Anybody have experience with Profressional Movers?

[cin]

We are planning on moving sometime in the next 6 mos. I am completely overwhelmed at the thought of packing everything up, but I'm slowly getting things packed that we don't use on a regular basis (China, The Library, etc). DH really wants to move us himself, but I'm not thrilled at the thought of helping him load all the furniture, TVs, etc. So, I've been thinking about hiring movers. We aren't moving real far, just to another part of town. Maybe even staying in this part, just upgrading a bit. Anybody have experience with this?

 

Was it expensive? Was it worth it? Did your stuff arrive intact and undamaged? So much to think about for my little brain! :willy_nilly: (I really need an exploding emoticon!)

[Aspasia]

I wish I did! We have moved ten times--always by ourselves (with friends and family help), and mostly when I've been pregnant or postpartum.

 

But we live in a place where lots of people's employers pay for movers and most people I know have had very positive experiences. These guys are fast and they have to be careful, because if they damage your stuff, they pay for it.

[QueenCat]

Our last move was professional. Loved not having to pack those boxes!!! It was company paid.... but if the next one isn't, we'll pay for it ourselves. Fortunately, we probably won't have to.....

[lavender's green]

We've used professional movers twice for 800 mile moves, but DH's work paid for it so I don't remember the cost. We had a couple of small damages, but that may have related to the quality of the furniture (particle board or cheap Ikea pine). We've never lost anything, although it can take a loooong time to find small items if they pack for you! Just keep in mind that the movers have no idea what's important or sentimental to you (our movers have been eastern European and Mexican, so there were also cultural differences at play), or even what things are valued at, so if anything is especially important to you, you should consider moving it yourself (their insurance covers only the replacement value, not the sentimental value).

 

My neighbors just moved and while they had enough friends in the area to help them out, they decided to spring for the cost of professional movers because of insurance. If they or one of their friends damaged the just-sold house during the move, they would have been on the hook for repairs and probably unable to afford it, but professional movers would have insurance for damages.

[homebody2k]

WE have used movers several times - mostly across town type moves. We pack our own boxes. Then they move boxes and furniture out to the truck, across town, and back out of the truck to rooms designated on the boxes. The company we used last charged by weight. They weigh the truck, pack it, weigh again and there you have it. The cost is going to vary wildly from region to region - but it is well worth it in my book. Oh and no damages so far, knock on wood. but they were insured if something had happened.

[justamouse]

Yes, but make sure you get very, very professional ones.

 

I got local town movers (I boxed). The manager overbooked the day (three house moves in one day? Is that humanly possible?), temp hired the most god awful scary looking men who ended up stealing my engagement ring and breaking BOXES and BOXES of plates.

[Orthodox6]

For local moves, we mostly have had friends pitch in to help. Our cross-country moves, and one of the local moves, were via professional hires. No problems with the local move. Only from one of the cross-country moves was there a major problem. (antique display cabinet, wedding gift from my parents was smashed beyond repair. Also an Ethan Allan sofa table arrived looking as if someone deliberately hammered a screwdriver into the top in many places.)

[KungFuPanda]

DO IT! It's expensive but worth it. They're so fast. I like to pack and label the boxes myself, then get movers to load and unload the truck.

 

I have one friend who wrapped all of her dishes/breakables in her clothes and linens. She wasn't buried in newspapers when she unpacked :-)

[KatieJ]

We did use professional movers when we moved 700 miles for work and DH company paid for it. Our stuff then went into storage while we house hunted. We use Three Men and a Truck to get it from storage to our house. Again, DH job paid for it. 3 Men was an awesome company to work with.

Everytime we moved local, we just had friends and family help out. It is tons of work tho. The last time we moved that I had to pack up, DH was already at the new job 2 hours a away during the week and I was home alone with 4 kids, the youngest being 5 months old. I packed us up, DH just showed up with the truck. I told him never again.

[Night Elf]

DH and I have moved 3 times and have used a moving company every time. We never moved more than 50 miles but we simply did not have the labor to do the heavy moving ourselves. We packed the whole house and all the movers did was to load and unload their truck. Yes, it was kind of expensive, about $500 - $600 per move for just a few hours of their time. We tipped them but I don't remember how much. But it was worth it. I seriously cannot imagine renting a truck and doing it ourselves. We even have an upright piano. Yes, everything always came out well.

[T'smom]

I've had great experiences! It's amazing how fast they can get things done. We had ours pack our stuff too. (Dh's company paid for it). It was sooooo nice. They did an incredible amount of work. Yes, it was expensive, BUT, it would have taken me so much longer.

[Mrs Mungo]

Was it expensive? Was it worth it? Did your stuff arrive intact and undamaged? So much to think about for my little brain! :willy_nilly: (I really need an exploding emoticon!)

 

 

We have moved lots of times and only moved ourselves once. Most of the time we were moving far away.

 

I don't know how expensive it is, the military pays.

 

People actually make money moving themselves. But, after the one move we did ourselves, I swore that we would never move ourselves again. It is WAY easier to have someone else move you.

 

MOST of the time our stuff has arrived intact and undamaged. We have had a few incidents over the years like the German movers who unpacked us and sliced a gash across the whole top of our sofa with a box cutter by accident. But, honestly, in almost 20 years of moving those incidents are few and far between.

 

The process generally works by them sticking colored number labels onto everything. They write the number down and a description of the item on an inventory sheet.

 

One thing I recommend is gathering any high value items into one room: camping and hunting gear, expensive sporting equipment, guns, tools, crystal, video gaming systems, computers, stereo equipment, musical instruments, collectibles, antiques (where possible) art, etc. I watch them label and write down every bit of that stuff. Nothing leaves the house without a number and being listed on the inventory sheet. Since you are doing a local move, you might consider moving those types of things yourself.

[Mrs Mungo]

Yes, but make sure you get very, very professional ones.

 

I got local town movers (I boxed). The manager overbooked the day (three house moves in one day? Is that humanly possible?), temp hired the most god awful scary looking men who ended up stealing my engagement ring and breaking BOXES and BOXES of plates.

 

 

I take all my jewelry out of the house before the movers ever arrive. That is one thing I never let them anywhere near. I have a big jewelry roll with zippers. Sort of like this one, but mine is bigger (I got it at TJ Maxx).

[beaners]

My husband's employer paid for two professional moves since we've been married. One was cross-country, and the other was out-of-state. Generally they did a good job, but the cost for them to pack stuff was astronomical.

 

Our most recent move, also out-of-state, we did on our own because that was the easiest way to do it with our schedule.

 

If I was moving in town, I'd probably invite people over and offer pizza and beer if they'll help. I've helped a few people move like this.

[Harriet Vane]

I used professional movers on my last two moves, and it was a really good experience. I consider it money well spent. They are much, much better at carrying and maneuvering heavy things than I or dh. They are also quick, and having them do the moving meant that I was free to clean the old house as rooms were emptied and start unpacking the new house as things were brought in. The whole thing was so much quicker and easier.

 

Our crew were quick, friendly, and professional. Our first move was from the city to a suburb an hour away, and we payed something like $1700 or $1800??? A good chunk of that cost, though, was to give special care and attention to our baby grand piano. Then we had to move five weeks later because our first rental was uninhabitable due to friable asbestos in the basement. We hired the same company, and they were again wonderful. For the second move they gave us a "pain and suffering" discount because they felt so sorry for us having to move twice in five weeks.

 

Two further things to consider with cost: We considered it a good investment in friendly relations to buy the guys lunch. We had a menu for a local hamburger joint that they chose from, and we picked up the food and all of us ate on site. That kept them ON SITE (minimum of disruption to the moving process) and also they were grateful for the free lunch. The other thing we did is tip every guy on the crew, and a little extra for the very kind, hardworking team supervisor. A little generosity goes a long way.

 

We are moving again (!!!) in a month and will likely go with the same company again.

 

Edited to add: We packed ourselves each time. It's REALLY important to be totally done with this when the movers arrive, because they will empty the house faster than you think possible. It saves a ton of money to pack your own home. I moved certain items myself in my van, like a painting I value or our computer and my jewelery.

[Dandelion]

We used professional movers for our last move (from OR to CO), paid for by the company DH and I both worked for at the time. It was fantastic not to have to worry about anything. Nothing was damaged. Most stress-free move I have ever experienced. :thumbup1:

[jhschool]

The first time we moved long distance DH's new job paid for it.

 

We got bad ones.

 

They packed whatever wherever.

Examples: TV put in a cardboard box with nothing to cushion it.

Sharp knife loose in same box as loose legos.

delicate electrical things like cd player in cardboard box with nothing to cushion it.

They just threw everything in boxes with no cushioning and no regard with

whether it would be good to put together.

 

We should have got different ones, but we were dumb. It was a nightmare.

Things came broken and ruined, etc. When we tried to contact them they

never got back to us.

 

After that, we've U-Hauled everything ourselves. That was a different

sort of nightmare.

 

My friend, though, got different movers (she always gets the best of the best). They

bubble wrapped *everything*. They bubble wrapped the garbage can (with garbage

in it); they also bubble wrapped used tea bags from her messy kitchen,

food, everything. All her stuff was fine. I know this because

I helped her unpack and found the stuff.

[justamouse]

I take all my jewelry out of the house before the movers ever arrive. That is one thing I never let them anywhere near. I have a big jewelry roll with zippers. Sort of like this one, but mine is bigger (I got it at TJ Maxx).

 

 

I did, but I had forgotten my ring. :( (I never wear it, but I had put it out to wear, and then got busy...) Big sad day.

[beaners]

My friend, though, got different movers (she always gets the best of the best). They

bubble wrapped *everything*. They bubble wrapped the garbage can (with garbage

in it); they also bubble wrapped used tea bags from her messy kitchen,

food, everything. All her stuff was fine. I know this because

I helped her unpack and found the stuff.

 

 

This brings back memories for me! We didn't have chickens before one of our moves, so we saved our egg cartons to give to a friend. I had been cleaning them and stacking them on top of the fridge. When we were unpacking, my husband and I were both baffled by what could be in this huge, super-light box. Wouldn't you know it, we had an entire box of egg cartons wrapped in paper.

[Woodhaven]

We did use movers, and it was great!

 

They were very expensive, but dh's employer paid for the cost. We chose 4 different well known companies, and then interviewed each one and had them give us an estimate. My dh's employer left it to us to choose the mover. They were very good! Packed everything - even junk that was set aside to be thrown out! No matter how old or useless looking, they packed it CAREFULLY.

 

We made sure they put down in writing (the contract) the size of truck they were going to bring (semi-truck) and the number of workers (packers and movers). When we bought our first house, the sellers had hired bad movers who showed up with a very small truck, made trips back and forth (same city) all day, and charged them by the hour!!!!

 

 

Our movers were very fast and very professional. If I had to move, and had the money I would definitely hire movers.

[DianeW88]

Yes, twice. I called several companies and had them come and give me a binding estimate. I packed all my boxes, they loaded them and the furniture. It was fabulous! Both moves were from state to state. It was worth every penny.

 

Be aware that you will need to tip. Thirteen years ago, that meant $100 for the driver and $50 for each of his assistants.

 

[cin]

Thank you all so much for your feedback! I am going to do some checking around, but I have a bad feeling in my gut that it's going to be all on me.

[Momof3littles]

We used ABF U-Haul for one long distance move. You pack and load the truck, they drive it, you unload.

 

We had a paid corporate move where we got 3 quotes, which varied wildly, for what it's worth. The range was like 7K-16K. They packed us and moved us 400+ miles. We were going to a rental while trying to sell our home, so we knew we'd be moving again before long when we purchased a house. We left as much as possible packed in the interim. We paid for that move out of our own pocket. We used a 2 man moving crew from Craigslist that a coworker of DH had used. Now normally, that would not be my thing at all, and I'd be really hesitant to hire someone from CL But DH's coworker had a great experience with them. They ended up being fabulous, but obviously, you'd want a word of mouth recommendation. We moved our own valuables each time (computers, file boxes with important personal info, jewelry, photographs, etc.) We packed our own stuff, but still had a lot boxed from the earlier move. We were only going a few miles and it took a few trips (smaller truck). That was maybe $2000? Maybe a little less?