The Best Negotiating Strategies to Save Money when Moving
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There is something I really admire about my husband. That is his ability to never accept a price of a service or item without asking if it could be better. This quick outline of some of the best negotiating strategies to save money when moving will give you confidence for your negotiations.
I have learned from watching him that I leave a lot of money on the table and the art of negotiation is something I need to practice more. When it came to negotiating with the moving companies, we worked together.
The bottom line, moving is expensive. Throw in moving across the country and the price has just doubled. The cost of the truck, paying a driver, gas, mileage, packing and unloading the truck. It all adds up quickly.
Negotiating Strategies to Save Money When Moving
This is what we did. We started by calling several moving companies. We had them come out and give us quotes on how much it would cost. We even called a company that had us take videos on each room and then they watched the videos with us and made a quote at the end. Their concept was to cut costs by not hiring someone to go to each home.
How to Negotiate
Get quotes from 4-5 companies. The more quotes you have the more room you have for negotiations.
Once we had the quotes, my husband and I had a conversation about how much we wanted to spend on the move. We had quotes from $6500-$9200. Remember, this is a cross-country move so they are expensive! We decided that we wanted to be under $7500. That was a target price with the companies.
The Ask
We then called each of the salesmen back and said look, we have a quote for X amount, how close can you get to that price?
They would then ask if we were taking everything they had written down on their sheet. By that point, we had decided not to take a few things that were quite large and heavy. So they took them off which would lower the price.
Make a Deal
Eventually, they would tell us their drop dead price. At that point, my husband and I have another talk and agree to the terms of their price. Sometimes, the salesmen are not nice during this process and they stop calling back. If that happens don’t worry about it. They lost the business. This is why it’s so important to have more than 1 company come out. We had 4 companies we were working with.
Related: How these simple moving tips will save your budget
There are multiple types of moving estimates.
Why would you negotiate?



Stephanie has been blogging at Sticky Note Mom for 4 years. Before starting her blog she worked in the finance industry working on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade to working for major financial institutions with personal financial planning and the mortgage industry. Now she shares all she has learned about frugal living to help others learn how to stop spending and start saving more.