About the figures in this guide. Where a price is labelled as MoveMate's, it comes from our own rate card. Everything else describes the UK market in general, from published industry sources. Nothing here is a quote. For a price for your job, ask us.
The short answer
For one large item or a few, book a courier with a dedicated van. It collects from where the item is, drives straight to you and carries it in. Nothing is sorted, transferred or shared with other people's parcels, which is where most damage to furniture happens.
Parcel networks have size and weight limits and are built for boxes. Furniture that is over those limits, or that is awkward or fragile, needs a van and someone to lift it.
Why parcel carriers will not take it
Network carriers move parcels through sorting depots on conveyors and cages. Most set limits on length, weight and shape, and a sofa, a mattress or a wardrobe is outside them.
Even where a carrier does take a large item, it is usually delivered to the kerb, passes through several hands and arrives on a day they choose. A dedicated van collects when you ask, goes directly and delivers to the room.
What to measure before you book
Measure the item at its longest, widest and tallest points, and note the weight if it is on the listing or the label. Then measure the way in at both ends: the front door, the hall, any turn on the stairs and the door of the room it is going into.
The doorway matters more than the furniture. A sofa that fits the room may not fit the turn at the top of the stairs. Taking legs off, removing a door from its hinges or taking a bed apart will often solve it, but it is far easier to plan than to discover on the day.
A photo of the item and of any tight spot tells us more than a description does.
Which van does it need?
Load space and weight for each van we use: Small Van (1 × 1.2 × 1m, up to 400kg); SWB Van (2 × 1.2 × 1.2m, up to 800kg); MWB Van (3 × 1.2 × 1.7m, up to 1,300kg); LWB Van (3.6 × 1.2 × 1.8m, up to 1,100kg); XLWB Van (4 × 1.2 × 1.7m, up to 1,100kg); Luton Van (4 × 2 × 2m, up to 800kg). The first figure is the length, width and height of the load area.
A chair, a small table or a flat-pack box goes in a small or short-wheelbase van. A two-seater sofa, a chest of drawers or a single bed goes in a medium or long-wheelbase van. A three-piece suite, a double wardrobe or several items goes in a Luton van, which also has a tail lift available for very heavy pieces.
Length is the limit more often than volume. A long sofa or a tall wardrobe can rule out a van that looks big enough on cubic metres, so give us the longest dimension.
Buying from Marketplace, eBay or an auction
This is the most common reason people look for a courier for furniture: something bought from a private seller, a listing or a saleroom that has to be collected and brought home.
Before you book, confirm when the seller or saleroom will be there and what they expect you to bring. A wasted trip is the most expensive thing that can happen on a job like this. Ask the seller to have the item ready to carry, disassembled if it comes apart, and with any fixings in a bag taped to it.
Check the item matches the listing before it goes in the van, because after that it is yours. Give the courier the address, the seller's contact details and the time you agreed.
How it is carried
Furniture should be blanket-wrapped and strapped so that it cannot slide or rub. With a dedicated van there is nothing else on board to shift into it.
At MoveMate every item travels blanket-wrapped and strapped, alone in the van. We carry it to the room you want, not just the front door, and send a photo and a signature as proof of delivery. Anything that has to come apart to leave a room can be dismantled and rebuilt at the other end: tell us when you book so the right tools are on board.
What it costs
A dedicated van is priced on distance and the size of van, not on the weight of the item. Our rates for pre-booked work, before VAT: Car: £45 minimum (£54 inc VAT), or £1 a mile (£1.20 inc VAT); Small Van: £45 minimum (£54 inc VAT), or £1 a mile (£1.20 inc VAT); SWB Van: £55 minimum (£66 inc VAT), or £1 a mile (£1.20 inc VAT); MWB Van: £65 minimum (£78 inc VAT), or £1.50 a mile (£1.80 inc VAT); LWB Van: £65 minimum (£78 inc VAT), or £1.50 a mile (£1.80 inc VAT); XLWB Van: £75 minimum (£90 inc VAT), or £1.80 a mile (£2.16 inc VAT); Luton Van: £95 minimum (£114 inc VAT), or £2 a mile (£2.40 inc VAT). You pay the minimum or the miles, whichever is higher, on the one-way road distance.
Examples, pre-booked: a sofa taken 25 miles in a medium-wheelbase van is £65 + VAT = £78 inc VAT; a three-piece suite and a wardrobe taken 60 miles in a Luton van is £120 + VAT = £144 inc VAT. A short run of 10 miles in a small van costs the minimum, £45 + VAT = £54 inc VAT.
Congestion charge, tolls, ULEZ and parking are added if the route needs them, and nights, weekends and bank holidays may carry a surcharge. Same-day and urgent jobs add a fixed charge, which we confirm when we call. The form on this page works out the pre-booked price in seconds.
Access, stairs and carrying
The things that change how long a furniture job takes are the stairs, whether there is a lift, how far the van can park from the door and whether anything has to come apart. Tell us about all four.
If the item has to go up several flights or a long way from the van, say so when you book. It affects the time on site and occasionally which van, and it is much better to know before the day.
One item or a whole move?
A single item, or two or three, is a courier job. A room or more of furniture is a man and van job, which is a fixed price once we know what is moving. A whole house is a removal, priced after a free survey.
As a rough line: if everything you need to move fits in one van load, a man and van or a courier will do. If it needs several, get a removal quote.
Last reviewed 26 October 2026.