Moving or container advice / recommendations?

[cos]

Need advice on using moving companies or container/pod companies for moving cross country! Also recommendations if any of you have had good or bad experiences with some.

Our move is a bit unusual. We're going to vacate our Seattle apartment in a couple of months and move a bunch of the stuff (though not all) to Cambridge, where we already have a fully furnished and supplied house. We've been living partly in both locations for several years, and we're going to Cambridge full time. Which means two things that make this a bit different from a "typical" cross country move:

1 - We're selling or giving away a significant portion of our Seattle furniture, though we do want to send a few pieces back to Cambridge. So in terms of furniture, this will probably be much less weight and volume than a regular apartment, even a 1-bedroom.

2 - Not only do we not need the stuff to arrive quickly - we've spent whole months in Cambridge without any of our Seattle stuff, we have what we need there already - but it would actually be better if we could be sure it doesn't arrive in under 3 weeks. That's because we want to drive our Seattle car to Cambridge, and want to make a nice road trip of it, so we don't want to have a tight deadline about when we have to be in Cambridge to receive our stuff.

Neither of us have done a cross country move before. I've read stuff online about how to avoid scams, and about the differences between full service movers and containers, but there's a lot that's not clear, and most of the "how to move cross country" articles online spend most of their time on things that aren't relevant to our move.

Examples of some of the sorts of questions I still have:

• Do shipped containers come in sizes that we could place on a residential street in Cambridge, and do we arrange that with the city or do those companies do it (and are they reliable at it)?
• Are there any full service movers who are willing to commit to delivering our stuff more than two weeks later - or ideally more than three? Or do we have to go with a container if we want that?
• With a container, can they select and hire movers to pack and load on one side, and unload on the other? How do we find companies that know how to select movers who are good at packing for cross-country shipping, which I gather is different than packing a moving van for the same city?
• Full service movers offer insurance for anything they pack. But what about if we use a container and they (or we?) hire separate movers to pack and load - how does insurance work in that case?

And, of course, what companies should we consider? Ones that people have had good experiences with.

While we don't want to spend a lot more money than necessary if it doesn't provide value, we're totally willing to spend more money if it makes things better. Finding the cheapest option isn't the top priority for us. And we're not considering driving a truck ourselves, we want to drive the car, which doesn't have a lot of space.

Edit: I forgot to ask earlier - several articles I read said that some warning signs of a bad or scammy mover are a) they won't accept credit cards for payment, and b) they require a large deposit up front, instead of asking for the bulk of the money after the move is done. So I'm curious, if you have direct experience with cross county moves, whether you know if your mover accepted credit cards for all payments? And did you have to pay a deposit up front, and if so, approximately what proportion of the total it was?

Comments

[flexagon]

Hmmm. Here's the city documentation on moving containers:

A Moving Container/Crate Permit allows you to reserve curb space for the purpose of placing a crate or container on a City street while moving goods in or out of a building. These permits are issued for three consecutive days.

https://cambridgema.viewpointcloud.com/categories/1122/record-types/6700

[cos]

Yup, I saw that earlier this week, though it leaves a lot un-answered. Like, how do I figure out what size of container can fit there and how do I know what companies use what sizes. And, can the city place signs up early enough to ensure those spaces are actually free when the time comes? And, how do I ensure the timing of the permit and the timing of the container drop-off and pick-up will actually match? All of which are things that might be a lot easier if the container company takes care of this, and knows how to work with cities on this sort of thing.

Calling Cambridge to get more info is on my list of things to do, but it might be a confusing process because I'm starting from so little knowledge.

[flexagon]

*nods*

There's an application button there that could provide a lot more detail, but I didn't want to make an account just to find out for sure. Good luck!

[notadoor]

I used a POD (original brand name company) to move from Somerville to Atlanta in 2020.

PODs actually wouldn't let me have a container for several days, regardless of what the city said - for urban moves, they kept the container on a flatbed truck with a driver just chilling out in the cab until we were ready to go. So we had to load everything up in the same day. They had a list of "recommended movers in your area" and the guys I picked were great and very careful about loading everything in - no damage and really efficient space-wise.

For moving from Atlanta to Sacramento, David's new employer hired us a full service moving company (like, they showed up a day before, packed everything for us, then loaded everything for us, then moved it, then unloaded it.) I believe our stuff arrived in Sacramento the next week, but we had them store it in a warehouse for 2 months while we found a place to live. I think there was no additional charge for the first 30 days but there may have been a storage charge afterwards.

I don't remember how insurance worked in either case.

Re: moving or container advice / recommendations?

[cos]

Oh thanks, that's all very useful to know about!

If we can have a moving company store our stuff for a couple of weeks and then deliver to us, for no charge or just some moderate amount, that would make full service moving a good option. The company I called yesterday didn't mention it, but I need to find more companies with good references to call, so I will ask about that.

Re: moving or container advice / recommendations?

[l33tminion]

POD does off-site storage as well as moves, so I'd guess they could arrange the timing you want, for a price.

[wotw]

I'm glad you'll be around more.

[bluepapercup]

Time for a small novel.

I have moved long distance way too many times, and having done both movers and containers, if you have the money then I highly recommend using a full-service mover who will also put your stuff into storage for a set amount of time. When you call them, ask them specifically. Full-service movers will load and unload as part of their fee and you can get insurance to cover the entire door-to-door operation. Ask them specifically about their packages for coverage. What I really liked is that they are skilled at the unloading and loading so it doesn't take long and they're generally decent at not banging up the inside of your house. For an extra fee many moving companies will even come and physically pack boxes for you. This is a great option if you're short on time or have valuables you'd like packed with extra padding and in speciality boxes.

If you go with a container, companies will often have a moving company to refer you to for loading and unloading your container, but most of them don't provide your own. You can also call around to local movers and hire them just for loading and unloading, they usually have a four-hour minimum. My best container experience was with U-Pack, and I loaded it myself and paid for their unloading service. What's really nice about them is you can get storage by the week or month for as long as you need, and they only need about 1-2 days notice to bring you your pods. Insurance is definitely less cushy for containers though, with U-Pack I had insurance for "catastrophe" so basically if their truck crashed or the warehouse burned down but anything that happened to my stuff once it was inside the container was at my own risk. Not a great deal and some of my things did get broken.

I cannot speak to having containers in Cambridge but whatever the city tells you, get it in writing so that when they try to fine you you're covered.

It's also worth talking to both your homeowner's insurance company and if you have an AmEx card calling AmEx to see if they offer riders for these kind of moves or if they can help you with any other kind of extra insurance.

Re: moving or container advice / recommendations?

[cos]

Thanks for the novel!

Since you've done this several times, what are some moving companies you used and what would you say about each?

Re: moving or container advice / recommendations?

[bluepapercup]

Because I was constrained on cost, I used Allied Van Lines twice. They, and many other national movers, are basically a national broker who work with thousands of contracted drivers. So when you call them, the mover you end up getting will be someone in their network. This means that quality can vary depending on who you're assigned but cost can be lower. Look at all the major moving companies (you can find lists online and will include Allied, United, Atlas, North American, etc.) and get quotes and read reviews.

There *are* local companies (at least in Boston) who do cross-country moves, and usually have better reviews but cost more. It's worth asking on your local forums in Seattle for local recommendations for cross-country movers.

Re: moving or container advice / recommendations?

[cos]

One thing I forgot to ask about in my post - several articles I read said that warning signs of a bad or scammy mover include a) not willing to accept credit card payments and b) requiring a large deposit up front, rather than asking for the bulk of the money after the move is done. I'm curious, for your moves, do you know if they accepted credit cards? And, about what proportion of the total did you have to pay before the move was done?

Re: moving or container advice / recommendations?

[bluepapercup]

I had to put down a deposit (I think $4-500?) and then the rest I paid after, because truck moves are by weight so you don't know the final price until after they've scaled the truck. (They give you an estimated price based on seeing how much stuff you have to move). I have always paid everything by credit card. Tip your movers in cash, though.

[mzrowan]

I had to do something like this (except also cross-border) to move some things down from my mother's house in Ottawa. I used United Van Lines' relatively new "SnapMoves" service: https://www.unitedvanlines.com/moving-services/small-moves

They had their (franchised) moving company pack all the stuff in Ottawa, which they did very well – everything (except one old and heavy book) survived the move without any damage at all.

I didn't use storage, which they also have available, but I told them that I didn't care when the stuff arrived and it happened to take a few weeks, probably because they waited to combine it with other containers going in my direction.

The cost in my case was $3000 for a 7x7x4 crate.

[jwg]

I used GentleGiant for a temporary move and place in storage when we were having our Cambridge house renovated about 20 years ago. It included a grand piano. They did an excellent job - always on time - nothing broken lost. I believe they have offices in Seattle and Boston.

Re: moving or container advice / recommendations?

[cos]

Oh, I thought of Gentle Giant as a local company, but I'll call them and see if they do cross country. Thanks!

One thing I forgot to ask about in my post - several articles I read said that warning signs of a bad or scammy mover include a) not willing to accept credit card payments and b) requiring a large deposit up front, rather than asking for the bulk of the money after the move is done. I'm curious, for your moves, do you know if they accepted credit cards? And, about what proportion of the total did you have to pay before the move was done?

Re: moving or container advice / recommendations?

[crschmidt]

We use Gentle Giant for our local moves, and I've had good experiences with them. They accept credit card payments, and required only a small deposit up front with the rest charged on day-of-move. (I think it was a $200 deposit, with the move estimated to be $1400-$2800 in total cost.)

For short-term storage, they leave stuff on the truck, so it's somewhat cost prohibitive for long-term -- I think the number was $150/day? -- but I didn't ask about anything long term, since we only expect our worst case to be in the range of "overnight" and the cost would be small relative to the total, so I wasn't worried about it.

[ceelove]

Hi, these days I’m with the moving company World Wide Movers out of Tacoma. (I pack, load, and drive locally.) The industry is overwhelmed and undermanned and has been since the pandemic started. If you use a moving company, not only can they put your stuff into storage for weeks or months, there’s a decent chance that they’d have to. There are not enough drivers available to get stuff moved cross-country, so our warehouse is crammed to the gills with crates full of household goods.

As to recommendations, well, I’m proud to work for WWM.

[cos]

Thanks for the recommendation! I called them last week when I was calling some other movers to set up surveys of the apartment for quotes. Unfortunately it turns out WWM doesn't do cross country, they bid out for subcontractor drivers and whichever driver takes the bid is then responsible for picking movers of their choice on the Cambridge side. I'm looking for a mover that will be in charge of the whole process end to end. Sounds like they may have been a good option for a move within the northwest, though.

[tshuma]

Well, I ended up dealing with some of the scammy ones (subject to an FBI investigation later on, even), so my experiences aren't salient to your points. Mostly, I'm just commenting to say, of course, now that I'm finally able to visit Seattle more often you'll be moving away. This is how that goes. :)

Best of luck with the move!

Visit Seattle sooner :)

[cos]

You could come up during the summer...

Re: Visit Seattle sooner :)

[tshuma]

I did, but I was out on the Sound for most of it!