The estimate you get over the phone is only as good as the inventory it was built on.
A moving quote is a prediction, and like any prediction it is only as good as the information that went into it. Two three-bedroom houses can differ by a third or more in what actually needs to be moved, so a quote based on bedroom count alone is closer to a guess than an estimate.
Over the phone, a mover has nothing to go on but what you tell them, which is usually a bedroom count and a rough sense of how much furniture there is. That is enough for a ballpark, not enough for a number you should plan a moving day around. The gap between the ballpark and the real number shows up on move day, not before.
A useful inventory lists furniture piece by piece, boxes by rough count or by room, and anything oversized or unusual by name — a piano, a gun safe, an armoire that will not go down the stairs assembled. The more specific the list, the more the resulting estimate reflects your actual move instead of an average one.
A binding estimate is a fixed price based on the inventory given. A non-binding estimate is an educated guess that can move once the crew sees the real load. Ask which kind you are being given, because the difference matters more than which number is lower — a low non-binding estimate is not a deal if it changes on move day.
Stairs, long carries from the door to the truck, an elevator that has to be reserved, and items that turn out heavier or more numerous than described all move the number. None of that is a bait-and-switch if it was not disclosed at quote time because it could not have been — which is exactly why the inventory should be as complete as you can make it.
Whatever you are quoted, get it in writing — the inventory it is based on, whether it is binding, and what happens if the job runs long. A number said over the phone and never written down is not something you can hold anyone to later.
Tell us what is moving and when, and we will size the crew before anyone shows up with a truck.
Get Matched With a MoverGive us the basics and we will follow up to size the crew and the truck.