Journal · 15 October 2026 · 4 min read
Depot to depot: how an hourly removalist quote works
What depot to depot means, why we quote a range instead of one number, and what the hourly rate already covers. A plain-English guide from Mullumbimby.
Most local removalists charge by the hour, us included. That bit is simple. What trips people up is when the clock starts, what the rate actually covers, and why the quote comes as a range instead of one tidy number.
When the clock starts and stops
The hourly time starts when the truck leaves our depot in Mullumbimby and stops when it gets back. That's what depot to depot means, and it's how most insured removalists work.
The upside is there's no separate travel fee and no fuel levy stacked on top. The drive is already in the hourly. It also explains why a Tweed Heads job has more travel in it than one in Brunswick Heads, five minutes up the road.
Why you get a range, not a fixed price
Because the bill is real time on the day, nobody can honestly promise you an exact number before the job. What we can do is look at what you're moving, where from, where to, and what the access is like, and compare it with similar jobs we've done. That gives you a sensible low to high range.
There's a two-hour minimum. Past that, a move that goes quicker than expected costs less, simple as that.
What's already in the rate
The truck, the crew, blankets, straps and trolleys. Taking beds apart and putting them back together. Stairs, which we do as standard. Weekends and public holidays are charged at the same rate as a weekday.
If something needs extra gear or an extra pair of hands, like a pool table or a safe, we'll tell you when we quote. Nothing appears on the invoice that you didn't hear about first.
What makes the hours run longer
Access is the big one: stairs nobody mentioned, parking a long way from the front door, an apartment lift that hasn't been booked. Then there's packing. Boxes that aren't finished when we arrive turn into hours on the clock.
Big days do happen. One customer, Zaya, wrote that we started at 9:30am and stayed until 8:30pm, until they were fully moved in. We won't leave a job half done, but we'd much rather the estimate was right from the start. So tell us everything, even the bits that feel minor.
Paying for it
No deposit. You pay at the end, once the job is done and you're happy, by cash or bank transfer.
If you want a range for your own move, call Ariel on 0406 815 801 or fill in the quote form. Tell us the rough size, the two addresses, and anything awkward, and you'll get a straight answer.
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