What Are Plastic Moving Bins and Are They Better than Cardboard Boxes?

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If you’re friends with me, you likely know three things because I’ve repeatedly shouted them into the side of your face:

I’m a Virgo, I firmly believe Survivor is the best show on television, and I think plastic moving boxes are one of the most genius solutions I’ve stumbled across

The very first time I used plastic bins to move, it spoiled me on cardboard boxes for life and turned me into a big-time proselytizer (that means I’m a fan). 

gorillabins
Gorilla Bins

What are plastic moving bins and why should I care?

Great question. To get super basic, plastic bins (in a moving context) are durable plastic boxes that are designed to be rented for the duration of your move. Then, usually, you return them to wherever you rented them from.

Plastic moving bins are typically:

  • Stackable (!)
  • Sturdy, dry and secure
  • Have handles
  • Standardized in sizes
  • Eco-friendly

The specific company I rented from was called Gorilla Bins, which is now far outside my grasp in L.A., given that it’s local to New York City, which I left in 2019. But there are plenty of plastic moving box companies scattered across the country, just waiting to transform your move. 

“It will vary a lot by company and location, but usually, plastic bins come in just shy of $100 for around 10-20 of them, plus weekly charges.”

My offerings at Gorilla Bins were both stackable and nestable, equipped with ergonomic handles, came with enough stick-on labels for each bin, and closed with hinged lids securable with zip ties. (So no need to clear a massive section of floor while you collect cardboard or wrestle with that temperamental tape gun that you completely forget how to operate in between moves.)

How does ordering plastic moving bins work?

You generally order however many you need online, or over the phone, just like most things.

Then, depending on who you go with, you either go to their store to pick them up, or someone will come drop them off at your place. And generally, you pay for plastic bins by the week. You may also come across moving companies that provide plastic bins as an add-on to your scheduled move for extra money.

Every company works with its own version. Check out a few of the bigger plastic moving bin companies near you:

Who should use plastic moving boxes?

There is one major caveat: most moving bin companies are almost always for local moves only. This may not be the case if the company has two stores exactly in proximity of both your origin and arrival destinations, but even U-Haul requires you to return their plastic bins to the exact store you rented them from.

What if there are no moving bin companies in my area?

Speaking of options available in your area, there’s a good chance you don’t live close enough to NYC to take advantage of Gorilla Bins specifically. But that doesn’t mean you’re out of luck. 

Of course, first try Googling “plastic moving boxes” and your town or city to see if there are reputable companies working nearby. You can also check HireAHelper.com to book a similar moving service that suits your needs for a comparable price to a plastic bin service. I like this option because it’s more flexible and adaptable; maybe you only need a couple of people and not a whole team, for example, especially if you already have your own vehicle and don’t need to pay for a truck.

See prices for movers by the hour – instantly.

Read real customer reviews.

Easily book your help online.

 

But are moving bins better than cardboard boxes? They are definitely far more environmentally friendly than cardboard boxes (even recycled free boxes). And unless the one part of moving that you absolutely love is scrambling to amass a collection of cardboard boxes that could get squashed or soaked during your move, the value of plastic moving bins security and portability should be obvious. 

Moving bins also make labor-only moves (or any moving service without packing) much more efficient, which may save you serious money if you’re paying movers by the hour.

How much are plastic moving bins?

Uhaul box
Uhaul.com

I got my bins as part of my whole moving package. I paid $462 including tax, tip, and tolls for movers, a truck, plus bins. And that was moving from busy Manhattan to busy Queens, so you can probably do even better than I did. 

What about a la carte bin prices? It will vary a lot by company and location, but usually, plastic bins come in just shy of $100 for around 10-20 of them, plus weekly charges.

For me in New York, they came in sizes ranging from “Studio” (20 bins for $87), up to the “Family Package” (60 bins for $207), and each has a mix of medium and large boxes to suit all your needs. Often, these companies offer things like dollies and other pieces of equipment in their packages, too. For me, I was moving out of a studio, but I went with the “One Bedroom” package because I’d been living in the same place for seven full years, accumulating items like a greedy little magpie. 

You can budget for them however you want, of course, but I highly recommend my particular method: pairing the boxes themselves – no labor included – with a moving company for your own version of a Hybrid Move. That combo offered me control in the areas I wanted while lifting the burden of responsibility off of me and onto others.

How long can you keep your plastic moving boxes?

It depends on the company, but it’s usually for a window of time, probably weekly.

“…(E)ven U-Haul requires you to return their plastic bins to the exact store you rented them from.”

During checkout, I was asked to choose a two-week window during which I’d have possession of the bins—with an option to add a third week in, if need be. I selected one with my move date centered right in the middle, so I could use the week following delivery to pack up my old place, and the week prior to pick-up to unpack at my new place.

It initially felt kind of fast, to me, but I ultimately really appreciated the pick-up deadline, because it meant that I actually unpacked instead of living out of boxes for days or weeks (or let’s be honest, months) like I have in the past.

How do plastic storage bins stack up against other options? (pun very much intended)

Are plastic bins better than cardboard boxes? Heck yes. Are they more expensive? Sure, and way more than free boxes. Are they safer? A lot more. But if you can pair them to your move, try them out. I am a plastic bin convert.

But…I know this whole post has been me gushing about how great my experience with Gorilla Bins was, and all of that still stands. However, one thing I need you to know is that whether you realize it or not, if you have a budget for plastic moving bins, it’s highly likely you can afford actual movers—either in addition or instead.

Check out what other moving options you have, and compare prices at a glance.

See prices for movers by the hour – instantly.

Read real customer reviews.

Easily book your help online.

 

For me, my plastic bin move was my first adult move, by which I mean my first time hiring movers… and I was genuinely shocked at how affordable it was compared to what I thought it’d be. My assumption up to that point was that big-girl moves were a four-figure proposition, and I’d be better off shredding my relationships to smithereens by trying to do them myself.

But folks, that is very much not the case. 

No matter how micro your moving budget, do yourself (and your relationships) a favor and just run the numbers through a mover marketplace before you start, just to see what’s out there. After that, whether you opt for a plastic moving bins company like Gorilla Bins, a boxes-plus-labor arrangement like MakeSpace, a full-service move, or ignore my advice altogether, I fully support you. Just know your options.

The Rise of Plastic Storage Companies, and What It Means for Movers

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You don’t have to be an industry insider to know that the self-storage industry is booming. Drive around Anytown, USA and it’s almost impossible not to notice those orange-and-gray, or orange-and-purple, or green-and-white facilities popping up all over the place. Even if you round down SpareFoot’s numbers from 2016, the country is currently at over 50,000 self-storage facilities generating over $30 billion in annual revenue.

Crazy numbers, for sure. And guess what? Things are only just beginning to get interesting. We’re seeing the emergence of a lot of small (for now) companies offering services beyond typical self-storage – services that were virtually unheard just a few years ago.

MakeSpace and Clutter Surge

MakeSpace.com

Consider MakeSpace, a New York City outfit that has raised $47.5 million in venture capital in just the last two years. Not your average self-storage provider, MakeSpace packs, picks up their customers’ excess belongings and brings it all to their storage facility. Customers don’t need to think about how much storage space they need because they don’t actually have to rent storage units. They don’t have to worry about getting their stuff moved to a certain place and time because MakeSpace does all the back-and-forth for you. And since their storage facilities are located in what TechCrunch describes as “less desirable areas” outside prime real estate locations that are fairly removed from the residential areas they serve, MakeSpace can rent space at a lower cost, thereby reducing operating expenses.

Besides New York, MakeSpace operates in Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C., serving tens of thousands of customers, that according to CEO Sam Rosen.

Meanwhile, Clutter of Culver City, CA, operating on a similar business model, has expanded beyond Los Angeles to serve San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Chicago, and states New York and New Jersey. As of June 2017, they have raised $96.5 million in venture capital – double that of MakeSpace. According to Forbes, they plan to infiltrate every major city in America and several more abroad.

Millions in capital, global plans … there must be a lot more people out there with a lot of stuff willing to pay extra for this ultra-convenient, self-storage service.

The Rise of Plastic Bins

Of course, not everyone is looking for self-storage. Some people just need to get their stuff from Point A to Point B. Unsurprisingly, the range of services for these people has exploded too, starting with the U-Haul revolution and the rise of ABF Freight, followed by the portable storage container craze and – ahem – the wild growth of the moving labor sector.

It turns out this is the one place eco-conscious people choose plastic over paper.

Yes, we’re seeing now that people want to be green as much as they want to save green – and we see that customers are looking for even more alternatives when they move. And one of those alternatives involves cutting back on all that cardboard and tape.

Enter the gorillas and the kangaroos.

Redi-Box.com

Since 2011, Gorilla Bins of New York City has been renting out black plastic bins two weeks at a time. (They know it takes a lot more than a day to pack and unpack!) And they aren’t the only ones touting the three-point “We drop them off – You use them – We pick them up” service line, inspiring plenty of imitators. Redi-Box is ready with their red bins in Chicago and Portland. Rent a Green Box covers Los Angeles and Orange Counties with their (of course) green plastic bins. Hopping around the Springfield, MO area we have Roo Rent a Box and their stacks of gray bins.

There are many players in this plastic bin rental game. Their prices and policies may vary, but they all operate on the same fundamental idea. (Really, the biggest question right now might be who will end up buying out who down the road.)

Also of note, a company named Bin-It is running a similar operation out of their northern New Jersey headquarters, serving not only the New York area but Philadelphia, Indianapolis and Nashville. Yet unlike the gorillas and kangaroos, Bin-It also offers storage, bridging the service gap between valet storage and simple moving bin rental.

It probably goes without saying (but we’ll say it anyway) that this plastic bin rental business is a local thing. It’s conceivable that in the future we’ll see this change as some of these bin-renters extend their reach further across the country and can handle the logistics of tracking and managing their bins in the same way U-Haul manages their trucks.

For now, despite the impressive growth of this eco-friendly niche, it looks like the trend of renting plastic bins instead of using cardboard boxes will remain an aspect of the local move market.

How Does This Impact Movers?

So what does this have to do with all of us in the moving labor industry?  

It surprisingly doesn’t, directly. But say someone calls you up asking if you offer storage services. “No,” you say. But your conversation shouldn’t end there. This person needs a service and seems not sure where to turn. By pointing them in the right direction, you are not only helping them, you’re also tossing a biscuit of friendship to the people you are referring them to. “Tell them Kevin at HireAHelper sent you,” you might say. Or Mark at Mark’s Movers, or whatever the case may be.

You recommend them, they recommend you, and everybody gets a business boost. This dynamic works especially as long as storage bin companies exist as a local enterprise.

The same dynamic can work with the valet storage niche, as well as the emerging plastic moving bin rental market. These companies are directly tied to the storage and moving industry, just like us. Yet they occupy a different niche. So rather than competing, our services are almost always perfectly complementary.

Likewise, those customers looking for that environmentally-friendly alternative to cardboard boxes are potential customers too. The bin-renters generally don’t offer actual moving services, so the door is wide open.

At the same time, be aware that a few other valet storage providers and bin renters have had the same brilliant idea, and have begun creating those collaborative partnerships with a few local movers. So don’t wait! Get online, get on the horn, pick up the phone and get out there! Meet these new players in the storage and moving industry. There may never be a better ally, or imposing competition, depending who gets there first.


Header image by MakeSpace.com
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