Movers

Check out these guys:
FlatRate Movers-- flatrate.com (I just used them. They were recommended to me by friends. They were pretty good and fast. They give you a total "price" upfront instead of an hourly estimate. Not to be confused with Flat Rate Moving and Storage-- www.flatratemovers.com which give you an hourly rate)

Oz Moving-- ozmoving.com (Their hourly rate quote was a bit more expensive, but they use more men and I see their trucks all over the city, so lots of people probably use them. They have an office in the upper east side in the 70's)

UM Moving-- ummoving.com (I know people who used them and thought they were pretty good. They give you an hourly rate)

Key Moving and Storage-- keymoving.com (Also used them once and they were decent. They are based in the Bronx)

You should also check for yourself with BBB.org to see if there are any issues with each of these companies.

I think you gave the wrong link for Flat Rate. I also used them and found them quick and well priced. I would definitely recommend them.

http://www.flatrate.com/

http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/talk/discussion/3372-movers

http://www.flatrate.com/ Reliable and relaxing in a time of stress. They say what they'll do and then do what they said. No price surprises. If you are pleased with the estimate you are done: that's what you'll pay. Like any movers, keep an eye on them--they aren't going to be pointing out what they damage to you, but in my case it was limited to a $40 lampshade out of an entire household of stuff. I can live with that.

Yup, I nominate Flat Rate as well. No surprises, very reasonable cost.

Moving companies assemble freelance crews, so I've always found it hard to call any one mover "reliable" because you don't necessarily get the crew that you got last time, or that your friends got.

Buy insurance on anything that is important to you, and have specialty movers move anything really difficult -- like a piano.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

thank you for the suggestions.

For the record. Flat rate wanted 2.5x what everyone else was asking.

We have used Westside Movers 3 times and were happy. Also had the same crew (for the most part) each time.

when we bought our furniture from B&B Italia, they sent Celebrity, they were so good that i used them when i moved offices as well, so i used them for commercial and residential.

One more thing to keep in mind-most movers charge per hour for local moves which includes the extra "travel time" for the crew (I got quotes from 0.5 to 1.5 hours extra) and potential waiting time and delays if you have slow/broken elevator issues. If you know that your building's elevators are going to work 100% on your moving day, then perhaps hourly is the way to go. But if you think that your elevators could cause problems, you might want to consider factoring that into your hourly quote. I know someone who moved out of the Anthem (that nice, "newer" rental building on 34th St.). You'd think that the elevators would have been fine, but they paid for 5 instead of 3 hours of moving because the service elevator broke down on the day of their move.
I'd recommend getting multiple quotes and comparing the numbers based on potentially how many hours you think it would take to move everything.

movingyourway.com
if you are into a nice bargain, they are the best movers for you. efficient. nice. professional. And the price is so reasonable. We had a great experience with them (moving from Manhattan to Brooklyn, 1BR)

flatrate was the best i've ever used. Oz ripped me off with hidden charges - never again.

Flatrate is by the far the best.

goto http://www.divinemoving.com and use the online free quote request...

When considering any moving company, I'd also suggest checking out www.movingscam.com (I think that's the website). They give lots of helpful suggestions on researching your movers and how to size them up pre-move. You should also consider a "not to exceed" guarantee so you aren't hit with any surprises when it comes time to pay your bill. I agree with the person who commented that a reliable moving company once doesn't guarantee that the same company will be great again. I've been in a situation where I asked for the same crew and that worked well. But it doesn't always....