My Texas to Colorado Move Phone Quote Cost Me $2,100 Extra
Fact Checked by: 
Houston, TX → Denver, CO
$3,600
Phone estimate, 463 cubic feet
$5,700
$2,100 over, on volume and carries
1,030 mi
Delivered in 12 days
- I compared four quotes for my Texas to Colorado move, and they ranged from $3,500 to $5,850.
- I took a phone estimate to save time and paid $2,100 over it, because my shipment was bigger than I’d described and needed a long carry at both ends.
- 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 Kelly, who moved from Houston, Texas, to Denver, Colorado, in March 2024 using Mayzlin Relocation. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
My move from Texas to Colorado
My husband and I had just gotten married and we were ready to trade the swampy heat of Houston for mountain air. Us, our cat, a one-bedroom apartment’s worth of things, and two cars, 1,030 miles northwest.
This was my first interstate move and I was nervous about it. I briefly thought about roping in friends and family to do it ourselves, and that seemed like too much chaos for an already busy stretch of life, so a full-service mover it was. I needed a company that balanced speed with affordability, and more than anything I needed to believe my boxes would actually arrive in Denver.
We’d been planning this move for a year and a half and still ended up in a scramble at the end. moveBuddha’s guides to the best interstate movers, moving out of state, and car shipping companies are what got me oriented fast. According to moveBuddha, users who compare movers this way save more than 30% versus taking the first quote they get.
My Mayzlin Relocation experience at a glance
Here’s what stood out most about moving with Mayzlin Relocation, good and bad.
- Communication: Friendly and competent, and they didn’t manage my expectations well. A few misunderstandings put me on edge, and most of them came down to my not knowing how this industry works.
- Pricing accuracy and transparency: I paid $5,700 against a $3,600 quote. That’s a $2,100 gap, and the honest cause is that I took a hasty phone estimate for a shipment nobody had looked at.
- Professionalism: Mayzlin and their car shipping partner, Experient, were kind and professional the whole way through.
- Timeliness: My lowest rating at 2. My things sat in Austin for nine days waiting for a full truck to Denver, and the whole thing took 12 days against an estimate of five to seven.
- Loss and damage: A step ladder went missing and a shelving unit picked up cosmetic damage. I’m filing a claim for the ladder.
- Would I use Mayzlin Relocation again? Yes, with a caveat: know what questions to ask and set your expectations before you book, because I didn’t.
over my original Mayzlin quote
Find out what a move from Texas → Colorado actually costs before a mover tells you.
Why I chose Mayzlin Relocation
Their quote was comparable to everyone else’s. What sold me was the salesperson, who was competent, transparent, and easy to talk to at a point when I badly needed someone who sounded like they knew what they were doing.
Here’s the part I’d change. I wanted to take my time and request in-person or virtual estimates, and I didn’t have the bandwidth, so I only approached companies that would quote from a list of items I described myself. That decision is the reason this story has a $2,100 in it, and I’ll come back to it.
After I signed, a quality assurance team member called to double-check the quote and I paid a 25% deposit to hold the date. The $3,600 covered mileage, gas, taxes and tolls, an itemized inventory list, moving blankets, basic furniture disassembly and reassembly, and standard contents protection at $1.20 per pound per article. I did not buy the long carry add-on, which I needed at both ends.
Mayzlin doesn’t ship cars, so they pointed me at Experient Auto Shipping, who quoted $675 for open transport. I took the referral because I trusted Mayzlin. Shipping the second car also let me pack 100 pounds of belongings inside it, which trimmed the moving bill a little.
rating
- Family-owned, with locations covering the East Coast
- Full refund if you cancel within 7 days of your move
- Hands-on customer service
- 24/7 support
- Price-matching policy
My move at a glance
Here are the basics of my relocation, including what I was quoted and what I actually paid for my Houston to Denver move.
| Moved from | Houston, Texas |
|---|---|
| Moved to | Denver, Colorado |
| Distance | 1,030 miles |
| Move date | March 19, 2024 |
| Move size | 1 bedroom apartment (quoted at 463 cubic feet, actually 518) |
| Moving company | Mayzlin Relocation |
| Moving quote | $3,600 |
| Actual cost | $5,700 (plus $675 for car shipping) |
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
Here’s how my four quotes stacked up, cheapest first. All four priced the same 463 cubic feet, because all four were working from the same list I’d given them.
| Company | Estimated volume | Estimated cost |
|---|---|---|
| MiniMoves | 463 cubic feet | $3,500 |
| Mayzlin Relocation | 463 cubic feet | $3,600 |
| American Van Lines | 463 cubic feet | $3,900 |
| NorthStar Moving Company | 463 cubic feet | $5,850 |
Look at that volume column. Every single company estimated 463 cubic feet, and my move was actually 518. That’s not four companies independently agreeing, it’s four companies pricing the same self-reported list. Identical volume estimates across every quote is a sign nobody has looked at your things, not a sign the number is right.
Pickup day
Mayzlin’s moving coordinator called a week ahead to confirm my date, and the quality assurance team called five days out to validate the packing list and make any last changes to the quote. My husband and I spent that time packing and clearing out as much as we could to save space.
The crew arrived on time at 10:30 a.m. on March 19, toward the end of the window, which suited me because it bought me more packing time.
The three-person crew got straight to work and loaded everything in two and a half hours. I was nervous, so I stayed present the entire time, watching and answering questions. I wish they’d used more moving blankets on some things, my sound bar in particular, and I should have said so at the time rather than noting it afterward. Otherwise they did well. I paid 50% of the remaining balance by Zelle, with the last 25% due on delivery.
Then the numbers moved. My 463 cubic feet was actually 518. On top of that I owed $290 for additional labor and materials and $450 for a long carry, because my apartment was a long way from the loading dock. None of that was Mayzlin inventing charges. It was the gap between what I’d described on the phone and what was standing in my apartment.
The car shipping ran perfectly by comparison. I paid Experient by credit card on March 14, with the balance due to the driver at pickup. They texted a week ahead with the driver’s details, he called on the 19th to confirm the time, and he put me at ease immediately. On the 20th he called from 45 minutes out, arrived on time, and told me the car would take three to four days. I asked him to hold delivery until the 23rd because we’d still be driving up from Houston, and he was happy to.
Delivery day
My things went to Austin and sat there for nine days while Mayzlin waited for a full enough truckload to run to Denver. I’d been told five to seven days, so watching the shipment stay in one place for a week was unnerving. They reassured me it would move soon, and it did.
What I didn’t understand at the time is that five to seven days was an estimate, not a commitment, and that movers generally have up to 30 days to deliver. Had I known, I’d have packed completely differently. I drove to an apartment with no pots and pans in it because I assumed my kitchen would be a week behind me.
Total transit was 12 days. It also surprised me that the driver and unloading crew weren’t the same people who’d loaded in Houston, which I’ve since learned is completely normal.
Delivery took some doing. The driver parked in an alley and was worried the truck wouldn’t fit, and it just barely did. Mayzlin includes the first 75 feet of carry and bills for every additional 75 feet, so the long carry got me at both ends. That’s standard, and unless you can park directly outside your door you should budget for it.
The two-person crew took three hours to unload and reassemble everything, and it would have been faster if the screws for my couch hadn’t vanished somewhere in transit. My husband made a hardware store run so they could finish.
I wish they’d been gentler with my things. A step ladder never turned up and a shelving unit has cosmetic damage. I’m submitting a claim for the ladder.
My car arrived in Denver on the 22nd and the driver held it a day as agreed. I picked it up on the 23rd and paid the balance by Zelle. He was communicative and friendly from start to finish, and I wouldn’t change a thing about that half of the move.
Final thoughts
Here’s how I rated Mayzlin on a scale of 1 to 5: communication 3, timeliness 2, quote accuracy 3, and overall experience 3.
Those are critical numbers for a move that mostly went fine, and I’ll own most of the reason. The single decision that shaped everything was taking a phone estimate because I was in a hurry. Nobody from any of those four companies laid eyes on my apartment, so all four quoted the same 463 cubic feet from my own description, and my move was 518. A virtual walkthrough takes 20 minutes and would have caught it, along with the long carry from my building to the loading dock.
Two other things I misread. I treated the five to seven day delivery estimate as a promise, and it isn’t one. And I assumed the crew that loaded my truck would be the crew that unloaded it. Both of those are normal industry practice, and knowing either would have saved me a week of anxiety and an apartment with no cookware in it.
What I’d do differently: get a virtual or in-person estimate even under time pressure, buy the long carry add-on if there’s any chance you’ll need it, pack a box of essentials assuming you’ll wait a month, and speak up during loading the moment something bothers you. I watched the crew handle my sound bar in a way I didn’t love and said nothing. You’re a paying customer and you’re allowed to ask.
I’d also hire packers. I scoffed at the idea before I did the packing myself, and I’m not scoffing now.
The car shipping was the easiest part of the whole move. If your budget allows it, shipping a second car rather than driving it is worth every dollar, and it let me put 100 pounds of belongings in the car for free.
Would I use Mayzlin again? Yes. The damage was minimal, the people were kind, and now that I know what to ask I’d have a very different experience.
Getting quotes under time pressure? Use moveBuddha’s moving cost calculator to sanity-check a phone estimate before you accept it.
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Tips for future movers
These are the practical steps we recommend based on Kelly’s experience:
- Never take a phone estimate on an interstate move: All four of Kelly’s quotes priced the same 463 cubic feet from her own description, and her shipment was 518. A virtual walkthrough takes 20 minutes and would have closed most of a $2,100 gap.
- Treat identical quotes as a warning, not a confirmation: When every company returns the same volume, it means nobody has looked at your things. Real estimates disagree with each other.
- Buy the long carry add-on if there’s any doubt: Kelly declined it and paid $450 at pickup, then got billed again at delivery. Movers typically include the first 75 feet and charge past that, so measure from the truck’s likely parking spot to your door.
- Read the delivery estimate as an estimate: Kelly’s five to seven days became 12, with nine of them in an Austin warehouse waiting for a full truckload. Contracts commonly allow 30 days.
- Pack a one-month essentials box: Kelly arrived in Denver without pots and pans because she expected her kitchen a week later. Assume the long end of the window.
- Speak up during loading: Kelly watched her sound bar get wrapped in a way she wasn’t happy with and said nothing. Asking a crew to redo something isn’t micromanaging, it’s the job you’re paying for.
- Ship the second car: Kelly’s cost $675 and went flawlessly, and the shipper let her pack 100 pounds of belongings inside it at no charge.
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