Movers

If you seach discussions on here for the word "flatrate" you will get many very exhaustive threads relevant to your post. The topic has been discussed at legnth many times with much good information being shared. Good luck.

I will probably want two sorts of movers.

One to move a number of smaller things like terrace deck chairs, coffee table and planters which will go to separate locations.

And then a standard moving van that will move a one-bedroom apartment's worth of furniture. Will need them to also be able to take apart the bed and dining table. (Two flights of stairs in a townhouse.)

Thanks again.

Topper: that isn't a terribly unusual move in NYC. Search the threads as I suggest for many recommendations. I have strongly recommended Flatrate; I used them for 3 fairly complicated moves. First they moved contents of my own and my b/f's apartments, sent some items to storage, delivered others to our new rental, and transferred some furniture to a moving truck we rented and drove to a family member's home on Long Island. Then they moved us into a second rental for a year and delivered some of our storage items to the new rental. Finally, they delivered all stored items and rental unit belongings to apartment we bought and took furniture we no longer wanted to a charity. All of this was done with damage limited to a single lampshade. Flatrate will pack for you if you want, handles all electronics and TVs for you, is super careful in the buildings when moving, and has all necessary certificates for even the most demanding coops. They will come before the move to assess if you life and tell you exactly what it will cost. As with all movers, you can negotiate the price a bit (10-15%) just by asking usually.

There are other companies that people have felt positive about too, but my experience over 3 years with Flatrate was very positive and aggravation free.

Many thanks, kylewest.

One related question. And guidance as regards tipping?

Tipping is a subject that posters on here get apoplectic about. My view: depends on size of move, amount of packing guys do, stairs involved, complexity of move (storage, multiple delivery locations, charitable donations delivered for you, etc.). For our move, for crew of 5, I think we tipped about $50 per guy and $75 for the foreman. Maybe I'm a little off--it was 2 years ago.

That's a good tip.. the standard in NYC is about 15% from the total and then the team will split it.. you can read an article we ( http://www.divinemoving.com ) were featured in the daily news http://www.divinemoving.com/dnarticle.html (last paragraph)

we also used Flatrate and were very pleased. Tipped $200 (4 guys - $50 each). Cost of move was $925 (+tip)

We have used flatrate 48 - for the last move, I wold them last minutw that they had to store everything for a week. I tipped 20%.

Typo - 4 times.

Many thanks, folks. Very useful.