The short answer
There are exactly two ways a job gets priced, plus a floor.
The floor: $75 minimum per visit. That is the least it can cost to send a truck and two people to a Kansas City address.
Per item: a published flat price for each piece. Sofa $126, recliner $98, queen mattress and box spring set $143, dresser $126, refrigerator $164, washer $133, dryer $128, treadmill $115, hot tub $322.
By volume — the truck-fill ladder:
| Item | Flat price |
|---|---|
| Quarter truck | $241 |
| Three-eighths | $338 |
| Half | $431 |
| Five-eighths | $513 |
| Three-quarters | $587 |
| Seven-eighths | $661 |
| Full truck | $732 |
You are quoted whichever of the two is lower. Disposal is inside both.
The crossover: when volume beats itemizing
This is the part worth understanding, because it is where people overpay by not asking.
Item pricing adds up linearly. Volume pricing does not care how many pieces are in the truck. So there is a point on every job where the ladder gets cheaper, and in Kansas City that point arrives sooner than people expect, because our jobs involve basements and garages full of medium-sized things.
Rough rule: once you are past six to eight furniture-sized pieces, check the ladder.
| Item | Flat price |
|---|---|
| Sofa + recliner | $126 + $98 = $224 — itemize |
| Sofa + recliner + coffee table | $126 + $98 + $67 = $291 — still itemize (quarter truck is $241, but it may not hold all three) |
| Sofa + recliner + queen set + dresser | $126 + $98 + $143 + $126 = $493 — the half truck at $431 wins |
| Add a TV stand and two end tables to that | $493 + $96 + $52 + $52 = $693 — half truck at $431 still wins, if it fits |
The reason to know this is simple: a crew pricing by item has no reason to tell you the truck is cheaper. Ours quotes the lower number automatically.
What a truck fraction actually looks like
People struggle to translate fractions into their own basement. Practical equivalents:
- Quarter truck ($241): a pickup-bed load, heaped. A bedroom's furniture, or the corner of a garage.
- Half truck ($431): a small apartment's contents, or a typical two-car Prairie Village garage.
- Three-quarters ($587): a finished basement family room plus the storage side, or a packed three-car in Olathe.
- Full truck ($732): a small house cleared out, or a basement plus a garage in a Raytown ranch.
If you are between rungs, book the smaller one. It adjusts on the day and the ladder just moves up.
What drives Kansas City jobs up the ladder
- Basements. Near-universal in this metro. Every house has a storage floor, and it is full.
- Two- and three-car garages in Johnson County, Lee's Summit, Liberty and the Northland, holding everything except a car.
- Sheds and outbuildings on the larger Cass County and outer Johnson County lots. Open the shed before you estimate.
- Attics, including the one over the detached alley garage in Brookside or Waldo.
A house that looks like a quarter truck from the living room is regularly a full truck once someone opens the basement door. Estimate from the whole property, not the part you look at.
What does not change the price
- Stairs. No stair charge, ever. That is the single biggest difference between a published price and a quote given in your living room, given the 1920s stairwells in Brookside, Waldo, Hyde Park and the Northeast.
- Distance from the truck. Long Leawood driveways, alley-loaded garages, gravel drives in Cass County — no long-carry charge.
- Which state you are in. Identical prices in Missouri and Kansas.
- Same-day service. No rush surcharge.
- Disposal. Included.
Bags, piles and debris
Not everything is furniture. For bagged and loose material:
| Item | Flat price |
|---|---|
| 10 bags of debris | $132 |
| 15 bags | $196 |
| 20 bags | $259 |
| 30 bags | $385 |
| 50 bags | $575 |
| Small junk pile | $82 |
| Medium junk pile | $129 |
| Large junk pile | $208 |
| Construction debris | $120 |
| Concrete / masonry, per quarter truck | $219 |
Heavy material — concrete, tile, brick from a Northeast or Westport renovation — is priced separately because weight, not space, is the constraint.
How to get an accurate number in five minutes
- Walk the whole property, including basement, garage, attic and shed. Write the big items down.
- Put the list into the quote tool and read the total.
- Compare it against the truck fraction that matches your pile.
- Book the lower one.
No estimate visit, no phone tag, and no number that only exists once a truck is already parked outside your house.
What you should never be charged
If a quote in this metro includes any of the following, ask why: a stair fee, a walk-up fee, a long-carry fee, a fuel surcharge, a disposal fee on top of the price, a same-day fee, or a different rate because you live on the other side of State Line Road. None of those exist here.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum charge for junk removal in Kansas City?
$75 per visit. Individual small items can be priced below that — a microwave is $30, a bicycle is $37 — but the visit itself has a $75 floor, so batch them.
How much is a full truck?
$732. The ladder below it runs $241 quarter, $338 three-eighths, $431 half, $513 five-eighths, $587 three-quarters and $661 seven-eighths.
When is volume pricing cheaper than per-item?
Usually once you are past six to eight furniture-sized pieces. A sofa, recliner, queen mattress set and dresser itemize to $126 + $98 + $143 + $126 = $493, so the $431 half truck wins.
Do you charge for stairs or a long driveway?
No. Neither exists in our pricing, which is deliberate in a metro where most of the work starts in a basement.
Can the price change after the crew arrives?
Not for what you booked. Items added on the day are added at their listed prices, and you see that before the work is finished.