{"id":36054,"date":"2024-05-07T01:48:25","date_gmt":"2024-05-07T05:48:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/suddath.com\/?post_type=resource&p=36054"},"modified":"2024-07-29T10:39:01","modified_gmt":"2024-07-29T14:39:01","slug":"how-much-do-movers-cost","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/suddath.com\/moving-company\/moving-tips\/how-much-do-movers-cost\/","title":{"rendered":"How Much Do Movers Cost?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A study recently showed that\u00a0over half of Americans are surprised by how much it costs to move<\/a>. When you\u2019re getting ready to relocate and are seeking the right\u00a0moving company<\/a>\u00a0for your needs, you\u2019ll almost certainly be asking yourself this question: How much do movers cost?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You could use Google to find responses to the question \u2014 and many people do \u2014 but you\u2019d likely find answers such as \u201canywhere from $200 to $17,000<\/a>,\u201d which isn\u2019t very helpful or specific to your unique situation. (If you\u2019re ready to get a free quote for your particular set of circumstances, we\u2019d be happy to\u00a0connect with you<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this blog post, we\u2019ll share some key factors in building a moving quote to provide you with more insights into the process and more clarity into the components of your own moving estimate. Note that we\u2019re referring to local moves<\/a> (50 miles or less) or long-distance moves<\/a> that take place within the United States. Suddath is also a mover of choice for international relocations<\/a>, although the quoting process would be different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are five factors Suddath uses when creating a moving quote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#1 Weight of Household Belongings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A typical household will have literally thousands of pounds<\/a> of belongings that need to be transported when it\u2019s time to move. In fact, as a super-rough estimate of how much you own, a full-sized room could contain 1,000-1,500 pounds of household goods. That figure, though, can vary widely; picture a room in someone\u2019s house that\u2019s chock full of possessions and then a room that\u2019s pretty sparse \u2014 those rooms probably wouldn\u2019t contain anywhere near the same weight of belongings. In other words, the weight of belongings will vary by room and by occupant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When looking to reduce the cost of your move, reducing the weight of your belongings is a factor where you have some control. You can start lowering the weight by tossing items that no longer have value to you or to anyone else. Then, you can decide what possessions you no longer want that may be desirable to other people \u2014 you could give them away to friends and family, sell them at yard sales or online, or donate those items to worthy charities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No matter which approach you decide to take to reduce the weight of your belongings, decluttering<\/a> is the first step. Strategies to efficiently tackle this task in bite-sized chunks include creating a decluttering plan, perhaps by room; dividing items into three piles (keep, discard, and donate\/sell); quickly getting rid of what you decide to eliminate; and so on. You might repeat this process several times while decluttering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to donate some of your goods, well-known charities such as\u00a0Goodwill<\/a>,\u00a0Salvation Army<\/a>, and\u00a0Habitat for Humanity<\/a>\u00a0will take a broad spectrum of donations. Plus, here are eleven\u00a0lesser-known places<\/a>\u00a0where you can donate certain niche items. When you\u2019re getting ready to move, you\u2019re busy, so you might want to use charities that will\u00a0pick up your donations<\/a>\u00a0from your home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019d rather sell what you don\u2019t want \u2014 perhaps to get cash to contribute to your move \u2014 the\u00a0National Association of REALTORS\u00ae<\/a>\u00a0offers tips. They include checking in with your\u00a0local government<\/a>\u00a0to see if you need a rummage sale permit, asking neighbors to have a sale with you to entice more shoppers, strategically scheduling the sale, and advertising effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you get a moving quote after you\u2019ve done these things, it will be based on a lower weight of belongings, helping to reduce your relocation estimate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#2 Mileage of the Move<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The distance that the belongings will be transported also plays a role, although you won\u2019t have control over this factor in the way you do the first one. After you\u2019ve decided where you want to move, the mileage is the mileage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A local move<\/a> is defined as one that, at most, involves 50 miles of transporting goods. This could be a relocation from one end of town to the other \u2014 or from one city to an adjacent one. Because this kind of move would take less fuel and fewer hours of person-power than one that involves more mileage, this will be reflected in the moving estimate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A long-distance move<\/a> is more than 50 miles in distance. This relocation could be intrastate (within the same state) or interstate (from one state to another), but in either case, it\u2019s longer than a local move, involving more time, fuel and typically the use of a larger truck. So a long-distance move will typically cost more than a local one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#3 The Move Date<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The date you book to move can also have an impact on its costs \u2014 which is another way to illustrate that there\u2019s no one-size-fits-all answer when asking, \u201cHow much do movers cost?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take a look at this example. Many people want to move in the summer when children are out of school and the weather is generally much nicer. They often want to move on a weekend because they have Saturday and Sunday off from work. In combination, then, weekends in the summer are often the most in-demand for moving and may cost more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To get the best deal on a move, some consumers will choose off-peak moving dates<\/a>. They might, for example, choose a weekday, and they might select an off-season month \u2014 from mid-September through April \u2014 to benefit from the most cost-effective move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note: Besides the national peak moving times of May through mid-September, there may be local activity peaks that can affect the cost of a move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#4 Specialty Services<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When a moving company calculates moving quotes, the costs for the actual transportation of belongings is at the foundation, but there are also specialty services<\/a> that, when chosen, can impact the cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of these is packing and unpacking services<\/a>. Packing is one of many people\u2019s least favorite parts of the move \u2014 and so they have their moving crews do it for them. Perhaps they take advantage of partial packing services, where the moving company packs up large belongings, or maybe they have the professional movers box up the more challenging rooms in the home: the kitchen, for example, and\/or the bedrooms. Or they may decide that packing, overall, is just too daunting of a task to undertake when they\u2019re already quite busy with other aspects of their move \u2014 selling and\/or financing a home, transferring children from one school system to another, and so forth \u2014 and have the movers pack everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suddath offers a flexible menu of choices, and full packing services will come with a different price tag than partial packing ones \u2014 and choosing either of these services will have an effect on the cost of the overall move. Then, there are specialty packing services<\/a> to consider. If someone needs, for example, a piano to be moved<\/a>, this will involve an additional calculation in the quote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another in-demand specialty service is safe, secure, and convenient\u00a0storage solutions<\/a>, which is exactly what Suddath offers. When selling a house,\u00a0real estate agents<\/a>\u00a0note how an attractively\u00a0staged home<\/a>\u00a0can maximize a home sale. \u201cStaging\u201d refers to removing excess belongings to strategically decorate and showcase the benefits of the home; in 2021, 82% of buyers\u2019 real estate agents said that\u00a0staging<\/a>\u00a0allowed their clients to envision the home they were viewing as their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This, in turn, helps with selling the home. When an average of 1% of the sales price is invested into home staging, about three-quarters of those sellers benefitted from a return on investment of 5-15% over their asking price, increasing the sales price as much as 20%. Plus, sellers who use staging strategies typically sell their homes more quickly: as much as three to thirty times as fast when compared to non-staged homes. See Suddath\u2019s declutter and storage program here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Home staging isn\u2019t the only reason why people use storage services. Some use storage solutions to keep certain belongings in a safe place while they decide whether they want them transported to their new home. No matter why you\u2019re using Suddath\u2019s storage services, when you\u2019re ready to receive your possessions being stored, just let us know \u2014 and we\u2019ll efficiently deliver them to you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#5 Additional Moving Valuation Coverage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Finally, consider moving valuation coverage<\/a> when thinking about the answer to \u201cHow much do movers cost?\u201d Misunderstandings exist about what valuation coverage is and isn\u2019t. Here are some clarifications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, valuation coverage is not insurance. Insurance involves paying a premium, and in exchange, the insurance company protects you against loss up to a predetermined amount. In contrast, valuation coverage is a federally mandated level of liability that shipping companies, which includes movers, must assume. Then, if someone\u2019s goods being shipped are damaged or lost because of the actions of the mover, the owner of those goods will receive a specified amount of money as compensation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the\u00a0Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration<\/a>, a moving company must offer a customer at least two levels of liability:<\/p>\n\n\n\n