Do Your Homework to Save Thousands on Cheap Long Distance Moving

When we decided to move from California to Arkansas we began the search for moving companies that would handle the move. We needed cheap long distance moving.

First we contacted carriers that would do the all inclusive move; a carrier that would come to the house, pack up everything, load and pad and secure all our household goods. The carrier would have to hold our goods in storage until our permanent house had been completed. Then the long distance mover would have to deliver to our site and do all the unloading and unpacking.

We had our pick of many good companies to choose from but discovered we wanted the premium when our budget would not sustain the cost. This was not cheap long distance moving.

How To Find Cheap Long Distance Moving Companies

We went back to the drawing board, looking for a long distance carrier that would do most of the job. We received several quotes from companies that would provide the boxes, tape, special containers for breakables and the option of us doing our own packing and then calling them to come out and load the goods, padding and securing for the long move.

One thing that knocked most of the carriers out of the bidding was that they had no truck service into the area where we were moving. This became crucial. We had figured or assumed that cross country movers would move anywhere in the country but that was not true.

Some of the carriers said they could take our goods to Russellville or Little Rock, store them and when we were ready, we could get a local trucking company to carrier our goods to our location.

Compare Long Distance Moving Quotes To Get The Cheapest Price

Even though in the beginning of the quoting process we had made sure we gave good instructions about the location of the move, many of the carriers (with no service to our location) still quoted for the move. After we had spent the time and effort with them, they then talked about the ‘special needs’ that made it cost prohibitive for us to use the companies.

We had seen an advertisement about a carrier who would leave a container at our home, we would decide the pick-up date and they would store the goods at a facility close to our move to location until we were ready for them to be delivered to our new home, when it was complete. This seemed to be cheap long distance moving.

We gave this carrier option a lot of thought because it was definitely in our budget range. We had lots of healthy people to help us pack up the house and load the containers so we said yes and began the phone call to fill out the forms with the same information we had given the company when we contacted the carrier. The person on the phone stopped us almost immediately and said, ‘We can’t do business in Arkansas.’ Did they not know that when we asked for the quote?

The carrier tried to convince us to have the containers dropped off in Missouri but we didn’t want to waste more time and besides that, the extra cost became almost as much as the long distance mover that would pack and deliver (if they had serviced the area)

We found another very similar carrier at a lower price. We became a little skeptic but after talking to people who had used the company for cheap long distance moving recently, we decided to give them a try.

The company did exactly as they stated. The containers came out on time, we loaded them, called the carrier back and they picked up the goods on time for the closing of our house sale. They stored our goods close by in Arkansas. The carrier even kept our goods longer for no extra fee when the completion of our new home was delayed. We took a vacation cross country in our van, which was something we needed.

Moving Long Distances for Cheap Requires Patience and Research

Even if moving at premium rates, it pays to do the homework to save money on long distance movers. It is even more necessary to do your homework if you are planning on cheap long distance moving on a tight budget.

Do the pre-move research, asking all the questions of the carrier, not just assuming what and where is included. Those ‘special needs’ can become a deal breaker in getting a low cost, long distance mover.