Transporting 130 short boxes across the country 5 5

[jdraheim]

I appreciate all the suggestions!  Thank you!   

[shadroch]

One thing I found was that most moving companies subcontract out their work, no matter what they say.  I won't say they are all crooks, but the moving industry is full of thieves. 

[CAHokie]

On 12/12/2023 at 10:12 AM, shadroch said:

One thing I found was that most moving companies subcontract out their work, no matter what they say.  I won't say they are all crooks, but the moving industry is full of thieves. 

Some will also show up with a bill not agreed to or a problem and if you don’t pay them they won’t let you get your stuff. They know they have the person over a barrel in that situation. Thats why I just used the pods. It may cost more but less hassle. 

[stormflora]

On 12/12/2023 at 10:44 AM, CAHokie said:

Some will also show up with a bill not agreed to or a problem and if you don’t pay them they won’t let you get your stuff. They know they have the person over a barrel in that situation. Thats why I just used the pods. It may cost more but less hassle. 

This happens a lot, even in other industries like construction/renovation as well. Sometimes costs/expenses turn out to be more than what the company expected, and they sure as hell are not going to take a loss for their time, so they force it onto the customer and stunt their credit if they refuse to pay the added difference.

[Dr. Balls]

On 12/10/2023 at 6:19 PM, jdraheim said:

I'm looking for some advice or recommendations.  In a few months I'm moving from Southern CA to Raleigh, NC.  I have over 14,000 comics in 130 Short Boxes (mostly raw comics in bags and boards).  Does anyone have any experience moving this many comics?  Any recommendations for Movers who are better suited to handling comics, collectibles, etc?  I'm hoping to find one company that can move our furniture and the comics.  I don't have the desire or energy to rent a U-Haul and move them myself so I'm looking for the best moving company that will handle and transport the boxes with the care they need.  Thanks for any advice!

We hired a moving company to move our belongings to our new house 50 miles away - and they did a fantastic job. However - at the time I collected records - and decided to transport the 30 or so boxes myself. The moving company was professional and put the boxes where they need to go, but you can't expect them to gently set them down in all instances. One box dropped accidentally on it's corner is all it takes to VF your NM books. And believe me, that can happen considering comic books weigh as much as a box of books - and movers will probably handle them as such.

If it were me (and I understand you not wanting to move 130 short boxes) I'd put every book worth a certain amount (be it $20 or $50) in it's own box and cart them over myself. For the rest, I would then put a little bubble wrap in front, back and top of each box (so when the movers go to lift them, their fingers touch the bubble wrap behind the handle, not the books) and tape the lids shut with low-tack painter's tape (so it doesn't peel the paper from the box surface).

And also, movers charge by weight - you're going to be taking on a hefty expense for the weight of those books - it may be time to have a fire sale if you want to thin the collection.

Edited December 12, 2023 by Dr. Balls

[stormflora]

On 12/12/2023 at 3:03 PM, Dr. Balls said:

We hired a moving company to move our belongings to our new house 50 miles away - and they did a fantastic job. However - at the time I collected records - and decided to transport the 30 or so boxes myself. The moving company was professional and put the boxes where they need to go, but you can't expect them to gently set them down in all instances. One box dropped accidentally on it's corner is all it takes to VF your NM books. And believe me, that can happen considering comic books weigh as much as a box of books - and movers will probably handle them as such.

If it were me (and I understand you not wanting to move 130 short boxes) I'd put every book worth a certain amount (be it $20 or $50) in it's own box and cart them over myself. For the rest, I would then put a little bubble wrap in front, back and top of each box (so when the movers go to lift them, their fingers touch the bubble wrap behind the handle, not the books) and tape the lids shut with low-tack painter's tape (so it doesn't peel the paper from the box surface).

And also, movers charge by weight - you're going to be taking on a hefty expense for the weight of those books - it may be time to have a fire sale if you want to thin the collection.

One possible alternative is to tackle it in multiple trips, and if space is necessary, rent a storage unit for a month or two. More effort involved but shouldn't cost more than a professional mover. But since I'm in Canada, I have no idea how long of a distance it is between the source and destination for the OP.

But yeah, personally transporting the high value comics and leaving the rest to the movers is a sound alternative as well.

Edited December 12, 2023 by stormflora

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 12/12/2023 at 2:14 PM, stormflora said:

One possible alternative is to tackle it in multiple trips, and if space is necessary, rent a storage unit for a month or two. More effort involved but shouldn't cost more than a professional mover. But since I'm in Canada, I have no idea how long of a distance it is between the source and destination for the OP.

But yeah, personally transporting the high value comics and leaving the rest to the movers is a sound alternative as well.

 

[stormflora]

On 12/12/2023 at 3:16 PM, ADAMANTIUM said:

 

Yeah, I know. It's just a possible option, if you don't have family/friends to borrow their basement for a little bit.

I'd still highly advocate taking the time to move everything yourself. It's the only safe way.

[universal soldier]

On 12/12/2023 at 3:14 PM, stormflora said:

One possible alternative is to tackle it in multiple trips, and if space is necessary, rent a storage unit for a month or two. More effort involved but shouldn't cost more than a professional mover. But since I'm in Canada, I have no idea how long of a distance it is between the source and destination for the OP.

But yeah, personally transporting the high value comics and leaving the rest to the movers is a sound alternative as well.

 

On 12/12/2023 at 3:19 PM, stormflora said:

Yeah, I know. It's just a possible option, if you don't have family/friends to borrow their basement for a little bit.

I'd still highly advocate taking the time to move everything yourself. It's the only safe way.

Even without a storage unit or F&F that could provide space short term, multiple cross country trips is painful to even think about. My daughter went to the University of Georgia and I have done multiple drives back and forth to Massachusetts over the 5 years including the last one coming back in a u-haul towing her car. That was 1100 miles each way, cross country could be 3 times that. All I can say is never again.

[Buzzetta]

On 12/12/2023 at 10:12 AM, shadroch said:

One thing I found was that most moving companies subcontract out their work, no matter what they say.  I won't say they are all crooks, but the moving industry is full of thieves. 

Very true

On 12/12/2023 at 10:44 AM, CAHokie said:

Some will also show up with a bill not agreed to or a problem and if you don’t pay them they won’t let you get your stuff. They know they have the person over a barrel in that situation. Thats why I just used the pods. It may cost more but less hassle. 

Narrowly avoided that with guy in Florida who was eventually charged and convicted of trafficking stolen goods by others. 

This was his M.O.  He would load all of your stuff on his trucks and then present the customer with a bill at a different amount than that which was agreed to.  Then he would keep your items in storage while it was in dispute and add a storage per day fee onto the bill.   In the meantime you are waiting for your day in court, you still do not have your 'stuff' and all he had to do was outlast your desire to walk away versus your desire to see things through the slow wheels of justice. 

He was about to do this to someone I know.  When he no-showed the day that he was supposed to collect the contents of a house, I called the parent company to complain.  The parent company claimed they had no relationship with this individual or his moving company and that they severed ties a few months ago.  I did some poking and discovered that he had a number of complaints about his company and himself doing this.  Apparently he was using the remaining paperwork he had to misrepresent himself.  I asked around and was able to come across his records to find that he had been charged and convicted of this scam before. 

Needless to say, he was dropped, and we used local people to quickly move the contents of a house into storage and signed paperwork to allow someone reputable to move all items up North.

The guy in Florida that was scamming people continues to get in trouble as of 2022. 

Edited December 13, 2023 by Buzzetta

[Chip Cataldo]

As stated before in the thread, PODS are the answer. My parents have used them a few times and they are worth every penny.

[Turnando]

You only have a few months but if I were you I'd use this as the motivation to downsize by selling as many books as you can.  Sell only the books that you don't love. I bet that is most of them. You said you don't really want to move them yourself so maybe think again about how much you love them.

I have been downsizing my massive toy collection this year and it has been liberating. To an extreme degree.  Freedom is in view.

My goal is to fit my treasures into a single small closet. I can't wait to get there.

 

[KCOComics]

A few thoughts on this: 

1) Pods seem like a reasonable idea - especially if moving companies would really charge $7k to move. 

2) I would pair down the collection. Try to get to maybe 10 -15 short boxes and convert it 5-8 long boxes. I'm assuming with a collection of that size, the vast majority of them aren't worth a ton - you could keep just the valuable ones and ones that are meaningful to you.  

3) I've driven cross country on 8 separate occasions. I've done it in Uhauls and in many different cars. I've gone straight through with barely any rest and I've taken weeks. The trip is what you make of it.   It can be a brutal, caffeine fueled marathon or you can give yourself a week or two, see sites, visit family and limit your driving to 6-8 hours a day. 

I wouldn't rule out the adventure, because there is a lot to see along the way. 

[Dick Pontoon]

Put me in the downsize camp. 14,000 is a *lot* of funnybooks, and I'm guessing a good chunk of them are of recent vintage as opposed to high value and/or rare SA and GA. If you've got a bunch of cheap Copper and Moderns, just dump them and replace them after you've moved. You might find you don't miss them so much and they might be cheaper to replace than move all that way.

[Tnexus]

Find a slow freight shipping company and send them out on a pallet. I think you can get about 21 long boxes on one when stacked. You can wrap it and strap it to keep them secure

[NP_Gresham]

On 12/10/2023 at 5:19 PM, jdraheim said:

Does anyone have any experience moving this many comics?  

Yes

And I did what you won’t do

I rented the truck and did it myself.

If you have valuable books, best to do it yourself

If you have boxes of mostly middling books.

Sell them.

If you hire someone, plan on loss/damage/theft. And to over-pay

Divide the cost of moving per book. Are the books worth the added cost?

Edited December 13, 2023 by NP_Gresham

[MattTheDuck]

On 12/13/2023 at 5:48 AM, KCOComics said:

I wouldn't rule out the adventure, because there is a lot to see along the way.

FWIW, I agree - for most people this would be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see some of the country they otherwise might never see.  BUT be really sure about your security if you're going to be driving across the country with your stuff in a U-Haul.  I would expect that vehicle to be a target.

[NP_Gresham]

Yep

Crossed the country and enjoyed the trip.

[jdraheim]

Here's an update on my move across country.  I had 135 short boxes (about 14,000 comics) and needed them to be carefully packed and shipped for our move from California to North Carolina.  I hired National Van Lines and their local rep in Valencia, CA built me 8 large wooden crates.  I could fit 16 short boxes into each crate.  I specified the dimensions of the crates so that the boxes would only stack 2 tall.  I wrapped each  short box in plastic packing wrap which helped prevent them from sliding - and with packing blankets wedged in there they were very secure.  The cates were added into the truck along with our furniture and other belongings.  I supervised the loading and unloading of the comics.  Everything went great!  All comics arrived safely.  It was a little costly.  I think it added $4,000 - $5,000 to my move but having collected these comics for close to 50 years I gladly paid it.  

 

Edited April 3 by jdraheim

[shadroch]

Do you get to keep the crates?  They look like they could be repurposed into a nice shed.

Edited March 31 by shadroch