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How much does it cost to hire a removalist?

Saving money in piggy bank

When you’re looking to move home, it helps if you understand how much it costs to hire a mover. Professional moving companies vary in their rates, and there are lots of different things that factor into the overall costs.

As such, we can’t just pluck a figure out of thin air and say this is how much it costs to hire a removalist! Instead, we can run through the different factors influencing the price of your move so you can get a rough idea of how much moving will cost based on the services you need.

The Quality/Experience Of The Removalists

First and foremost, you get what you pay for. If you’re looking for an experienced and high-quality removalist service, then it will always cost a bit more than an inexperienced one of low quality. We strongly suggest that you don’t try and save money by opting for a poor service as this will only result in a more stressful move for you!

Ideally, you need to hire local movers that are members of the AFRA (Australian Furniture Removers Association). By doing this, you ensure that they maintain a high level of service, have high standard business premises, have access to equipment & vehicles that are tailormade for removals, and are subject to regular audits to ensure they keep up their superior dedication.

Ultimately, spending a little bit more on a service you can trust is better than opting for a cheaper company that can’t promise the things listed above. After all, you need your belongings and personal items to be well looked after during the move!

The Type Of Move

There are three main types of move:

  • Local Moves
  • International Moves
  • Interstate Moves

These are arguably the biggest factors that influence how much your moving service will cost.

Local moves refer to any moves that take place in the same location. For example, moving from the south of Sydney all the way to the North. Generally speaking, local moves are charged at an hourly rate. They tend to be the cheapest of the three types because there’s less work involved all around.

International moves are any moves that involve going between two countries. This could be a short international move across to New Zealand, or a longer one all the way to the UK. These moves are usually the most expensive as there is so much going on during the removal process. We have to think about international customs management, getting all of your belongings shipped across to a new country, organising all the logistics, and so on. For this reason, international moves are usually quoted at a set price for the overall service. So, you know exactly how much it costs before you agree to anything.

Interstate moves are essentially local moves that span across different Australian states. Again, you’re given a set fee for this service rather than an hourly rate. It’s slightly more complicated than a local move, but not as difficult to sort out as moving overseas.

So, think about what type of move you’re embarking on. Do you need to hire removalists for a local move or are you looking at more of an international or interstate job? The cost of moving will vary depending on which one is relevant to you.

The Distance Of The Move

On a similar note, the overall distance of the move has an impact on how much it costs to hire a mover. This point is already somewhat shown in the fact that interstate moves are more expensive than local moves, and international is more costly than interstate.

However, if you’re travelling from your Brisbane home to a house just down the street, then the cost isn’t going to be as much as if you’re moving all the way to the other side of the city. Likewise, moving from one side of Australia to the other is more costly than moving between two nearby states - and the same goes for long international moves and shorter ones.

The distance from A to B will influence the moving costs because it means the removalists are working for longer hours. It also tends to mean there’s more planning involved, which further adds to the work for the movers.

The Moving Date

Believe it or not, but two identical moves can have a difference in price because of the dates. As a general rule, weekends and holidays are more expensive than regular weekdays. This is simply down to the demand. People don’t want to move during the week because it means taking time off work. So, they’d rather move when they already have time off - like weekends or public holidays.

Consequently, this is one of the factors that you can actually tweak to save money when moving. Instead of trying to book a Saturday moving slot, why don’t you move on a Wednesday or Thursday?

Sure, it can cause a bit more disruption to your schedule, but think about the savings! The money you save by moving on a weekday could go towards paying for a better removalist service overall. As such, the move becomes less stressful, and you’re in more capable hands!

The Size Of The Move

The overall size of your move is a crucial contributing factor in how much it costs to hire a local moving company. When we talk about the size, we’re referring to how much there is to do during the move.

Mainly, it boils down to a few questions:

  • How many rooms are you moving?
  • How many boxes and items are you moving?
  • Are there any large and bulky items - such as pianos or bookcases?

If you’re only moving a couple of rooms with a dozen moving boxes and no bulky equipment, then it will be cheaper than moving five rooms, fifty boxes, and a load of bulky furniture.

It’s simple; a small move requires less manpower and fewer resources than a large one. As such, it will always be cheaper!

Happy couple moving home

The Type Of Home

Moving between certain types of homes are easier than others. So, if you want to figure out a rough estimate for your moving costs, then you have to consider your existing property and the property you’re moving into.

Primarily, we’re concerned with one key question; how accessible is your home?

Apartment buildings on the second or third floors are tough to access because there are flights of stairs to navigate, lifts, and limited space. As a result, it will be more expensive to move to or from properties like this. The same goes for regular houses with multiple floors; the more stairs there are, the harder it is for removalists to get the job done.

It’s not just the number of floors that comes into play, it’s the overall accessibility. Is there lots of space to move large items around? Is there a spacious driveway with plenty of room to park removal trucks?

The more accessible the two properties are, the less it costs to higher a mover.

The Packing Services

When you’re looking to hire a mover, there will be additional services that can be added to your overall package. One of the most common ones is packing/unpacking. If you want to reduce your own stress levels and move the whole thing along quicker, then you can pay for movers to pack your things then unpack them at your new home.

Additionally, you can pay for packing materials to pack by yourself. A lot of people don’t have moving boxes, bubble wrap, tape, or any other packing materials in their home. So, you can pay extra to get these from your movers.

As you can imagine, paying for any packing services will add extra costs to the move. But, if you have packing supplies of your own, then you can save money by doing all of this yourself.

Extra Moving Services

Following on from packing services, there are plenty of extra services you may need as well. These include:

  • Pet transport
  • Insurance
  • Storage
  • Vehicle relocation
  • Home cleaning

The list can go on and on - it will surprise you how much a removalist can do for you! Obviously, adding more services will raise the overall cost of moving up.

Summary: How much does it cost to hire a mover?

As you can now see, there are plenty of things that can alter the cost of moving home. If you want to get a rough idea of how much it costs to hire a mover, then you have to think about all of these factors.

Also, consider the type of move you’re going for: local, interstate, or international. Get quotes for your specific type of move based on all the other factors, then compare them to find the best deal from the best company.

If you want to get the best value for money, then it pays to hire a large moving company like Chess. We have over 100 years of professional moving experience and are part of the prestigious Harmony Relocation Network. The size of our company allows us to offer a true end-to-end solution that’s built around your specific needs. You’re guaranteed to have a stress-free experience, and every penny will be well spent. Get in touch with our team today, and we can give you a quote for our moving services.  

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