Moving Company Estimates

Please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm got two outrageous quotes from a couple of the more so-called reputable moving companies.  The same guy who came to my house handled the estimates for both companies, but these two quotes were nearly 3 times more expensive than the quotes I got off of moving company websites.  Stevens quoted me $8664 for an estimated weight of 3500 lbs., and UniGroup said it would cost $7046 to ship what they thought would be about 3800 lbs.  Both claimed I could fit everything into a 20' container. 

Most of the on-line quotes I received were in the $3000 range for door-to-door service from Buffalo, New York to Liverpool UK.  I'm not taking much, just a small closet full of clothes, a queen sized bed and matching bedroom set--nothing special, a small dining room table w/ 4 chairs, a recliner, 2 medium sized book cases, and 3-4 bookcases worth of books.  Therefore, when I see estimates in the $7000 to $8000 range I'm thinking the estimator who came to my house made some miscalculations.

I guess then, what I'm asking is does that 7-8 thousand dollar estimate sound right for what I'm bringing and where I'm coming from and goin to.  By the way, the house I'm leaving is a ground floor situation, and it's located on a big enough street to handle any size truck, so I'm thinking this shouldn't be a factor in these two outrageous estimates.  I should also say I've tried e-mailing both companies asking for further clarification, but I've yet to receive a reply, so I'm asking any of you who have been up this road before for your advice.

Then again if these prices sound right to you, do you think I should consider just selling my American furniture before I leave and then buy all new stuff in Britain?   Would that option be more cost effective.  I already plan on doing that with my electrical appliances and stereo equipment.  I still have to bring my books and personal items over to the UK somehow though.  Oh well, any advice would be sincerely appreciated.

Thanks!

I actually think your estimates are pretty on the mark. When we moved to the UK in 2002 it cost $7000 to pack and ship our 3 bedroom (1200 sq ft) house from Minneapolis to the London area.

That was 4 1/2 years ago. We've found that moving costs have pretty much doubled in that time. It's costing us twice as much to move back to the US this month.

Do you have time to get another estimate? We've had great luck w/ Allied International - both from the US and now from the UK. They were very professional, but their estimate was the lowest of the three we got each time.

Selling your furniture and buying new here is an option. I'm not sure how cost-effective it would be. You'd have to do some searching online and do some cost comparisons. Keep in mind that most goods are much more expensive in the UK than they would be in the US.

Good luck!