Packers and movers
Packing services
in Vancouver
Two ways to book it: we pack as part of your move, or we pack and you handle the move yourself. They are different jobs on different rate cards, so the first thing this page does is tell you which one you want.
- Two-bedroom packing, 2 packers
- $297–$396Two-bedroom packing, 2 packers
- Minimum on a standalone packing job
- 2 hrsMinimum on a standalone packing job
- Liability insurance
- $2MLiability insurance
Packing on its own is billed by the size of the crew the home needs — $49/hr for 1 packer, $99/hr for 2 packers — on its own clock, with a 2-hour minimum and 5% GST on top. Packing as part of a move is billed at the moving rate instead, $140/hr for the 2-mover crew, and materials are quoted after assessment either way. Operating out of Kitsilano since 2017 — 9 years, 500+ moves, 5.0 on Google across 90+ reviews, $2M liability insurance and WorkSafeBC compliant.
Packing Is Two Different Jobs
Most moving companies present packing as one service with one price, and that is where the confusion starts. If we are already moving you, the crew is on the clock anyway — packing does not need its own rate, it needs the estimate to start from a longer number, because a packed move genuinely takes longer than an unpacked one. Charge an hourly packing line on top of that and the same hours get billed twice.
If we are not moving you, none of that applies. There is no move to absorb the labour, so the packing has to carry its own cost — a crew sized to the home, on a day of its own, at a rate that has nothing to do with trucks. Same work, entirely different arithmetic. Below is what actually changes between the two.
With Your Move, or On Its Own
Both are real services and neither is a lesser version of the other. The one you want depends on a single question: are we moving you as well?
| What changes | Packing with your move | Packing only |
|---|---|---|
| Who does the packing | Your moving crew, on move day | A packing crew sized to the home, on a day of its own |
| What clock it runs on | The same clock as the move — packing time is inside the move estimate, never added to it | Its own clock, with nothing else on it |
| What you are billed | The moving crew rate — $140/hr for 2 movers and a truck | The packer crew rate — $49/hr for 1 packer, $99/hr for 2 packers |
| Materials | Blankets, straps, tape and dollies included free. Boxes and wrap quoted once we have seen what there is to pack | Exactly the same — no flat fee on either job, and the gear is never charged for |
| Do we need a destination | Yes — it is a move | No. One address, because nothing is going anywhere yet |
| When you get a number | Within about a minute of sending the form | Labour within about a minute; materials after we talk |
What a Packing Crew Actually Does
Materials that survive the trip
Double-walled cartons for anything heavy, dish barrels for kitchens, wardrobe boxes so hanging clothes travel upright, and paper rather than newsprint so nothing arrives grey. Supermarket boxes fail at the bottom, which is a problem you discover at the worst moment.
Fragile handling that has a method
Plates travel on edge, not stacked flat — stacked plates crack under their own weight over a bumpy road. Glassware is wrapped individually and the box is filled so nothing can shift. Mirrors and artwork get corner protection and a carton sized to them.
Labelling you can act on
Every carton is marked with the room it leaves from and, where it matters, what is inside it. The point is not tidiness on the day — it is that a fortnight later you can find the kettle without opening eleven boxes to get to it.
The part people underestimate
A kitchen alone typically takes a packer several hours, because it is a hundred small awkward objects rather than a few big ones. That is why the estimate is built from home size rather than from a guess, and why the figure below is a range rather than a promise.
What Packing Costs On Its Own
These are for packing with no move attached. The crew size is ours to decide — you tell us the home size, we work out how many packers it needs. Rates are for the whole crew, not per packer, and there is a 2-hour minimum. Figures are before 5% GST.
Materials are not in those figures and are not a flat fee here. How many cartons a home needs depends on what is in the cupboards, so we quote it once we know — which is also why you can buy materials from us without booking packing at all. An office or commercial packing job is quoted by hand rather than from this table; there is too much variation between a ten-desk office and a workshop for a home-size figure to mean anything.
How a Standalone Packing Job Runs
Tell us the home size
You pick the size you actually live in. We work out the crew from there — how many packers a home that size needs is our problem to solve, not a question you should have to answer.
Labour comes back straight away
The crew size and hours resolve to a real range within about a minute. It is a range because a two-bedroom with a full kitchen and a two-bedroom with takeaway menus are not the same job.
Materials, after we know what there is
How many boxes a home needs depends on what is in the cupboards, so we ask rather than guess. Guessing means either a padded number that is unfair or a low one that has to be corrected later.
Packing day
The crew arrives with everything. Rooms are packed one at a time and closed off as they finish, so the house stays livable while the work runs rather than becoming a maze of half-filled cartons.
Who Books Packing On Its Own
You are moving yourself
You have a van and a couple of friends, and the part you actually dread is the kitchen. Packing on its own covers exactly that, and nothing else.
You are packing ahead
The move is weeks away and you would rather not lose the last three evenings before it. A packing day well ahead of the move is a normal way to book this.
It is a downsizing move
Sorting takes longer than packing when a long-lived home is being reduced. Related: our senior moving page covers how that pace is handled.
Something is genuinely valuable
Glassware, records, instruments, artwork. These are the items where technique is the difference between arriving and arriving broken.
Common Questions
How much does packing cost in Vancouver?
It depends which of the two you want. Packing as part of your move is billed at the moving crew's hourly rate — $140/hr for 2 movers and a truck — from a packing-inclusive time estimate, with no materials fee attached. Packing on its own is billed at the packer crew rate: $98–$147 for a one bedroom (1 packer, 2–3 hours) and $297–$396 for a two bedroom (2 packers, 3–4 hours), before 5% GST, with materials quoted separately.
Can you pack for me without moving me?
Yes, and it is a separate job rather than a favour attached to a move. It runs on its own clock at the packer crew rate with a 2-hour minimum, and there is no destination to give us because nothing is going anywhere that day. Pick "Packing only" on the form and the quote comes back on the right rate card.
Do you supply the boxes and materials?
Yes. Cartons, tape, paper, wardrobe boxes and mattress bags all come with the crew, so there is nothing for you to source beforehand. The cartons and wrap are consumable — they leave with you — so they are quoted once we have seen what there is, never as a flat fee. The protective equipment is a different thing entirely: blankets, straps and dollies come back on the truck with us and are never charged for. You can also buy materials without booking packing at all, quoted the same way.
What do the boxes and materials cost?
We quote them after we have seen what there is to pack, on both kinds of job. There is no flat fee, and there was one until August 2026 — a single figure charged to every home regardless of size. It was the wrong shape: a studio and a four-bedroom do not need the same number of cartons, so one number overcharged the smaller job and undercharged the larger one. What never costs anything is the equipment — blankets, straps, tape and dollies come with the crew and go home with them, and we do not bill for them on any move.
How long does packing take?
On its own, 2–3 hours for a one bedroom and 3–4 hours for a two bedroom, with the crew scaling up as the home does. As part of a move, the whole job — packing and moving together — runs 4.5–6.5 hours for a one bedroom and 6–8 hours for a two bedroom on the 2-mover crew.
Can you pack just the kitchen, or just the fragile things?
Yes. Partial packing is common and often the sensible version: you handle the books and the clothes, we take the kitchen, the glassware and anything with a screen. Tell us in the notes which rooms you want covered and the estimate reflects that rather than the whole house.
Do you unpack as well?
Yes, on request. Unpacking is quoted the same way as packing — by crew and hours — and is worth asking about at the same time, since it is easier to schedule alongside the original job than to arrange separately afterwards.
Is my stuff insured while you pack it?
Boss Moving carries $2M liability insurance and is WorkSafeBC compliant, and that cover applies while the crew is in your home packing, not only once the truck is loaded. We have been operating in Metro Vancouver since 2017.
Related
Packing is one part of what we do — every service we offer covers the rest, and moving in Vancouver covers the move itself. If the move is close and the packing has not started, last-minute moves is the page for that. For a long-lived home being reduced rather than relocated, see senior moving. And where packing, wrapping and reassembly are all handled end to end by the same crew with a flat rate agreed in advance, that is white glove moving.
Get a packing quote
Pick which one you need and the quote comes back on the right rate card. Or call (604) 726-9828 — 7am to 10pm, seven days.