Reviews of STS Movers (Orange County, CA)

[Erik]

I hired Don and STS Movers to move from NYC to California. They were excellent. They picked up on time and delivered on time. They put everything in a rented Penske truck and drove straight to California. They didn't put my stuff in storage or combine it with three other moves. Their expertise at packing the truck was amazing: they built a perfect wall out of odd-sized boxes and bags, and then put the heavier things like couch and dresser against the wall so that nothing shifted during the drive. Nothing was damaged and everything was professionally handled. They were the most expensive of the 5 estimates I had ($4000 for about 2200 pounds), but they made what could have been a stressful week run very smoothly. Highly recommended.

[ScBlacksunshine]

After reading all the reviews on here about them, I would like like to use them for my upcoming local move. Anyone know what's their repsonse time is like? Are they good at calling back? I emailed an left Don a mssg for a quote this morning, hopefully he'll give me a call back soon.

[donatsts]

hi, don here.
sorry for not replying sooner, im on the road on the east coast. i will be checking emails saturday,and hope to speak to you then. don

[JessW]

We just used STS Movers for our recent move from Orange County to Flagstaff, AZ, and I have to agree with all posts here that Don is honest, fair, and runs a very efficient company.

His bid for the move was very reasonable (if a tad more expensive than less trustworthy movers for a move of our small size), and there were no additional fees or anything even hinting at dishonest practices. We'd heard some horror stories about other companies, so we were a little nervous, and with rising gas prices, I'm sure other companies might have added some sort of nasty tariff after the fact, but Don's price was exactly as quoted.

While he was not able to personally oversee our move, Danny and his crew did a fantastic job in his place, even coming over the day before to check that everything was going smoothly and then bringing in some guys from Riverside to help make the move go more quickly on the loading day. The guys loaded everything very quickly (and the truck, when packed, was quite the Tetris work of art), with great attitudes and senses of humor.

The unloading in Flagstaff the next day was also very efficient, and special thanks go to the two who spent most of the day unloading by themselves before the others arrived on their way back from the East Coast to help. Everyone was very hard-working and friendly, and very few of our items were scratched or dented (and our IKEA magister living room set actually survived the trip intact! That says more than anything).

Overall, we were very satisfied with the move and would recommend STS to anyone in their service area.

Thanks again, STS!

[donatsts]

hi jess,
thank you so much for this very kind review. im happy to help anytime.
sincerely, don

[Diane]

Re-posting an excellent review of STS for a move of a 2BR apartment from Queens (NYC) to Los Angeles in 7/08:

7/16/08 - Just wanted to update. While the move has not happened yet, we have made a decision on who to use.

After getting a number of estimates from some reputable agents of larger national companies [Hall-Lane United, Meridian Mayflower], and some smaller independents who were well reviewed on this site [Moovers, Delancey Streeet], the decision was easy.

Don at STS Movers has provided the best combination of price, insurance, method and time frame. As well as reviews from this site.

I was fortunate enough to be able to schedule the move after a shipment Don has coming East. The full-pack is scheduled for Monday and the load for Tuesday (7/21-7/22). Don gave me a binding estimate of $6,000 with FVP ($500 deductible) and the ability to submit my own list of items valued over $100 per pound at a later date). He is charging an extra $800 to do a full pack of our stuff. Also he will be going straight to CA with our things, so we will have them by the end of July.

Also, as he is based in San Bernadino, CA Don was not able to personally do an onsite estimate. We arranged it so that one of his guys came to my apartment to get an idea of the job after he had finished a NY delivery. Don stressed to me that he was not a trained estimator, but that he trusted the man to give him a good summary of the requirements. The report was that it would fit on a 26ft Penske and Don gave me his price.

After I had gotten a few other estimates, I started to worry that while our stuff would fit on the Penske, it might exceed the load limit. Don and I discussed this and he shared my concern.

We then came up with a backup plan where he could store some of our non-essentials in a storage space he uses in NJ and get them to us at a later date if we exceeded 8,400lbs (at no extra cost).

As it turns out, Don decided to use his own truck (with a 10,000 lb limit) for the job so that became a non-issue. But, to me, showed a good level of communication.

Again, the move has not happened yet, but I just wanted to give everyone who has helped out the story so far. . . .

8/25/08 - Sorry it has taken this long to follow up, but moving is a time-sucker.

Don at STS Movers completely came through. He delivered everything promised and on the dates promised.

The only SNAFU came when Don was delayed by a traffic jam due to an accident on the PA Turnpike and could not make it the day before to pack us. So to compensate Don brought eight guys on the following day and did the full pack and load all in one day. I was skeptical but they were able to get everything out by 5pm as my building required.

They delivered as promised in CA 7 days later and not a thing was broken.

Throughout our dealings, Don was completely straight forward and communicative. There were no surprises and he did the job for half of what the majors were charging: $6,800 (including full pack and FVP insurance with a $250 deductible). I would highly recommend using STS if you can. I know this sounds like an ad, but I was just tremendously relieved to find a person who conducts his business in a way that is becoming all too rare. - http://www.movingscam.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16600 (end of thread)

Knowing Don personally, I agree with this poster. In fact I believe that anyone who wanted to invest in a small moving company could hardly do better than backing Don. Although his financial resources are limited right now in terms of buying more trucks and so on, he has exactly the right temperament to do very well in a very tough business.

[donatsts]

I'd like to thank chrisd for his very kind review. i was happy to provide the service.
sincerely,
don schwartz

[jeremyncurtis]

Top-notch company. I am extremely impressed with the service STS provided us from our move from Utah to California. I was able to get a quote from Don right away over the phone (other larger companies came out to our house and gave us an outrageous quote with no guarantee what the final cost would be). The final cost was exactly as he said it was going to be. They were very quick as well, only a few days after my initial call STS movers came to our home and very carefully packed us up, making sure any valuables were packed with care. We had no bumps or dings on any furniture and the employees were very friendly and considerate. I would recommend STS movers to anyone and will definitely use them on my next move. Thank you Don and Crew!

Jeremy Curtis

[smoked1]

I just sent these guys an email. I will be moving from CA to WA in about a week. My new employer will be paying for it with a credit card so I am doing my research to make sure that he gets a fair deal and that nothing goes wrong. Thank God that I decided to search for moving company reviews or I probably would have wounds up getting screwed. This site is great.

[donatsts]

hey there, just thought id let you know im not able to go to washington next week.
best of luck with your move. maybe you can call moovers inc. also on this site list of good companies.
thanks again, don

[farahp]

I'd like to add my comments about STS movers too.

I moved from CA to NJ earlier this summer and arranged the move at short notice. Don was able to schedule us in and went out of his way to transport our car along with all the furniture, so as to make our move possible.

Don and all those that work with him (there was quite a big team to pack up) did a fantastic job; they arrived nice and early on the day of the move, helped pack our things securely, dis-assembled the furniture and loaded it into the van at an amazing speed.

As promised, our furniture made it to NJ within 5 days and although there were only 2 of them at this end, Don and his colleague were once again efficient in unloading the van and re-assembling our furniture.

We went to Don based solely on the reviews of this web site and I'm pleased to say he did not disappoint. STS Movers were as great as everyone else said they would be and I know I'll be giving them a call when we move back to the West Coast.

STS Movers made our move so smooth and trouble free, and their honesty throughout the process was really appreciated -it's no wonder they're endorsed by Moving Scam.com!


I wish STS all the best for the future, although I don't doubt the business will only go from strength to strength. If you're moving, call Don!

FP

[Bostonian44]

Planning a move from San Diego (Mira Mesa community) to Irvine, CA, I had come to Movingscam.com to find a reputable moving company. I had used this website the previous year for a move from the East Coast, and both ABF and Golden Key Express were wonderful as were recommended. This time, I found fantastic reviews for STS Movers in Orange County and contacted Don for my move to Irvine.

Don and his team are terrific! The hourly prices were fair, with no hidden fees or extra costs, and the total moving time came pretty much within the range Don gave me during the in-home estimate. His professionalism is unsurpassed and his great attitude is completely contagious. The "east coast down to earthness" of Don and his team immediately made me very comfortable and confident that the move would go well. And it did!

The movers worked very hard all morning long to get us packed up, which wasn't an easy feat given that we were on a second floor, with no elevator, and at least 100 feet from the front door to the parking lot. On the other end, we're on the third floor but thankfully with an elevator, though the walk from the truck to the front door was about the same. Everyone was friendly, hard-working, and efficient. Even though I'm a worry-prone person, I felt very good the entire day that we were taken care of very well.

Thank you STS Movers!!

-Jen

[CAtoNJ]

We moved with STS in August from Los Angeles, CA to New Jersey.

The first thing I was impressed by was that Danny was ALWAYS available to reach by phone. At one point, I had to call him back at 9:30 and he answered his phone. He always kept in touch, kept me updated on what was going to happen. It was a great start, made me feel very very comfortable.

This was a last-minute arrangement (partially because Don was too busy at that time) but I was so happy to get accommodated.

The day of the move, Danny and the crew packed our 1 bedroom apartment in 1,5 hours! I was shocked! Everything was properly packaged, properly boxed, and they were done! It was very impressive.

I had never moved with movers before so I didn't know how to estimate the number of boxes. They guided me very well. The estimate they gave me was what I ended up getting charged. Nothing extra.

I also want to applaud STS for their work ethic. I won't go into the details here but they could've easily exploited my situation (won't also go into what that situation was), they could've easily racked up extra charges, and make things stressful for us. But they were very honest, and did not cause trouble for us. I am very grateful for that. They're not a company out to get your money.

Overall, we couldn't be happier with our experience. I will definitely recommend STS to my friends, as well as contact them again for future moves.

[[email protected]]

Don and his Colleague just moved me on Friday, April 3, 2009. Moving is seldom a stress-free time and mine was no exception. But I have to take a moment on this board and re-confirm my high opinion as stated by many others that Don and his crew are very professional, efficient and fair with price. Thank You Don. I will be working with you again. Deborah

[tcromo]

Don and his team were professional and took special care of my things. Incredibly fast! While it was a local move, I had not adequately prepared for the move (boxed things without box top, multiple bags, misc. items) and they came in and packed everything up for me in wardrobe boxes and we were on our way! 2nd story apartment to 2nd story apartment, door to door, completely unloaded in 2 hours! I couldn't believe the deal I was getting - BELIEVE the rates posted on the website! Would use again in a heartbeat!