Containers and full-service crews are sometimes compared as if they were two prices for the same job. They are two ways to divide the work. Choosing between them is mostly a question of who you want to do the heavy parts.
What a container moves for you
A portable container is delivered to your driveway or curb, you fill it at your own pace, and the company picks it up and hauls it to the new address or to a storage yard. The container gives you flexibility on timing and a place to load without a rush.
The labor of loading and of packing remains yours. You carry furniture to the container, stack it, strap it and protect it, and then you do the same in reverse at the other end. The company hauls; you lift.
What a full-service mover takes on
A full-service crew comes to the home with the truck, pads and wraps the furniture, loads, drives and unloads, and places the furniture in the rooms you choose. If you want it, the crew also packs. The estimator prices the whole job from an in-home walk-through, and the written estimate lists the services included. Long-distance moves run through the Bekins network, which carries the shipment to the new city.
The middle path: containers with a crew
Many households choose a container for the schedule and hire a crew for the lifting. O'Brien's loads and unloads rental trucks, trailers and PODS. That keeps the container's flexibility and removes the part of the move that hurts most. See loading and unloading help.
Questions to settle the choice
- Who will lift the furniture, and how many stairs are there?
- Is there room for a container at the curb, and does your city or HOA allow one?
- How tight is your timeline: is a date fixed, or do you need weeks of slack?
- Do you want packing help for fragile items such as glassware and pictures?
- Is anything too delicate or heavy to handle yourself: a piano, a pool table, a safe?
- What protection applies to the goods on each option? Ask for the written terms and the valuation coverage.
Compare the same job
Ask each company for a written estimate that lists the same services: loading, driving, unloading, packing, storage and protection. Compare the lists before you compare the totals. The container versus truck guide goes deeper on the container side, and hiring movers versus renting a truck covers the do-it-yourself drive.