Pods vs. Door to Door- moving/storage units??

[menglin]

Try this site it has reviews and tons of info on many of the moving companies. Tips how not to get scammed. Good luck

Moving: How to avoid Moving Company Scams

[Boomerang]

I contacted PODS for info during a recent (major) move. They quote one price in their online estimator, then when you call FMI, they come up with vague "administrative" or "trip planning" costs, something like that, which they cannot adequately explain nor estimate for you. By pulling teeth I eventually got something like a quote from them - VERY expensive.
I actually left a message for a customer rep to call me back and they never did. Just sayin, if that's the way they treat customers before the move, imagine how bad it could be afterward, if they apply charges you think aren't justified. Nooooo thanks!

It's much cheaper to rent a truck like Budget or, a little more expensive in my area, Penske, using their online reservation form. You can plan on renting the truck for extra days before and after the actual driving days, to give yourself enough time to load/unload. If you need temporary storage, check out the storage facilities in your target area. Some offer short-term discounts.

I would never consider a PODS move after my recent experience with them.

[LisaZ]

Originally Posted by Moverguy

Being a member of the professional moving business I find it incredibly amazing to read the stories in these blogs. Haven't we all heard that old saying "If it sounds to good to be true it probably is". For over 20 years I have been in the moving and storage business we also have climate controlled self storage and soon will be joining the portable self storage business. There is NO simple cheap way to move or store. I'm reading about ABF and the moving services they offer but believe me if you don't know how to properly load a truck you WILL use more space than anticipated which means more money and if not properly loaded you will have damage. Their trucks are designed to handle freight not furniture. They don't supply moving blankets and as far as I know their trailers are NOT equipeed with air ride suspensions so they will bounce, quite hrd at times, all the way from point A to point B. As far as storage is concerned you have to take into consideration many factors to find the best solution. How long will you store , where you live, do you have room for a POD or a container in your driveway. Does your town restrict this. Will your goods sit outside in the Hot sun for months, inside a metal container that surely will sweat in certain climates. Again if you call and ask how much storage you need there is almost NO way for any company to tell you that with out actually sending out a representative to survey your home as we do in the moving industry. Then again this costs money and takes time and defeats the purpose of inexpensive do-it-yourself storage. You have to realistic and it never hurst to call around and get a price from all before you make any mistakes in your moving and storage adventures.

I read this and couldn't agree with you more. I almost considered PODs as my agent said she has heard of some people using them and they are cheap. I don't want cheap at the price of damage to my furniture. Bottom line - budget prices equals budget service. You can't escape it.

[Raevyncent]

Originally Posted by Moverguy

Being a member of the professional moving business I find it incredibly amazing to read the stories in these blogs. Haven't we all heard that old saying "If it sounds to good to be true it probably is". For over 20 years I have been in the moving and storage business we also have climate controlled self storage and soon will be joining the portable self storage business. There is NO simple cheap way to move or store. I'm reading about ABF and the moving services they offer but believe me if you don't know how to properly load a truck you WILL use more space than anticipated which means more money and if not properly loaded you will have damage. Their trucks are designed to handle freight not furniture. They don't supply moving blankets and as far as I know their trailers are NOT equipeed with air ride suspensions so they will bounce, quite hrd at times, all the way from point A to point B. As far as storage is concerned you have to take into consideration many factors to find the best solution. How long will you store , where you live, do you have room for a POD or a container in your driveway. Does your town restrict this. Will your goods sit outside in the Hot sun for months, inside a metal container that surely will sweat in certain climates. Again if you call and ask how much storage you need there is almost NO way for any company to tell you that with out actually sending out a representative to survey your home as we do in the moving industry. Then again this costs money and takes time and defeats the purpose of inexpensive do-it-yourself storage. You have to realistic and it never hurst to call around and get a price from all before you make any mistakes in your moving and storage adventures.

I personally used ABF's truck service for a move from Virgina to Texas, and was highly satified with the result. Yes, you bring up some valid point, like not everyone knows how to properly stack and pack a truck. However, they did provide blankets (moving pads) and also had a 2-tier system which allowedus to put in essentially a loft-like area to provide more sucure stacking of boxes. The driver was extremely helpful both loading and unloading, as we elected to just have the max driver window for loading/unloading rather than dropoff/pickup of trailer. His expertise made it all that much easier. The pricing was at a significant savings over even a self-move /U-haul type service, and I didn't have to drive! So, yes , it pays to be careful, but as far as ABF goes, I was highly satisfied and had not one broken item, versus the "cheap" full-service movers my wife hired when she moved back to Virginia, who ended up charging her an extra $400 above the original quote, and broke her computer and printer and to this day still have not reimbursed her for it.

[jiglywigle]

We moved from NYC to Texas last year using UPACK from ABF Freight. I loved it. We hired men to load it in NY, and to a different set to unload in TX. We had a total of 4 units. IT WAS FANTASTIC. My stuff was at the new home in 7 days, alot less then any other mode of moving. I didnt have to worry about losing any of my stuff because it was all locked up with my lock. I had very little breakage because my stuff wasn't thrown around or moved from trailer to trailer. We left NY with a few suitcases, traveled by airplane as if we were on vacation, got to the new home and a few days later all my furniture was here. ABF was very accomodating about the times of delivery. I would highly reccomend using this type of service for your move. By the way, the cost was way less then standard long haul moving, and once again, I didn't have to worry about someone picking thru my stuff.

[caligurltotx]

Used ABF upack before also and using them again in a few weeks. I am going to load up my stuff (1 bdrm apt) at their freight yard and I was quoted $827 for 6 linear ft. If I go over it is only $45 per linear ft. I love knowing exactly what I am going to be paying for a move. I am still considering having them drop off the relo cubes and I think it was $1419 for 2 cubes. ON the website it says one cube holds a room of furniture and they have a pic of living room sofa, loveseat, tables and boxes. Also, sa u order 3 cubes and you only use 2, u only pay for 2.

[JDSalinger]

Hello,

Here, is a brief rundown of the pods industry:

PODS is the clear market leader as they are the most recognized company in this niche. They are also usually the most expensive of the pod companies. But, the design of their pods is top quality. They can hold up to all kinds of weather, mildew, etc. Their customer service seems to be hit or miss. You can ready reviews to help find out how good they are at customer service in your area.

U-Pack is a very good pod company. Its parent company is ABF, but this does not keep them from offering a good service. They tend to be cheaper than PODS and have seen only good customer reviews of them.

Door To Door is a newcomer that I am less familiar with. However, reading reviews, I know they are more cost competitive than PODS and seem to have pretty good customer service. Again, I would read reviews on other message boards for ideas of how good they are in your area.

Besides these three national ones, there are a slew of other companies as well. This will give you the option to shop around; however, it may be wiser to stick with these because they are a little more proven than these other companies.

Hope this helps,
Frank Miller

[spinfast]

Originally Posted by HeadedWest

Moving isn't cheap. But everybody I know that is trying to move differently (containers, etc.) has one main reason: they hate dealing with moving companies. The moving industry has a terrible reputation for honesty, and people are willing to do a lot of work on their own to avoid subjecting themselves to the kind of games movers play.

HeadedWest - very true. The fact of the matter is, moving pods not only do away with moving companies but they make moving on your own a lot easier (versus say, self storage.) Besides saving money on renting a truck, gas etc. the amount of effort to pack a pod is far less than having to pack and unpack a truck, lug it into a storage facility, take it out...

[spinfast]

Originally Posted by JDSalinger

Door To Door is a newcomer that I am less familiar with. However, reading reviews, I know they are more cost competitive than PODS and seem to have pretty good customer service. Again, I would read reviews on other message boards for ideas of how good they are in your area.

Go to the "Message Board" area of movingscam.com and do a search for "Door to Door" if you're looking for more info on the Door To Door Moving company. One of the first postings should have some information for you. Overall reviews are generally positive.

[michael49]

Originally Posted by HeadedWest

Moving isn't cheap. But everybody I know that is trying to move differently (containers, etc.) has one main reason: they hate dealing with moving companies. The moving industry has a terrible reputation for honesty, and people are willing to do a lot of work on their own to avoid subjecting themselves to the kind of games movers play.

There's only one way to move cheap; don't collect so much stuff and do it yourself! My wife and I have moved several times and we've always done the moving ourselves, drove the truck, etc. We usually will hire a couple of guys to help us with the heavy stuff though.