed to quote us so I’m feeling good about them.