Is It Worth Paying for Packing When Moving?

If you happen to enjoy making more than 5 decisions a minute, then you’ll feel right at home when it’s time to… move out of your home. The truth is that organizing a successful house move often comes down to making the right decisions when it matters the most.

One of the very first choices you’ll have to make when your move has become only a matter of time is whether you should attempt to organize a Do-It-Yourself move or you’ll simply trust one of the best movers in your area. Of course, there are pros and cons in each one of the two house-move scenarios. Luckily, we’ve covered this topic exclusively in our complete guide Hire Movers or Do It Yourself.

The other critical question you will need to answer as soon as possible when moving to a new home is Who’s going to pack your things – you or professional packers? It’s really, REALLY important to know the answer to this riddle soon enough simply because it will determine what you do during the preparation period.

The BIG question is this one: Is it worth paying for packing when moving?

The idea of packing up your things by yourself can be tempting, especially when you know that you’ll be able to save money this way. However, you should first examine closely all the advantages and disadvantages of paying for packing services, then consider the specific factors in your case, and finally – make an informed decision about which way to go.

So, is it really worth paying for packing when moving?

Advantages of paying for packing services

As a person who’s about to move to a new place, you must know perfectly well that you can hire movers who will pack for you. In reality, professional packing services are readily available by both local and cross-country moving companies.

After going through the pros and cons of hiring packers, you may conclude that paying for the extra service of packing will actually work out great in your case.

Here are the main advantages of paying someone to pack your house for you:

1. Professional packing techniques

Of course, we’re not talking about just any random people coming over to your home to pack up your stuff. We’re talking about professionals who have been rigorously trained to pack all types of household items, both fragile and non-fragile.

And since professional movers and packers will also have years of experience – after all, they do it almost every day, they should be really good at what they do, right?

The movers who pack for you will know how to use various professional packing techniques that enable them to finish the packing job faster and safer than you could ever do it. After all, you don’t do this for a living – they do.

• Efficient use of space. This is key simply because each cardboard box has limited storage capacity. So, the knowledge of how to optimize the space inside each container will result in fewer boxes for packing the same number of things.
• Proper packing materials. The price of all the required packing supplies will be included in the cost of the packing service and the pros will bring all those materials with them when they arrive in your home. What this means is that when you pay movers to pack up your things, you won’t have to worry about where to find all the boxes, packing paper, bubble wrap, packing peanuts, and furniture blankets needed to complete the job.
• Reduced risk of damage. Professional packers and movers know how to pack things safely – it’s what they have been trained to do and it’s what they do best. By using the proper packing techniques for each type of household item, they will practically reduce the risk of potential damage to a minimum.

2. Loads of time saved

Considering the fact that packing for a move is the most time-consuming task on anyone’s MOVING CHECKLIST, then your decision to hire professionals to pack up your house for you will save you an incredible amount of valuable time.

• Faster packing process. By hiring experienced packers, the job of packing your house for moving will be completed much faster. This is a win-win scenario for everybody during a preparation period where every hour counts.
• Less stress for you. One of the major stressors when packing by yourself is the possibility of you not being done with packing when moving day comes along. But once you transfer that huge burden to professionals, you should be much less stressed out, which is always a big bonus.
• Focus on other tasks. Is it worth hiring movers to pack for you? If it lets you focus on other important tasks thanks to the extra free time, then yes – it’s absolutely worth the cost. How else would you find any free time to say goodbye to your dear friends before moving away?

3. Practical convenience

If you can afford to hire professional packers, you should consider doing so for the degree of convenience it will bring you.

• Handling of fragile items. You will realize pretty soon that some household items are much more fragile than others. Packing all your kitchen items, for example, should present a serious challenge for you due to the fact that many of the things found there are made of delicate materials such as glass and porcelain. And so, it’s much more convenient for you to just let more experienced individuals handle those breakables with almost zero chance of potential damage.
• Disassembly and reassembly of furniture. Another reason why it’s much more convenient to let the pros handle the packing job is that you won’t have to deal with the large and heavy furniture pieces you intend to take with you to the new home. Talking about convenience, the hired laborers will disassemble the furniture units (if necessary), protect the pieces for safe transportation, take them out of the house, load them safely into the vehicle, move them to the new address, unload them from the truck, take them inside the new place, and reassemble them (again, if necessary) on their final resting spots.

Furniture Movers: Furniture Moving Made Easy

Disadvantages of paying for packing services

Remember that an informed decision during a move is only possible when you know both the pluses and minuses of doing something that’s move-related.

And now that you are aware of all the pros of hiring movers to pack for you, it wouldn’t be fair not to list the cons of doing so as well. Think about it – if there weren’t any drawbacks, everyone would want to hire professional packers instead of attempting to complete the packing task on their own.

1. Cost to hire packers

Do moving companies pack for you? Yes, they do… provided that you pay for the add-on service.

How much do packers cost?

If your moving company charges you on an hourly basis – usually the case when moving locally, then you should expect to get charged roughly $60 per hour per packer. This is the national average price to hire packers, so the charge may be higher in your area.

If you’re moving across the country, then your company will quote you a fixed price for the service of packing. The price will depend on a number of factors such as the number of items to be packed, the overall packing time, the number of packing supplies used, and the presence of any specialty items.

All in all, you should expect to pay $300-$450 when moving out of a 1-bedroom apartment, $450-$600 for a 2-bedroom home, and $600-$750 for a 3-bedroom home. Note that these values are approximate and apply to the packing labor alone.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire Packers?

2. Lack of personal touch

When you decide to pay professional packers to protect your things for moving, you won’t have any control whatsoever over the packing process. In reality, you’re letting complete strangers handle your stuff and that could lead to some issues.

Some of your possessions will have high sentimental value for you so the last thing you’d EVER want would be to see any of those valuables damaged during a move. Even when you hire top-rated movers to pack up your things, there’s always the risk of something going terribly wrong with any of your high-value items.

On the other hand, when you choose to pack on your own, you will be extremely careful when handling those precious items so the risk of potential damage should be minimal. Self-packing means that you will have full control over how each of your belongings is packed up – that is, it will be handled with the care it deserves.  

3. Trust and liability issues

Another disadvantage of hiring professional packers is that you may not feel comfortable getting complete strangers to touch your possessions. After all, we’re talking about people you don’t know at all, and not only are you letting them into your own home, but you’re granting them the right to handle your things the way they are trained to do.

And on top of that, you’re paying good money for the service.

• Quality of the packing service. Unless you have hired absolutely the best movers in your town or city – recommended, researched, and verified, then you can’t really be sure how well those packers will finish the job until they are done with it. It’s mostly about trust – can you trust strangers to pack up your things the way you would do it yourself if you could? If you feel really nervous about somebody else touching your stuff, then maybe you’d be better off asking your reliable friends to help you pack.
• Insurance coverage and claims process. When professional packers and movers pack your things and then transport them to the new home, then you automatically get Released Value Protection. However, this is not real moving insurance, so if you want to make sure your stuff is properly insured on the road, then you’ll need to purchase Full Value protection, meaning that it’ll be another expense for you. If some of your items do get damaged during the packing process, you will have to lodge a complaint with the moving company and go through their claims process.

Moving Insurance and Valuation Coverage: Types of Moving Insurance

Factors to consider when deciding who’s going to pack your stuff

Now you know well the advantages and disadvantages of paying someone to pack your house. And by someone, you should understand professional packing service providers – also known as packers.

Of course, you must take all those pros and cons into consideration when trying to decide which way to go – hire packers or pack by yourself. Practically, you’ll be trying to figure out whether it’ll be worth paying for packing when moving in your particular relocation case.

Here are the main factors to consider when you’re trying to decide which way is the best one for you:

• Budget. Can you afford to hire professional packing services? When moving long distance, get a quote from the best cross-country movers in your area in order to learn how much the packing service will cost. Then, consult your moving budget in order to assess your financial constraints. Hiring packers may be the best solution for you but if you can’t afford the extra service, then you’ll have to think of another way to handle the packing job.
• Time. The number of days until your move-out date will help you make up your mind about whether you should hire movers that pack for you. If you have at least 2-3 weeks to pack up your house, then you should be fine doing it by yourself as long as you follow a good PACKING CHECKLIST. However, if you must move out within a week or so, then hiring movers to pack for you should be the logical choice.
• Volume of your belongings. How many items are you planning on packing for the upcoming move? Hopefully, it won’t be ALL the things found in your home. If you happen to have too much stuff to pack and move even after you have gone through the decluttering process, then it’s probably better to hire movers to pack for you… unless you have a few months to do it on your own.
• Fragile, valuable, or special items. The sheer number of the things you have to pack is important but you’ll need to also assess the nature of your things – are they fragile or valuable, or maybe both? A piano, a pool table, or a grandfather clock is a good example of a special item that requires professional packing skills. So, if you’re moving such a special item, then you’d better hire people who know how to protect those in the best possible way.
• Self-packing skills. Sometimes it all comes down to this simple question, Do you trust your self-packing skills? If you have never had to pack for a move until that moment, then it’s normal to doubt whether you can pull it off without any professional assistance. On the other hand, if you have the necessary confidence – usually as a result of a previous house move, then you may as well attempt to complete the packing task on your own once more.

Ultimately, you’re the only one who can determine if it’s worth paying for packing when moving to a new home.

Yes, hiring packers will cost you money and you won’t have full control over the packing process. But if time is against you and you don’t trust your self-packing abilities while you’re moving too much stuff to the new place, then using professional packing services can definitely be worth every dollar.

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