1-800-GOT-JUNK alternatives in Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads

The short answer

The main alternatives are your city's free bulky pickup, curbside-only services, other national and local haulers, and flat-price services that publish item prices online. Each fits a different job. JunkRabbit is the flat-price option: a sofa is $126, a queen mattress $103, a quarter truck $241 and a half truck $431, shown before you book, with carry-out from any floor and disposal included.

How 1-800-GOT-JUNK is set up locally

1-800-GOT-JUNK operates two franchises in the region. One is based in Chesapeake and serves the Southside. The other is based in Yorktown and serves the Peninsula. Both list themselves as open around the clock.

Its standard service is priced by how much truck space your items take up. It also offers a curbside option called Flex, where you bring items out and the crew loads them.

The two-franchise setup mirrors a real feature of this region. The Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel and the Monitor-Merrimac divide the Southside and the Peninsula, and many services treat them as separate territories.

If that model fits your job, it's a well-known option. If you're comparing, here's what else is available.

Alternative 1: your city's bulky pickup

For many single items, the city is the first alternative to check.

• Virginia Beach: bulky pickup by request at least three days before your trash day; out after 5 p.m. the night before, by 7 a.m. The city's page doesn't list a fee. It excludes carpet, cabinets, doors, sinks, toilets, building materials, cardboard boxes, bags and computer towers.
• Norfolk: requests until 3 p.m. the day before through MyNorfolk or by phone. E-waste is drop-off only.
• Chesapeake: one 4 by 4 by 10 foot pile per week, twelve times a year.
• Newport News: up to six cubic yards per collection day; appliances by appointment.
• Moyock and Knotts Island: Currituck County has no curbside bulk pickup; residents haul to convenience centers with a County Access Permit.

The city is the cheapest route when you can carry items to the curb and wait for the schedule. It doesn't come inside, and it doesn't take the excluded items.

Alternative 2: curbside-only services

Some services in the area specialize in curbside pickup. You bring the item out to the curb or driveway, and a crew loads it. That model can be very practical when the item is already in the garage.

The trade-off is that the carrying is your job. For a sofa on the third floor of a Ghent walk-up, or a fridge in a second-floor Town Center condo, curbside doesn't solve the hard part.

Ask any curbside service what counts as "curbside", whether they'll step into a garage, and whether the price changes if they do.

All JunkRabbit prices are carry-out. The crew goes in and brings it out from any room, any floor, with no stairs fee.

Alternative 3: other haulers

Hampton Roads has other national brands with local locations, such as College HUNKS Hauling Junk, which has a location in Norfolk. There's also a long list of local independent haulers across Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and the Peninsula.

When comparing any of them, ask the same questions: Are you insured? Will I get a total price before you arrive? Is disposal included? Do you carry from inside, from any floor? Are there charges for stairs, same-day or weekends? Can you send my building a certificate of insurance? Do you serve both sides of the tunnel?

Write down the answers and compare totals for your specific job. A side-by-side on the same list of items is the only fair comparison. Use the same photos for every quote, so nobody is pricing a different pile.

Alternative 4: flat online pricing

With JunkRabbit, every item has a published price, and piles use a published truck tier. You get the price from a photo or by picking items online, before anyone drives over. It only changes if you approve.

The same prices apply everywhere we serve in Hampton Roads, on both sides of the tunnel, plus Moyock and Knotts Island in North Carolina. A sofa and a washer are $126 + $133 = $259 whether you're in Kempsville or Phoebus.

Which alternative fits your job

One sofa, already in the garage, no deadline: the city's bulky pickup.

Items you can easily bring outside: a curbside service, or the city.

Items inside or upstairs, priced before booking: a flat-price carry-out service.

A whole-house cleanout: compare truck-space pricing with flat truck tiers, using the same photos.

A PCS move with a fixed report date: anything that books same-day and shows the price in advance. Book by 4 p.m. for same-day, seven days a week, 8 a.m. to midnight.

Start with a photo on the instant quote page, and compare the number you get with any other quote.

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