The Nature of Long Distance Moving
It’s not every day that someone decides to pack up all their earthly possessions and relocate 2000 miles across the country.
Changing your career, selling your home, going through a divorce, grieving a death in the family, or going through a mid life crisis. What do these events have in common? Well, besides being some of the most stressful events an individual or family can go through in a lifetime… they are usually the precursors for an upcoming long distance move.
Just by the nature of the factors leading up to a cross country relocation, long distance moving becomes a stressful task before the move even begins. Combine that with the countless articles published on the nightmares of long distance moving, picking a long distance mover can be a daunting task.
Let’s just call it what it is, long-distance moving is a tremendous challenge. When inexperienced people try to move on their own, a lot of time, money and energy can get wasted without achieving satisfactory results. When you hire professional movers, you get the speed and efficiency and people with the know-how to handle these problematic situations….But with the internet having little to no regulation on companies claiming to be “the best”…who can you trust?
An Optimal Solution – Hire a Relocation Consultant
In my personal experience, previously working as a sales rep at over 5 different moving companies, my best advice would be to find an intermediary company that does the consultative legwork for you. Going with an independent moving company, who only has a handful of trucks, puts a lot of constraints on the execution of delivery. So even though supporting a mom-and-pop mover may seem like the way to go, you shouldn’t rely on them to deliver your belongings 2000 miles across the country in a timely manner. They usually keep your stuff in a warehouse and wont deliver until they can secure a load big enough to fill their truck on the roundtrip.
If you’re reading this, I don’t mean to scare you. I’m proposing my advice…which is to hire an intermediary third party that also shares the responsibility of the timely execution of your move.
I’m not talking about a moving broker, I’m talking about a relocation consultant. A relocation consultant helps their clients negotiate off-market rates, ensures they are picking the right mover based on the details of your job, and shares the responsibility of the smooth completion of your move. Moving consultants are not just for celebrities and millionaires,
2 affordable and reliable moving consultants that I can personally vouch for is moveconnects.com and promoverscompared.com. I have been through their process’ and seen them rigorously screen their network of moving carriers by strict Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration standards. You may think that reserving a move directly through a moving consultant can sound like you’re just paying a middle man, however, relocation consultants can save you 5%-15% by negotiating bulk contractual deals with their approved vendors. On top of that, their added value of 24/7 customer service support, 3rd party move dispute mitigation, strict background screening before accepting a carrier into their network, will give you peace of mind. The other added value of using a long distance moving consultant is that they will give you at least 3 reliable options to choose from to execute your move.
In any case, when spending over $1000 on any purchase, it’s always good to do research and get expert advice. Long distance moves, depending on size and distance start at $2500, going up to $30,0000. Even if you have a few quotes directly from movers, save yourself the headache and get a consultation. The 2 companies mentioned above have free consultations.
Best of luck on your relocation journey!
