Moving companies listed here can assist Stanford faculty, employees and students with their relocation needs to and from Stanford, including international moves, and may offer advantageous pricing. If obtaining information from one or more of these companies about their services and prices, be sure to mention that company's E&I (Educational & Institutional Cooperative Purchasing) contract number and identify yourself as an E&I Member, because of your affiliation with Stanford University.
The Educational and Institutional Cooperative Service, Inc. (E&I Cooperative) is a not-for-profit buying cooperative of which Stanford is a member. E&I provides goods and services to its members at the best possible value. The Cooperative is owned by its membership of more than 1500 tax-exempt colleges, universities, prep schools, hospitals, medical research institutions and hospital purchasing organizations located throughout the United States.
Stanford works with moving companies under contract with E&I Cooperative. Although the person being moved is not required to use the companies listed below, these companies may offer better pricing than non-E&I movers.
Contact moving companies to arrange for an onsite survey of items to be moved, and identify yourself as an E&I member. Make sure to show each mover all items to be moved so that an "apples to apples" comparison can be made of the quotes. It is recommended to get quotes from multiple suppliers. This should provide enough competitive information to make a decision and select the right company for your needs.
For more information, review the E&I contracted companies, SIRVA Worldwide and UniGroup on the E&I Cooperative Services website.
If there is a problem contacting or obtaining a response from one of the E&I contracted moving companies, please contact the E&I Cooperative Services.
- Review Stanford's Administrative Guide and especially Moving of Household and Personal Effects, to know what items will and will not be covered in the reimbursement package.
- Know how much Stanford is willing to reimburse (any amount above that will be the payee’s responsibility).
- Get multiple bids, in writing.
- Be sure to show the estimator all the items that must be moved. It's better to have a comprehensive and written list of all items, and have the estimator sign off on it (occasionally the bill is substantially higher than the quote, and the reason given by the moving company is that the estimator was not shown everything).
- Written quotes should either guarantee their price or should guarantee a not-to-exceed percent over the quotation.
- Maintain written notes with the names, titles and phone numbers of the persons spoken to at the moving companies, and make note of the details of each conversation.