Post a man with a van job in Auckland

Here is the kind of thing that gets posted in Auckland. A sofa bought in Onehunga that will not fit in a hatchback. A Trade Me pickup out in Pakuranga when the buyer lives in Te Atatū. A bed, a fridge and a dozen boxes moving between flats in Grey Lynn and Sandringham at the end of a tenancy. Students shifting into a Symonds Street flat and out again at the end of the year. Flat-pack collected from a click and collect counter at Westgate or Botany. Timber and plasterboard going up to a site in Titirangi.

Access is what changes a price here. The old villas and bungalows through Ponsonby, Grey Lynn and Mount Eden have steps up to the front door, narrow hallways and a shared right of way instead of a driveway, and some of those streets sit inside a residential parking zone. Newer townhouses through Mount Roskill, New Lynn and Northcote often mean stairs from a tandem garage up to the bedrooms. Apartments in the city centre, Newmarket and Takapuna usually mean booking the service lift and a loading bay with building management. Dominion Road and Sandringham Road run clearways at peak, and the bush roads above Titirangi are narrow and steep.

SoundMove has no set Auckland rate, because the platform sets no prices and drivers are independent. A driver in Papakura decides what a run up to Albany is worth that week, while one already crossing the Harbour Bridge may price it differently. A van and one person costs less to run than a truck and a crew, which is one reason bids on the same job can differ. Give measurements, photos, the floor and a range of days rather than one date. Jobs are scheduled at least 24 hours ahead, up to 90 days out. You are charged when you accept a bid, and the money is held until the job's done. SoundMove releases it when you confirm, or automatically 24 hours after the driver marks it done if you haven't raised an issue.