Binding and non-binding moving estimates
People compare moving quotes by looking at the totals, which is reasonable and also how most of the surprises happen. A quote is a promise about a price, and there are several different promises available.
There are three you are likely to meet, plus the hourly arrangement that most local moves in the metro actually run on. What changes the price on move day is covered in the cost guide. This is about what the paperwork obliges either side to do.
Non-binding: an informed guess
A non-binding estimate is the mover's best assessment of what the job will cost. It is not a cap. If the work takes longer or the load is bigger than assumed, the final bill is based on what actually happened.
That is not a trap in itself, and for a job with genuine unknowns it is honest. The problem is comparing a non-binding estimate against a binding one as though they are the same object. The non-binding figure will usually look lower, because it does not have to absorb any risk.
Binding: a fixed price for a defined job
A binding estimate fixes the price for the work and the inventory it describes. If the job takes longer than expected, that is the carrier's problem rather than yours.
The catch is in the phrase for the work it describes. Add items that were not on the inventory, or change the access at either end, and the binding estimate can be revised or replaced. Binding protects you against the mover being wrong. It does not protect you against you being wrong about what is coming.
This is the type worth asking for when the inventory is settled and the addresses are known, and worth being careful with when you are still deciding whether the garage is coming.
Not to exceed: a ceiling with a downside
A not to exceed estimate, sometimes called binding not to exceed, sets a maximum. If the job runs long, you pay the maximum. If it comes in under, you pay the lower actual figure.
For the customer this is the most favorable of the three, because the risk sits with the carrier and the upside sits with you. It is not always offered, and it will usually carry a higher ceiling than a plain binding quote would carry as a price. That is the trade.
- Non-binding: you pay what the job costs, higher or lower than quoted
- Binding: you pay the quoted figure, provided the job matches the description
- Not to exceed: you pay the lesser of the actual cost and the quoted ceiling
- Hourly: you pay for crew time, so the estimate is really an estimate of hours
How this works on an ordinary local move
Most local moves inside the Des Moines metro are billed hourly, with the rate set by crew size. That makes the estimate a prediction about hours rather than a fixed price, which is why an hourly quote with no estimated hours attached is not something you can compare against anything.
So the useful question on a local move is not only which type of estimate this is, but how many movers and how many hours it assumes, and what happens if the job runs past that. Ask for both numbers and get the answer to the overrun question in writing.
Iowa adds a detail worth knowing here. Household goods movers operating inside the state work against a tariff of rates and charges filed with and approved by the Iowa DOT under Iowa Code chapter 325A, and a carrier may not charge more or less than the rates in it. The estimate is where the tariff meets your specific job.
Before you sign
Read what the document says at the top, not just the number at the bottom. If it does not say which type it is, ask, and ask for the answer to be added.
Then check that the inventory and the addresses on it are right, because on a binding estimate those are the terms. Never sign a blank or partly completed estimate, and keep a copy of what you signed rather than only what you were emailed afterwards.