If I was doing an in-town move and didn’t want to do it myself, I’d rent a Ryder big enough to haul my stuff, then post fliers offering free drinks and pizza and a cash payment of some kind at local colleges. You combine free food and drinks and money and just about any college kid worth his salt’ll show up.
If your stuff is going to get broken, you may as well not pay a bundle to do it.
I don’t know how they could estimate it fully without weighing it first. They should weigh it first & then you can pay by the lb. One friend of mine who works for one of those companies told me one time they just estimated the weight & wrote that one the form, never took it to find out what really weighed.
My very best moving experience was the time I ran the show myself. I packed everything myself, rented a U-haul, and hired 2 big strapping guys from the Day Labor place. In the morning, I promised them a big tip at the end of the day if all went well, and they earned it and got it. Only thing I would change would be to hire 4 or 5 guys instead of 2.
Now, this was local, not too much stuff, and nothing very valuable. I’d go the professional/insured route if I were moving a big house full of fine furniture.
Oh, and if you rent a U-Haul, be sure to read the U-Haul angst thread that appeared in the BBQ Pit a few months back. Lots of good advice there.
I don’t know how comparable DC is to Chicago, but I’ve used movers here for several moves similar to yours, last time was in April.
Here, the movers charge per hour. The bigger ones will come to your place to make an estimate, but most have enough experience with in town apartment moves to know about how much it will be by a verbal description.
They charge from $85-$200 an hour (depending on the size–and therefore reputation usually–of the chain) generally with a 3 or 4 hour minimum and the travel time to your new place generally is not included in the minimum time.
Different places offer different “perks” such as blankets, pads, tape, and warddrobe boxes that they may or may not want to charge you for.
I think my last move (a 2 bedroom highrise apartment to a 3 bedroom 2 story house about a half hour away) came to around $500, if I remember right.
It can be worth paying more for a more established mover as generally you’ll get better service. I’ve always rolled the dice and used the cheaper guys. Last time when they called the morning of the move telling me the truck broke down, I regretted my cheapskate decision. Thankfully they scrounged up another truck.
In conclusion, my opinion that using movers will cost you a TON more than doing it yourself, but (usually) saves you a TON of hassle.
Anyway, that’s the Chicago story, not sure how relevant it is to DC.
Wow, first of all I’d like to thank everyone who chimed in and gave me some advice. I’ve been calling around and am having some estimates done. I still have a few weeks untill I move, but I don’t want to procrastinate on this like I usually do.
Anybody have a real horror story?