Whether it’s your inherited fine china, vintage armoire or midcentury lighting accents, moving your antiques is as stressful as it gets. Not only are they fragile due to age, but they’re also highly valuable — in cost and sentiment.
We recommend JK Moving Services and American Van Lines as the best antique moving companies. JK’s in-house training for its staff is second to none in the industry — all movers are trained in a facility that simulates a real two-story home.
Similarly, American Van Lines employs background-checked and rigorously trained movers who average 10 years on the job. Plus, it offers full-value and extraordinary-value protection, with the latter covering items worth $100 or more per pound.
When booking antique moving services, seek providers explicitly offering extra care and specialized service for high-value items. Some companies train their movers on custom crating and fragile-item moving to get your antiques from point A to point B without damage or breakage. Also, ensure that any mover you consider offers full-value protection for your contents.
We graded each moving company below against our proprietary rating scale for service offerings, coverage area and more. We also looked closely at each mover’s training methods, specialty services for antiques and valuation coverage options.
Popular moving companies
The following moving companies offer quality services for clients with high-value items and antiques, including crating and specialized packing.
Compare top choices for moving companies
Below, we compare our top moving companies nationwide on key metrics. See how they stack up.
Top antique moving companies
The professional movers outlined here offer special care and transportation for antique items, fine art and other high-value goods.
How do you choose an antique moving company?
Moves become more complicated when prized possessions are involved, especially fragile and expensive antique pieces. When booking antique movers, we recommend that you only consider moving carriers.
Always inquire about a moving company’s policy on brokering out specialty services. “I think the No.1 question [customers] should ask is, ‘Is the moving team in-house or does the company subcontract?’” said Ashley Graber, co-owner of NYC-based moving company Cool Hand Movers.
Moving carriers directly handle all moves they book, while moving brokers subcontract moving services to third-party carriers. When moving antiques, you’ll want to choose a moving company that supplies direct labor and assumes full liability for your goods in the event of loss or damage.
Determine the services you need
Aside from antique moving, you’ll likely need a few other services when moving to a new home. Before contacting providers, determine your inventory to ensure accurate quotes.
All movers offer labor for loading and unloading, transportation of goods and released-value protection in their base service packages. Beyond this, they may offer the following:
- Specialized packing for antique items
- Crating for fine art and fragile items
- Climate-controlled storage services
- Packing services
- Vehicle shipping
- Unpacking
- Furniture delivery
- Home staging
- Junk removal
Confirm the movers are properly licensed
All moving companies must comply with either state or federal regulations to legally operate. Moving companies that provide intrastate service usually must be registered with a state moving association. If there is no stand-alone governing body for movers in a state, then movers need basic business licensing and a United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) number.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulates companies offering interstate moving services. This regulatory body requires moving companies to carry active USDOT and Motor Carrier (MC) numbers. Use these numbers to look up a mover’s registration status on the FMCSA database.
Consider the cost and get multiple quotes
The cost of antique moving services can vary depending on your moving company and service requirements. We suggest getting free quotes from at least three moving companies that offer antique-specific add-on options.
Aside from your overall moving quote, custom crating costs for antique furniture and fine art often fall between $100 and $300 per item. Your exact cost will depend on the material and labor required to secure the piece.
Read customer reviews
Consulting customer reviews is the best way to get a sense of a moving company’s reputation. Before gathering quotes, research reviews for each company on multiple platforms, including Google Reviews, Yelp, Trustpilot, BBB and social media.
Read positive, negative and neutral reviews to find common trends. Pay specific attention to reviews from customers who mention antique or fragile-item moving services. Also, look into whether customers felt the claims process was efficient in case you need reimbursement for a damaged item.
Decide whether you need additional insurance
All movers provide a baseline level of moving coverage for loss or damage. This released-value protection offers 60 cents per pound per item in reimbursement. When moving with valuable antiques, choose a company that offers full-value protection or protection for goods of extraordinary value (greater than $100 per pound per item) when you get quotes.
Final take: JK Moving Services and American Van Lines are the best national movers for antiques
Your antiques are likely some of your most prized possessions, so don’t entrust them with just anyone. Get quotes from moving companies that specifically provide antique moving services and have track records of moving fragile items without damaging them.
We especially like JK Moving Services and American Van Lines for antique moving. Both provide well-trained and experienced moving labor along with dedicated full-service care for antiques. They also receive positive customer reviews and have high BBB scores.
We recommend getting at least three professional moving quotes before you book to get a full picture of your potential costs.
Our rating methodology for moving companies
Our moving recommendations are all backed by our detailed rating methodology. To fairly assess both interstate and local movers, we have tailored two sets of review standards for long-distance and intrastate movers.
Both sets of review standards assess factors including reputation and customer satisfaction, availability and range, services offered, pricing and quote practices and customer service. We rate each moving company out of 100 possible points. We then divide the final score by 20 to obtain the 5-star rating we feature in our reviews.
BBB and Google Reviews ratings are accurate as of April 2024.
Editorial note: The name “Homefront” refers to the alliance between USA TODAY and Home Solutions that publishes review, comparison, and informational articles designed to help USA TODAY readers make smarter purchasing and investment decisions about their home. Under the alliance, Homefront provides and publishes research and articles about home service and home improvement topics.
Homefront has an affiliate disclosure policy. The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Homefront editorial staff alone (see About Homefront). Homefront adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is believed to be accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider’s website for the most current information.
Go Back to Top
Typically spanning multiple days of travel time, long-distance moves can be overwhelming and require careful planning. We chose International Van Lines (IVL) and Allied Van Lines as the best long-distance moving companies based on our in-depth review process and secret shopping. Meet the expert Sean Donnelly is a former professional mover. He served as a…
Whether you’re rearranging your living space, relocating to a new home or simply moving your couch across the room, learning the proper way to move furniture will limit the risk of injury to yourself and damage to your belongings. Moving heavy items requires strategy, technique and, above all, safety. While moving a bulky dresser or…
There’s no use crying over spilled milk, but a boxful of broken china or glassware might elicit more than a few tears. The contents of your kitchen cabinets are more than useful and pretty — they are often expensive. Dishes can also hold sentimental value. Packing fragile tableware correctly will help you avoid boxes full…
Effective packing is key to a successful move, and you can achieve this through proper planning and organization. Some of the best packing tips for moving include getting started early, using your items as packing materials and keeping itemized lists of your boxes to track what you packed and where it goes. This guide explores…