How to find moving companies that pack for you

by Ethan Greenfieldon Jun 27, 2023.

When the time has come for you to start thinking about getting ready to move out of your current place, you should definitely keep in mind that packing will be the most important task on your personal to-do list (aka Moving Checklist).

Regrettably, not only will packing for a move will be critical for the overall success of the upcoming relocation, but it will also be the most time-consuming and energy-draining job you’ll have to tackle during the house move.

In some cases, it can be hugely beneficial to hire professional packers to do that arduous job for you. Therefore, if your specific house-moving circumstances force you to use professional packing services instead of handling the packing task on your own (plus a few reliable friends of yours), then you must be familiar with the best way to find movers who will pack for you.

Read on to learn when you should consider hiring professional packing services, the major advantages of paying for professional packers to complete the job for you, how much it costs to hire packers, and of course – how to find moving companies that will pack for you.

Packing as an add-on moving service

Everyone associates residential moving companies with the actual transportation of household items from one home to another and that’s perfectly understandable simply because this is exactly what movers do.

However, professional movers also offer a number of extra moving services in addition to transportation in order to respond more adequately to their customers’ needs during one of the most stressful events in a person’s life.

Here are the most common services provided by full-service moving companies:

Packing,
Unpacking,
Temporary storage,
Furniture disassembly and reassembly,
Handling of specialty items,
Hoisting through windows or balconies,
Shuttle services,
Split pickup and delivery,
Crating of extra-fragile items, and so on.

Not surprisingly, packing is the additional service that people most often request from professional moving companies, and the reasons for that are more than obvious: packing for a move takes forever to complete, requires plenty of energy, and can be somewhat risky when done by non-professionals, especially while fragile items are being packed for a move.

So, the add-on service of professional packing is there for the asking but when will you actually need it? Can’t you just pack up your things by yourself with the purpose of keeping your moving expenses to a minimum?

Must know: What additional services are offered by movers?

When should you hire professional packers?

Professional packing services are not cheap so you should know when you can do without them and when you just have to pay experienced packers to do their job.

Thus said, you should always keep in mind that packing up your home on your own will enable you to save money on your local or long-distance move simply because you won’t need to pay for the extra service.

Here are the instances when you’d be better off hiring professional movers to come to your home and protect your belongings in the best possible way:

Not enough time. If you are forced to move out quickly (emergency move) or you realize that you just won’t be able to finish the packing task on time no matter how quickly you work, then hiring movers who will pack for you is your only option to complete the move on schedule.
Too many items. Having too many things to sort and pack can be rather overwhelming for you so transferring the heavy burden to more experienced hands can be an excellent choice for a smooth relocation experience.
Specialty items. If you own any specialty items such as a piano, a pool table, a hot tub, a grandfather clock, a heavy safe, or antique furniture pieces, then you should seriously consider hiring a moving company that will pack safely those unique household items.
Lack of experience. If you’ve never had to move house until that very moment, then you are not likely to have the necessary experience to box up all of your things safely, especially when it comes to all the fragile things you wish to take with you. Your lack of move-related experience will most certainly result in a lack of confidence that you can handle the tough moving task by yourself.
Friends are not willing to help you. Tackling the packing job entirely on your own can sometimes be simply too much to ask. And if for some reason or another, you can’t rely on any of your friends to give you a hand, then looking for moving companies that pack for you can be your only chance to make it.
Larger budget. If you can afford to hire movers who will pack for you, then the real question is not why you should do it but rather – why shouldn’t you? While your full-service movers are protecting your things, you can use the time for completing other important tasks such as saying goodbye to your best friends, for example.

How much does it cost to hire packers?

Professional packers offer great packing efficiency – high packing speed and safety maximum. Also, the pro packers are properly insured and will arrive in your home with all the necessary quality packing materials to protect your prized possessions.

So far, so good.

But how much do professional packers cost? How much will you have to pay for the luxury of having your belongings packed up by professionals who have both the know-how and experience to finish the job quickly and safely?

When you’re moving locally (within a radius of 100 miles and never leaving the state of origin), then you should expect to pay roughly $60 per hour per mover – this is the national average cost to hire packers. Each additional packer should cost you an extra $60 an hour but the packing task is supposed to be completed faster when more professionals work on it.

The cost of the packing supplies – cardboard boxes of various sizes and shapes, bubble wrap, packing paper, stretch wrap, moving blankets, and so on – is usually not included in the hourly rate for packing services but you should make sure it is so by asking the moving company beforehand.

When you’re moving across the country (long-distance moving of over 100 miles and crossing state lines to reach the destination), then the interstate moving company you’ve picked as your partner will quote you a fixed fee for the packing service.

In such cases, the cost of professional packing services will be calculated on the basis of the size of the home – in other words, the approximate number of things found in your place + any specialty items that will surely increase the overall cost estimate.

When moving out of a 1-bedroom apartment, expect to pay approximately $300-$450 for packing labor alone, or roughly $450-$600 when moving out of a 2-bedroom home. The packing service will go up to around $600-$750 when you’re moving out of a 3-bedroom place.