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Cool stuff: Movers vying for your business online

By Teri Karush Rogers| January 4, 2010 - 12:30PM
It is a truth universally acknowledged that every New Yorker eventually needs a man with a van.

But last week’s Craigslist nightmare--in which the seller of an engagement ring was allegedly attacked by a mobster posing as a customer--renewed our anxieties about fulfilling our man-with-a-van yen online.

Then we heard about CityMove.com.   Recently re-launched with a brand new look and many under-the-hood improvements, CityMove looks to be the killer app when it comes to finding excellent movers--for big or small jobs--at the best price.

The reverse-auction site lets customers bid out their jobs to local movers, then vet the movers through the site’s robust customer-review section.  (Click here to peruse a list of the site’s top-rated movers.)  

The reviews impose a short leash on movers who are active on the site: A single drubbing could end a stream of steady business, so movers have a strong motivation to not, say, hold your belongings hostage for an additional fee.

About 200 New Yorkers post their jobs each month, and about half of them hire movers through the site.  CityMove charges the moving companies a modest percentage of the deal price.  

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