So easy to register online. Spotless 5x7x8 unit, perfect for OOS student at UMD-CP to store larger…read moreitems for summer. Made our end of year move so much easier! Thank you!

Be aware of the following (long term renter). Owner says he can't (won't) negotiate…read more 1. Changing Prices National self-storage companies use a system called "revenue management" to set their prices. At the national storage conventions, owners take classes about how to use this software to increase revenue by raising prices on customers. What is revenue management? This practice is what airlines and hotels use when they quote you a different rate for the same flight or room based on demand. Big storage companies do the same thing, reassessing their prices hourly. This means if they only have one 10 x 10 unit at the moment you check, it might be priced at $200 a month (compared to $100 last week). You can get the same unit at a company that is not using this software for much less. Why are they doing this? To make sure they are charging you the highest price they can get away with to maximize their revenue. 2. Increasing Rent All the Time When you sign a contract with one of these companies, you think that you've locked in a price for the rest of your lease, right? Not true. Almost all contracts in the self-storage industry are month-to-month. This means they can increase your rent at any time with a 30-day notice. National companies increase rent for current customers frequently, oftentimes twice a year. So, a unit you thought would be $70 per month suddenly costs you $115 per month. If you stay a year with that new rate, you'll be dishing out an extra $540 you hadn't budgeted for originally. 3. Charging High Fees National self-storage companies often reel you in with attractive pricing or a special but get you with fees. You may think you're paying only $70 per month, but wait, there's more: Admin fee ($20-$30) Lock charge ($20-$30) Late fees ($50-$60 for more than 30 days late) Deposit fee ($25-$45) Those fees add up, especially if you stay in your unit for a long time. Your bill inevitably ends up being much larger than you initially planned. 4. Ripping You Off with Insurance The big storage companies try to squeeze every possible penny out of you. One of the ways they do this is by requiring you to buy their storage insurance. While it seems like it adds value for customers, storage insurance is just an additional revenue stream for storage companies. Often, the insurance provider is the self-storage company. Other times, it's a third-party provider that gives the storage company a monthly kickback for selling policies. Public Storage automatically enrolls you in its insurance program, and you have to opt-out later to get out of it. They don't even offer good coverage. When you try to make a claim, you'll find the policy is selective in what it covers. Storage insurance is just an easy way for national storage chains to make an extra $15 to $25 per month from you. In fact, most renters have homeowners or renters' insurance that automatically covers items they've put in storage without additional cost. Our experience in managing 5,000 storage units is that it is very rare -- under 1% -- for something to happen that affects the contents of a storage unit. If you wrap your furniture in thick plastic wrap available on Amazon, and pack all your other items in plastic crates with tight lids, you will avoid almost all of the possible incidents that can affect your contents. That effort would eliminate rodent damage, mildew, and water damage, plus protect against absorbing the smell of the unit. The only thing left that could happen is theft. You have dropped your risk to .1%. Let's look at what would happen if you somehow incurred a loss: If you buy their insurance and stay for two years paying $25 extra a month, and if their policy covers the damage you incur, you have paid $600 for the insurance plus the $100 deductible. So you would have to experience over $700 in damage for it to help you. Do yourself a favor and spend $100 on packing supplies and rely on your homeowners or renters policy. 5. Making You Buy Their Expensive Lock Unfortunately, most national storage companies require you to buy their lock for $15-$20 (or more) instead of providing one to you free of charge. You can get the same lock at the local hardware store for $6.

Pick-up on a Friday, gave us a truck with a broke side mirror, got a 2nd one told us it was full of…read moregas. It wasn't. Returning the truck, was a nightmare. Couldn't get into the lot. They are cleaning the trucks where you return the trucks and they were behind. So returning on Saturday creates a backup onto Rte 1. My husband made a way into the lot. Gave the keys to someone and they gave him a receipt. We got charged for 2 days not one and we returned it full of gas-no credit. Won't use this location again.

Outstanding! I went for an unscheduled pre-check and Jerome checked my F150 and Jerome spent time…read moreusing the system ensuring it would pull a Dolly with a Corolla on it and how it all worked. He put a quote in the system for me and they'll ensure everything is setup on their lot before I take off for the west coast.

We have had Zip Moving and Storage now for two moves and have two more scheduled with them. We've…read morehad nothing but excellent customer service and support throughout both moves. They were flexible with us as we had to reschedule due to weather, and had several complicated moves that were handled very well. As with any move, we took care ourselves to wrap things, communicate our needs and expectations, but I would do that with any mover. Ask questions, clarify and explain what you want. All furniture was wrapped carefully with moving blankets and secured and all breakables were treated with care. I've never seen a team of people work so hard!

The movers did an excellent job. I am handicapped, they did my packing, were courteous and the move…read morewent quick and smooth.

I have visited Parcel Plus twice in the past few months to have documents notarized, faxed and…read moreemailed. The owner of Parcel Plus was present and took care of my needed items right away. Their prices for services are competitive. The staff are always friendly and professional. Parcel Plus is a neighborhood jewel.

Just got duped for 20$ extra charges to ship a envelope by DHL…read more I originally went there to get a document notarized. Lady at friend desk asked me if it was my first time there and also said they do shipping at same rates as normal DHL. She gave me a quote for 96$ for international shipping which is just $77 even they pick the package from your home. I asked her why your shipping price is so high she said DHL/FedEx recently raised their rates (which is a lie) I just checked with them. Don't get duped like me and only ship from authentic DHL and FedEx locations.

I was lucky to get Bookstore Movers for my move as their highly booked schedule shows their strong…read morereputation! Sometimes moves do not go as smoothly as hoped. It was Bookstore Movers' excellent customer service that earns them 5 stars. The 3 movers showed up early and worked very quickly and efficiently. In that haste, some items were damaged and I offered that feedback in the follow-up survey. I quickly received a call from the company offering to discount my move and send Walter Davies, a furniture repair person, out to make furniture repairs. That concern for customers and making things right earns Bookstore Movers 5-star service. Walter Davies was excellent and thorough in repairing my furniture. If you have a move coming up, call Bookstore Movers. Lisa C.

We were disappointed with our recent experience with Bookstore Movers. The crew was polite, but the…read moremove felt much slower and less efficient than it should have been. We had a dedicated elevator, yet workers often brought items down only one or two at a time. I also saw team members on their phones or standing around in rooms and hallways instead of actively moving things. These delays added up quickly. The crew also misplaced parts of our bed frame, and the pieces had to be found before it could be reassembled. That alone added nearly an hour to the move. Because the move took much longer than expected, the final cost was significantly higher than the estimate we received. We were also charged based on an arrival time that was recorded as ten minutes earlier than when the crew actually arrived. The team was courteous, but given the inefficiency, added time, and higher final price, we would not use Bookstore Movers again. This is unfortunate, because we had been happy with them in previous moves.