There’s nothing worse then being duped into paying more than what you expected something would cost. We’ve all been there before when you begin the typical process of research a product or service, and you begin to have an expectation of how much it will cost. Then, before you know it, the small additions that you make add up to a substantial difference. Think about the car buying process. What starts as a base car with a reasonable price, turns into an expensive car when you add in the leather trim, audio system, and so forth.

The moving industry functions the same way. The goal of a moving company is to book business over the phone and their smooth talking sales reps are really good at it! This is particularly the case for long distance (referred to industry-wide as interstate moves) movers. The way that most people think about the moving process, it sounds like a commodity right? You need a few strong guys to pick up some stuff, put it in a truck, and take it to the other destination. I mean, how hard can it be…. right? When you start down this train of thought, it’s entirely logical to think that if a service isn’t difficult to perform and somewhat hard to mess up; choose the cheapest company! And that is precisely where you would be wrong.

Let me fill you in on a little secret when it comes to the pricing schemes behind these so-called cheap long distance moving companies. The quoted price over the phone is almost never the price you end up paying. There are hundreds of fees that get tacked on to the billing price. And on the day of the move, what are you going to do? It’s not worth cancelling the service, booking a new company, and waiting three more days for them to have availability. So, you end up sucking it up and paying the higher price. Sounds pretty sleazy right? Unfortunately, this scenario is all too common.

This is why it is so important to make sure that you ask the moving company for all of the additional fees that can be or will be associated with the move. Additionally, make sure you are only working with licensed and verified movers. Check the American Mover & Storage Association (AMSA) for proper licensing and to ensure they are up to date on all of their regulatory paperwork.

One of the quickest ways to check for reliable, but affordable moving services is to begin by searching these cheap long distance moving companies. This service works ONLY with fully licensed and insured and professional movers. They’ve been around for many years and have been helping people find reliable interstate moving companies that are licensed and insured. You’ll still want to make sure that you speak directly with each of the movers you receive a quote from, but knowing the source of the referral will give you additional confidence.

At the end of the day, it all boils down to doing your research ahead of time to be prepared. Moving is a complicated process and you shouldn’t expect finding the right reliable mover to be any easier, because it’s not!

Start your move the right way…. do your research!