Here's What I Looked for When Getting Moving Quotes

I recently hired movers to help me relocate. When I got quotes from different moving companies, these were the big things that I looked at to help me decide which mover was the right one for my situation.

1. Price

Obviously, price was a primary concern because I didn't want to drain my bank account paying for movers. As a result, I got quotes from several different companies.

As I was comparing prices, it was important to think about how the quotes differed. One mover charged a flat hourly rate for three movers and a truck. Another charged one price if I had two movers come, another price for three, and another price for four -- and the incremental cost of adding an additional person was pretty low.

This mover ended up being the best deal, because by paying for four movers, I was able to get the job done more quickly, so even though the hourly rate was the highest of all the companies, they moved the fastest.

Some movers also charged per trip for the moving truck in addition to paying for labor. This was a concern for me because I didn't know how many trips would be required, and the fee was high. I passed on this mover due to the uncertainty of just how much I'd end up putting on my credit card.

2. Insurance

Insurance was another major concern of mine. I wanted to be sure the movers would cover the costs if they broke anything.

Some movers actually paid per pound if items were damaged, which didn't make much sense to me since the weight of my stuff had no bearing on what it would cost to replace it. So I paid for a mover that provided replacement cost insurance even though the price was a little higher. It was worth the added peace of mind of knowing I could replace my stuff if something happened to it.

Since that mover also offered better insurance, I felt more confident it wasn't likely to break anything. If the mover made frequent insurance claims for its comprehensive policy, it probably would have been prohibitively expensive for it to pay premiums.

3. Reviews

Reviews were a big consideration for me, too. I checked the reviews online of all of the moving companies I was thinking about working with. Obviously, any mover that had received a bunch of bad reviews was off the table.

Of course, no movers had 100% perfect reviews. But I tried to read between the lines on the complaints and see if the customer's dissatisfaction was justified -- especially since I know people who tend to be overly picky about a service also tend to be more likely to leave reviews.

4. Communication

Finally, I paid attention to how the movers communicated with me, as this was a major sign of how reliable they were. Movers who got back to me quickly and who presented a quote in a professional form were put at the top of my list, while those who delayed or who were less formal in their quote presentations went to the bottom.

By considering these four factors, I ended up with a great moving company that helped me move my stuff safely into storage where it will stay until I find the perfect new house and get a mortgage to buy it.