Moving Companies vs Moving Brokers: What’s the Difference?

If you are planning on a big move, you will probably find yourself facing ads for both moving brokers and moving companies. At first glance, you might assume that they are both referring to the same thing. However, there is a major difference between a moving company and a moving broker.

A moving company refers to a company which has a staff of movers, moving trucks and all the equipment that they need to safely transport your belongings from point A to point B. For example, a Houston moving company will transport your things from your office or house in the city to anywhere you’re relocating. They’ll do everything for you, ensuring a stress-free move! While some use brokers to gain clientele, others rely on word of mouth and advertising to gain jobs directly.

A moving broker does not actually handle your move. When you hire a moving broker they will then hire whichever moving company they choose for you to use, or that you pick out of their list. The work of your move will be done separately, by that moving company, as moving brokers do not own any moving trucks, equipment, and packing supplies.

There are several reasons why hiring a moving broker may not be the best idea. If anything goes wrong during your move, you might only have the contact information for the moving broker. This makes it hard to receive immediate customer service and the company you are calling is not responsible for whatever happened.

When you contact the customer service team for your moving company, they have a strong incentive to get the issue resolved quickly because you are their customer and they have control over what’s happening with their movers.

Hiring a moving company directly is less costly than hiring a moving broker. A moving broker acts as a middle man and naturally they will pay themselves in addition to what they pay out to the moving company.

Also, moving broker estimates are usually offered over the phone or email without anyone coming into your home. The person quoting prices might be in a call center hundreds of miles away. Moving companies, on the other hand, are local and will usually send a pricing expert before the move begins so they can give the most accurate quote possible. As a result, the estimate quoted by a moving company will usually be much closer to the final price tag than one quoted by a moving broker.

Another downside to the moving broker is that you will be dealing with the middle man up until the day of the move. Not all moving brokers will tell you which moving company is coming out to your home, and if there are scheduling conflicts or other issues with the first choice, they will send a second instead.

While this is great at keeping the move going, you may not have much time if any to find out details on the moving company that will be transporting your belongings. You only have the broker’s word that they are insured and have a good reputation. When you hire a moving company directly, you can take the time to research them and feel comfortable with your choice.

So, before you do that search on Google for “movers near me” make sure that you’re working with a moving company rather than a moving broker to get the best value.