For Those Who Used a Moving Company to Your Retirement Home (retired, vacation)
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Wow this thread sure is an eye opener. Not sure how anyone can say it's easier and cheaper to sell your stuff and buy new, unless you have all Ikea. But this thread and the pod stories sure made me concerned about paying thousands only to face these potential issues. I'm also not sure why you would need to purchade their insurance to cover damage caused by the moving company's mistakes. If it's packed correctly there should be little ir no damage.
Maybe it depends on where you are moving. Las Vegas is very transient and people come and go all the time. Lots of bargains to be had here. I paid almost 3K to move my 'stuff' here. Only to have to get rid of most of it because it doesn't fit or it was damaged in transit. Here's what I paid for new or used 'stuff' after I got settled in and went through all the old 'stuff'.
Office furniture $600 included delivery and set up. 2 desks, 2 chairs.
King bedroom set $450 included delivery.
2 recliners and a sectional $410 included delivery.
Queen bed $350.
Restaurant booth/seating for the kitchen $100.
I am still using bookshelves, the coffee/end tables, and some bedroom furniture in the guest/queen room from my old house. Other than that, I have replaced all of it for less than 2K. I still need to get rid of my old patio furniture and replace it. But all in all, I would have been better off selling all my old and just buying new here. The majority of what is still here could have been moved in a car and a u-haul type trailer.
We used local movers when we moved here five years ago. Even though it was only about 20 miles, it still cost about $1000 and we were not happy with the attitude of the workers. They didn't lose or break anything though.
I'm concerned about how much it will cost if/when we move from MA to VA. I can get rid of my bed and buy another one, get rid of patio furniture and buy more when we get there, but I'm not parting with my antique drop leaf table or my small cedar chest that was made by my grandfather.
We don't have much as we have downsized a lot over the years but there will be heavy boxes of household items, including kitchenware and china. You think you don't have much until you start packing it. Yikes.
How much money can be saved if I pack all my small items (dishes, kitchen stuff, etc.) myself?
Not sure about saving money, but in our case I am so, so, so glad that DH and I packed up our collectibles (figurines and large Fenton glass collection) and things from the closets. We did have the movers pack the kitchen stuff and the 2 women who did that did a great job. We had a list of 6 high value pieces and they were packed and carefully put in one box. We didn't have anything that was in any boxes break, whether packed by the gals or by DH, it was the furniture that got damaged and that was "packed" by the movers, if packed is what you want to call it. After seeing the damage to my curio cabinet, and being almost in tears, I was terrified to unwrap the antique curved glass curio that belonged to my parents. Thank goodness it came through unscathed. The biggest worry was DH's 1952 Seeburg jukebox. There are pieces on it that cannot be replaced. Actually DH built a frame for around it in the truck so that things wouldn't bang up against it.
Forgot to mention that we wanted the sofabed to be put in the upstairs loft. We had been assured that the guys knew how to take it apart and get it up there and then put back together. Yeah, right. It was taken up by being jammed through the door to the upstairs. Driver made DH sign a paper saying they weren't responsible for any damage to the walls, etc. What were we supposed to do?? Had to sign it in order to get it up there, and yes they managed to damage the door trim and put dents in the wall. Luckily we had told the painters to not do the upstairs yet, so they were able to repair it all before they painted.
The furniture that we have is all excellent quality, pretty much all solid maple, oak, and cherry (Ethan Allen & Pennsylvania House & Amish made), plus La-Z-Boy high end living room stuff and sofabed, so there was no way I was going to sell it and buy new stuff. We were quoted a guaranteed rate and told we had 16K pounds. Ended up being something like 24K pounds, but didn't cost us extra. Well, other than the stress of the movers. And we did a lot of research on them and were told that they were the company that all the local museums used when they needed stuff moved, and heard great things. Well, apparently we got the dregs of the group. Although I must say that when I did write a long email to our realtor letting her know about everything, when she talked to the owner of the franchise he called us, along with HIS boss, to talk to us. After about 15 minutes of speaking with me, though, I was so upset that I just handed the phone to DH and let him finish.
My 'home' was blown away during Hurricane Andrew and most of the furniture (previously belonged to my parents) was damaged beyond repair. So, when I bought a home, I had very little money to purchase furniture. Most of my furniture is from Rooms-to-Go and 23 years old! I do not want to move this stuff when I move back up to the Midwest (1000+ miles away). I think I will donate most of it to the Salvation Army or Goodwill. It just isn't worth the expense of moving it. I do have just a few pieces of furniture that I would like to move and my kitchen items.
My last move was outstanding. 1,000 miles over five days. Two days to load. Day and one half to travel. Day and one half to unload. I think they made it back "home" in one day. Cost me about $13,000 plus maybe $600 in tips, food and miscellaneous. They reassembled everything, and nothing was lost or damaged in the least. Not the cheapest quote I received, but they knew what they were doing, knew that my furniture was a treasure to me, and they treated it all as if they were moving a precious museum--not loading scrap steel to the junk yard.
Good to hear a positive story among so many bad experiences people have had.
I used Mayflower in mid January. Their rate was a little below average of name brand and non name brand. Apparently mid January is a cheap time to move, especially name brand companies. I guess they need all the biz they can get even in slow times.
It was the most flawless move I ever had (I've moved long distance 6 times). They initially were to pick up on Thursday AM, but called me Monday and asked if I could be ready on Tuesday. I said fine. I did stay up almost all night packing stuff - I just threw things in boxes with minimal padding. The stuff arrived at the destination a day earlier than anticipated. Nothing loosely packed in those boxes even moved - they were just the way I placed them in there. There was no increase in the price due to weight. The movers on both ends were very careful and placed everything where I told them to. Not one bump or scratch on items or walls. The driver was one heck of an expert.
Could have been a lucky strike. I'll never know. But do move at a cheap time of year (it was half price in mid Jan.) and don't shy away from name brand movers especially if you have delicate or pricey furniture.
Maybe it depends on where you are moving. Las Vegas is very transient and people come and go all the time. Lots of bargains to be had here. I paid almost 3K to move my 'stuff' here. Only to have to get rid of most of it because it doesn't fit or it was damaged in transit. Here's what I paid for new or used 'stuff' after I got settled in and went through all the old 'stuff'.
I would agree with you ... to a point.
Some cities have great used furniture stores: Nashville, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, etc. Many cities do not.
I had a condo in the Chicagoland area and I bought a FURNISHED place in Arizona. There are three pieces of furniture that I regret NOT moving from Illinois. There is one room of furniture that I donated from the Arizona house that I wish that I had sold as opposed to donating. And there is an entire closet of sweaters, long sleeve shirts and the like that I wish I had left behind.
I used Mayflower in mid January. Their rate was a little below average of name brand and non name brand. Apparently mid January is a cheap time to move, especially name brand companies. I guess they need all the biz they can get even in slow times.
Could have been a lucky strike. I'll never know. But do move at a cheap time of year (it was half price in mid Jan.) and don't shy away from name brand movers especially if you have delicate or pricey furniture.
Summer rates - when kids are out of school - is the most expensive time to move. I have seen a Mayflower truck in the neighborhood quite a few times.
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