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Ship Smart is a moving broker (a company that coordinates moves, but doesn’t actually move your stuff) that specializes in small moves ― from a single piece of furniture to the contents of a small apartment. It offers both residential and commercial long-distance moving across the U.S.
» Sections: Locations | Pricing | Service Options | Contact Info
| Ship Smart: Our Rating | |
|---|---|
| Overall ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | 4 |
| Value | 3 |
| Customer Experience | 3 |
| Credibility | 4 |
| Availability | 4 |
Ship Smart is a good option for people who need to move a couple pieces of furniture or a studio apartment’s worth of belongings. The brokerage takes on smaller moves than traditional moving companies. It also gets pretty good customer reviews, and it can handle urgent moves.
But if you need to move a medium or large amount of stuff a long way, you’d be better off with one of these long-distance moving companies.
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Ship Smart vs. the competition
| Ship Smart | Mayflower | Bellhop Movers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Packing | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Long-distance moves | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Storage | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Learn more | Read review | Read review | Read review |
Ship Smart also has services like packing and storage to make your move easier.
The company is a moving broker, so it finds a local company to do the actual moving, connects you, and coordinates the move. Your experience could vary depending on the mover Smart Ship assigns to you.
Mayflower and Bellhop are companies that actually handle the move, so this comparison isn’t exact. But these companies are two of Smart Ship’s competitors to give you an idea of how it stacks up. They have comparable costs, but these companies can handle moving any amount of stuff. They’ll be a better fit if you’re moving from a larger apartment or house.
Ship Smart: In-depth breakdown
Value
📊 Our rating: 3/5
|
Ship Smart costs less than many other moving companies because it only handles moves under 2,000 pounds. It charges less because it moves less.
Ship Smart quoted us $1,800 to move a studio apartment’s worth of items from Albuquerque to Denver. That’s much less than average long-distance move cost (a minimum of $2,600, according to HomeAdvisor). But the average home contains 7,500 pounds of belongings. So this company won’t work for most people.
Movers come and pick up your items, take them to a warehouse and pack them onto a pallet or in a crate. This custom crating can protect your things much better than just loading them into the back of a truck.
| 💡 Ship Smart’s custom packing and crating is different from packing items into boxes in your home, which is an additional fee. |
Our $1,800 quote included:
- Pickup
- Custom packing
- Inside delivery
Inside delivery is optional. If you don’t mind lifting the boxes into the residence yourself, you can opt for curbside delivery and save a bit.
The quote didn’t include:
- Insurance
- Charges for stairs or elevators
These are going to cost you extra.
Customer Experience
📊 Our rating: 3/5
|
Ship Smart earns generally positive customer reviews, with an average of 3.5 out of 5 stars on Yelp and 4.3 on Trustpilot.
Happy customers like that Ship Smart handles small-item shipping and small moves that larger carriers won’t touch. They also praise Ship Smart’s easy booking and quick pickup times. And lots of customers report that Ship Smart’s carriers carefully pack and crate items.
But there are also some very negative experiences in the reviews. Many people complain that Smart Ship failed to give more than a few minutes’ notice before picking up items, even though it promises advance notice. A handful of customers mentioned loss or damage.
Smart Ship uses different moving carriers because it’s a broker. So these experiences probably differ because some of its carriers perform better than others. If you choose to use Smart move, we recommend looking up reviews for the moving carrier assigned to you.
Credibility
📊 Our rating: 4/5
|
Ship Smart checks out as a moving broker.
Its licensing and insurance is up to date, which means the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration authorized it to broker moves. And Ship Smart is properly registered in California.
Another good sign? Ship Smart earns an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. In other words, Ship Smart is a legitimate broker. You don’t need to worry about it scamming you or stealing your stuff. And if you have issues, the company responds quickly and resolves them.
Based on customer reviews, Smart Ship partners with legitimate moving carriers to transport your items. Still, you may want to check out licensing and insurance information for the carrier Ship Smart ends up connecting you with.
Availability
📊 Our rating: 5/5
|
As a moving broker that partners with over 300 moving carriers, Ship Smart will most likely be available for your move no matter where you live in the U.S.
Smart Ship recommends booking your move at least 10 days before your desired pickup ― faster than the two-week standard for most larger moving carriers. But if you need to move sooner, Smart Ship can often squeeze in same-day or next-day moves for an extra fee.
Smart Ship makes booking fast and easy too. You can get an instant estimate on smartship.com. If you like your quote, you can finish booking your move on Smart Ship’s website. Online booking is a nice feature most moving companies don’t offer.
If you prefer talking with a human, you can get an estimate and book your move by calling the Smart Ship phone number.
🚚 Get a free quote for your move.
Answer a few simple questions and get matched with a vetted moving company that has the right expertise for your move. You’ll get a free quote and there’s no obligation to book.
Get startedAbout Ship Smart
Locations
| Headquarters | 783 Rio Del Mar Blvd., Ste. 9, Aptos, CA 95003 |
Pricing
Smart Ship prices depend on your location, the amount of stuff you have, and which services you need.
You can get an instant ballpark quote from Ship Smart’s pricing calculator. Or you can call Smart Ship to get a more detailed quote.
Service options
- Custom crating and packing
- Long-distance moves
- Small moves
- Small-item shipping
Contact
| Phone | (866) 333-8018 |
| [email protected] | |
| Website | www.shipsmart.com |
Methodology
Value
Our question: Is this moving company worth it?
We start assessing value by requesting a quote from the mover. A quote gives us a breakdown of the company’s fees (hourly rates, truck fees, etc.) and tells us how costs compare to the local and national average.
If a company’s costs are drastically higher than these averages, we can recommend more affordable movers that we’ve also thoroughly vetted. A detailed quote also gives us insight into any additional fees. For example, is packing included, or do you have to pay extra?
Customer experience
Our question: What’s the common user experience for this service?
We look up the mover’s average rating on popular review sites like Yelp, Trustpilot, and Google. Then we read as many reviews as possible to verify the rating and see if any positive or negative themes stand out.
If we notice potential red flags, like lots of damage complaints, we reach out to the customers to see if there’s a cause for concern.
There are also companies who pay people to leave positive reviews. So, if the reviews are glowing, we reach out to reviewers to see if they’re real customers.
Credibility
Our question: Is this company a legitimate business?
Unfortunately, moving scams are fairly common. Lots of people have experienced losing their deposit, movers never showing up, and companies outright stealing their personal items.
To check a company’s credibility, we look for things like Department of Transportation registration, active insurance, and licensing with the appropriate state authorities.
Then we look at sites like the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to check the mover’s accreditation, rating, and any unresolved formal complaints against them.
If all the credibility signals check out, then we give the business a high credibility rating. If something seems off, we reach out to the company and former customers for comment.
Availability
Our question: How bookable is this moving service?
To check if the company can typically accommodate a customer’s desired moving date, we ask the company how soon we’d be able to move. Then we ask if the date is flexible.
We also comb Department of Transportation records to see how many trucks and drivers the mover has. A small fleet is a sign that the mover has limited capacity. The company might not be able to handle lots of moves during a busy season.
