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Comment by syntaxing | Hacker News Reader

So...does anyone have any tips to find a good mover like this in the US? I hear horror stories on how some movers will hold your stuff "hostage" until you tip them. I don't mind paying, but I just want a trustworthy mover.

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I had one try to raise the price by about 10% after they had my items. It was an interstate move and the company I had contracted with and that was named for loading, transport, and unloading on the bill of lading sold the job to another mover. I guess this is pretty common, but it's also pretty illegal. Without a valid bill of lading they are in possession of stolen property. I told them so and asked if they wanted to involve the police and the DoT. They unloaded my things then.

It's one of the rare occasions I've stiffed someone on the tip. If attempted theft and extortion isn't a reason to reduce a tip, nothing is.

Uhaul and a local company to pack/unpack if needed. Nobody will be more careful with your stuff than you will.

edit: Why is this down-voted?

I have done this several times, moving cross-country via U-Haul. It's easy enough to drive the trucks, even with your car on a trailer behind it. I hire loaders/unloaders based on reviews. You can really save a lot of money doing it yourself, and it's prudent to hire professionals to do the heavy lifting.

Sure, you can run into problems and have a bad experience this way. But the movers my company paid for didn't do such a great job either. On the other hand, the guys the Army sent were amazing.

I have a toy U-Haul truck on my bookcase, because wanderlust.

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