If you're reading this, it's not too late to re-negotiate your deal with the moving company in California. You're probably aware that the cost of hiring a moving company in California is flexible, and this article will give you the tools you need to storm into the negotiating room and get a favorable deal for yourself. In order to do this, however, you'll need to know how these costs are broken down and how they compare to rival moving companies and the national average.
Life in California isn't cheap, and labor isn't cheap either. Compared to cities like Austin where the hourly rate ranges between 60 to 140 USD, movers in California charge between $200 to $400 per hour. This means that if you want to estimate the amount a moving company in California will charge, you can simply multiply it by the number of workers and then by the number of hours they'll be working to get a rough estimate of the total cost of labor.
Let's assume that you live in a three-bedroom apartment in the middle of the city, and you have belongings that'll take a three-man team four hours to move. If you choose a moving company in California that charges hourly rates of $300 per mover, expect to pay $3,600 for labor alone.
Aside from labor, there are other factors that play a significant role in determining how much you pay for your move in total. These services may only be offered by select feeling companies in California, and will almost certainly make your life easier even though they may cost a little more:
Accessorial services are any services encountered in moving other than routine transportation. This includes packing, extra drops or moving to storage facilities. Moving companies in California typically offer these services for the DIY-deficient to keep the moving process from becoming a total disaster. So, if you know you have difficulty with properly wrapping up Christmas presents and you feel that packing property will pose similar challenges, it's best to contact a mover in California to find out how they can help you.
Pro-tip: it is highly advisable to hire a local moving company, by which we mean a moving company in California itself as they would typically be able to anticipate some of the extra needs and solve them. Some of these extra needs include:
Long carry: this additional charge applies when the entrance or exit from your apartment is a fair distance from where the moving truck is parked. Some moving companies in California charge a little extra for having to carry heavy loads, but what qualifies as long-distance varies according to the particular mover in California.