Moving company advice

[pacificrounder]

At the end of next month I'm going to be moving from Charlotte to the SF Bay Area. If anyone has had a positive/negative experience with a specific moving company, please chime in. I'm moving a very small amount of boxes/furniture, the most valuable of which is a $1500 TV, so if anyone has any alternative suggestions (PODS maybe? I don't know how they work or how I could put a TV in there) I would welcome your insight on those as well.

Thanks in advance!

[aimo]

I recently moved and used All My Sons. Don't know how they do for cross-country moving, but for ten-minutes-down-the-road moving they were great! Super efficient, wasted no time.

[allenmurray]

I recently moved and used All My Sons. Don't know how they do for cross-country moving, but for ten-minutes-down-the-road moving they were great! Super efficient, wasted no time.

Moving a TV is always risky - consider selling it and buying a new one when you get there. The

[sue71, esq]

Moving a TV is always risky - consider selling it and buying a new one when you get there. The

Bonus points if you still have the original packaging (box, styrofoam, etc) for the tv. Definitely helps, though movers I've used in the past (not in Charlotte, though) have been great about taking care of my 42" plasma when I didn't have the box any longer (2 out of 3 moves).

[bluebutton]

When moving a 2 BR apt worth of stuff, we used UPack by ABF. Worked great. We packed the boxes, paid for the UPack container and splurged to have local people load and unload it at either end.

The only caveat is that on the Los Angeles end, we had to call and get permission from the city for the container to be parked on the street. Wasn't a big deal but was a detail. You may have similar requirement in San Francisco. You'd want to check into that.

We also did not move the TV, but it was a heavy old school thing. Also, my husband removed all the hard drives from the computers and flew with them (I think he flew with 9 of them in his carry-on). I flew with my cast iron skillet--priorities.

[cf-62]

At the end of next month I'm going to be moving from Charlotte to the SF Bay Area. If anyone has had a positive/negative experience with a specific moving company, please chime in. I'm moving a very small amount of boxes/furniture, the most valuable of which is a $1500 TV, so if anyone has any alternative suggestions (PODS maybe? I don't know how they work or how I could put a TV in there) I would welcome your insight on those as well.

Thanks in advance!

Where are you moving to? San Jose, Sunnyvale/Santa Clara, Palo Alto / Mountainview, San Mateo/Burlingame, San Fran, Oakland, other East Bay? Do you already have a place?

I used All My Sons for a short move in Durham - they did okay, but they were loosey goosey with my TV - made the move free, but I still have damage to the furniture. To be honest, though, I would recommend them again - just watch that they pack everything separately.

Since it's a small move, I would consider getting multiple quotes on moving.com. I did that with both my move out to SF and back to Raleigh. Both firms were small, but worked hard, and I had no damage to anything.

Also, there are some interesting interstate commerce laws about shipping cars that you may want to consider.

[pacificrounder]

Where are you moving to? San Jose, Sunnyvale/Santa Clara, Palo Alto / Mountainview, San Mateo/Burlingame, San Fran, Oakland, other East Bay? Do you already have a place?

Moving to Healdsburg and yes, I have a place already. Eventually I'll be going down to the city, but stopping in Healdsburg for a couple months.

[DukeUsul]

When I moved from NC to NJ I decided to use a storage container, because I had need of storing most of my belongings at the destination for a little while. I talked to PODS and 1-800-PACKRAT in Raleigh to get quotes. PODS customer service was horrendous. They seemed to not even be interested in having my business, the guy on their support line was the most unenthusiastic and unhelpful person I've spoken with. The lady at the PACKRAT support line was fantastic. She was helpful, offered all sorts of useful advice, and to top it all off gave me a quote that was about 8% lower than PODS.

I got two of the largest containers. One I filled myself (including packing my 62" DLP TV myself). The other one I had filled by hiring a team of local laborers. If you go the container route, I suggest you pack very carefully. Things will most definitely shift in transit. My TV made the trip very well, but I was very anal about how I packed it (a couple layers of cardboard to protect the screen, then two layers of packing blankets, then prof quality tie-down straps to secure it to the wall of the container) but a couple of other items were damaged in transit.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Avoid Two Men and a Truck. I used them when I moved from Durham. They didn't label any boxes despite my noticing that they had no markers for labeling and asking that they bring some to use during the second day of packing. I even spoke to someone in the office to request the boxes be labeled, but my request was ignored. Items of many rooms were packed together making it difficult to put the kitchen back to together in a timely fashion.

I had furniture damage and grew tired of most of them on their phones with personal calls during all phases of the move. A favorite lamp was broken because of how it was wedged in a box. Satin material for making a dress for ballroom dance competition was used to cushion dusty items. The crew also made it clear that they didn't like their tips. I was told this was the A Team.

[cf-62]

Moving to Healdsburg and yes, I have a place already. Eventually I'll be going down to the city, but stopping in Healdsburg for a couple months.

Then I would go with a Pod. I used a Pod for most of our non-furniture items on our last move, and wish I had put more stuff -and bigger stuff in it.
It will require a little planning up front (which items are needed in Healdsburg as opposed to the city, for example).

Thus you don't have to worry about where to store your stuff while in limbo, and you get a "free" move out of it (at least it used to be no cost).

SHIP the TV to yourself or, as somebody pointed out, sell it and buy yourself a new one out there.

If you like wine, Healdsburg is right near some awesome wineries (Silver Oak and J, for starters). It's a neat place, even if it feels like you drove to Oregon to get there.

[comdytrd]

A few years back we ran into the Russian mafia on a move...seriously. Avoid!

[DukeAlumBS]

My dear friends,

I have had 33 moves in my 28 years of service. A family of myself, wife and 2 kids in my past. So a full home.
My advice, get a reputable mover.
Mind you, local contract may be involved. listen to a 2 man truck/move advice from below.
Expensive things are hard to do. I have been very lucky.
With expensive crystal, TV etc, it is hit or miss.If you have waterford, I would bring, sterling, I would bring.
We trusted all moves, and long story short.
We were very lucky. Until my last move from Ft Bragg, back north to upstate NY.
2 good ole boys were eyeing, my Shakespear worm rod, and my Garcia ambassedeur 5000c bait casting reel. Dated 1972.
The finest I have ever used, and a very well known rod/reel. The very best made in the history of Garcia.
Everything came, except my fishing rod and reel.
This sells ebay for about 300-400 bucks.
The piano and all my wifes crystal , TV, everything came .

Bring your fishing rod and reel, you will be safe.LOL
Leave everything for the mover! Most movers are reputable. Insurance is wise, just for peace of mind.

Good luck
Nice day my friends