Before you hire movers, it is vital to understand exactly what type of company you are actually dealing with. In the moving business there are two major types of moving companies: brokers and movers. Brokers will never actually do any of the moving for you. They are basically a sales team that helps to connect movers to potential customers. Movers are the people who will actually move your things. They are usually a smaller company that handles the business and physical aspect of all the moves that go through their own personal business. Each option has pros and cons to consider. Here are the major pros and cons of using movers and brokers.

Pros and Cons of Using Movers 

Pros:

• This person will actually handle your stuff, so you get to know who will be moving all your valuables directly before moving day.
• Movers can frequently be cheaper than brokers, because it is basically cutting out the middle man.
• Since movers are doing the actual moving, they often provide more accurate in-person estimate of how much it will cost to move your stuff.

Cons: 

• Some moving companies will tack on fees that will raise the cost to protect them from liability if they accidentally damage or lose any of your possessions.
• If any emergency comes up, especially with a smaller moving company, they may have to cancel your moving date.
• Moving companies usually will insist on in-person moving estimates, so that they can most accurately predict the cost of your move.
• Smaller moving companies do not always have a plethora of reviews for you to check out.

Pros and Cons of Using Brokers 

Pros: 

• Brokers will provide estimates over the phone or internet.
• If you have a binding estimates with your mover, it means that extra fees and charges will not be added on.
• Sometimes brokers can get better deals on your moving cost, because they have connection to a lot of moving companies.
• Brokers often have a long list of reviews for you to check out, so you can see what reputation the company has with previous customers.

Cons:

• You don’t get to meet who is moving your stuff beforehand. Brokers do not own moving truck or ever move anything, they are just a sales team.
• If the bid for your move is too low, sometimes movers will not take it. This means you could mean without a mover on moving day.
• Sometimes brokers will hire unlicensed or uninsured moving companies.
• Once the movers see the job they may try to add on fees and extra charges if you have a non-binding estimate contract.

Conclusion: Be Careful 

Obviously it is a big decision to consider whether to use a broker or a mover. Companies will often not actively advertise whether they are a mover or broker, so you may need to specifically ask the company. One last note, always make sure to check the BBB to see if any bad reports were made on the broker or moving company before hiring them.