How important are free moving estimates?
Hiring moversDecember 13, 2020
Moving can be quite costly, especially if you are relocating over long distances. It can range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand. Therefore, it is vitally important to figure out the costs before you decide on your course of action. Every great moving company, such as Zippy Shell Greater Columbus, is going to provide you with a few ways on how to do so. The first, and the easiest, way is to get a free estimate. You may be wondering just how important are free moving estimates, anyway? Do I need to get them or can I skip them altogether and go with the binding estimate from the start? We are going to explore that in this article.
How important are free moving estimates and why?
Here are some of the things that we are going to talk about and what you might want to do:
- You can get a free online moving estimate from every professional mover
- Compare prices after getting a free estimate from several movers
- Check and compare available services
- How important are free moving estimates? – You can avoid moving scams!
- An in-home estimate is way more accurate
The first thing you need to do is acquire free estimates from as many movers as you can.You can get a free online moving estimate from every professional mover
Getting a free estimate is really easy. Most moving companies are able to let you do that via a simple tool on their website. The important thing to note, when looking at moving quotes Columbus Ohio is to provide the exact same information to every mover. That way, you are going to be able to go to the next step, which is the comparison, much easier. However, what you also need to understand is that free estimates (or quotes) are just the indication of the total costs for your relocation. They are not a guarantee of any sort. It is entirely possible that a quoted and real price differ as much as 50% or even more. It all depends on a variety of factors that you simply can’t account for over the internet.
But for the most part, these quotes are going to be pretty accurate. The simpler, and shorter, the relocation is, the more accurate the quote. After you obtain the estimate from every mover that you are considering, it is time to go to the next step, which is to:
Compare prices after getting a free estimate from several movers
After you have all the quotes in hand, comparing them is going to be easy. While going through this process, you might find several large outliers. For example, let’s say that most companies value your relocation at around $1000. But then you have several companies that are offering a price of $500 and $1500 respectively. Most of the time the companies that offer lower free estimates omit some of the services that you are definitely going to need. And those that have a higher price may include some services that you potentially do not require. When dealing with long-distance movers, you need to make sure that the offer is somewhere near the middle of the pack. Otherwise, you are running a serious risk of meeting fraudulent movers who will want to “ransom” your belongings to you.
Before you come to a decision, compare all the offers.Check and compare available services
But the prices are not the only thing that you need to compare. You will need to take a hard, long, look at the services rendered in every quote. Furthermore, you will also need to figure out if you will need to get additional services. You will most likely need to talk to your movers about that or visit their website for more information. Also, always take interest in their packing services and how much do they cost. You never know if you will end up needing them and it might make your decision easier. If you have two companies that are almost identical, the price of these services might be the thing that tips the scales, after all. Of course, always make sure that the company can provide every service that you need.
How important are free moving estimates? – You can avoid moving scams!
If you want to get a free estimate from every company willing to give you one, you have an increased chance of receiving offers that aim to scam you. Usually, these offers run for a “limited time” and provide a much better price than their peers. Whenever you see an estimate that is significantly lower than what the other companies are offering, be very careful. While it is possible that the offer is honest, the truth of the matter is that it most likely is not and that it is a moving scam. There is a saying “too good to be true” and it holds very well in this particular case. Having numerous estimates will allow you to easily identify any such offers, however.
Free estimates can warn you about a potential moving scam.An in-home estimate is way more accurate
As mentioned previously, a free estimate is only indicative of the total cost of your relocation. In most cases, it is even going to be really close to the actual cost but it can also be really far from it. The thing is, your surroundings will heavily influence the price of the move. For example, a free quote can give you one price but if the truck can’t approach your building and your movers need to carry your stuff for extended periods of time, it is normal that the price is going to be higher. And you can only figure things like that when you have your movers visit your home.
The in-home estimate will provide you with an accurate representation of all costs, provided that nothing changes between the moving day and the day of the inspection. Of course, if the elevator breaks down on a moving day, the price will have to be adjusted, as well.