Dumbo Moving and Storage

This was my 5th move with DUMBO in 3 years and I have also referred them to 2 other people last year. But I will never ever ever use them again, and neither should you.

They sold me a van move instead of a truck and expected me to understand that 14 VS 16 ft is a huge difference because the 14 ft option (the van) has ZERO height. I have never ever used a van with them prior and had never seen their vans. I assumed they were sending something adequate, given my move history with them (last move into this same apt was 22 months ago)

The first 2 guys were nice and I paid for packing, I’m 7 months pregnant. They did an OK job, it could have been way more professionally done and the best part is they DID NOT LABEL EVEN 1 BOX. They got as much as they could in the van, but it took me 3.5 hours on the phone with a Sasha, Marco, Guy, Matt and finally Alan (who has always been my main point of contact) and they wanted to charge me $800 for a second truck to come. (On top of the $760 I was already paying for the van, the packing and a second stop at my storage unit) I was firm and after an EXTREMELY argumentative 3+ hours we agreed on $450. And now I had to tip 4 guys, not just 2.

Also, they sent the second truck immediately after I paid the $450 online (and I was getting texts non stop until I paid - meanwhile it took Alan over three hours to get in touch with me) but I was still busy with the original guys and I was at my storage unit freezing while they tired their best to pack me in but they clearly do not know what they are doing. Things I asked to have in the front are now in the back and vice versa. Yet the main guy told me he’s been working there for 3 years. Go figure. All the while the second crew was waiting for me back at my apt for over an hour! Even though I’d told Alan what time I’d be back to let them in- and no, I didn’t want my doorman letting them in. I wanted to be present.



In total my move took 10 hours to go from Fidi to the Williamsburg waterfront. Besides the poor packing job, even worse is how they placed things in my apt. (My bedside humidifier high up on a shelf in a closet? All the art laying on the kitchen island? 20 unlabeled boxes? ) I gave up trying to help - I was exhausted. My new apt is in total disarray.

This was the last move with you DUMBO. To be blunt- you SUCK. I know you don’t care, you got my money and in the end I paid $1520 total, tip and all - and I got a shitshow in return. I would have been better off spending that $ elsewhere and treated better. 10 hours to move 575 Sq ft 6 miles? Please.

Move size: Studio Service cost: $1520

Please do not use this company. Yes their prices are competitive, however, they will try to scam you out of an additional 20% on top of your full moving cost as a “mandatory gratuity”.

Firstly, no gratuity is ever mandatory. Secondly, the loading guys claimed 10% was mandatory, then the office staff called and claimed 20% was mandatory. So which is it? It should also be pointed out that the first thing the loaders will say to you when they turn up hours late, not wearing masks, is that their tip is mandatory. That’s all they care about.

If you do use them I would say stand your ground and refuse to pay a 20% tip. Flat fees are perfectly normal for movers and we were using the company for loading only, which only took 1 hour. Hundreds and hundreds of dollars is not mandatory for 1 hour.

They will call and harass you over and over again, they will email you over and over again asking you to go online and pay extra money for a gratuity. Do not fall for this.

Overall we paid 12% total in gratuity split between the loaders and unloaders. We gave the unloading guy extra since he drove across country by himself and was a really nice guy. For a cross country move, 12% works out at hundreds of dollars. Yet they still wanted more.

I should point out that the problem lies with the loading guys and the sales staff. Our delivery guy was great and fully deserved his gratuity.

Move size: 2 Bedroom Home Service cost: $2600

The only reason why I gave them a star is because I couldn’t leave it blank. Left the crew closing the truck at my old apt after the last package was loaded. It took me 23 minutes to get to my new place and they showed up 2 hours later with a bunch of mumbling stumbling answers. I spoke with Andrea the supervisor prior to the move date to let her know I’m on a time constraint and need to be moved in at 4pm. And low and behold it’s 333pm and they’re just moving in the first part of my things. DO NOT USE THEM!!!!

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1102

Absolutely excellent. We used Dumbo for moving and storage. Alberto - truck #31 - and his crew did the move out of our home, to storage, and to our new home in NJ a few months later. Professional, courteous, neat and took their time to put everything where we wanted. Tony in sales was responsive, worked out a fair price, and accommodated our schedule. Mike at storage facility made it easy to get stuff out when we needed it. Bottom line - if you are moving in the NY / NJ area - Dumbo gets the job done and we would recommend them without reservation.

Move size: 4+ Bedroom Home Service cost: $2000

DEFECATION, THEFT, ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, AND UNSAFE COVID PRACTICES. But let's start from the beginning. Horrible customer service long before our move-date even started:

During these uncertain times, we had to call back twice to reschedule the move-in date we chose. The complex we were moving to needed us to switch dates to accommodate safe COVID practices with the service elevators. When my husband spoke with Becks he was rude, and after the second date-change, he grew increasingly frustrated and said "Why don't you just cancel your reservation and call back when you know?" as if it is so hard for him to click the date on his computer and accommodate his paying customers.

Fast-forward to moving day. The movers they sent immediately went to the bathroom to defecate in our toilet. There was no toilet paper. Ad as you all may know, moving out requires your home to be move-in ready for the next tenants lest you be charged for cleaning or repair service.

They did not practice safe COVID practices. Masks were off majority of the time.

Most of our furniture was water-damaged because it rained that day and our stuff was not protected or handled properly, including expensive electronic baby items that my son needs every day. Wooden furniture had water damage as well.

I had extra moving boxes and packing material that I did not use and upon unpacking, realized that they had stolen them.

When they started unpacking, they asked us if we could throw their trash away. Excuse me? My husband and I already helped them move so many boxes. We did part of the job we were paying them for. This was especially annoying when they asked MORE for their tip. We already paid $1,200 for a one bedroom apartment move that only took about 3 hours. Why this cost does not include paying their movers I have no idea.

During the move the movers disclosed to us indirectly that they were illegal without realizing it, and said they work for tips. So this makes it seem like the $1,200 just covers the truck and blankets (we packed our own boxes) and they only get paid tips. So my husband tipped them 18% and the guy WOULD NOT LEAVE until we paid him at least 20% saying, you need to give me more. WHAT?!?!?!?!?!

We would've been better off renting a truck and paying some randoms to move our stuff. Horribly over-priced for the lack of customer service to the lack of SERVICE IN GENERAL. NEVER using this again and telling EVERYONE of this experience.

Move size: 1 Bedroom Home Service cost: $1440

Dumbo moving was amazing both during pick-up and delivery for my cross-country move from NYC to Denver. They were prompt and were not pushy after I had requested an interest quote. I personally hate moving companies that leave me 2 voicemails a week + on top of weekly email reminders ... Dumbo moving never did that. If you're interested, they'll help you out, but they won't aggressively beg for your service.

As for any moving company, literally read ALL the fine print, all the emails, all the documents they forward along to you ASAP - and you won't have any issues or unforeseen costs. Dumbo Moving is upfront and transparent, but you, as the customer, must still do your share of the work. I also liked that they delivered two days after my own earliest opportunity to accept the boxes. I received the keys to my apartment on June 8th and all my items arrived on June 10th. I consider that to be a speedy delivery - kudos to the long-distance coordinators for their logistics planning. I really liked that they gave me a geo-location tracker for my delivery truck. Thanks to that, I was never left wondering where my items were in the continental US.

Furthermore, it really meant a lot to me that when I labeled my boxes with an arrow facing up, they adhered to my request and kept them in the correct orientation ... Unlike all the FedEx/UPS/USPS/Amazon prime delivery videos we have seen where all the boxes are merely tossed into the truck.

Overall, I would highly recommend Dumbo Moving, but you must do a lot of work in advance to make it an extremely smooth process. Box everything you can, use the same tape for your boxes so they're easy to spot in a crowd of long-distance hauls, label your boxes with #s/ your initials on each side, etc. Make your items obvious, so they can't be lost and accidentally misplaced onto a truck heading in another direction. If you have items that can't be put into a box, I recommend wrapping them before the movers arrive. The more work you do on your own, the less of a chance there will be for an item to be missed/misplaced/scratched/damaged.

Move size: Studio Service cost: $1330

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND TO NOT DO ANY BUSSINES WITH DUMBO FOR YOUR MOVING/STORAGE OR YOU WILL REGRET IT!

They asked me to pay the full amount before they can start the job. Then the nightmare began.

All items were included in the quote Dumbo sent me but at the end of the job property manager called me and sent me pictures of items left behind.

When I call to follow up with Eric, he said I need to pay an extra $996 for him to go back again to take the items they left.

Also, they kept demanding a 20% tip even though they did not finish the job. They are refusing to refund a few hundred dollars back.

FYI... I gave them time to make it right, but they ignored me.

Move size: Office Move Service cost: $920