by Dave White
If you have to move this year, read on, because you are in luck. Memorial Day marks the start of another moving season here in the United States and as the pace of home sales has slowed considerably, moving companies have been struggling to find business. This is great news for anyone who has to use a moving company this season.
The news from the U.S. census bureau indicates a reduction of over 12% in residential moves when comparing 2008 statistics to 2007 statistics. But that only measured last years numbers. There are no statistics for this year yet, but there is every indication that the number of moves will drop even further this year.
I conducted an informal poll of some of the major van line movers across America and discovered widespread anticipation that the industry will suffer an even worse season this year than last.
I talked with one owner of a major van line agency, located in the southeastern U.S., “Our first quarter this year was just awful”, he exclaimed, “If it weren’t for commercial truckload business we wouldn’t have done much business at all.”
So, if you are one of the few who need to move this summer, chances are good that you will be able to get a great deal. You will also need to be careful because there are unscrupulous people in every industry and the moving industry has its share of businessmen who are willing to cut your corners in order to keep their bank accounts nicely rounded. Find a mover with a good reputation. Do your research; its easy, Ill even show you how.
Almost all moving companies are local businesses. Even the big van lines have local agents who manage their offices locally and are independent. They all advertise in their local markets, not nationally. You can find their local internet advertising by including the name of the city that you are moving from (or to) when you search. For example, if you were moving from Chicago to Denver, you might search for “movers chicago”. This type of search will return local internet ads with words such as “yellowpages”, “superpages” or “local” in the website address. When you click on these links, you will see the listings for moving companies that are advertising locally. Here’s the key: Make sure your mover has a picture in his listing of his warehouse. He’ll be proud of that warehouse and he’ll have it in there if he owns one. This will weed out the commission-hungry internet operators who are search engine savvy, but don’t actually own a truck. They only want your business so thay can re-sell it to the lowest bidder. Stay away from these guys! Otherwise you will end up moving without having anyone to hold responsible if something gets broken, or worse.
The next step to finding a good mover is to use the rating and review systems that most local internet advertisers use. These are great! If you read these reviews, you quickly get a feeling for whether a mover is a real company or just a sham operator. And even real operators are not necessarily focused on the satisfactions of their customers, so you can see all of that in the customer reviews. It can be pretty entertaining too; is there anything funnier than reading comments from a mad-as-hell consumer who has good command of the English language?
After finding a reputable mover, it’s time to do your negotiating. I’m giving you inside goop here; my employer may not be very happy with me, but I’m going to tell you anyway: this summer, you will have leverage as a buyer nwhen you negotiate your moving contract. Ask for a discount, otherwise none will be offerred. Be firm in your request for a good discount. A good mover will be able to give you some discount, so stand firm, knowing that this summer, you are the buyer in a buyer’s market.
After closing the deal, you will be able to relax, knowing that a reputable mover will take full responsibility for your upcoming move. Have a good trip and I hope you enjoy your new community!
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