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Cost to Move a Couch: Complete Guide To Know

Different moving companies utilize different algorithms to determine moving costs. Understanding the most common ways that moving costs are calculated can help you budget for your move effectively.
How Much Does it Cost to Move a Couch

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Buying a piece of furniture is always an exciting time – but it can also be pricey. If you’re in a situation where you need to move a couch from one location to another, you may be thinking about hiring a furniture moving company to take it to its new home. You can expect to pay around $200 to $400 to move a couch.

How do moving companies determine the costs of a move? Let’s take a deeper look at how they calculate those costs for you.

Who is Involved in Your Move?

First, they determine exactly who is going to be involved in your move. In the case of a long distance move, there could be a number of moving professionals who take care of things. Because of that, moving companies need to consider how many people are going to be working on your move.

Now, granted, if you’re just moving a couch, you’re only going to have 2 people taking care of things. A full house move is definitely more. So, moving companies always consider their staff when they’re giving you an estimate for your moving costs.

Costs for Furniture Moving

Furniture moving often falls into its own category, mainly because it’s a short job that takes a lot of effort on the part of the movers involved. Moving companies will typically schedule furniture moves in between other, larger moves, and only if they have time to do so.

Because of that, they typically just have a flat rate for furniture moving if you’re only moving a piece or two. You’re often better off calling for rates and organizing it that way; it’ll be quicker.

Local Move Calculations

Now, let’s get into the “nitty-gritty” of how moves are calculated. Local moves and long-distance moves have different algorithms that they utilize in order to determine how much that their client is going to pay.

First off, what is a local move? In most cases, a local move is going to be considered a move of 100 miles or less, but your moving company may vary based on where you’re located. Sometimes, city-based moving companies will have a smaller radius because it takes more time to get through city traffic.

If your move falls into the pre-determined range, then the moving company will likely just give you an hourly rate for the move. This rate can be anywhere up to $60 an hour, depending on what you need and how large your home is.

When you work with local movers, you also want to offer them a tip. Typically, the going rate is $10 an hour per mover.

Long Distance Move Calculations

Long distance moves are definitely a lot more complex, and as a result, the calculations end up being more complex as well. If your move is going to take a day or less to complete, then you’ll likely pay an hourly rate, but if it’s going to take multiple days, things can get confusing.

Most of the time, long distance movers will use a combination of the distance to your destination, the size of your home, the weight of your items in the truck, and/or how many movers are involved in the move in order to determine the final cost of your move.

If they use the weight of the items in the truck, what they’ll do is weigh the truck before your move and give you that weight. Then, they’ll load up the truck and weigh it again. When you arrive at your destination, they’ll weigh it one last time. They will subtract the weight of the truck from that last number, and that will be the weight they use in your invoice.

If they decide to go with the number of rooms in your home instead, they likely have a “cost per room” that they use in conjunction with the distance. The distance matters because it can let them (and you) know how many days it will likely take to complete everything.

Other Costs

If you need extra services, then you definitely want to be sure that you’re aware of those prices when calculating your move as well. For example, a number of best cross country moving companies offer services like packing services or storage unit rentals. These will accrue an additional fee.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does moving cost change if they’re just moving furniture?

Whether they’re moving furniture or your whole home (including boxes, appliances, etc.), they’re likely going to use the hourly rate that we discussed earlier in this article. But, a move that is just furniture is going to cost significantly less than if they have to move every item from your home. Thus, your cost will end up being less overall – it all depends on your needs and what we discussed above.

What are white glove services?

White glove services are a fancy way to say services related to moving large and/or fragile objects. These objects need extra care, and they may need to be moved by themselves rather than with everything else that you may be moving. Some moving companies will charge extra for white glove services, others will just include it as part of their overall moving costs.

How early should I hire movers?

The earlier that you can schedule a move, the better off that you’re going to be. You’ll have a better time figuring out the details and you’ll be more likely to be able to schedule your top choice because they won’t be booked yet. So basically, as soon as you know you’re moving, it may be time to go ahead and schedule your move.

Getting Things Moved the Right Way

It’s worth your time to get some estimates and compare affordable movers  prices. Look at the options and see if you can get something that works for your budget and for the schedule you have for your move.

Dani James

Dani James

Dani James is a copywriter and blogger with more than eight years of experience writing for movers, real estate, and anything to do with getting from point A to point B. When he’s not finding new ways to save on moving costs, he can be found at home with his cat, binge-watching Marvel movies, and looking for new apartments he can’t afford.
Green Group

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