Compare Written Moving Estimates Using One Inventory
Make moving estimates comparable by sending every mover the same dated inventory and access details, then logging each charge as included, separate, excluded or unanswered.
Contents
- Build one request packet before contacting movers
- Keep every provider on the same version
- When a mover estimates from an in-person survey
- Set up the comparison matrix
- Separate charges from services already included
- Hypothetical example: two estimates that look close
- Review the documents behind each number
- Final check before choosing
Moving estimates are only comparable when every provider is pricing the same shipment. To get there, build one dated inventory and request packet and send the identical version to every mover. Then record each response in a single matrix. Mark every service as included, separately priced, excluded or unanswered, and get unanswered items resolved in writing before you rank totals. A lower number that leaves out access charges or packing is not a cheaper move. It is an incomplete estimate.
Build one request packet before contacting movers
The packet is the shared basis that every estimate will be measured against. Put a version number and date on it so each provider can confirm which version they priced.
- Inventory version number and date
- Item descriptions and quantities, room by room
- Dimensions for large or awkward pieces, such as sofas, dressers, desks and appliances
- Origin and destination
- Requested move dates, and any flexibility you have
- Stairs and elevators at both ends, including any elevator reservation requirements
- Parking and loading arrangements at both buildings
- Measured carry distance from the likely truck position to each apartment door
- Who packs: you, the mover, or a split such as fragile items only
- Furniture that needs disassembly and reassembly
- Any storage needed between move-out and move-in
- Special handling requests, such as artwork, mirrors or very heavy items
Completion check: every line of the packet is filled in or marked "none." Anything you leave blank is a place where providers will make different assumptions.
Keep every provider on the same version
If you add a bookcase, decide to pack the kitchen yourself, or learn that the destination elevator must be reserved, update the packet. Give it a new version date and send the revision to every provider, not only the one you are talking to. Ask each provider to confirm in writing which inventory version their estimate reflects.
Completion check: each estimate names or acknowledges the current inventory version. If one estimate was based on an older version, ask that provider for an updated estimate before you compare it with the others.
When a mover estimates from an in-person survey
Some movers build their estimate from their own walkthrough. Al's Moving, for example, describes its estimate process as an in-home visual survey. A coordinator reviews the belongings, discusses what will move and prepares an estimate using approximate weight. That is one company's stated method. Other providers may price by different units, such as hours of labor.
A survey does not replace your packet. Give the surveyor the same document everyone else received and point out the items that will not move. If the survey uncovers something you missed, such as a closet of boxes or a piece you forgot to list, add it to the packet and circulate the revision. This prevents a surveyed estimate from describing a larger or smaller shipment than the estimates based on your written list.
Set up the comparison matrix
Use one row per question and one column per provider, or the reverse. Copy each figure exactly as the estimate states it, including the unit.
| Matrix row | What to record |
| Provider and estimate date | Name and the date on the written estimate |
| Inventory version acknowledged | The version date the provider confirmed |
| Pricing basis and units | For example, approximate weight, hours or another stated unit |
| Estimated quantity or hours | The provider's stated figure for that unit |
| Transport | Amount or status |
| Labor | Amount or status |
| Materials and packing | Amount or status, plus what packing covers |
| Access charges | Stairs, elevator, long carry or parking-related charges |
| Storage | Amount or status, and duration |
| Exclusions | Anything the estimate says it does not cover |
| Taxes and other charges | Including any surcharges listed separately |
| Total quoted | The provider's total, as written |
| Unresolved items | Every question still awaiting a written answer |
Give every service line one of four statuses: included, separately priced, excluded or unanswered. Never enter zero for an unanswered amount. A zero tells you the service costs nothing, while "unanswered" tells you that you do not know yet. Mixing those up is the most common way a comparison goes wrong.
Separate charges from services already included
Estimates bundle costs differently. A cost comparison published by Endless Storage illustrates a useful layout. It lists transportation, packing and fuel surcharge as separate lines above the total estimate, and it shows fuel as "included" for a provider that folded it into another price rather than charging it separately. Treat the layout as a worksheet pattern, not as a source of current prices. If one estimate lists a fuel or access line and another doesn't mention it, the second one is unanswered until the provider tells you whether that charge is included, excluded or not applicable.
Hypothetical example: two estimates that look close
The figures below are invented for illustration and describe no actual provider.
| Line | Provider A | Provider B |
| Transport | $700 | $790, stated as including packing |
| Packing | $120, separately priced | Included |
| Access charges | $40, separately priced | Unanswered |
| Total as recorded | $860 | $790 plus unresolved access charge |
B looks $70 cheaper, but the comparison isn't finished. Record B's total as "$790 plus unresolved access charge" rather than $790. Ask B in writing about access charges. Then confirm that A's packing and B's included packing cover the same work, for instance whether both cover the whole apartment or only fragile items. Rank the two estimates only after both answers come back.
Review the documents behind each number
Two estimates with the same total can carry very different terms. For each provider, add these items to the matrix:
- The label the provider gives the estimate, and what the provider says that label means for your move
- Stated conditions under which the price can change, such as inventory additions or access differences
- Payment schedule, including deposits and when the balance is due
- Cancellation terms
- Arrival window and delivery window
- The document that describes coverage for loss or damage, by name or reference
Ask each provider to explain in writing any limits, exclusions and charges that apply before you choose. Keep those written answers with the estimate, because a phone explanation is hard to rely on if a dispute comes up later.
Final check before choosing
- Every estimate acknowledges the same inventory version
- No cell in the matrix still reads "unanswered"
- Packing, disassembly, storage and access scope match across providers, or the differences are written down
- Each provider's change conditions, payment, cancellation, timing and coverage reference are recorded
- Totals are compared alongside those terms, not on their own
When every box is checked, the remaining differences between estimates are real differences in price and terms rather than gaps in information. At that point you can make the choice with confidence.
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