How to Find the Best Movers

Knowing how to find the right mover to do perform you move can be tough, especially if you don’t have one already on speed dial.

Here are some tips on best way to start finding movers:

1. Start with asking friends, this can be the most powerful recommendation. Personally I prefer Facebook, just post a simple “anyone know a good mover in portland?” comment, it gets the word out quickly and easily.
2. Try out review sites to search for a mover, my favorite is yelp.com because of the dedication of it’s user base but you can also use citysearch, insiderpages, superpages, or angieslist. Try to avoid places that don’t moderate their reviews like google local where any competitor can post spam.
3. Generally you’ll want to call about 2-3 movers. If you’re doing a local move the non-vanlines movers will have better rates. Anything with “Mayflower”, “Allied”, “Grabel”, or “Vanlines” in the name tend to have higher rates. Go with someone local who doesn’t have to pay a franchise for every penny they make.
4. Try to reserve your time early, about 7-14 days in advance for most companies is good. Most “in-demand” moving companies will have a full schedule if you try to book last minute which means you’ll be getting the day you didn’t want or will get put at the end of the workday without a guaranteed arrival time. If your mover has a completely open schedule all the time there might be a reason for that which should make you wary.
5. Get a written estimate in person if your move is a larger move and you have any doubts on how much it might cost. The larger your move the more variables there are that are important to be evaluated by a professional before getting started. An in person estimate also gives you an opportunity to meet the people from your list of potential moving companies. If you have a very small move like a 1 bedroom apartment try to understand the company may have a policy on doing written estimates only for moves of a certain size.

You should expect to pay by the hour for a local move with an additional trip fee. Most professional movers will get your job done in a timely manner so focus more on if they are professional and what the hourly rate is than the total amount they tell you they “think” it will be. Read up on how long it takes to move. Remember, no one has invented robotic legs for movers so as long as you’ve done the above you’ll be ok.

Also, don’t forget to check out our choosing a local moving company article for more tips about finding local Portland movers!

Good luck with your move!