Moving? Here’s Some Important Comparisons to Consider

Article Written By: Courtney Duke Graves 

Picking up your life and moving it from one place to another — whether it’s to a bigger apartment across town or a new home in a different country — is inevitably going to cause you some stress. Thinking through the options you have for moving companies ahead of time, however, can save you a lot of headache. 

If you’re not DIY’ing the whole move yourself (which, understandably, is impossible for most people) you’re going to need to weigh the pros and cons of different moving companies. This is a hefty task, as the consumer must consider company ratings, costs and several other factors to insure his or her precious property is respectfully taken care of and delivered on time.

Here’s a list of things to consider when looking at moving companies, and a sampling of comparisons we’ve researched ourselves.

Moving broker or moving carrier?

Though most moving companies look to have the same structure on the outside, they’re actually divided into two major categories: brokers and carriers.

Brokers act as a liaison between the customer and multiple potential moving companies. They usually don’t physically own vans or trucks or hire staff to move your belongings, but they will look for the company with the best deal for your move. There are quite a few scam artists posing as legitimate brokers, too — always check the Department of Transportation profile of a broker before signing a contract or paying money.

Carriers own their own vehicles and directly hire staff to move all your belongings. With a carrier, you know exactly who will be handling your property, but you run the risk of paying significantly more for your move.

Brokers are convenient to work with, and take a lot of the planning off your plate. A good broker will have a wide network of contacts, so they can connect you with a variety of services. This is especially helpful if you are moving household goods, vehicles and specialty items like art or pianos all at once. If you go with a carrier that isn’t licensed or equipped to move all those things, you may end up hiring one company to move your household goods, another to move vehicles and another to insure it all, which would rack up the price steeply. A broker can arrange for various contractors to work together to move your property, or find you one carrier to cover everything in-house, thereby potentially saving you thousands.

Sample Comparisons

1. Mega Van Lines, Inc.

Mega Van Lines is based in Florida, but they can accommodate long-distance moves, commercial relocations, storage and packaging. They are a licensed interstate broker with a clean FMCSA record and several favorable reviews from a variety of sites.

On verifiedmovers.com, Mega Van Lines boasts a 4.99 average rating out of 5. At the time this article was published, 54 of their 55 total reviews received 5 stars, and the only other one received 4 stars. When you take the costs given by the reviews together, the average cost of an interstate move is $2,916.

On mymovingreviews.com, Mega Van Lines has a 4.4 out of 5 rating, averaged from 21 reviews. The average cost of an interstate move with them, according to this site, is $2,787 (which is 36% lower than the market average). There were only three unfavorable reviews on this site, and the company addressed each one personally and in a timely fashion.

2. United Van Lines

United Van Lines is one of the biggest moving carriers in the U.S. With their size, they can pretty much accommodate anything. They also offer special services that you may not get with the little guys, including online tracking a cleaning service for an additional fee.

Keep in mind, often with a bigger brand comes a bigger bill. According to move.com, residential moves with them range from $4,300 to $11,400, depending on the size of the home and whether or not the customer packs his or her own items.

Move.com also says they have “unpredictable customer service,” which likely comes from thousands of different offices, call centers and sales representatives. The more spread out your personnel is, the harder it is to maintain quality control.

As a huge company, United Van Lines unsurprisingly have thousands of reviews online. The majority of reviews are very favorable, but when there are serious complaints made, keep in mind that the big guys can’t respond to each concern individually, as the smaller companies can.

3. Trinity Relocation Group

You’re probably thinking that comparing a mogul like United Van Lines to a smaller broker like Mega Van Lines probably seemed like comparing apples to carburetors. If you’re looking to compare more individualized moving brokers, one option to look at is Trinity Relocation Group.

Trinity is a smaller broker that, like Mega Van Lines, is based out of Florida. They’re accredited with the Better Business Bureau. When you look at the stats, however, the difference between them and Mega Van Lines is much more subtle.

They have 121 customer reviews on mymovingreviews.com, so they have a few more people talking about them, with a generally good rating of 4.1 (which is slightly lower than Mega Van Lines’ 4.4).

According to mymovingreviews, the average price of an interstate move with Trinity runs at $3,324, which is still below market average but slightly more expensive than Mega Van Lines.

On verifiedmovers.com, they have a 4.56 out of 5 rating (which is again, lower than Mega Van Lines’ Verified Movers rating of 4.99) with about half the number of reviews that Mega Van Lines has. But Verified Movers has Trinity listed as one of their top 6 movers of 2020 — we’re not sure how this ranking is calculated or awarded, but the differences between the companies seem to be very subtle.

Conclusion

In the end, whoever you move with comes down to your individual preferences and needs. Our suggestion would be to check the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and Department of Transportation numbers on any broker or carrier you’re considering. You don’t want to get scammed, or go with a company that has an unsafe driving record.

Once you know that your options are legitimate and safe, ask for cost estimates. Once you find a quality company with a good track record, exceptional reviews and a reasonable price you’ve done your best as an informed consumer. Now you can let the professionals do the heavy lifting (literally), and you can enjoy your travels and let your mind at ease, knowing you made the right decision.