On face value it may look like a cheaper and easier option to get friends or amateur removalists to help you move. Very often in reality though, this decision does not turn out to be cost effective or simple.

Once all of the costs have been factored in, moving “on the cheap” can cost a lot more than you might expect! It can significantly increase your risk of personal injury and damage to your assets. 

Let me give you an example scenario to compare outcomes...

You'd owe your mate a pretty big favour for helping you move house... if you can find one who's willing!

PACKING

Scenario: Moving a 3 bedroom home to a nearby town, approximately an hours drive away. 

First thing’s first – loose and smaller items will need to be packed into boxes. On average, a 3 bedroom home will need between 30 - 50 cartons. If you bought these from a packing supply shop, you could expect to pay around $5.50 per carton. And of course you would need tape, packing paper, markers and bubblewrap.

For the actual move, assuming you do not already own a fully equipped removal truck, you would need to hire a vehicle capable of moving the load. With a car licence you are able to drive a truck rated up to 4.5 tonne GVM, which equates to a furniture pan-tech with about 15-18m3 usable capacity. The average 3 bedroom home is between 35 and 45m3. Therefore, the chance of completing the move in one trip is pretty slim. Unless you are an experienced Furniture Removalist, it would probably take you about two full days to complete the move. So if you hired a vehicle for your move, you would need to lease it for a 3 day period (you would need to ensure the vehicle was returned at close of business).

You would also need to make sure that you have the right equipment to move everything safely without damaging the furniture or yourself. You may require a heavy duty hand trolley and/or dolly for large appliances like the fridge and washing machine. To protect the goods, you would need plenty of furniture blankets to wrap the furniture in and plastic covers for protecting mattresses and lounges. You would also need to take some measures to protect the walls and floors of the property you are moving from and to.This would ideally involve using equipment designed for the job - protective floor runners, wall and corner protectors and ramps. You would also need labour to complete the move.

BUDGET

Moving house is not a fun job – a mate would have to owe you a pretty big favour to help you move house! If you were not lucky enough to have free help on hand, you would have to pay for some help.

So, with all of these factors taken into account - a move on a budget could look like this:

• Boxes and packing supplies: (50 cartons, paper, tape) $350
• Truck hire (3 days): $600
• Hand truck hire: $50
• Furniture blankets $20 each: x 10 (at least) $200
• Helpers $25 per hour minimum of 4 hours (standard); $100 (or a carton of beer and lunch for friends)
• Fuel $300 (ish)
• Total, $1,600

Obviously this estimate is based on average prices, and not everyone will need to take on all of these expenses, but it is easy to see how it can add up. If you compare these costs to the quote that you receive from a local Removalist, you might be surprised how little the margin really is. When you consider the additional expenses a professional Removal company has to cover (premises, wages for at least two men, business costs and high insurance premiums, you can start to understand why professional Removalists charge as they do. 

Unfortunately, the Australian removal Industry is not well regulated.

PROFESSIONALISM

The Furniture Removal Industry is unique, because although it is a highly competitive market and predominantly price driven, it is also dependent on its members delivering the highest quality service. Reputation is the fundamental factor that determines a Removalist’s future success. Delivering high standards of service at an affordable cost to the consumer, while remaining viable as a business is a constant challenge for Removal businesses.

So how can you tell the cowboys from the pro’s? Luckily, in today’s internet driven world, customer reviews on platforms like Google My Business and facebook offer great exposure to the services available on the market. Caution is advised when choosing a service solely based on reviews though as some companies will post fake reviews to their accounts. Google has very strict rules when it comes to false reviews, and enforces them actively, but it is certainly worth bearing in mind. 

Unfortunately, the Australian Removal Industry is not well regulated, and almost anyone with no experience at all can buy a van and call themselves a removalist. It may be difficult to determine from an e-mail or telephone conversation whether you are dealing with a trustworthy company or not. In order to help you choose the best company to suit your removal needs, I have created a list of questions you should ask before you proceed with a booking:

1. Are they insured?And, if so, what is their claims process?
2. Where is their office base?
3. How experienced are their staff? What training have they received?
4. What is their quoting process and booking procedure?
5. How transparent is their quote? Are there any hidden fees, rates or undisclosed charges in their quote?

IN SUMMARY

Using the above checklist, combined with some online detective work through checking and comparing of reviews, you should be able to get a good idea of the type of company you are engaging with. 

You could also speak to myself or our friendly staff and see just how easy, and even enjoyable moving house can actually be.

If you are undecided about how to pack and move your home contents in a hassle free and cost effective manner with minimum interruption to your daily life, give TSF Removals a call on 07 4549 6790.