Packing & Moving FAQs

Yes! At College Bound Movers, we pride ourselves on our policies on employment. It is very common in this industry for companies to hire day-laborers, go through temp agencies or take in untrained general laborers who get paid under the table. Moving the contents of one’s home is NOT “general labor.” One of the reasons that College Bound Movers is so successful is that we keep a full staff of thoroughly trained employees on payroll and without the assistance of temp agencies. Proper training makes a world of difference.

No moving company can guarantee that nothing will get damaged because you are being moved by people, and accidents can happen. However, College Bound Movers’ damage rate is practically unheard of in the moving industry. The US industry average for damages occurring on jobs annually is approximately 18%. College Bound Movers’ average is approximately 2%. Because of the extensive training in place, we have never hit the 3% damage percentage in the more than 30 years we have been in business. However, if something does get damaged, we offer valuation coverage to protect your goods and allow for easy claim filing. Please speak with a Move Coordinator for more information.

No! For 30 years College Bound Movers has worked diligently to assure any and all work is ours. Customer satisfaction is our number one priority and for that reason we have never contracted labor to other vendors.

When you book the move with us, we will take a space reservation which will act as a deposit. Deposit amounts adjust depending on the size of the move. Any moves estimated under $500.00 will have a $75.00 deposit, between $500.00 -$1,000.00 will have a $150 deposit, and over $1,000.00 will have a $200.00 deposit. All long-distance moves require a 25% deposit of your total move cost. When the movers arrive at your home, you will need to have 70-80% of the estimated amount of your move ready to give to the crew chief. You can pay your deposit with Visa, MasterCard, American Express, certified check or cash. Once the job has been completed, the actual cost of services will be presented to you and the remaining cost will be due. The balance can be paid with cash, certified check or your credit card.

We prefer you to empty dressers. If necessary, you can keep light clothing in the bottom two drawers. Anything heavy or fragile will need to be removed.

The bottom two drawers of your file cabinets may remain full of files. Anything above two drawers will need to be emptied. If the files cabinets need to be brought up or down any stairs, please empty all draws. File boxes are available for purchase if needed.

Yes. Please make sure to tell your Move Specialist what items you would like assistance with so the time needed can be factored into your estimate. College Bound Movers will only reassemble items that they disassembled, so please do not attempt to take something apart yourself if you feel you may need help putting it back together.

Yes, we do offer shrink wrapping services to protect your items during your move.

All small items, including electronics, need to be in boxes with lids that are taped shut. Pictures and table lamps will also need to be in boxes, which are available for purchase from College Bound Movers. You can packing and moving supplies from us!

Yes! We do have our own fleet of lettered trucks, but are also an authorized Penske Truck dealer. During busier periods of business, we will use Penske trucks in addition to the College Bound Movers fleet to allow us to accommodate more customers.

Most people are used to tipping a percentage of their total bill, often in the range of 15% to 20%. That approach does not work as well with movers. The total cost of your move may not accurately reflect the time or effort it takes to load and unload your belongings, and you will most certainly have more than one person to tip.

A suggestion would be to calculate your tip based on how many  hours the moving crew works. A good rule of thumb is $5.00 to $10.00 per mover per hour, which works out to $20.00 to $40.00 per person for a half-day (four hours) or $40.00 to $80.00 per mover for a full day of work (eight hours). Assuming a team of four movers, your total tip amount could be anywhere from $80.00 to $320.00.

While these figures are a good starting point, you should consider other factors also when calculating your tip.

If your move involves several pieces of large, exceptionally heavy items, fragile items, difficult to move items or difficult conditions such as stairs, long walk, rain or extreme heat, you may want to leave a larger tip.