movers – Dino's Storage

If You’re Planning a Move, Call Movers Early

MovingCompanyReviews.com, which provides consumers with information about moving companies, recently predicted how housing trends will impact the moving industry in the year ahead.

Among MCR’s predictions:

1. Mover availability is likely to be tight in the spring and summer months. Consumers are urged to book a moving company as soon as they know their moving date. A shortage of nationwide truck drivers is expected in the spring and summer months, according to MCR. The average consumer books the mover only two weeks in advance. But the busiest times of year are between Memorial Day and Labor Day, with moves peaking in August, according to MCR.

2. Major metros will be popular moving destinations. MCR reported the highest number of moves in the nation’s largest cities in 2014, including Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, Denver and Dallas. MCR expects continued urban population growth and the return of post-recession new construction will continue to make these major moving destinations in 2015. Also, MCR anticipates growth in some midsize cities, such as Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham and Nashville. MCR advises consumers moving in or to such areas to book a mover at least one month ahead of their move.

3. Square footage will flatten. In 2014, MCR reported that more movers upgraded their home sizes by a median of 628 square feet. But MCR is projecting that trend won’t continue in 2015 with significant upgrades to square footage from movers. Also, MCR’s forecast projects that the rental market will remain strong with many moves being into rentals.

4. Mover scams remain a threat but will moderate some. The past two years has seen the rise of illegitimate moving companies that offer consumers low prices and then scam them by drastically increasing the rate at the point of delivery or even holding their items hostage. The American Moving and Storage Association and state moving associations issued warnings to consumers in 2014 to watch for such scams and urged consumers to more carefully vet their movers and look for a licensed one.

In 2014, MCR reports the top five states that most consumers moved to were:
1. Florida
2. Texas
3. California
4. New York
5. North Carolina

At Dino’s we unhesitatingly recommend Black Belt Movers to our Des Moines and Omaha area customers. The Omaha-based company also serves Lincoln, Denver, Phoenix, Kansas City, Sioux City and San Diego. They do an outstanding job and are top-ranked by the Better Business Bureau. You can call them in Omaha at 402-709-0970 or in Des Moines at 515-393-4253.

We Highly Recommend Some Great Movers!

As you might expect, a whole lot of moving goes on in our storage business – items coming in, items going out – on a continual basis. And sometimes the amount of goods our clients have is substantially more than the clients can handle on their own.

We make this recommendation to our clients – Call Black Belt Movers. They are a great bunch of hard-working folks who can handle anyone’s needs from packing to moving at competitive rates and with courteous, friendly and efficient service.

Black Belt is an all-around terrific outfit. A young entrepreneur, Luke Taylor, launched the company as FlatRate Movers from his Elkhorn home in 2007, operating with a small crew and a single 26-foot truck.

They recently changed their name to Black Belt Movers and today they have a fleet of more than two dozen trucks and operate in Omaha, Lincoln, Des Moines, Sioux City, Denver, San Diego, Phoenix and Kansas City with more than 60 crew members. The company still is run by Taylor, but now from a corporate office in Elkhorn.

In just the past two years, Black Belt has moved more than 10,000 families! Black Belt is licensed, insured and bonded. They are accredited by the Better Business Bureau and are preferred vendors on Angie’s List. They also have been rated Best of Omaha by Omaha Magazine.

They serve communities large and small in a radius of roughly 50 miles from each of the metro areas where they are now established. So if you have a move in your future, be smart and be happy, call them.

Black Belt Phone Numbers:
– Omaha 402-709-0970
– Des Moines 515-393-4253
– Sioux City 712-522-5344
– Denver 303-656-1888
– Kansas City 913-305-5430
– Phoenix 480-878-7457
– San Diego 619-567-5497

Sharing Rides, Sharing Moves

The idea of sharing rides instead of calling a traditional taxi company has moved across the nation and, in fact, into 36 countries. Now a Santa Barbara, Calif., startup is making a similar move in the moving industry.

NextMover offers an alternative to traditional moving companies and to rent-a-truck do-it-yourself moves. The company helps truck owners and pickup drivers earn extra cash by helping with small-scale, local moves. They have been assisting with local moves in Santa Barbara since January, but the concept has already drawn comparisons to car-sharing services such as Lyft, which is now operating in at least 60 cities and Uber which offers ride-sharing in 36 countries.

With NextMover truck owners set their own prices for movers to consider and NextMover takes 20 percent of that. “On the average we are about 50 percent cheaper than similar services. But it turns out that’s really third on the totem pole,” says president and CEO Alexander Kehaya. “The convenience and the community aspect are the things that people consistently tell us when we show them our website and talk about what we do.”

Truck owners vehicles can range from pickups to larger commercial trucks. To participate they must emerge from a vetting process that includes interviews, a background check and vehicle inspection, before they’re allowed to participate. Consumers can choose among truck owners depending on budget and needs, as well as driver bios and user ratings. NextMover is currently assuming insurance responsibility for these initial moves, but the company does ask truck owners to carry commercial insurance.

Co-founder Max James says. “Part of the thing that our platform provides is security for everyone in the sense that the price is what it is. It’s a rate you set ahead of time and if it’s processed through our system, nobody’s going to come to you and say, ‘Hey, we are holding your house hostage until you pay us for it.'”

NextMover is preparing to secure more funding in order to expand to other cities. Kehaya says they’ve already signed up a few hundred truck owners in other cities, such as Austin, Texas.

“We first started with only pickup trucks, ‘your friend with a truck,’ because we realized that there are a lot of pickup trucks that aren’t being utilized and that perhaps people would be interested in using that to make some money on the side,” says James. “We have made a pivot since then and moved to more of a larger, open marketplace. The people with pickup trucks that want to make some money on the side can still do that, but the marketplace is also for small businesses, or people who have a larger vehicle or a box truck that they use for other things. Our platform is so easy for them to use that they are willing to try it out and use their trucks when it is convenient for them.”

“When we switched to this open marketplace, we got good feedback from the truck owners and also on the consumer’s side: Not everybody needs just a pickup,” says Kehaya. “There are some people that would like it if you had a trailer. They would pay more money for that because they’ve got more stuff to move. Sometimes they want two people to come and help them, not just one guy and a truck. It really opened up the services that we can provide.”

There are, of course, limitations to moving with NextMover. It only works for local moves, and is less ideal for people with large houses who truly need full-size moving trucks and comprehensive service. “And we can’t move pianos,” says Kehaya. “You’re better off with somebody who has all the straps and equipment for that.” But Kehaya believes the demand for the convenience and cost savings that NextMover provides is plenty large for local markets.

While NextMover is only available in Santa Barbara right now, Dino’s Storage can lend a hand with available rental trucks at some of our locations. If you need a truck, just check with any Dino’s facility for a location convenient to you, or send an e-mail to customerservice@dinosstorage.com.