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The questions that set the price

Ten minutes now, or an argument later.

Local moves are sold by the hour, interstate by the cubic metre, and both come off our own rate card. What decides which end of it you land on is the access, the dates and how much there really is. That is what these questions are for.

Start the questions How it is worked out
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Written by a person, not a form

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Step 1 of 7
What kind of move is it?

These two types of moves are priced differently. Local is charged by the hour, interstate by the cubic metres your things take up on the truck.

Where are you moving?

The suburb is enough. The postcode and the state fill themselves in.

Moving from

Moving to

Local work is charged by the hour, and the rate follows the city the truck and crew come out of. Rates in Melbourne and Sydney are higher than in Brisbane.

How big is the place you’re leaving?

Property type matters as much as the number of bedrooms. A three-bedroom house is usually around 30 cubic metres, a three-bedroom unit closer to 24.

Bedrooms

How full is it?

Boxes alone are usually five to ten cubic metres, the part almost everyone underestimates.

Anything else to clear? Select all that apply.

How easy is access at each end?

A third floor with a lift is a different job from a third floor without one, and the lift usually has to be booked with the body corporate days ahead. We go through parking and the walk from the truck when we ring.

When are you moving?

Weekends cost more, and so does the stretch from the week before Christmas to mid-January, when most leases end. If your dates can shift by a few days, your move may fit on a truck already running your route.

How fixed is that date?

Anything else we should plan for?

Packing can be as much or as little as you want. A piano, a pool table or a safe is a job of its own: different gear, more hands, and its own price on top.

Special items

Where should we send your quote?

That is the hard part done. Everything you have answered goes to the person who prices the move, and they will have read all of it before they ring. The quote comes back in writing, split into lines. It is based on your answers, so it can change if the details on the day are materially different.

Thanks, we’ve got that.

Your answers are with the person who prices the move. The quote comes back in writing, split into lines, and they will ring to go through it. Your reference is .

How your quote is worked out

There is no single price for moving. There are two ways we price a move.

Across town you pay for hours. Across the country you pay for the space your things take up on a truck. Price one as though it were the other and the number comes out wrong by hundreds, which is why the first question is the one it is.

Local moves

Sold by time.

Crew and truck by the hour, with a minimum booking. We work the hours out from how much there is to move, then add for access at each end and the run between them. On plenty of jobs the carry from the door to the truck takes more time than the drive does.

Interstate moves

Sold by space.

Your cubic metres times the rate for that run, plus access and any packing. The Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane triangle carries the most traffic, so it prices best. Perth and Darwin see far fewer trucks, so the rate per cubic metre is higher and you need to book further out. If your dates can move, a backload brings the rate down.

A removalist carrying a carton on his hip.

Why the form is this long

Every question here is one that has caught somebody out.

A short form is not a kindness. It just moves the awkward part to the day, when your things are already on a truck and walking away is no longer an option. Nothing here is asked out of curiosity.

  • Move type, size and routeWhich of the two pricing models yours runs on. Get this wrong and everything after it is wrong.
  • Property type and how full it isA three-bedroom house is usually around 30 cubic metres, and the cartons alone are five to ten of that. The same three bedrooms in a unit comes in well under.
  • Access at both endsStairs, lifts, parking. A third floor with a lift is a different job from a third floor without one, and the lift usually has to be booked with the body corporate a few days out.
  • Dates and special itemsWeekends cost more, and so does the December to January stretch when most leases end. Pianos and full-size fridges are priced on their own.

There is a limit to what any form can see, and the carry from your door to where the truck can actually stand is usually it. That single unmentioned detail is the most common reason a price moves on the day, so it is the first thing the call after your quote is about.

Not ready for the full questionnaire

Leave three details.

The person who calls you back is the person who prices your move, not a call centre passing you from one person to another. Submitting this form does not book your move.

Straight answers

The questions people ask us back.

Why is there no price on this page?

Because a number a form works out on its own is a guess dressed up as a fact, and it is the guess that turns into an argument on moving day. Your answers go to somebody who prices removals for a living. They work out the actual job against our own rate card and send it back split into lines, so nothing is buried in a total.

Is the quote the price I will pay?

It is what the job comes to on everything you have told us. We confirm it on a short call, because a form cannot see the turn at the top of the stairs or a driveway a truck cannot get up. Tell us the truth about the access and there is nothing left to find on the day.

Where do the numbers come from?

From our own rates: an hourly crew rate for each city we quote in, and a per-cubic-metre rate for each interstate corridor we price. They are configuration, not guesswork, and every quote records the exact pricing version it was worked out on, so any figure can be reproduced later.

Does an AI decide my price?

No. The rates are a fixed set of rules, so the same answers always work out the same way, today and in a year. Nothing about your price is generated, and a person checks the job and writes the quote before it reaches you.

What happens after I send my answers?

They go to the person who prices moves here, in Australian business hours. They read the lot, work the job out against our rate card, and send it back in writing and split into lines. Then they ring to go through it. The same person is on the phone if anything changes between now and the day.

Will GST be added on top?

No. Better Moving is not currently registered for GST, so no GST is added to your quote.

The services we arrange

What we can arrange for you.

House removals Units, townhouses and family homes. Two houses ten minutes apart can be hundreds of dollars apart, and it is almost never the distance that does it. See how it is priced Interstate removals You are not buying a truck. You are buying the cubic metres your belongings occupy on one, and if your dates can move, you can buy them considerably cheaper. See how it is priced Office removals The cost of an office move is rarely the move itself. It is the hours the business is not working, so the plan is built around that first. See how it is priced Packing services Packing always takes longer than anyone plans for. Handing it over is the difference between a calm last night and a very long one. See how it is priced Storage Settlement moves. The new place is not ready. You are going overseas for six months. None of it is unusual, and none of it should mean moving twice. See how it is priced

The driveway is the worst place to discuss money.

Answer the questions once. It comes back in writing, split into lines, and the person who priced it rings to go through it with you.

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