Why I Chose PODS Over Full-Service Movers from MN to WA
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Minneapolis, MN → Seattle, WA
$2,836
Three-bedroom home, 1,200 square feet
$2,836
Exactly what I was quoted
1,709 mi
Long-distance, interstate
- I compared four quotes before I hired PODS for my Minneapolis to Seattle move.
- My final bill was $2,836, exactly what I was quoted, and nothing arrived damaged despite a very amateur packing job.
- 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 Alex H., who moved from Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Seattle, Washington, in August 2023 using PODS. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
My move from Minnesota to Washington
The University of Washington accepted me into its philosophy PhD program, which meant getting myself and a three-bedroom apartment in Minneapolis 1,709 miles west to Seattle. I had six months to plan it, and I used most of them.
The catch was that I was downsizing hard, from a 1,200-square-foot, three-bedroom place to a one-bedroom apartment on a PhD student’s budget. I also had four guitars and an antique record player to move, so I wanted a company that would keep everything safe in transit. Mostly I wanted to start the program without the move hanging over me, which meant the most straightforward process with the least pressure.
I spent two weeks deciding between full-service interstate movers and moving container companies, using the moving cost calculator to compare. According to moveBuddha, users who compare movers this way save more than 30% versus taking the first quote they get.
My PODS experience at a glance
Here’s what stood out most about moving with PODS, good and bad.
- Communication: PODS called me about five times after I booked to confirm details and give advice, including telling me to use Humidipaks to protect the guitars in transit. That is not a tip I would have thought of myself.
- Pricing accuracy and transparency: I paid $2,836, exactly what I was quoted, with nothing added at either end.
- Professionalism: Every PODS employee I dealt with was friendly, courteous, and helpful, from the phone reps to the drivers.
- Timeliness: PODS showed up on time every single time. The container arrived at 10:30 a.m. as promised, and the delivery driver called an hour ahead.
- Loss and damage: I am not a great packer, and it didn’t matter. Everything arrived in Seattle intact, guitars and record player included.
- Would I use PODS again? Yes, and I’d recommend PODS to anyone planning a long-distance move.
over my original PODS quote
Find out what a move from Minnesota → Washington actually costs before a mover tells you.
Why I chose PODS
With school starting, I had plenty else on my mind, and PODS gave me three-day windows to load and unload rather than a single rushed day with a crew standing there. That flexibility is what sold me. It didn’t hurt that at $2,836 for a standard small container, PODS was also the cheapest option I found.
I got there by spending two weeks on Reddit, Facebook, and Google, asking friends for recommendations, and reading moveBuddha’s list of the best moving companies. As a budget-minded PhD student I got a lot out of the advice on how to negotiate with a moving company. The full-service quotes I collected were appealing because someone else does the loading, and the price tags were steep and the timelines felt rushed.
rating
- 30 days storage included
- Local and long distance moving options
- Unlimited loading/unloading time
- Store on property or at a facility
My move at a glance
Here are the basics of my relocation, including what I was quoted and what I actually paid for my Minneapolis to Seattle move.
| Move date | August 15, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Moved from | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Moved to | Seattle, Washington |
| Distance | 1,709 miles |
| Move size | Three-bedroom home |
| Moving company | PODS |
| Moving quote | $2,836 |
| Actual cost | $2,836 |
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
I got quotes from three full-service movers and one container company. The container came in more than $1,300 below the cheapest full-service option.
| Company | Estimated volume/weight | Estimated cost |
|---|---|---|
| PODS | 689 square feet | $2,836 |
| Colonial Van Lines | 5,000 pounds | $4,187 |
| Safeway Moving | 5,000 pounds | $5,000 |
| American Van Lines | 5,000 pounds | $6,000 |
Pickup day
PODS did exactly what it said it would do. Before the container came, PODS told me where it would sit, shared recommendations on how to pack it, and told me which items couldn’t go in a PODS container.
The driver called an hour before arriving, and the container landed on time at 10:30 a.m. on a Friday with pickup set for Monday morning. That gave me the whole weekend to load, which is exactly what I wanted.
I turned it into a going-away party: I invited several friends over, bought pizza, and got them to help me load. It took the group about two hours to fill the container, say goodbyes, and finish the pizza.
I’ll admit we did not do the most professional packing job. We did nestle the fragile things, a few mirrors and a flat-screen TV, in between softer items so they wouldn’t shift around in transit.
Ahead of the move I bought furniture pads from the U-Haul store, borrowed boxes wherever I could find them, and rounded up every blanket I owned.
Delivery day
PODS collected my container on August 7 and it reached Seattle by August 17, right on time. Communication was sparse while it was in transit, which I understand is normal.
PODS emailed me the evening before the scheduled delivery date with a three-hour window, and the driver called an hour before he arrived the next day. Not a single item was damaged, which still amazes me given the packing job.
The one thing PODS never mentioned was parking permits. Requirements vary so much between cities that I don’t really think a container company can track them all, and I’d tell anyone moving with a container to look up the rules in both the place you’re leaving and the place you’re going. I got my permit well in advance, but local ordinances are fiddly and change often, so treat the permitting as your job rather than theirs.
Final thoughts
My guitars and antique record player made it to Seattle without a scratch, and the move didn’t cost a dollar more than the quoted $2,836. For a cross-country move, that is about as good as it gets.
My one real mistake was downsizing too aggressively. I had a lot of space left over in the container, and I’d sold furniture in Minneapolis only to buy replacements in Seattle. If I had measured more carefully against the container dimensions first, I could have skipped that whole exercise. The hardest part of the move was packing and downsizing, not anything PODS did.
Planning a cross-country move? Use moveBuddha’s moving cost calculator to compare quotes from vetted movers before you book.
My ratings
Here’s how I scored PODS on a scale of 1 to 5 based on my end-to-end experience.
- Communication: 5 out of 5. About five calls after booking, a heads-up email before delivery, and a call an hour before each arrival.
- Timeliness: 5 out of 5. Every drop-off and pickup happened when PODS said it would.
- Quote accuracy: 5 out of 5. The $2,836 estimate was the final bill, with no added line items.
- Overall experience: 5 out of 5. It went better than I expected, and I’d book PODS again without hesitating.
Tips for future movers
These are the practical steps we recommend based on Alex H.’s experience:
- Measure before you downsize: Alex H. sold furniture in Minneapolis, then bought replacements in Seattle, because he assumed the container would be tighter than it was. Get the container dimensions and measure your furniture against them, or lay it out in your living room, before you sell anything.
- Check parking permits in both cities yourself: PODS never raised the subject, and Alex H. sorted his permit well in advance. Requirements vary by municipality and change often, so treat it as your responsibility rather than the container company’s.
- Use the multi-day loading window: Three days to load meant Alex H. could load over a weekend with friends instead of racing a crew’s clock. If a container company offers that window, it is worth real money compared with a full-service timeline.
- Ask the company how to protect unusual items: PODS told Alex H. to use Humidipaks for his four guitars, which is not something most people would think of. Ask specifically about instruments, antiques, and electronics before you pack them.
- Nestle fragile things between soft ones: Alex H. and his friends were amateurs and nothing broke, largely because mirrors and the TV went in between padded items rather than against a wall of the container.
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