Relocate for Less! How to Save Money on Van Line Charges

Relocate for Less

How to Save Money on Van Line Charges and Moving Expenses

Wayne Jordan

Second edition ©2014 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except in the case of a reviewer, who may quote brief passages embodied in critical articles or in a review.

Trademarked names appear throughout this book. Rather than use a trademark symbol with every occurrence of a trademarked name, names are used in an editorial fashion, with no intention of infringement of the respective owner’s trademark.

The information in this book is distributed on an as-is basis, without warranty. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this work, neither the author nor the publisher shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book.

ISBN: 9781657178571

Published by Wayne Jordan

Subjects include: van lines, pods, household moving, household inventory, choosing a mover, estimating moving charges, getting household moving estimate, scheduling, packing, claims, moving insurance

Dedication

TO MY WIFE JILL, WHO listened patiently to all the stories, read and re-read the manuscript, and lovingly corrected my grammar.

And who is also the best packer I’ve ever known.

Contents

Dedication

About the Author

Introduction

CHAPTER 1: Getting Organized

Chapter 2: Choosing a Mover

Chapter 3: Getting an Estimate

Chapter 5: Scheduling

Chapter 4: Moving Out

Frequently Asked Questions:

Chapter 5: Moving In

Appendix A: Your Checklists

Appendix B Weights and Measures

Appendix C: Filing a Claim

BONUS Yard Sale Pricing Guide

About the Author

BETWEEN 1980 AND 2005, Wayne Jordan owned Jordan Claims Service, which specialized in assessing, appraising, and repairing damage claims for furniture and piano retailers and van lines. During this time, Wayne performed over 15,000 damage claim inspections and personal property appraisals.

Currently Wayne is a Virginia licensed Auctioneer (#3481) and Certified Personal Property Appraiser, specializing in Estate Personal Property, Art, and Antiques.

His column Behind the Gavel appears bi-weekly in Antique Trader Magazine, and his articles appear regularly at WorthPoint.com and in other antique trade publications. Wayne is a Worthologist (appraiser) for WorthPoint, and the author of Antique Mall Profits for Dealers and Dabblers and The Business of Antiques published by Krause Books.

Wayne has held the professional designations of Certified Estate Specialist; Accredited Auctioneer of Real Estate; Certified Auction Specialist, Residential Real Estate and Accredited Business Broker. He has held state licenses in Real Estate and Insurance.

Wayne is an accomplished antiques restorer. His work can be found in the Museum of Virginia Military Institute, the Maryland Governor’s Mansion, and fine homes and institutions throughout the Mid-Atlantic States.

Introduction

MOVING YOUR HOUSEHOLD from one location to another can be nasty business. The households that are moving (shippers) don’t understand the rules of the game. The moving companies are not inclined to explain the rules until after the contract is signed. The misunderstandings that ensue have caused complaints against movers to more than triple in the last decade, approaching 10,000 complaints a year.

Shippers claim that the moving business is rife with scams, frauds, and crooks.

Moving companies claim that shippers are opportunistic liars that are out to get something for nothing.

Who is right? Both, and neither. There are crooks and thieves as well as honest folk on both sides of the aisle. People will act in their own best interest regardless of whether they are the buyers or the sellers.

Regarding the Household Moving Business, what I have found is this: Moving companies operate by a set of rules that are inconsistently applied by the movers and completely misunderstood by the public. And that's the best-case scenario! The business gets worse when you add in a few crooks, scam artists and opportunistic liars.

How This Book Will Help You Save Money

In the pages that follow I’ll tell you:

●  How to know if your charges are calculated correctly

●  17 ways movers boost your charges

●  How to hold the movers to their estimate

●  5 items you're not allowed to ship

●  4 ways to value your shipment and why you should use only one of them

●  What insurance covers and what it doesn't

Plus:

●  Chart of weights and sizes of common household items

●  How to file a damage claim

Bonus:

●  Yard sale values for over 1,000 common household items

Why Take My Advice?

I spent over twenty-five years in the moving claims business. I used to be the assessor who came to your house to inspect the damage after the movers left. I was an independent contractor, but it was the moving companies that paid my bill. I'm not in the business anymore, so I don't have to worry about who I make mad. I can say whatever I want to say.

Over the years, I have performed more than 15,000 inspections, estimates, repairs and appraisals for van lines, insurance companies, retailers, and manufacturers. That means I have heard both sides of the story over 15,000 times. Along the way, I discovered a pattern of missed opportunities: points at which, if the customer had taken positive action on their own behalf, they