Moving is expensive. You probably already were aware of this before you embarked upon the process, but what you might not have been aware of is just how expensive it is. It’s hard to pack up all your belongings and haul them out to whatever new frontiers you may be headed for – but chances are, if you’ve gotten to the point where you’re looking to hire the skills of a moving company, you’re already well aware of how difficult the whole process can be.
Hiring a moving company can help negate a lot of the stress that moving entails. After all, if you purchase their services, you’re guaranteed a staff of people who are skilled in packing up your stuff, hauling it to a large truck, driving the truck to the new house, and then unloading it into your home. Fabulous! This gives you lots of time and energy to tackle all the other hassles involved with moving. In fact, there’s often only one huge, glaring problem with hiring a moving company: the cost.
Negotiating a Mover’s Price
If the only thing standing between you and the stress-assuaging skills of a moving company is the green involved, take heart – you can actually bargain a little bit for their services. While the world “bargaining” may invoke images of Indian spice trains in your head, we assure you that the process is much more straightforward than that. Essentially, you call up a company and ask for a lower price. While modern America has generally forsaken bargaining as a real life skill, the premises of it still remain the same.
But why would a moving company give you a lower price, you ask? Simple: they want your business. Obviously, you can’t go around asking for unreasonable things, but with the right approach, you can shave a few hundred off the cost of moving. Here’s how:
- Get multiple estimates. It’s worth your while to do research. When you have different estimates, you’ve got more bargaining power.
- Actually use the estimates. Pull it out when you’re bargaining. If you want the services of a higher-priced company, prove that you can get prices lower elsewhere. If they want your business, they’ll match or beat it.
- Persistence pays. Nobody likes to tell the customer no. If you ask once you might be denied, but if you ask again… who knows? Don’t be a nag, but a little bit of follow up could save you hundreds.
With that in mind, good luck with the moving thing. It’ll be better on the other side!
