In contract now need moving company

Unbelievable, a person with a contract. There is many a slip between cup and lip. Maybe you should wait a while before booking the moving company.

They all stink - seriously. Saw an ad for some guys called Flatrate moving, may be worth looking into. Otherwise, they're all sheisters and will hammer you for $10 a box, other petty charges, then try to strong arm you into a 20% tip. Fight hard on all fronts.

I've moved myself before, a couple of times. U-Haul and a few friends. I helped a cabinetmaker install a very expensive cabinet in an apartment at the Beresford. He told me that every time he hired movers, they destroyed something. Congrats on the contract, by the way.

Thanks! I'm looking for a company that will come in and pack for me. I'm trying to get a closing date ASAP and don't have the time, energy or strength to pack it all up. I'll be moving it all into a storage facility.

Where is your apartment located? We just wento into contract (UES) as well and I am thrilled. We have used All Star Moving in the past and never had any problems.

I have used vinny the mover 2x and was very happy. But you have to really what the guys when they wrap your stuff.

Don't forget to check with the bldg. managing agent. The co-op/condo usually require bonded/insured moving companies. Often the required insurance is $1M. Most decent movers have that. Good luck and number all your boxes and check those numbers when the unloading takes place.

Look no further. Call Flatrate and ask for their Elite service. http://www.flatrateelite.com/ Otherwise the regular service is www.flatrate.com There are sound alike organization, but this is the one to use. It is based in the Bronx. If you search older threads, you'll see there was consensus on each on that this is one of the best companies.

They were first recommended to me by an aunt who used them twice for a Park Ave. move, and an UWS move. Then we used them to move my 89 year old grandparents from their home of 50 years in Bklyn to an assisted living apartment in White Plain. Next, I used them myself in a complicated move. In one day, the moved my b/f out of his 6th Fl. GV walk-up, then came to my Chelsea apt and moved me out; designated items were put in storage at their facility, and the other 1/2 were delivered the next day to our new sublet. It went like clockwork with no damage (maybe one little ding come to think of it). 6 months later, they moved us from the sublet to a new rental, and in a month they will collect our stored items and our rental apt items and deliver all to our newly renovated place.

I'm demanding and picky and would not have used them this many times if I had any problem at all. They were courteous, timely, serious, careful. I used the Elite service once, and it was awesome. If you care to, ask for Oscar and his crew--I liked them in particular.

Flat rate is bad too- showed up w/o boxes, damaged my old apartment, complained over the weight of a dresser, strong armed for a 20% tip...

i've moved 6xs in the last 7 years and used a variety of moving companies. one things i've learned--you may as well count on an additional charges. i don't care if you call it a tip, a fee to 'expedite' service, whatever, as far as i'm concerned, it's standard operating proceedure. and as long as you're fine with that, i liked flat rate movers--even though i did have to 'tip' them a bit extra because i had additional boxes....

OZ movers I think is the best in town, and I've used them all.

I have used liffey movers the last 3 times I moved and they are great. They are very professional and courteous.

I'm moving in April and will definitely be using them again.
http://www.liffeyvanlines.com/

This might be informative.
http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/3372-movers

With service providers, customer service and the employees turnover and change. Stability is rare. Older reviews are therefore worth considering, but those with most recent experience I think should be given the most weight.

i have used flatrate 3 times. they come and pack you, move you and unpack you -- I will never move any other way. I got 4 bids -- they were 15 - 20% cheaper with which I bought a new flatscreen as a moving gift to myself...

There are only two full service movers that will not fail you:

All Star Movers
Brownstone Brothers

http://www.manhattanusersguide.com/article.php?id=487
http://www.brownstonebros.com/testimonials.html

BTW, they are not cheap so you won't be buying any flat screen tvs after using them but they will make your move as painless as possible.

I'll second Brownstone. I first was recommended them by someone whose husband used them for his antique business (estate sales) moving. Great work.

Any wonderful modern furnishings you would rather sell than put into storage? We are furnishing a coop on the UWS as soon as the renovations are done....

Move.com
Give this link a try

srb162: if you want to shoot me an email, we can talk. I have some practically new and perfect condition modern furnishings I was going to put up for sale on craigslist in a couple weeks. kwest@nyc.rr.com

Flatrate did a great moving job for a reasonable price. My only complaint? The guy took a dump in my new bathroom. Shouldn't I have gotten the honor of first dump in new digs? I certainly think so.

i actually had a really really bad experience with flat rate. they moved the truck in the middle of move and several pieces of furniture got damaged. i have since moishes a few times including for my office, and they were very good. best of luck with your new place.

Has anybody ever not tipped? Or, tipped 10% or less?

I've used movers twice. First time in 2003 and tipped 15% and the second time in 2008 I tipped way too much! I was having a great day and everything from work to girl was going great and I tipped 30%! Afterwords, while unpacking - I really regretted my too generous tip.

Tipping: Not tip? Barring a horrible experience, why on earth wouldn't you tip moving guys after seeing what they do for you all day long? Very bad form. I tipped because I was grateful! I think the guys all got $50 and the leader got $75. There were 4 guys I think--maybe 5. In the scheme of what the buying/selling/moving cost, what difference did $10+/- a person make to me? But it made a big difference to them.

Don't cheap out on tips when you get good service. It isn't nice or decent.

We're moving next week amd the moving company estimated it to be approx $5000 (2 days, 1 for packing, 1 for moving). Am I supposed to tip 15%? sounds a lot to me. I think there's going to be 6 guys total.

11201 - I have had exceptional service from Movers Not Shakers, who have done whole-house and smaller moves for me on five occasions. They have packed for me, and moved my entire unruly basement into the Treasure Island storage space here in Red Hook. Never charged a dime over the quote, which was comprehensive. Great guys. They're based here in Red Hook, so you shouldn't have to pay a travel charge:
http://www.moversnotshakers.com
Plus their trucks run on biodiesel, if you're into that kind of thing...

I second Oz. Used them twice and they were great both times. And fast.

flatrate movers were terrific...they packed everything swiftly and nothing arrived broken. The did bring up a tip before they started packing which surprised me...I had planned to tip anyway but it threw me.

This is great info. Thanks everyone.

I tipped 20% ($800 on $4K) -- that was to pack, move and unpack.

I moved about 1 month ago within Manhattan, and used OZ. I was very happy with their execution, they were very professional. They were on time, they packed well and even unpacked all my big furniture pieces in place where I wanted them. Would highly recommend using OZ.

thanks all for the input - very helpful

I knew a furniture maker who made a bed for a rich client. He received $5000 for the bed. He was angry when he later learned that the movers got $3000 to move the bed. Granted, there were a few tricky corners but it seems unbelievable that the guy who made the item did not get that much more than the people who moved the item. I guess this shows that rich people do a poor job of negotiating price with service providers.