Going the spendy way

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Boys & girls,

I am seriously thinking of just going ahead with one of the full service moving companies (i.e. United Van Lines). Why? Price, convenience, less hassle. this weekend I talked with U-Pack on the phone - their quote is 1,5290 USD door-to-door. Good. PLUS get people to load our stuff in Edmonton $500 CAD. Plus get people to unload in Seattle another $500 or so. Ergo.... prices add up to pretty much what a full service goes for.

With all this .... I am seriously going the full-service way. I am NOT loading/unloading . So, I remember it was misa who used Van Lines? Any help here will be great. (and if you want to volunteer for loading, UPack may still be in out future he he).

Peace, L.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

For all of the reasons you mention we chose to go with the full service movers as well. We used United Van Lines and found them perfectly suited to our needs. I did prepare a list of materials and sought out estimates from several companies before hand. I strongly recommend that you have someone from the company come to your house and evaluate the weight and volume involved to give you a more accurate estimate. As well, you will need to provide them with copies of your immigration documents so they are able to bring your belongings through. I am not sure if you need to activate your green card at the border the first time or not:-) as I didn't do DCF so perhaps someone there could tell you that. The moving company will provide all of the custom forms, will pack if you wish them to or accept your already packed items, pick up from your former home and deliver to your new home. I found them punctual, easy to work with (well, they had initially scheduled the pick up on the wrong day but they had sent me prior notification and I was able to correct it!), delivered on time and everything arrived in exactly the same condition in which it was sent - no breakage at all. I would recommend that course of action even though it costs a bit more - it is well worth the peace of mind and convenience.

[Cassie 8]

The moving company I dealt with were fantastic -- they emailed me all the forms and instructions, they were able to work with me and my situation, and not a thing got broken. It was a bit pricey, because I had a lot of weight due to my book collection, but completely worth it in my mind.

[trailmix 77]

The moving company I dealt with were fantastic -- they emailed me all the forms and instructions, they were able to work with me and my situation, and not a thing got broken. It was a bit pricey, because I had a lot of weight due to my book collection, but completely worth it in my mind.

Kathryn and Cassie, can you give us a ballpark figure even of what it cost for a full service moving company? Thanks!

[Cassie 8]

Mine cost about $3300 US, from southern Nova Scotia to Tulsa, OK. The cost of gas at the time, the distance, and the books jacked up the price a bit more, but for us, it was worth it.

I might add that I had everything packed up, except for the furniture that my parents kept in their home.

Edited August 20, 2007 by Cassie

[Chica Yeyé 41]

For all those reasons I think it's worth it - my peace of mind has no price (not that I have money to shower with, but this is a HUGE fit as you all know!). I have checked and since Bren is a USC who's moving back, there is no problems with visa activation. I will contact the companies TODAY and find out more, and post it here!!!

[misa 2]

Nope! I used Upack but I'm sure you'll get lots of advice here on which full service company to use.

[Krikit 1,165]

I called 4 moving companies for estimates and chose United. They're quite familiar with cross-border moves so there were no paperwork headaches.

There is a minimum weight cost, so that's the bulk of the quotation. Make sure when you're doing your cost comparisons that you read the fine print and check each line item for the rates. Each type of service is charged at a different rate, so you need to compare apples to apples. You'll see what I mean once you receive the estimates. Your best rates will come from the major moving lines because they can bundle your belongings with other deliveries in order to save on shipping costs.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Well, I have asked for estimates from United, Allied, and their affiliates. Will keep you all posted.

Len (who at the time is being burned @ the stake in OT)

[Krikit 1,165]

Len (who at the time is being burned @ the stake in OT)

Had to risk life and limb to foray into the world of OT so I could see what you were referring to. None to my surprise, there lurked the usual suspects. Good luck with that, Len.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

ok, I pulled the bill of lading . . .

The total bill was $3,189.50 for Chatham, Ontario to Stockbridge, Georgia (20 miles south of Atlanta) for a total weight of 4,700 lbs. I had a lot of books too! The price also included the packaging materials and packing of the antique china dishes I inherited from my Mother, as I had packed every thing else - $313.62. The total transportation cost base was $1,987.48. The packing, the service charges for origin and destination, fuel charges and insurance made up the rest of the cost. It worked out to about $500 more than the estimate but that was because they under-estimated the weight of the books which I had suspected when their agent was viewing the number of items. As they were already packed it was difficult to determine how many boxes were books.