Reliability of Moving Estimates

[NJblue]

We are in the process of figuring out how we are going to get our stuff moved to TV. We originally had a quote back in December before our original contract fell apart. We are now nursing a new contract (and hoping that it too doesn't fall apart) and getting new quotes on moving costs. The problem is that the two quotes are miles apart in terms of estimated weight (the current one is almost exactly half the weight of the one from December). While we have cut back on the amount that we plan to shop, I don't think that we cut it nearly in half.

The current quote says that it is only an estimate and that we would need to pay for any weight over and above the estimate. I believe that the December quote was a guaranteed quote (i.e., the charges would not exceed the quoted figure). So, that leads me to think that one of three things may be happening:
1) the current quote may be a low-ball, knowing that we will ultimately have to pay more.
2) the December quote may have been grossly over-estimated to assure that the actual weight would come in under that.
3) a combination of above.

I was wondering what other people's experiences may have been in terms of accuracy of moving quotes.

BTW we had a second quote back in December which came in very close to the other December quote. However, it too was a "not to exceed" quote which may also have been over-estimated.

[SteveFromNY]

We used PODS, and the quote is the qoute. They will move it for the same price regardless of how much it weighs.
What I thought was another advantage: we left it in the driveway for awhile prior to the move and loaded it slowly.

[NJblue]

PODS is another alternative for us, but what I am concerned about PODS is that you are limited to 8x8x16 feet. I really don't know if what we have can fit into that amount of space. I think the surprise that I would like even less on moving day than that I had to pay a bit more for a professional mover would be the surprise of having the POD completely full with stuff still sitting on the driveway waiting to be packed. I tried calling the POD people with an inventory of what we expect to move, but the best answer that they can give us is that a POD can handle about 3 rooms of furniture and belongings. That's a bit loose for me.

[SteveFromNY]

Like I said we had the POD on the driveway for about 60 days before the move, so there were no surprises. That gave us a chance to go through all of our stuff, slowly pack, and fill the POD. We did fit an amazing amount of stuff in it, but I couldn't tell you it was 3 rooms of furniture. We had a dinette set with 6 rolling, non-stackable chairs, a large all-glass curio (that I wrapped in cardboard), 2 bikes, dressers, a very large and heavy treadmill, a glass television stand (that I broke AFTER I got it into the house and had the TV, DVD player and Receiver installed), and more boxes than I would have believed we could have. It had a tremendous amount of room. If it all didn't fit, I'd have ordered a second POD (maybe the smaller one). I was much more concerned with dealing with "Moving Day" as a one day event than I was with the surprise issues. We didn't move most of our furniture as we were getting a lot of new stuff once we got to TV (we had some basic rental furniture in the house that was serviceable but not to our long term liking), so that helped us with the option of packing slowly.

[NJblue]

I wish that we could move like you did - a bit at a time. However, we are taking a fair amount of furniture and since that is what takes most of the room and since it should be put in first for optimal space utilization and since we will need it until actual moving day, I really won't know how much room we will need until that dreaded day. BTW, for cross-country moves, they only use the big PODS.

[chuckinca]

We looked into using pods but opted for a moving company that cost about a thousand more than a pod.

For the thousand, we got to direct four movers work 4 hours bundle up all the heavy furniture and loose items too big to fit in moving boxes in moving blankets, box up all the pictures and mirrors, load up the truck, store for a month, deliver to our door in Fla and unload and set up furniture where we wanted it - another 4 hours for two men. They lost one piece and delivered it two weeks later - a door to a garage storage cabinet that had a value of next to zero. We would have had to buy a few hundred dollars in moving blankets and clear wrapping tape to match what they used.

Best $1,000 we spent last year.

[NJblue]

But, was the moving company's estimate accurate or were you subject to a surprise?

[superuke]

Having spent 8 years managing a major van line, always ask and get a quaranteed quote. Never move with an estimate. An estimate is simpy a guess. We trained our staff to calculate the goods moved within 100 lbs on a full trailer. Very easy if you are properly trained.

Always purchase replacement Value insurance. Replacement means you get the price of a new item. Check with the better business bureau on the name of the mover before you move. You will sleep well and if anything goes wrong you will be looked after. It has happened many times where the trailer gets stolen. Water can come through a crack, trailer can get broken into.