Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Moving box rental service hits Charlotte

People preparing for a move rent moving trucks, moving carts, moving mats - so why not boxes? John Miller, who lives in Charlotte's Cotswold neighborhood, is aiming to make that a reality, with a new business called (surprisingly enough) Rent Your Boxes.

Miller previously worked in NASCAR-related marketing, but began looking for different opportunities as the economy froze. He considered businesses that could tie in with his wife's work as a real estate agent, and while browsing different franchises found the box rental concept, which originated in Australia. It struck him as a good idea, he said, because "getting boxes is one of the worst parts of moving." With box rental, he said, customers order and reserve their boxes online or through a toll-free number, and the rental company then delivers the boxes - as well as related moving supplies available for sale, such as tape and bubble wrap - to customers' homes. People can then keep the boxes for up to 90 days, and break them back down and call for pickup when they're finished. 

Rent Your Boxes is in about eight U.S. cities so far, with plans to expand, Miller said. He's operating in Charlotte now, but hopes to grow to Raleigh and other parts of the state in the future. For the business model to work, he noted, the company likes to rent boxes two to three times before disposing of them, which is better for the environment and saves money. Franchisees go through training on how to evaluate the boxes to ensure they're in good condition, with water and dampness the biggest enemies. For the most part, Miller said, customers will receive a mix of new and used boxes; for an additional charge, they can buy their rental boxes and keep them for good. That happens with about 50 percent of the boxes, Miller said. Otherwise, the boxes will be recycled. Miller said that fire restoration companies also like to use those that have reached the end of their rental life. 

The rented boxes come in small ($1.10), large ($2.30) and wardrobe ($7) sizes. By contrast, comparable U-Haul boxes sell for $1.70, $2.35 and $7.95 to $11.95, depending on size, according to the company's Web site. Miller says he hopes people will find the service worthwhile, and a stress relief at a busy time. "I'm a firm believer that whereas the 20th century was defined by whoever could manufacture things better, the 21st century is going to be defined by who can do things in a smarter way," he said. "I think this falls into that category."

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great Story! We Love it!
We have a business that takes this concept to the next level and we will soon be in your area. We rent recycled and recyclable plastic moving boxes with an attached lid. BungoBoxes are awesome and can be reused hundreds of times. We rent our boxes at an amazing price of $0.25 per day, which is only $1.75 per week. Not only that we deliver and pick up the boxes to your home or office. We also have Extra Large Boxes and Wardrobes. Our system is amazing from top to bottom. Check us out www.BungoBox.com. We are aiming to be the best and fastest growing franchise. We plan to open additional corporate locations in the next couple of months and already have a waiting list of names for franchises all over the country. Once we finalize our franchise legal requirements we will be ready, which should be in the next 3-4 months. Check out BungoBox. www.BungoBox.com

Thank you for reading and good luck.

-Bob Cannon, BungoBox

Anonymous said...

Rent-a-box shops?

WOW -- the American economy is incredibly cutting-edge nowadays, eh?

Movers Charlotte said...

I think this is a great plan to start with the renting the moving boxes. This is surely going to hit the market well and would definitely generate a great business out there.

Anonymous said...

Question for BungoBox...what do you offer for wardrobes? That's the only reason I've not been totally sold on the plastic box idea. And what various sizes do you offer?

Anonymous said...

We offer reusable wardrobe boxes and 2 sizes in our BungoBoxes. Please visit our website at www.BungoBox.com for a more detailed description. Thanks for the interest.

cheap moving supplies said...

Very informative post, thanks for this. Really with the help of moving furniture we can make any work very easily.

Bob White said...

This is an interesting concept to rent boxes while relocating. I think this concept is growing faster and more than it expected to be.

Movers Raleigh NC said...

There might be some room for a service like this, but it came to my attention that your renting prices are almost identical (just slightly lower) than the ones at Uhaul.

Do you think moving customers will be willing to save 10 bucks on the total cost of boxes?...

Moving Company said...

It is great idea of moving home through moving company. Last week, I shifted in my new home and I was really scared of it as I hate moving so this time we decided to book moving company for moving the home. and seriously, It is fantastic experience. They helped lot and moved our all things securely.

long distance movers chicago said...

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Unknown said...

nice post

Yes you are right about the proper box sizes which is needed for every belongings of yours to move

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Unknown said...

Rent a box for storage originated in Australia, and it is still big. Although there are more and more self storage facilities, people would still prefer to store their items at home. But nowadays, people are also becoming smarter and smarter. Instead of renting bigger space at self storage facilities, they tend to maximize their space, throw away those items they do not need, and rent a smaller space for their winter equipments. Thus, this would only require about 6 months of storage, rather than 1 year as it used to be. I think, times are changing, and we also need to re-look into improving our business models to be attuned to the times and make ourselves profitable.

Unknown said...

This is a great idea and I have heard about this company before. I know there are a number of small businesses that are renting these packing boxes in order to augment the existing self storage business. I would not have thought about it as a separate business since we are already providing packing boxes for a premium price. But I think there is a niche market for those who would just like to rent these for a certain period of time.

Unknown said...

Sounds like a great idea, but why cardboard? Doesn't it make more sense to rent reusable plastic boxes? I mean you're not gonna get damaged. And you can clean them after each use, and use them hundreds of times. It seems like renting out plastic Boxes makes much more sense than renting out cardboard. Just sounds like a waste of boxes to me!

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