My company is relocating me from LA to the Dallas area

[soumitss]

Hello all. My company is relocating me from LA to the Dallas area in the fall and giving me a fixed relocation allowance, which means every dollar over comes out of my pocket. Three bedrooms of furniture, a garage full of tools and my wife's pottery kiln. I have never done an interstate move and the quotes I have back so far are structured completely differently from each other. What should I be asking, and is a flat rate safer than pricing by weight for a load like this? The kiln is heavy and awkward and my wife is not leaving it behind.

[hydrogenn]

Flat rate is safer, because a weight based quote can move on you at the scale and you find out after the truck is loaded, which is the worst possible moment to be negotiating. Ask for a binding number against a written inventory. The kiln should be listed separately, it is heavy and awkward and you do not want it treated as a surprise. We used movers from California to Texas with a locked price and the number held. Get the delivery window in writing too, since long distance loads share trucks and a vague window is where the frustrating stories start. Photograph the tools and the kiln before loading, claims on specialty items go far more smoothly with dated pictures.