Storage Pricing and Transparency
As with anything we want to know what we are paying for and a lot of the time that can be difficult. Often times we see prices on things as advertised only to find out that when we check out there are a bunch of hidden fees tacked on to the goods and services we are purchasing. This seems to be the case more and more when it comes to the storage industry as well.
With the emergence of technology in the storage world and the advent of on-demand storage providers, the practice of hidden fees is on the rise. It used to be that with traditional self-storage providers you might see an increase in your monthly rental fee associated with rising rents in the area. This would usually account to 3%-5% increase year over year.
Pricing Pitfalls and Hidden Charges
As the storage space evolves and more and more companies enter the space it is important to make sure you know what you are paying for. Many of these new services offer an on-demand valet storage service wherein they come to your home or business to pick up items that you would like to store, allow you to catalog them and have them redelivered to your home or business when you would like them back. This provides a great deal of convenience and has brought storage into the 21st century, but services like this often advertise one price and charge you drastically different rates for their services.
Advertising free delivery and access to your things on your schedule are things that are often baked into the price of your monthly storage fee. These can often result in storing a single bike for $39 a month. On top of this many providers charge an hourly rate like a moving company to come to your home to pick up your items. While this fee is not ongoing it can add an additional $50 to $100 dollar one-time fee for the labor associated with packing and delivering your belongings to storage.
A clear sign of bait and switch is that to get a quote from these companies on what you will pay to store your things, you need to get a quote over the phone rather than selecting a number of items you wish to store and being able to see your final total at checkout from their website.
The accumulation of these fees can easily make what seemed like a convenient solution to your space needs an expensive endeavor.
How to Avoid Hidden Fees
To avoid these pitfalls and a ballooning monthly payment that you never saw coming, make sure to follow these steps:
Online Order vs. Get a Quote
Find a service provider that allows you to place an order online that shows you exactly what your monthly payment is up front without having to get a quote over the phone or via email.
Starting At $7.50/month…
Make sure that when you see an advertisement that states that storage package start at a certain price that when you place your order you are actually able to receive services for those prices. You may come across services offering storage services starting at $7.50 a month per item only to find out once you sign up and have your things picked up your actual fee has gone up due to service fees such as labor and delivery.
Blue Crates storage service is a transparent solution to these issues. They offer storage at transparent pricing that you can see on their website as advertised. Each item is $10 a month to store and that includes all delivery fees. You can create your entire order online and see your monthly bill without having to get a quote online via email or over the phone with a sales agent.
Blue Crates has made the process of using valet on-demand storage easy and their pricing is affordable and transparent as follows:
- Crates $10/month
- Wardrobes $15.50/month
- Oversize Items $10/month
- Furniture $45/month
- Plus $75 delivery fee (On Time)
These prices are stable and will not change at any point during your service. There are no monthly minimums or limits on how much you have to store. For more information on Blue Crates storage services visit their website here.
