The $99 junk removal myth in St. Louis

The short answer

A starting price is the price of the smallest load a company will haul, not the price of your job. Low "from" numbers in junk removal ads describe the bottom of a range that climbs with how much truck space you use. Your actual cost depends on what you have. A better question than "what is the lowest price?" is "what will this exact job cost?" — for example, a sofa and a queen set are $126 + $143 = $269 on our flat list.

Where the $99 number comes from

Junk removal pricing usually comes in one of two models.

• Volume pricing. The truck is divided into fractions — an eighth, a quarter, a half, a full load — and the price rises with each. The headline is the smallest fraction.
• Item pricing. Each item has its own price, and piles use truck tiers. That is our model.

Neither model is a trick. But a headline from the bottom of a range describes a very small load: a few bags, a chair, a small table. A sofa, a fridge or a mattress set is usually more than that.

What St. Louis jobs actually look like

Think about what a typical St. Louis call is about:

• A sofa that will not fit the City's bulky rules because it is over 100 lbs or 6 ft long.
• A refrigerator in a basement, which Missouri bans from landfills.
• A move-out from a CWE apartment at lease end in August.
• An estate in Florissant or St. Louis Hills, where the owners stayed for decades.
• Storm debris after a spring severe-weather event.

None of those is a minimum load.

What a headline leaves out in St. Louis houses

The gap between a headline and a bill usually opens up in the details of the house, and St. Louis houses have a lot of details. A few to keep in mind when you read any low number:

• Basements. Most City brick homes and many County ranches have deep basements with narrow stairs. Ask whether carrying up from below grade changes the price.
• Upper floors of flats. Two- and four-family flats in Bevo Mill, Dutchtown and Tower Grove South have tight interior stairs and no elevator.
• Appliances and tires. Missouri bans appliances from landfills and requires tires to be shredded, so these need proper routing. Ask whether disposal is included.
• Electronics in Illinois. In the Metro East, covered electronics cannot go in the trash. Ask how they are handled.
• Timing. Ask whether evenings, weekends or same-day cost more.

On our list, every one of those is already inside the item price: no stairs fee, disposal included, no same-day surcharge.

The real prices for common jobs

Our minimum is $100, and it is the real minimum. If you have one recliner at $98, the bill is $100. If you have a recliner and a sofa, it is $98 + $126 = $224. The number you see before booking is the number you pay unless you approve a change.

Questions to ask any hauler

Whoever you call, ask these before they arrive:

1. What will my exact job cost? Describe or photograph it. Get a number, not a range.
2. Is carrying from the basement or third floor extra? Many St. Louis jobs start below grade or up narrow flat stairs.
3. Is disposal included? Appliances and tires have to go to recyclers in Missouri.
4. Is there a same-day or evening charge?
5. Can the price change on site, and how?
6. Are you insured, and can you send a certificate of insurance if my building needs one?

Our answers: a flat price before booking; no stairs fee; disposal included; no same-day surcharge; changes only with your approval; vetted, insured local haulers and a COI emailed within one hour.

Small jobs: the minimum and the City's own option

If your job really is small, use the minimum well. Instead of booking a lone $62 TV, add the other things you have been meaning to clear: a TV and a box of electronics is $62 + $77 = $139; a TV, the old stand and a lamp is $62 + $96 + $36 = $194.

City residents should also check whether the City already covers it. The $14 per month per unit solid-waste fee includes monthly bulky pickup of up to three items, none over 100 lbs or 6 ft, set out in the alley or at the curb by 6:00 am on the Monday of your collection week, plus BOAT-E for batteries, oil, appliances, tires and electronics. For a lamp, a chair and a small table that are already downstairs, that is the cheapest route there is. For anything heavier, longer, more numerous or still inside, it is not.

Three St. Louis jobs, added up honestly

Here is what real jobs look like on a flat list, with every line visible.

• Dutchtown flat, tenant left behind a sofa, a queen mattress and a box spring: $126 + $143 = $269, with the mattress and box spring priced as a set.
• Florissant basement, the old fridge and a broken treadmill: $164 + $115 = $279.
• Kirkwood garage, a quarter truck of boxes and a lawn mower: $241 + $65 = $306.

None of those are minimum-load jobs under any pricing model, and none of them have a stairs fee, a basement surcharge or a same-day charge added on top. That is the useful comparison: the full price of your actual job, carried out of the house and disposed of properly, against the full price someone else will give you for the same thing.

The takeaway

A low headline is not a bad thing; it just is not your price. Compare companies on what your job actually costs, delivered: carried out of the house, hauled, and disposed of properly. Get our number from a photo at the instant quote page and compare it to any other quote line by line.

Frequently asked questions