Move Planning Notes
A moving bill is a stack of components — line-haul, fuel, access, packing, gratuity — and two quotes can only be compared line by line.
The base is the line-haul. Long-haul interstate moves are usually priced per 500-mile increment with a minimum charge, so a 520-mile move and a 900-mile move can land in the same band. Ask which band your distance falls into before comparing anything else.
The fuel surcharge rides on top: commonly 15-25% of the line-haul, changing weekly with the national diesel average. This is the line that makes month-old quotes unreliable, and the first line to check when two estimates differ.
Access charges cover the building, not the road. A residential long carry beyond roughly 75 feet from door to truck is an extra, stairs are an extra, and where the building is under four floors with an elevator, elevator service is typically cheaper than paying the crew to carry up. Declare both ends of the move in writing.
On narrow screens, swipe or scroll the plate sideways.
Packing is priced as labour plus materials, and materials alone typically run 20-40% of the total. That ratio is the whole case for self-packing: the usual saving comes from packing the kitchen and the boxes nobody uses yourself, covered in detail in Packing and unpacking.
International moves are priced differently again — on weight. Air freight typically costs USD 6-10 per kilogram with 4-6 weeks door-to-door; sea freight about USD 1-3 per kilogram with 8-12 weeks. The same shipment costs a multiple of the sea price by air, which is why split shipments exist.
To compare two quotes honestly, force them onto the same template: same inventory volume (see Sizing the load), same distance band, the fuel surcharge stated as a percentage and dated, access declared at both ends, packing split stated — and the tip, about 20% on full-service moves and conventional in North America, budgeted separately in cash because it appears in neither quote.
Further reading