Stacy,

First off, if the moving company is within 50 miles of your home and you’re making a move to another state, they’re required to come to your home for a visual estimate if they want the job.

That said, moving companies are generally leery of coming out to give a visual inspection if the move is small (1 bedroom or less). They don’t make a lot of money on smaller moves, so they’re reluctant to invest a lot of resources into landing the job.

If you have some moving companies that are willing to come out, to be safe, go with them and not the ones who can’t see your stuff. It’s really the only way for you to get a truly accurate estimate: getting quotes over the phone or based on an Internet survey are dubious because things are often left off or sizes are calculated inaccurately – what might be a small couch to you may be seen as a large couch by moving companies.

The moving company also can’t see your home, so it doesn’t know if there are any special obstacles it will have to deal with, like stairs. Good job checking with the Better Business Bureau, but also do the following before you hire a company:

Visit the Protect Your Move website, where you can search for motor carrier license information. You can use this resource to check each company you got an estimate from for their licensing and insurance information, as well as any complaints. Also search the Web for online moving company reviews.