How to Negotiate with Movers: Save Money with the Power of Smart Negotiation

Negotiation has always been one of the most powerful tools in life – it brings about the best outcome in any situation and ensures the satisfaction of everyone involved. Skillful negotiations can resolve conflicts, prevent escalating hostility, settle important issues, provide efficient solutions, and achieve “win-win” results. A good negotiation strategy can even save you money and ensure the success of your undertakings.

This holds true for all your endeavors, big and small alike. Moving house makes no exception.

Like all other services and resources, moving services are negotiable – if you know how to play your cards right, you can score a great deal on your move. Effective negotiation will help you get the best possible moving services at the best possible price and guarantee your smooth and successful relocation.

But how can you achieve that? How can you negotiate with movers? How can you score a budget-friendly moving quote that will help you save hundreds of dollars on your relocation endeavor?

Read on to find out how to negotiate with moving companies and get the best deal on your move.

Gain Bargaining Power

To be able to effectively negotiate with movers, you need to have good leverage – gather as much information as possible, take measures to protect your move, and determine your goals, priorities, and possible compromises:

Step 1. Get an Idea of What’s Possible

Before you start making relocation plans and gathering estimates, you need to know what’s fair in the moving industry and what to look for in a moving company. So, the first thing to do when looking for movers is to learn the cost of professional moving services, research your options, and find out which companies are worth working with:

1. Find out the average cost of moving a household the size of yours across the distance you’re moving;
2. Use a moving cost calculator to get an approximate idea of the price of your move;
3. Visit the websites of different moving companies in your area to see what they have to offer – compare their tariffs and conditions, look for discounts and promotions, pay attention to the overall quality of the site, check if the name, physical address, e-mail address, telephone number, and USDOT number of the carrier are clearly stated, click the “About Us” section to find out more information about the company, etc.;
4. Read moving reviews to see what previous customers of the companies have to say about their experiences with the movers.

This way, you’ll get a general idea of what’s available, what to expect from professional movers, which companies to stay away from, and how much money you’re going to need for your move.

Step 2. Get Estimates from Several Reputable Movers

Having multiple estimates will give you greater bargaining power, so your next step is to get price quotes from at least three or four top-rated movers in your area (ones that have predominantly positive moving reviews, excellent online profiles, and reasonable rates).

Request visual surveys of your home as estimates given online or over the phone can never be accurate – be clear and specific during the walk-through, show the movers everything you intend to relocate to your new home, pay attention to items that may need special handling or special packing materials, discuss what extra services you may need (or would like to use), and inform the pros of any possible obstacles or special conditions at both your old home and your new one, so that you get realistic and correct price estimates.

Compare the offers – consider not only the final price, but also the included accessorial services (and their rates), valuation coverage, and special conditions – and ask as many questions as needed to make everything clear and transparent.

Good to remember: If you get a price quote that is considerably lower than the rest of the estimates, you need to raise your guard – lowball estimates are a common sign of potential moving fraud. Dishonest movers offer lower prices in order to lure customers – once they secure the job, they either disappear with the money from the deposit or request exorbitant extra fees for some alleged accessorial services or unforeseen difficulties during the moving process. You’re, therefore, strongly advised never to select a mover based on low pricing alone.

Step 3. Make Sure You’re Dealing with Trustworthy Professionals

Be sure to do a thorough background check on the movers you consider hiring for your relocation:

• Verify the companies’ licensing and insuring information – registration with FMCSA, BBB accreditation, professional affiliations, etc.;
• Check the companies’ complaint histories – call the FMCSA’s safety violation and consumer complaints hotline to ask about complaints against the movers and research the databases of ProtectYourMove.gov, MovingScam.com, and Yelp to learn about reported problems and disputes with the moving companies;
• Find reliable references – look for moving reviews of the same company on several different reputable review websites and try to get word-of-mouth referrals and testimonials.

It may also be a good idea to drive by the physical locations of the businesses to find evidence of their trustworthiness – qualified staff, professional equipment, a fleet of moving trucks with the company’s logo on them, etc.

See also: How to avoid moving scams; Moving fraud prevention guide

Step 4. Plan Your Negotiation Strategy

Now that you’re sure you won’t fall victim to moving scams and have all the necessary information, you can decide on the best negotiation tactics that will help you get the best deal on your move – asking for discounts and special offers, using moving companies competition to your advantage, forgoing certain accessorial services, doing some of the work yourself, being flexible about the time of your move, etc.

Once you’ve determined your objectives and planned your arguments, you’re ready to take your seat on the negotiation table.

How to Negotiate with Movers

Following the above steps will give you plenty of bargaining chips to use when negotiating with moving companies:

1) Ask for discounts, promotions, and special offers

You’ll know if the movers offer any discounts or special deals from their websites, but it’s worth explicitly asking for a discount. Even if there are no ongoing promotions at the moment or if you don’t meet the conditions for a discount, the movers might be able to come up with a special offer – they wouldn’t want to lose you as a customer, you know.

See also: Finding discount moving companies

2) Offer flexibility

Although moving companies don’t necessarily advertise discounts for particular months or days of the week, they may be willing to lower their quotes in order to get some extra business during “slow times”.

You’ll likely get a better deal if you schedule your move during the off-season (between October and May), in the middle of a month, or on a weekday. Plus, you may be able to score a discount if you’re flexible about the time of your move, whether it’s early in the morning or late in the evening.

Related: Moving in off-peak season

3) Save on extra services

Moving companies’ rates are fixed, but you can get a lower estimate if you manage to save on additional services. Extra services (and sometimes, even the charges for them) are negotiable, so you’re advised to:

• Carefully review the offered services and their rates;
• Consider the specialty items you have for moving and the peculiarities of the pickup and delivery locations to find out what accessorial services will be required for your move (shuttle services if physical restraints prevent the access of a large moving truck to your old property or your new one; hoisting services if you want to relocate large furniture or other bulky household items that don’t fit through the doors and can’t be safely disassembled; custom crating if you have oddly-shaped pieces of art or other delicate valuables that need maximum protection during the move; etc.);
• Consider your available time and skills and how much assistance you can get from family and friends to decide if you can do some of the work yourself (packing your items, disassembling your furniture, etc.);
• Decide what accessorial services you need to use (storage-in-transit; split pick-up or delivery; etc.) or would like to take advantage of (packing of delicate items; exclusive use of vehicle; etc.);
• Discuss additional charges and fees with the movers – find out what additional fees the movers charge (long-carry fees, flight charges, waiting fees, delayed delivery fees, disposal fees, etc.) and take measures to avoid such extra charges (reserve a parking place for the moving truck directly in front of the entrance to your home, reserve an elevator for the time of your move, make sure your new home is ready by the time your items arrive, unpack and get rid of the packaging materials yourself, etc.).

Once you decide exactly what accessorial services you will need from your movers, make sure they’re explicitly stated in the moving estimate (together with their respective charges). If your initial quote included services you weren’t sure you wanted, you can ask the movers to revise it and make you a new offer.

4) Ask the movers to match or beat competitors’ prices

Movers know they’re competing with other companies for your relocation job and know that the price is often the decisive factor in one’s choice of a moving partner. So, they may be willing to lower their quote in order not to lose your business to their rivals. You can use this fact to your advantage if you like a moving company more than its competitors, but its rates aren’t as affordable.

Once you have multiple estimates, you can use them to negotiate with the mover you like best – if you were given a good price by a company that wouldn’t be your first choice if money wasn’t involved, you can ask the mover you like the most to match or beat that price.

Tell your preferred moving company you’d like to move with them but you’re being offered the same service cheaper elsewhere. Let them know the lowest bid you received and ask if they can match or beat the price. If they want to get your business, they will try to do so or will at least point out the reasons why their services might be more expensive (specialty equipment, experienced workers, full value protection, fast delivery, etc. – you may decide that the higher cost is worth it, in the end).

After negotiating with the movers, be sure to choose the company that offers the best price for the quality of service promised.

See also: Why are movers so expensive

5) Be persistent

If the moving company you like best is not willing to lower its original quote, you’re advised to try negotiating with them again in a day or two. You may have better luck the second time – you may get to talk to another moving company representative who is more open to compromises, the mover may already regret the decision not to give a discount, etc. After all, nobody likes to say “no” to customers – if you ask once you may be denied, but if you ask again, you may get what you want.

So, can you negotiate with moving companies? Of course, you can – with so many bargaining chips, you’re certain to obtain satisfying results and ensure a successful and affordable relocation.

Bonus Tips for Negotiating with Movers

You already know how to negotiate a moving company estimate and get the best price for a moving service. All that is left to find out now is to how to get the best deal on movers:

Lighten the load

The fewer items you have for moving, the lower your moving costs will be – long distance moving costs are based on the weight of the shipment (less stuff means lighter load) and local moving costs are based on the time spent to perform the move (fewer items take less time to pack and load/unload).

So, you’re advised to declutter your home before the big move and pare down your possessions – go through your belongings and assess every individual piece. Get rid of everything you don’t need or don’t like anymore and make sure you take only items of high practical, monetary, and/or sentimental value to your new home.

See also: How to get rid of unwanted items when moving

Book your move as early as possible

Scheduling your move well ahead of time will not only give you the chance to streamline the process and complete all the necessary moving tasks in a timely and efficient manner, but will also guarantee that you get quality moving help on your preferred moving date – at the best possible price.

The further in advance you book your move, the better chance you have to hire a top-rated mover for your relocation (many licensed, experienced, trustworthy movers will be available for your preferred moving day and you’ll be able to find the best relocation partner for you) and the better deal you’re likely to get (most moving companies will be willing to offer a discount for early booking as it means a guaranteed job for them).

See also: How far in advance to book movers

To sum it up:

How to negotiate moving costs? – Gather as much information as possible so you have a lot of bargaining power, be persistent and flexible, and use clever tactics (competitor play, careful use of additional services, early booking, etc.) to negotiate the best price for a moving service. Your relocation will be smoother and more affordable than ever.