How Far in Advance Should You Book a Moving Company?

Moving can be an incredibly stressful time for anyone. Hiring a moving company can take a lot of the stress out of the process by freeing up your time so that you can coordinate the logistics of the move. But if you haven’t worked with movers before, you may have many questions about the process, including how far in advance you may want to book a moving company.

This is a fair question; the short answer is that you will likely want to start calling moving companies as soon as you know when and where you are moving. The sooner you are on their books, the sooner you can feel relief knowing that you have one aspect of the move already addressed. The last thing you want to do is put it off until the last minute, which can leave you scrambling to find a company with availability, if it’s even possible. As a general guideline, you will want to have the movers booked at least two to three months before your move date.

Your timing may also be impacted by the time of year in which you plan to move. If you are moving in the summer months, you may want to have even more lead time since this is the busiest time of year for most movers. Additionally, the further you move, the earlier you want to schedule a company. International moves and those across the country take much more resources from the moving company, so finding one that can accommodate your request with less than four to eight weeks of notice will be tough.

If you plan to move within the same city or state, you may be able to book as little as two to four weeks in advance. But again, if you have a confirmed move date and location, you will still want to book as soon as possible to secure the movers.

Another major advantage to booking a moving company early is that the company has additional time to plan logistics, which can ultimately reduce the price you pay for the move – especially if they are able to schedule another move that maximizes efficiency. Waiting until the last minute can substantially increase the amount you expect to pay.

The reality is that the lead time required to book a moving company depends on many factors, including the time of year, distance moved, availability of the company, and your budget. And unfortunately, the schedules of good, qualified, and experienced movers often fill up more quickly than other options. Therefore, in almost any scenario, you will want to get a moving company booked as soon as feasibly possible. While it may still be possible to find a mover with little lead time, you will likely have to pay more, and the mover you end up hiring may not be your first choice.

For more information about scheduling an upcoming move, contact Quantum Moving today!