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Interstate movers must be licensed by the Interstate Commerce
Commission (ICC) and registered with the Department of
Transportation (DOT), regulatory agencies of the U.S. government. As
with the regulated states, applicants for an ICC license must have
the proper equipment for the job, a minimum of $10,000 worth of
cargo insurance, and $750,000 worth of liability insurance.
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When you dial the phone number listed for a major van line,
you're actually calling its local agent. The agents book the moves
and own a fleet of trailers. They hire drivers, called
owner-operators, who own tractors to pull those trailers. It's an
owner-operator who actually hauls your goods. (Sometimes the agents
own the tractors, too, and just hire drivers.) Since the partial
deregulation of the trucking industry in 1980, thousands of
additional owner-operators have received ICC licenses.
The price of moving a piano alone a long distance is
prohibitively expensive. For instance, several movers quoted prices
of $1,500 to $2,000 for moving a 1,000 pound piano (such as a large,
crated grand) from New York to California. The price is computed
from both the weight and the distance, but the higher the weight,
the lower the price per pound. This means that a piano moved with a
typical 8,000-pound load of household furniture might cost from less
than one-third to one-half as much as when moved alone. Also, most
long-distance movers have a minimum charge, usually based on weight
of 1,000 pounds, but the minimums could range from 500 to 2,500
pounds. If a piano being moved alone weighs less than the minimum,
it will be charged at the rate for the minimum weight. If you live
in New York and are considering sending your old upright piano to
your child in California, you might be better off selling it locally
instead and sending your child the money to buy one in his or her
area.
In addition to the rate quoted you for moving your piano long
distance—with or without other household goods—there may be
other hidden costs that you should inquire about. Because a piano
requires special packing, a handling charge is usually added on to
the bill. In some cases the moving price includes only the trucking
of the piano and not the cost of moving it in and out of the house.
This may be so when the long-distance mover is equipped to haul
pianos but not to handle them and must hire local piano movers on
both ends of the trip. You may be required to pay the piano movers
directly, which could add several hundred dollars to the moving cost
if you thought all this was included in the bill.
Many people contemplating a major move automatically call a major
van line whose name is a household word. But in most localities
there are also smaller moving companies, sometimes with many years
of experience, that specialize in moves to certain regions of the
country. For instance, in Boston there are companies that specialize
in moves within the New York-New England area and others that
specialize in moves to Florida, where many New Englanders spend the
winter. These small firms sometimes offer more personal service,
more flexible scheduling, and lower prices.
If you are moving your household goods long distance yourself in
a rented truck, the safest and most economical way to move the piano
is to hire local piano movers at both ends to load and unload the
piano.
Moving a piano cross country is our other specialty! To obtain a low, flat-rate
moving quote please call 1-800-241-0001.
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Reprinted with permission from Larry Fine's
The Piano Book. |
