1-800-GOT-JUNK alternatives in Austin

The short answer

Austin has no shortage of haulers. The national franchises, a long list of independent operators, the label-and-ship services for single items, and us.

They separate on model rather than on quality. The main split is whether you are given a firm price before anyone is dispatched, or an estimate produced in your driveway once the truck is there. The second split is what is bundled - whether stairs, disassembly and disposal are inside the number or added to it.

Our model: every item has a published price, the truck ladder runs from $241 for a quarter to $732 for a full load, and you are charged by item or by tier, whichever is lower. Minimum $75. Stairs, disassembly and disposal are included.

The options, by how they work

• National franchises. Recognisable, uniformed, generally reliable on scheduling. The traditional model is volume-based pricing assessed on site, so the exact figure arrives with the truck. Good for people who want a familiar brand and do not mind that sequence.
• Independent local haulers. Austin has plenty, and some are excellent. Coverage, insurance and disposal practices vary widely between them, so this is the category where asking for a certificate of insurance matters most.
• Label-and-ship single-item services. A courier collects one item from the curb. Cheap for exactly that. Not built for carrying a sectional down from a third-floor walk-up or clearing a garage.
• Labor-only apps. Two people and a truck bed for an hourly rate, with disposal usually left to you. Workable if you have somewhere to take the load and time to get there.
• JunkRabbit. Published per-item and per-truck pricing, booked online without a phone negotiation, insured, disposal included.

What our prices are

No stair fee, no walk-up fee, no elevator fee, no same-day surcharge, no fuel line, no refrigerant fee, and no distance charge anywhere inside the service area.

How to compare quotes properly

Five questions. Ask each company the same five and the comparison becomes trivial.

• What is the minimum charge, in dollars? (Ours: $75.)
• What does this exact item cost - a sofa, a queen mattress, a standard fridge? (Ours: $126, $103, $164.)
• Is carry-out from the third floor included, or extra? (Ours: included.)
• Is disposal included, or billed at the end? (Ours: included.)
• Can you send a certificate of insurance to my building? (Ours: yes, before the job.)

Any answer of the form we will know when we see it is not a quote. It is a booking for someone to come and produce one.

Austin jobs where the model shows

A third-floor walk-up near campus, end of July. The published price does not move because the building has no elevator. A sofa at $126 and a twin mattress at $82 is $126 + $82 = $208 whether the unit is on the ground floor or the third.

A downtown or Rainey Street tower. The building wants a COI and a freight elevator window. We send the certificate ahead of the job and book the slot with management. The price is the same as a house in Allandale.

A long gated drive in Steiner Ranch or Lakeway. No distance surcharge. A full truck is $732 out there exactly as it is in Hyde Park.

A Pflugerville garage, priced before anyone drives out. A treadmill at $115, a washer at $133 and a large junk pile at $208 is $115 + $133 + $208 = $456. The half truck at $431 is lower and that is what you pay.

Why publishing the list is the whole thing

Most of this trade prices at the door because it can. The customer is usually under time pressure, has no benchmark, and by the time the number appears the alternative is starting over.

In Austin that pressure spikes in a predictable two weeks. The end of July into the first days of August puts the UT calendar and the standard lease year on the same few days, and the whole city moves at once. That is the worst possible week to be discovering a price in your own driveway.

Publishing the catalog removes the problem rather than managing it. You see the number while you are still comparing, you book, and the figure is the same when the truck arrives. If you add an item on the day, it is added at its published rate.

What to do next

Type your list into the quote box. You get an itemized total and a truck-tier total and you are charged the lower of the two, immediately, without a call.

If you are gathering comparison quotes, use our published numbers as the benchmark and ask everyone else the five questions above. That is a fair test, and it is the one we would rather be judged on than an ad headline.

Frequently asked questions