TL;DR the lugg app is easy, reasonably priced, insured way to move. Download the app here and use promo code LU765311 for $10 off.
In preparation for moving to Japan, I needed to move all the things I wasn’t sending over to my parents’ place. So began the usual process of messaging a bunch of moving companies on Yelp and Thumbtack.
The annoying part of this is they will quote an hourly rate, but it’s hard to tell what extras are being charged and compare them reasonably, such as base fees, gas charges, whether or not the time to drive to the pickup or drive back from the destination is charged, whether you will be charged double drive time or not, or material costs. After asking a bunch of companies, I was getting quoted anywhere between $240-$450 dollars. To compare, the last time I did this with slightly more stuff, it ended up being around $400 dollars. Furthermore, scheduling is all done through the conversation, and you don’t always know whether a company is available or not, and it’s hard to control what time they come.
Anyways, when I told a friend about my upcoming move, she said that I should try the lugg app. She showed me the receipt from her move, from Pleasanton to San Francisco that ended up being $280 before tip. I was initially a bit hesitant about the quality of movers from lugg, but since I didn’t have a particularly complicated job, or expensive furniture or appliances, I decided to give it a shot because of the attractive price.
So I downloaded the app to try it out. The whole reservation process was very easy. All I had to do was put in the origin, destination, what kind of vehicle I wanted, and pickup time (within the range of an hour.) Each reservation comes with 2 movers. I selected a pickup truck 2 days from the day I booked, at 2-3pm, and was instantly confirmed. The cost was quoted as $30 base fare, plus $91 for the 49 miles, and $1.40 per labor minute. Drive time to the pickup, or back from the destination isn’t charged, neither is drive time doubled. The app also gave an estimated total cost. You can also save money by going with 1 mover only, but the app warns that you might have to help out. I probably would only do this if I only a couple light items.
On the day of, the 2 movers, Stanley & David, showed up 10 minutes early while I was still in the middle of packing. They didn’t mind, and started loading stuff that was ready while I continued packing the rest. They actually showed up in a much larger box van than my reserved car, which was good, as I actually had a lot more stuff than I though. They packed up in 43 minutes, then headed off.
I was dropping my stuff at my parents’, and I wouldn’t be there, so I wanted to check on the progress of the drive to notify them when they would be there. Fortunately there was a in app GPS tracking feature, as well as an estimated time of arrival.
They were pretty efficient at the destination, finishing in 18 minutes. After the dropoff is complete, you can rate the drivers and leave a tip. At a total cost of $205.05 before discounts and tip, this came in as my cheapest move by far!
Lugg also various other features that make it useful. You can have some items disposed of during your move. You can have items delivered from a store, or picked up from a Craigslist purchase, and various other uses, as hinted by their advertising.
Also, if your building requires insurance, Lugg says they that have insurance. You just need to email ahead of time. Anyways, I would totally use the service again!
