One of the most challenging things to move is undoubtedly furniture. It is heavy, clunky, and without proper training, it can lead to damages and injuries. This is why people like to call professionals to help with that, as no one wants to be hurt or damage something they own. However, many people choose not to call moving professionals to help out of fear of losing a lot of money. Maybe they had some unpleasant moving experiences in the past, or perhaps it is simply an irrational fear. Today, we will explore just that – should you hire professionals to help you, how much it will cost you, and how much does it cost to store furniture with a moving company?
Should you hire professional movers at all?
Like in any business and market, there are excellent companies, and there are not-so-good ones. You certainly had to look and search for the furniture salesman you like and who had products you fancy for some time before you decided to buy a specific piece from a particular store. And the price had to be right!
The same is true for moving companies. You have to check what is available on the market before you settle on a specific moving company. This means you have to compare moving companies and their offers and prices beforehand, just like you did with furniture stores. Maybe people who don’t hire moving companies anymore had some unpleasant experiences with specific movers? Perhaps they have encountered some hidden costs of moving?
The moving company of your choice has to be transparent when it comes to the costs of relocation. There shouldn’t be any hidden fees you didn’t agree to beforehand. Moving companies that have hidden charges are not reputable businesses, and you should avoid them.
Thankfully, there are not a lot of them, and they are isolated cases and exceptions. However, you still need to compare prices and services before you land on a specific moving company. If you want to get the most of a moving company, you should consider hiring one that offers storage solutions as well.
Why do you need furniture storage?
There are two main reasons why people store their furniture with a moving company.
Firstly, people who use this kind of storage use it as a quick and temporary solution. When they buy new furniture, they use the moving company’s storage solution to prepare their homes for the new pieces.
The second reason is when they are moving to another location, and they haven’t had time or space to introduce new (or old) furniture to their new location. This is an excellent way to keep your pieces safe for the long term, until you decide what to do with them.
How is the cost of furniture moving calculated?
Before we get to the gist of furniture moving, we have to look at how exactly is the cost of furniture moving, and moving in general, calculated.
Two main factors determine the price of any move: the distance traveled and the weight.
The distance your furniture has to travel from point A to point B is the main factor. People who move frequently know how hard can it be to move from one part of the state to another, let alone to different parts of a country. So, it is no wonder why the main factor is the distance traveled.
The second factor is weight. How much you are carrying to another location determines how much you will pay. However, there are a couple of different ways how weight is calculated. It all depends on what kind of contract you have signed with the moving company.
The contract is in the form of a moving estimate. A non-binding moving estimate is a kind of moving contract that says that you will pay exactly the weight you are relocating.
The second option is a binding moving estimate. This means that the moving company you plan to work with will send a professional estimator who will estimate how much in weight you are moving. In this case, you will agree to a predetermined price.
Of course, like with anything that has to do with law, there can exist a contract that has some elements of one and some elements of the other kind of estimate. Those are just two extremes.
Whatever the case is, it is recommended that you only move what you deem necessary. There is no reason to carry everything you own to your new location, wherever that may be. This is an excellent way to save money when moving to a new location.
So, how much does it cost to store furniture with a moving company?
Thankfully, storage is much easier to calculate as the prices are usually known in advance. In the US,the average cost of a 5×5 storage unit is $50 per month.
Of course, this also depends on how long you will be storing your furniture, and where the storage in question is located. For example, in Manhattan, the 5×5 space can cost you up to $300.
Is there a way to calculate the cost of a move before getting in touch with a moving company?
Of course! We live in the information age, meaning that we can do things today that we weren’t able to just a few decades ago. Today, you can use a moving cost calculator to determine the cost of your move.
All you have to do is to input locations (where you are moving from, and where are you moving to), roughly estimated weight, and you are good to go. This way, you’ll know how much of your resources you should prepare before you call movers.
How can you maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of your storage?
The goal of every rational customer is to maximize gain while cutting down on losses. We guess that you, too, wish to get the most bang for your buck. There are several ways in which you can do that.
The first thing you can do is not to bring everything you own with you. As we already mentioned, there is no reason to move your whole household to another location. Sometimes it is cheaper to buy something on the spot.
The second option is to maximize space utilization in your unit. Here, we are talking about using as much space as possible when loading your storage unit. It is simple as that – you don’t want to rent more storage space than you really need to.
In the end, how does temporary storage work with a moving company?
When you require a temporary storage solution, either because of unexpected circumstances or through a planned transfer, then your assigned manager will determine the space you need for your furniture.
Your manager will also take into consideration the packing materials, kind of vehicle, and containers. After that, you’ll be presented with an exact estimate for those services.
It would be best to ask for multiple quotes if you think you’ll need temporary storage in the future.
If and when you agree on the price, the moving company will offer a written contract. This contract should include all provisions included for storage service.
After that, a team of professional movers will come to your chosen location, and at an agreed time, and remove the furniture in question. You may be charged for additional services, like dismantling your furniture if needed.
After truck loading, your furniture will get unloaded at a secure storage unit. You can retrieve your stuff at any time. Then, you can design and finish your interior however you wish!
So, how much does it cost to store furniture with a moving company? It depends on where the storage is, if and where you are moving to, and how much you plan to keep your furniture at the storage.
