Moving? Here’s How to Keep Your Costs Low.

Abstract

Jeff Moriarty felt the pain of sticker shock when he received six quotes from movers for an April move from Naperville, Ill. to Aurora, Ill. "I had previously moved a few years ago and the cost was double what it was then," said Mr. Moriarty, a digital marketing consultant. "As these costs rise for moving companies, they are partially passed on to consumers in the form of higher rates." The good news? There are ways to trim your moving costs, whether you're hiring a professional or doing it yourself. Time Your Move Right Timing affects moving rates, said Nancy Zafrani, the general manager at Oz Moving & Storage, based in New York City. Long-distance movers, on the other hand, set rates based on the distance and weight of the move, said Ryan Carrigan, a co-founder of moveBuddha, the company that collects moving data. Mr. Young, who moved from San Francisco to New Orleans, said he received a moving estimate, but the company charged him an extra fee later, since the movers had to climb a flight of stairs to reach his apartment. In a survey by the U.S. moving company Allied Van Lines of 1,000 workers who recently moved for a job, roughly 64 percent said they received some sort of relocation expense package from their employer. Shop Around for a Rental Truck Jennifer Glick, a public relations account executive, rented a 10-foot U-Haul for around $250 when she moved into a new apartment in Morristown, N.J., with her boyfriend, Dylan Vieira, in May. But U-Haul isn't the only moving truck rental company available.