[Lovey2]

My brother is trying to get estimates from moving companies, and he is running into a (somewhat) weird problem. It seems that most companies cannot give a date the furniture will be delivered...even within a day or 2. They are just giving an approximate week. Is this normal? Did many of you find this to be true? We moved ourselves up from SW Florida, so it was not an issue for us, but I can't imagine such a thing. My brother is negotiable on the pick up date, but they do need to know when the furniture is due to arrive since they are not moving here full time at this move. How did any of you deal with this? I can certainly be there anytime to accept the furniture, but they wanted to spend a week or so here setting up. Ideas?? other companies we can try?

[CaliforniaGirl]

This is not a weird problem, it is how moving companies operate. They book moves, and a dispatcher/coordinator puts them together like pieces of a puzzle. A full sized moving van holds around 45,000 lbs, and the average move is 6-8K lbs. Vans move as full as possible - less empty space equals less shifting, less damage, and is obviously more cost-effective. A specific shipment could be the first loaded & last delivered - or it could be first loaded & first delivered; none of this is known at booking unless it is a relatively short-distance move in a smaller van.
30+ years experience here coordinating moves for DOD personnel - yours is a frequently asked question.

[Lovey2]

Thanks....looks like we may look into driving it down ourselves then. I get the whole logistics of it, I guess, but it is difficult to not even kinda know when your stuff is coming.

[liere]

We used PODS...we had someone load it for us in NY, and we were given the exact drop day it would be dropped off to our house. Between pick up and drop off it was a week. We drove down, and the POD was delivered timely and we had someone unload it for us.

[Lovey2]

Good idea. Thanks. I do see a lot of that, maybe that's why. I'll have him look in to it.

[raynan]

ABF.....UPACK works the same as PODS. Compare prices. We used ABF because of the same problem of not knowing when our stuff would arrive by major movers. Saved a bundle of money too. Good luck!

[NavyNJ]

Originally Posted by Lovey2

Good idea. Thanks. I do see a lot of that, maybe that's why. I'll have him look in to it.

What kind of weight and box count estimate did he get from the moving company who quoted him? That may help him decide if PODS or ABF U-Pack are feasible. PODS (all sizes) do have weight limits that are not all that high. So depending on how much he's bringing, they may not be the best option. And don't be fooled....even when "thinning out" and off-loading major furniture pieces, your load can still add up. I was surprised to find out our load size, even with no major "rooms" of furniture, only a couple odd pieces, a couple King mattress/spring sets, couple flat screen TVs, a spare std. size frig, and about 100 boxes of cabinet/closet/basement/garage stuff (incl. 5 wardrobe cartons) came to about 7,500 lbs! Then throw in my 650 lb Harley and voila!! I'm at about 8,000-8,200 lbs!

Oh, and the delivery range he got from his mover is, as CaliforniaGirl explained, pretty std practice in the industry. We have a load of a Monday, with a Delivery Range of 5 Business Days, starting 2 days after our load day. That might get fine-tuned by load day once we know how many other loads are on the trailer, and where we are packed. At a min., driver will call us 24-hr before arrival.

Good luck with his move, whichever way he goes!! Cheers!!

[Lovey2]

Thank you raynan and NavyNJ. I have passed along the info to him. I did look at the upack and their quote seemed pretty reasonable. Thanks again...

[dave from deland]

Originally Posted by Lovey2

My brother is trying to get estimates from moving companies, and he is running into a (somewhat) weird problem. It seems that most companies cannot give a date the furniture will be delivered...even within a day or 2. They are just giving an approximate week. Is this normal? Did many of you find this to be true? We moved ourselves up from SW Florida, so it was not an issue for us, but I can't imagine such a thing. My brother is negotiable on the pick up date, but they do need to know when the furniture is due to arrive since they are not moving here full time at this move. How did any of you deal with this? I can certainly be there anytime to accept the furniture, but they wanted to spend a week or so here setting up. Ideas?? other companies we can try?

I used Two Men and a Truck to move from Nashville to Deland, FL and 6 years later, to move from Deland to The Villages. I highly recommend them. They are a national franchise, so check them out as you would on any moving company.

[Lovey2]

Thanks, Dave...will do

[BK001]

I spent a lot of time researching the different Pod companies and decided upon UPack (877-706-5980). The Relocube (as they call it) measures 6' x 7' x 8' and holds about 366 cubic feet. It was the perfect solution since we could pack our stuff, lock the cube and have it delivered to their warehouse in Ocala and simply call when we wanted the local delivery. The quoted cost (which included the major move and the local delivery) from Brooklyn to The Villages (approximately 1050 miles) was $1703 door to door or $1107 terminal to terminal. For 2 cubes they quoted $2555 door to door or $1876 terminal to terminal. This does not include the storage fees which are about $225 per month per cube.

I subsequently learned that the pods are NOT permitted to be placed on New York CITY streets -- the only way I could use them would be if they could be placed on my property but not on the street or sidewalk. Unfortunately there is not enough room between buildings for the POD to sit in our yard.

So, now to Plan B (don't have one yet). And after this curve (and reading many of the TOTV posts on the topic) we decided not to move ANY furniture so now I only have to deal with about 50 or 60 boxes (downsizing par excellence). I will call another moving company and may even try a freight moving company -- all the boxes are in a garage so no steps or much physical labor and I know exact dimensions and approximate weight so a quote should be right on target.

In our case, I have to make sure that the boxes don't hit Florida before we do unless the company has a storage facility since we won't have access to the Lady Lake apartment we rented until we get down there and the management company will not accept deliveries in our behalf.

Any suggestions would be welcomed.