My Review of Moving from Arizona to Pennsylvania
Fact Checked by: 
Phoenix, AZ → Philadelphia, PA
$4,298
830 cubic feet, plus six months of storage
$5,550
+$1,252 to finish the delivery myself
2,345 mi
Long-distance, interstate
- I compared five container quotes before I hired 1-800-PACK-RAT for my Phoenix to Philadelphia move, and storage is what decided it.
- My container was picked up in January and delivered in July, and the last mile cost me an extra $1,252 because the truck couldn’t reach my street.
- I shared all of it, my quotes, my bills, and my ratings, as part of moveBuddha’s Better Moves Project.
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This account is based on a conversation with Carrie W., who moved from Phoenix, Arizona, to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 2023 using 1-800-PACK-RAT. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
My move from Arizona to Pennsylvania
In late 2022 my wife and I were itching for a new adventure. Most of our friends and family live on the East Coast, so we made the 2,345-mile move from Phoenix to Philadelphia, escaping the heat and getting closer to the people we care about. We’re both remote workers, which made it possible, and we brought our elderly cat and dogs with us.
Along with the pets, we had a two-bedroom, two-bathroom house to move, about 6,000 pounds including glassware and family heirlooms. Honestly the fragile things worried me less than the logistics did. I planned to rent vacation homes in Philly to get to know the city before buying, which meant I needed a company that could store everything between our January move date and whenever we found a permanent address, in a secure facility with climate control. I also needed everything moved in one go, with no return trips and no rental truck, because driving is hard on elderly pets. That’s a lot of must-haves, and I was sure the right company was out there.
I spent a weekend searching obsessively and found moveBuddha, where I used the moving cost calculator to work out how much space I needed and get a ballpark figure. The Better Moves Project interviews were the most useful part, because they showed me how each company’s policies played out in real life. According to moveBuddha, users who compare movers this way save more than 30% versus taking the first quote they get.
My 1-800-PACK-RAT experience at a glance
Here’s what stood out most about moving with 1-800-PACK-RAT, good and bad.
- Communication: Customer service was responsive at every step, and different reps told me different things, which is what delayed my delivery.
- Pricing accuracy and transparency: Miscommunication led to extra fees that 1-800-PACK-RAT later refunded. I also paid an additional $1,000 to hire a truck and crew to complete the delivery myself.
- Professionalism: Friendly at every stage, even through the frustrations.
- Timeliness: Pickup in January was seamless. Delivery in July was delayed, entirely because of crossed wires.
- Loss and damage: Everything arrived intact with no damage, which I credit largely to six months in a climate-controlled facility.
- Would I use 1-800-PACK-RAT again? No. I’d use PODS instead, for reasons that come down to my destination rather than the company.
over my original 1-800-PACK-RAT quote
Find out what a move from Arizona → Pennsylvania actually costs before a mover tells you.
Why I chose 1-800-PACK-RAT
I briefly considered full-service movers before realizing moving container companies were the answer, purely because of the storage. I spent two weeks looking and reached out to five container companies. MovingPlace came in cheapest by a wide margin and didn’t offer storage, which ruled them out for me.
I did a lot of research on 1-800-PACK-RAT and loved the reviews, the customer service, the security, and their reputation for handling moves carefully. They also had a price-matching policy, so the value was good. I’d hoped to do the whole quoting process online and quickly learned that talking to a rep was the way to go. I negotiated the fuel surcharge down and picked up seasonal container discounts that were never shown online. My $4,298 covered container drop-off and pickup, cross-country transportation, and secure storage at the destination. To save more, I found free boxes and bought packing materials on Black Friday.
rating
- Barn-style container doors make packing easier
- Available for both local and long distance moves
- $10k insurance included with option to purchase more
- Free lock provided for container door
My move at a glance
Here are the basics of my relocation, including what I was quoted and what I actually paid for my Phoenix to Philadelphia move.
| Move date | January 27, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Moved from | Phoenix, Arizona |
| Moved to | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Distance | 2,345 miles |
| Move size | Two-bedroom, two-bathroom house (6,000 pounds) |
| Moving company | 1-800-PACK-RAT |
| Moving quote | $4,298 |
| Actual cost | $5,550 |
We found that when you use moveBuddha’s moving cost calculator, you can save 30% on moving costs compared to customers who go with the first quote they receive.
Quotes I compared
Five container companies quoted my move, and the range was tighter than I expected once you set MovingPlace aside.
| Company | Estimated volume/weight | Estimated cost |
|---|---|---|
| MovingPlace | 12-foot truck | $2,821 |
| U-Pack | N/A | $4,222 |
| 1-800-PACK-RAT | 6,000 pounds (830 cubic feet) | $4,298 |
| Zippy Shell | N/A | $4,609 |
| PODS | 16-foot trailer | $4,650 |
Other 1-800-PACK-RAT customers’ stories helped me too, including Desmond’s move from Oregon to Ohio and Batool’s move from California to Texas.
Pickup day
The sales team was genuinely helpful and explained the process thoroughly, so I went into pickup feeling confident. They called ahead with information about measurements and clearance for the container, and I told them exactly where to place it and which way I wanted the doors facing.
The container arrived on January 18, and I had as much time to pack it as I wanted. That flexibility mattered more than I expected, because I am a procrastinator and most container companies give you three days. When I finished, I called to schedule pickup.
They collected the container and transported it to a storage facility in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, where it sat while my wife and I got to know Philadelphia and readied our Phoenix house for rent. The plan was that once we found a home, I’d call with the address and schedule delivery. At this stage everything was seamless and I loved it.
Delivery day
Delivery was where it fell apart. I gave 1-800-PACK-RAT my address on July 3 and asked whether I needed to get the container parking permit or whether they would. The rep said they’d apply for it and I just needed to collect it.
By July 11 I hadn’t heard anything. When I called, a different rep told me the permit was my responsibility. It was a tight deadline and I managed to pay the fee and get the permit in time. I borrowed parking cones from my neighbors and put out “No Parking” signs ahead of the delivery.
Then on July 15, 1-800-PACK-RAT called to say they couldn’t deliver to my street at all, because there wasn’t enough clearance. Instead I’d need to collect my things from the Cherry Hill facility. I’d already paid $250 for a permit I no longer needed, which they offered to refund.
So I hired a separate moving company to meet me at Cherry Hill, loaded everything into a rented 16-foot Penske truck, and paid another $1,000 to get my own belongings to my own house. Everything arrived intact, which after six months in storage was the outcome I actually cared about.
Final thoughts
Pickup and storage in January were excellent, and delivery in July was not. I think the season explains a lot of it. Winter is off-peak for container companies and I got a high degree of attention. July is peak, and that’s when the crossed wires started.
Some of this is on me. I should have followed up within a few days of giving them my delivery address rather than waiting a week. If I’d chased it sooner I could have saved the permit money and avoided the scramble at the end. Some of it is on them: once they knew they couldn’t deliver to my door, I think the price should have been re-quoted, since I was effectively doing the last leg myself.
The container itself cost $4,298, and the rental truck and movers brought my total to $5,550. Looking back, I should have asked Philadelphia locals about moving companies instead of working mostly with the Phoenix branch. 1-800-PACK-RAT was relatively new in Philadelphia, and most Philly residents use PODS, which delivers to just about any street in the city. Service and experience differ by location, so check local reviews before you book. Frustrations aside, I moved on my own terms and timeline, my pets and my heirlooms all made it, and I’m glad to be a Philly resident.
Comparing container companies for your own move? Use moveBuddha’s moving cost calculator to get real quotes before you book.
My ratings
Here’s how I scored 1-800-PACK-RAT on a scale of 1 to 5 based on my end-to-end experience.
- Communication: 3 out of 5. Always responsive, and two reps gave me opposite answers about who was getting the parking permit.
- Timeliness: 3 out of 5. Flawless in January, delayed in July, with the delivery cancelled on the day.
- Quote accuracy: 4 out of 5. The $4,298 held for what they actually did. The extra $1,252 was the work they couldn’t complete.
- Overall experience: 3 out of 5. Six months of climate-controlled storage with zero damage, undercut by a delivery I had to finish myself.
More moving resources
Tips for future movers
These are the practical steps we recommend based on Carrie W.’s experience:
- Ask whether your street can take a container before you book: Carrie W.’s delivery was cancelled on the day for lack of clearance, after she’d already bought a permit. Measure your street, and ask your building or city, before the container is loaded 2,000 miles away.
- Understand door-to-door versus terminal pricing: Container companies price door-to-door, door-to-terminal, terminal-to-door, and terminal-to-terminal differently, and terminal-to-terminal is always cheaper because they skip the local delivery. If your company can’t reach your door, ask to be re-quoted at the terminal rate rather than paying the door price.
- Rent the truck yourself rather than hiring a crew: Carrie W. paid $1,000 for a company to meet her at the terminal. Renting a truck and collecting the items herself would have cost a fraction of that.
- Chase your mover within 48 hours, not a week: Eight days passed between Carrie W. giving her delivery address and learning the permit was her job. Following up sooner would have saved both the money and the scramble.
- Get who-does-what in writing, especially permits: Two reps gave Carrie W. opposite answers. Ask for the answer by email so there’s a record you can point to.
- Check reviews for the local branch, not just the company: 1-800-PACK-RAT was new in Philadelphia, and Carrie W. dealt mostly with Phoenix. Ask people who live near your destination which container company actually services their streets.
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