How to get a moving quote that holds up on moving day

A moving quote is only as good as what the mover saw. The price at the door drifts from the quote in three places: belongings the estimate left out, services nobody priced, and the gap between the weight guessed and the weight on the scale. Each can be closed before you sign.

A price from a form or a call is a budget

Online and phone prices are useful for a budget, and our quote checker gives the same kind of range for any interstate move. They are not estimates, and FMCSA puts a mover or broker that prices a move sight unseen first on its list of red flags.

Waiving the survey saves an hour and removes the one thing that makes an estimate accurate. Keep it.

Make the survey complete

• Show everything: closets, the attic, the basement, the garage, the shed, and anything in a storage unit.
• Say what is not coming: things you will sell, give away or carry in your own car.
• Describe both ends: stairs, elevators, how far the truck can park from the door, and whether the street takes a full-size truck.
• Name every service you want: packing, taking furniture apart, appliance servicing, crating, storage, an extra pickup.
• Give your dates, and any flexibility in them.

Binding or non-binding

The estimate must say which it is. Binding not-to-exceed estimates, and what each type means on delivery day, are covered in the estimates guide.

Estimates by volume

Some estimates are in cubic feet. Ask for the conversion formula, and use it to put volume and weight quotes on the same footing.

Weight on the scale

Comparing quotes

• Compare the same belongings and the same services. A lower price for fewer belongings is not a lower price.
• Line up the weights, or the cubic feet. If one estimate is far lighter than the others for the same home, ask what it left out.
• Compare the same coverage. A quote with released value looks cheaper than one with full value protection, for a reason.
• If a broker quoted, ask which carrier will move you, and check that carrier's record.
• Put each one through our quote checker. It shows what moves like yours usually cost and, for a non-binding estimate, the most that can be asked at delivery.