Removalists love to advertise an hourly rate. It's a great marketing number because it sounds small and it commits to nothing — the rate tells you the price per hour, not how many hours the job will take. Two companies can quote the same rate and land hundreds of dollars apart on the same house.
That's why we quote a fixed price for the whole job instead. But whoever you end up using, it helps to know what actually moves the number. Here's the honest version.
How long the job really takes
This is the biggest factor by a mile, and it's the one hourly quotes leave up to chance. As a rough guide from our own jobs: a studio or 1-bedroom is usually 2-3 hours with 2 movers. A 2-bedroom is around 4 hours. A 3-bedroom runs 5-7 hours and we'd almost always put 3 movers on it — the bigger crew finishes enough faster that it works out better for the customer, not worse. A 4-5 bedroom family home is a full day, 7-9 hours with 3-4 movers.
Those are ranges, not promises. A packed 2-bedroom with a garage full of tools takes longer than a sparse 3-bedroom.
Access at both ends
Stairs, no lift, long carries from the truck to the door, tight driveways, restricted street parking — each of these slows a job down noticeably, and access at the new place matters just as much as the old one. This is the single most common thing people forget to mention when getting quotes, and it's the most common reason a cheap quote turns into an expensive invoice.
How much there actually is
Bedroom count is a proxy, not a measurement. What matters is volume: how full the wardrobes are, whether the garage is coming, how many boxes you've got. Give whoever's quoting you an honest picture and you'll get an honest number.
Distance and the route
Pickup to drop-off, plus how far the crew travels to reach you. Crossing between Brisbane and the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast adds drive time — and the time of day matters, because the M1 on a Friday afternoon is a different road to the M1 on a Tuesday morning.
Timing
End of month, weekends and school holidays are the busiest windows in Queensland removals. If your dates are flexible, a mid-week move mid-month is the easiest job to book and usually the smoothest one to run.
Specialty items
Pianos, pool tables, safes, gym equipment and anything needing disassembly need extra crew or specific gear. None of these are a problem — but they need to be mentioned before the day, not discovered on it.
What shouldn't be a separate line item
Some companies quote low and bolt these on afterwards. If any of them aren't already in the number you've been given, you're not comparing like with like:
- ✓GST — must be included in the quoted figure
- ✓Insurance — basic goods-in-transit cover should be standard
- ✓Trolleys, blankets, straps and basic wrapping
- ✓Travel time between the two properties
- ✓Fuel
How to compare quotes properly
Ask every company for a fixed price for your specific job, not a rate. Tell all of them the same details — size, both addresses, stairs, parking, date, anything unusual. If one won't give you a fixed number, that's useful information about how the invoice is likely to look.
Our quotes are free, take a couple of minutes, and there's no obligation to book. Whatever we quote is what you pay.
Now stop reading, let's do it.
Get a fixed quote in under 60 seconds. No phone tag, no pressure — just an honest price.