How do I find a good mover in NYC?

June 3, 2008 6:38 PM

How do I find a good mover in NYC?

I'm moving from one apartment to a different one in the East Village. I don't have a lot of stuff (think big bed, big TV, and a bunch of boxes) and would move it myself, except that I'm moving from a 6th floor apartment to a 5th floor one.

It seems impossible to find a good mover on the internet. All the reviews on Yelp and Citysearch seem like obvious astroturfing. Plus, lots of my friends have had issues with movers charging them more than they said they would.

So, AskMe, I turn to you. How do I find a good mover in this city? Also, if anybody knows - how much should I expect to pay, assuming that I do all the packing myself?

posted by Afroblanco to travel & transportation around New York, NY (17 answers total)

Previously. (My answer there still stands.)
posted by languagehat at 6:45 PM on June 3, 2008

citimove.com
posted by fings at 7:21 PM on June 3, 2008

Have you tried angie's list?
posted by n'muakolo at 7:34 PM on June 3, 2008

I can whole heartedly recommend NYC Moves , one of the highest rated movers on Citimove. I used them in February (moving from Washington Heights to Chelsea), my boyfriend used them in December, and my co-worker, who is one of the most demanding women I know, used them last summer. We all had flawless moves.

I think they are based in the East Village. They were prompt, and took extreme care with my stuff. Nothing was broken or damaged. When they got to my new place, I asked them to be careful because the floors had just been refinished. They were insanely careful and had no attitude about it.

The price for my move was $650. It was a flat price given at the time I made the reservation, based on a long list of what I was moving. I was moving from a 1BR to a studio. No bed, no dining furniture, but a big couch, lots of boxes and other sundry furniture. This was an elevator building to a first floor apartment. Three guys... I think the whole move took less than 4 hours.
posted by kimdog at 7:34 PM on June 3, 2008

I've used "Man With a Van" (there's about a million of those) from ads in the Voice before and never had any troubles (although it's been a few years). I don't remember the going rate though, but I think it's like $100 an hour for two guys plus tip? (I could be wrong).
posted by ornate insect at 7:47 PM on June 3, 2008

I've also had good luck with the several different Man with a Vans from Village Voice (though it was a while ago). I'm happy to recommend John's Delivery, too (a cool guy with a van who looks just like Albert Einstein. He's not a spring chicken but presumably can rustle up another person or two. He seemed really honest and good-hearted and was fun to get a van ride from (I had a bunch of BB&B stuff to lug home and all the taxis in NYC were somehow missing). Worth a shot. 917-592-8501. I keep his card in my wallet because he just seems like the kind of guy who would help me in an emergency. Kimdog seems to have found a good one, but that's a lot more than I'd pay to move locally. Good luck!
posted by kitmandu at 8:25 PM on June 3, 2008 [1 favorite]

My boyfriend and I (separately) used Oz a couple of years ago and were quite happy with the service.
posted by ch1x0r at 8:39 PM on June 3, 2008

Yeah, $650 sounds like a lot.
posted by Afroblanco at 8:39 PM on June 3, 2008

We just used Shleppers to move a couple of blocks but with the same problem of being walk ups. They were professional, efficient and reasonably priced. The actual price was also cheaper than they quoted because they charge by the hour and did it quicker than planned. Can't argue with that!
posted by merocet at 9:06 PM on June 3, 2008

Flatrate.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 9:32 PM on June 3, 2008

How do I find a good mover in NYC?

you ask krautland, who will tell you he used vantruckmove.com from angie's list and was very happy with the service provided.
posted by krautland at 1:43 AM on June 4, 2008

I've worked on shows with Jony Perez of JP Carrier - he mostly moves theatrical sets, so he's used to playing nice with heavy fragile things and weird loading times. He's also a super nice and funny guy.
posted by lauranesson at 7:49 AM on June 4, 2008

My html hasn't woken up yet today, I guess. JP Carrier's site!
posted by lauranesson at 7:52 AM on June 4, 2008

The forum on this site has good recommendations and reviews

http://www.movingscam.com
posted by any major dude at 8:40 AM on June 4, 2008

I recently used Rabbit Movers recommended previously on another thread. I actually wanted to use languagehat's russian guys, but I was in a bind and left a voicemail but they called me back too late.

I had a great experience with them and would use them again.
posted by spec80 at 12:00 PM on June 4, 2008

Moving Scam Guide and their Superlist for NYC. They highly reccommend Shea Moving, All Star Moving and Moovers, Inc, for NYC moves.
posted by sophist at 10:18 PM on June 4, 2008

Hey all,

Thanks for your advice and suggestions. I wound up going with this guy that one of my friends recommended. Moving day is tomorrow, so if the guy is any good, I'll post back to the thread and give y'all his info.
posted by Afroblanco at 10:35 PM on June 6, 2008