What £130 covers
- One or two crew, set by what the item weighs and where it is going
- The van, the fuel, the mileage and the parking at both ends
- Blankets and straps, so the piece arrives in the condition it left in
- The Congestion Charge at £18 and ULEZ where they apply
- Carrying it to the room you want it in rather than leaving it in the hall
- Goods in transit cover on the item while it is with us
Jobs we have priced
Four real single item jobs with the access at both ends, so you can find the one that looks like yours.
Tottenham Court Road to Clerkenwell
Three seat sofa collected from a shop, delivered to a second floor flat with a lift. Two crew, forty minutes of driving.
£130
Camden to Bermondsey
Marketplace wardrobe from a fourth floor walk-up, dismantled at the collection end to get it down the stairs, rebuilt at the other.
£205
Mayfair to Chelsea
Marble console table, one piece, two crew and a blanket rather than a courier, ground floor at both ends and a short run.
£115
Ikea Greenwich to Shoreditch
Flat pack for a whole bedroom, collected from the trade counter, carried to a third floor with a goods lift.
£145
What the item and the floor do to the price
| Situation | Price |
|---|---|
| One item, ground floor or lift at both endsThe base job. A sofa, a mattress, a bookcase, a bike. One crew member can often manage it. | £90 to £125 |
| One item, stairs at one endTwo crew from here up. A three seat sofa up two flights is not a one person carry. | £120 to £165 |
| A heavy or awkward piece, stairs at both endsWardrobes, marble, safes, anything that has to come apart to leave the room. | £160 to £220 |
| Two or three items on the same runCheaper together than as separate bookings, as long as the addresses line up. | £145 to £230 |
What moves the figure
- How many people it takes to lift+£35 to £60
- The main thing. A bookcase is one person, a three seat sofa is two, a marble top is two with a plan. Weight decides the crew and the crew decides the price.
- The floor at each end+£25 to £80
- Ground to ground is the cheap version. Fourth floor walk-up to fourth floor walk-up on the same item can double the figure.
- Whether it comes apart+£25 to £55
- A wardrobe that will not go down a period staircase assembled has to be dismantled and rebuilt. We do it, and it is time rather than a separate charge.
- A collection slot you do not control+£20 to £45
- Shops and warehouses give you a window rather than a time. Where we have to wait for a trade counter, that is in the price rather than added after.
- Distance beyond the centre+£25 to £65
- Within Zone 1 the drive is a small part of the job. Out to Greenwich, Wembley or Croydon it becomes a real part of it.
- Same day or a fixed hour+£35 to £65
- A named hour on a named day costs more than a morning slot, because it means holding the van rather than routing it with other work.
Why couriers are cheaper until they are not
A parcel network will quote £40 for a sofa and mean kerb to kerb, one person, no stairs, no insurance worth the name once you read what furniture is excluded. Half the marketplace pickups we do in Central London are jobs a courier accepted and then abandoned at the front door because the flat was on the third floor.
What you are buying at £130 is two people who will carry it up, take a door off if the door is the problem, and cover the piece if it gets damaged. For a bookcase going to a ground floor flat, use the courier. For anything above the first floor, or anything you would be upset to scratch, do not.
Marketplace pickups, and the seller who is not there
Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree and eBay collections are most of this work, and they fail in the same two ways. The seller has not measured the item, or the seller has not thought about how it leaves their own flat. A wardrobe that went up in pieces has to come down in pieces, and the seller is often surprised by that.
Give us the seller's floor as well as your own when you ask for a price. It is the question people forget and it is the one that changes the number, because a fourth floor collection and a fourth floor delivery are two separate climbs on the same booking.
The heavier end, priced separately
Pianos, safes and pool tables we do, and they are quoted as their own job rather than as a single item, because they need the right crew and a look at the staircase first. Each has its own page with the weights, the door clearances and what it costs. What we will not do is take one at a day's notice.
We also will not quote sight unseen for a piece that clearly will not fit through the door it needs to go through. Where the measurements are tight, send a photo of the doorway and the staircase and we will tell you honestly whether it is going to work.
How to bring the number down
Every one of these is something you can do rather than something we can discount.
- Give a morning or afternoon window rather than a fixed hour
- Combine two or three items into one booking if the addresses are near each other
- Have the item dismantled and by the door before we arrive
- Measure the doorway and the staircase before you buy, not after
- Ask the seller for their floor number and whether there is a lift, then tell us
- Book a weekday rather than a Saturday
Single item delivery costs: common questions
How much does it cost to deliver a single item in Central London?
Between £90 and £220 including VAT, and most single item jobs land near £130. Ground floor or a lift at both ends sits at £90 to £125. A heavy piece with stairs at both ends sits at £160 to £220. The figure covers the crew, the van, the blankets, the parking and the Congestion Charge.
How much to move a sofa across Central London?
Around £130 for a three seat sofa going between addresses with a lift or a ground floor, and £160 to £190 where there are stairs at both ends. Two crew either way, because a three seat sofa is not a one person carry once a staircase is involved.
Can you collect from Ikea, a shop or a warehouse?
Yes, and it is a large part of this work. Give us the collection reference and the window they have given you. Where a trade counter keeps us waiting, that is inside the price rather than added afterwards, which is not true of most hourly operators.
Do you take Facebook Marketplace and eBay pickups?
Regularly. The one thing we need that people forget is the seller's floor number and whether their building has a lift. A fourth floor collection is a climb whoever owns the wardrobe, and it changes the price more than the distance does.
Will you carry it into the room I want it in?
Yes. Room of choice is the standard, not an upgrade. If it needs a door taking off to get through, we will take the door off and put it back.
Is it cheaper to move two items at once?
Considerably, as long as the addresses line up. Two items on one run is £145 to £230 against £185 to £255 booked as two separate jobs, because you are paying once for the drive and the parking rather than twice.
Can you do it the same day?
Often, for a weekday and where the item does not need a suspension or a lift booking. A same day slot or a named hour adds £35 to £65 because it means holding a van rather than routing it alongside other work.
How we do the job itself
This page is about the money. The single item and furniture delivery page covers the method: the crew, the wrapping, the access planning and what tends to go wrong.
Prices by area
The band above holds across all 37 Central London areas we cover. What changes between them is the parking and the housing stock, which is what decides where in the band you land.