Ghostruck – A New Way to Move

The DIY trend has taken over many industries, but moving isn’t one of them. As anyone who has ever loaded or unloaded heavy furniture can attest, moving is most definitely a process that’s best left to the pros. Ghostruck is a service that walks the line between full-service moving and self-service alternatives, providing a way for people to hire professional movers at a price they can afford.

Whether it’s a couch, an armoire, or a king size bed, the reality is that every move involves at least a few oversized pieces that people shouldn’t be lifting and loading on their own. Snap a photo of the items you’d rather pay someone to move, and tell Ghostruck where those pieces are going. Ghostruck’s web-based application prices out the cost of moving the items you’ve posted and matches your job with a professional mover who’s already heading in your direction. When your move is complete, you can rate the mover and the mover will rate you.

Ghostruck eliminates the back-and-forth negotiations that typically go along with hiring a moving company, and takes advantage of the space available in empty delivery trucks. The entire process of posting items to be moved on Ghostruck takes less than five minutes, which makes the web-based platform an ideal solution for people who don’t have a ton of time to spend pricing out their options before moving from one house or apartment to another.

Practical Uses:

• Hire a mover to take a couch to your new apartment
• Ensure that the mover you hired is licensed and insured
• Mention “junk removal” in your description to have your items disposed of
• Pay a flat rate, regardless of the weight of the items you’re moving

Insider Tips:

• Snap a clear picture of all the items you need to have moved
• Rate movers based on their timeliness and efficiency
• Costs are based on distance and challenges that movers have to negotiate
• Ghostruck uses Stripe to process transactions

What we liked:

• Movers never charge any surcharges or surprise fees
• Every Ghostruck driver is licensed and bonded
• People can have their items moved to a new house, or disposed of completely
• Ghostruck drivers are insured against accidents or losses

What we didn’t like:

• Although Ghostruck is great for smaller moves, it isn’t a true alternative for people who need full-service movers for large projects

Alternatives:

• HireAHelper – http://www.hireahelper.com
• Moving Help – http://www.movinghelp.com
• Unpakt – https://www.unpakt.com

Company Info:

• Launched: 2013
• Privately Held
• Headquarters: Seattle, Washington
• Founded by: Nathanael Nienaber and Matt Hocking
• Web site: http://www.ghostruck.com

Costs:

• Variable pricing