I have a bound not to exceed estimate for a long distance move.

When it comes to receiving estimates from moving companies, the binding not-to-exceed estimate is the best kind of estimate you can get. In short, what the binding not-to-exceed estimate entails is that the moving company may not charge you more on the day of delivery than the estimate you initially received, however they can charge you less money if the shipment ends up weighing less than they initally estimated.

However, what moving companies that give you binding not-to-exceed estimates will allow is adding to your shipment without notifying them of the change. If this occurs, the moving company can hit you with additional charges and they can also choose to completely refuse you service. So if you plan on adding more items to your shipment, especially something major, as you mention in your question, you must notify the moving company of this change so they can add it to their inventory list and you can work out an agreement with them on a new estimate, adjusted to take your new items into consideration.

Binding not-to-exceed estimates, while they are typically viewed as the best kind of estimate for the customer, are still considered a type of contract with the moving company, and thus adding something without their knowledge at the last minute would be considered a breach of that contract, or agreement, with the moving company and could be grounds for refusal of service.

So while it's not out of the question to add on to your moving shipment at the last minute before your move (moving companies realize that plans change all the time and that adjustments have to be made throughout the moving process), it's important that you contact the moving company as soon as you find out about these additional items and let them know about the change so that they can accurately update your inventory to reflect these changes.

To learn more about the different types of moving estimates, as well as everything else you need to know about the moving process, please visit Movers.com and our moving guides page for an extensive collection of informative and helpful moving guides on every topic.