Packing And Moving Tips That Can Save You A Fortune
by
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Market
My findings in researching the five major truck rental firms including Ryder, Budget, Rollins, U-Haul, and Penske were reached through library sources. Of the groups’ nine-and-a half-billion dollars in annual revenues, almost eight billion is consumer generated. Five major carriers in the relocation industry – United, Bekins, Allied, Atlas, and North American Van Lines – account for an additional twenty-plus billion annually. Their combined C.O.D. business amounts to approximately 25%, or five billion. C.O.D. business is that portion involving customers who might pack their own belongings, yet use a commercial relocation company. The multitude of independent rental firms and relocation carriers add up to an even greater market for my publication. I was unable to obtain any national statistics on the number of self storage facilities. However, the number of facilities within the city of Riverside, California totals seventy-nine, with another one hundred eighty three in the county. Given those numbers, the national statistics would be staggering. And, finally, since nothing major in the way of industry procedures, equipment, and materials has changed in the last decade, the book’s backlist potential should be excellent, with very little revision necessary in the near future. Competitive Analysis
According to library sources and book stores, the marketplace shelves feature nothing of a competitive nature in this field. To my knowledge, there are no training manuals in effect by the relocation carriers other than periodic inter-agency memorandums and a few short videos on safety and professional procedure to employees and contractors.
The last training manual of a facsimile I have seen had to do with the introduction of ‘shrink wrap' or ‘stretch film’ for use on upholstery to cut claim costs almost a decade ago. Nothing in the way of packing or loading information is offered to the carrier customer. Understandably, any knowledge that my book acquaints could reduce much of the consumer’s present dependence on the carrier.
Truck rental company brochures seem to be the consumer’s only sources of information other than my book. That being the case, the rental company would be my greatest and only competitor. The Random House College Dictionary defines competition as "the act of struggling to outdo another." What I am about to point out should eliminate any and all competition. I will readily admit that all of the major truck rental firms offer impressive, beautifully designed brochures with the words "Moving Guide" in bold, colorful letters splashed all over their covers. However, inside the covers of these brochures, the reader, while unwittingly preparing to accept inaccurate guidance, discovers a limitless number of expensive so-called ‘damage control’ necessities designed more for the profit of the company than as an aid to its customer. Spring boards, dish-saver kits, cushion foam, and cell kits do nothing more than take up valuable space in a carton. Furthermore, these costly gadgets cannot compete for damage control with the inexpensive, unprinted newspaper and paper pad, when properly used. My book teaches in detail the proper use of both items. As a professional, I was one of those who tested cushion foam and cell and dish-saver kits years ago. As for my competition, or the lack of it, I will list each company in the order of national ranking beginning with Ryder.
Ryder
Ryder’s moving guide consists of one twenty-one-page booklet. Only three-and-a-half pages are dedicated to packing and loading. Among those pages are a number of inaccuracies. The most obvious is a full-page illustration showing printed newspaper apparently used as packing material. The first commandment in professional packing is "never wrap anything in printed paper, lest the ink permanently stains any item wrapped." Another erroneous piece of advice is to pack lamp hascs inside various appliances. Appliances are not meant to be storage compartments for any foreign object, regardless of how well padded. The washer and dryer inner tubs could be thrown off balance during transit, and seals on freezer and refrigerator doors could be damaged. The inside weight could suddenly shift while on an appliance dolly and cause an accident. My book stresses these points emphatically.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
My work, a nonfiction book, consists of detailed comprehensible information designed to aid the consumer of a rental truck for self-moving purposes, self-packing in preparation for professional relocation, and self-storage use. It is the culmination of over two-and-a-half decades of personally successful methods of packing and moving household goods in the professional arena. The book, while dotted with amusing anecdotes, offers detailed availability of professional services, a dangerous items list, and the procurement and usage of packing materials and equipment. Every page within its forty-three chapters eases the consumer through the intricacies of packing every item within the home, usual and unusual, as well as the preparation of each and every item to be moved...lifting, carrying and loading procedures, unpacking, and the innovative disposition of used materials. And, finally, the book contains a number of illustrations augmenting the consumer’s understanding even further.
About the Author
I began my career in the relocation industry in 1969 as an apprentice helper with a local Mayflower agency in Santa Monica, California. Within six months, I achieved local driver status and began training as a packer in both a local and long distance capacity. My eleven years with the agency included local and long distance packing, warehousing, local intrastate and interstate moving, driver foremanship and transcontinental relocating. In the spring of 1981, I joined Global Van Lines as an owner-operator with the transcontinental fleet where I continued to practice all that I had learned previously. In 1988, following a brief illness, I took a job as a mover trainer to work with aspiring owner-operators. A year later, I rejoined the relocation ranks as a contract operator with Beverly Hills Transfer Company, an agent of Allied Van Lines. I also held a packing contract with the firm of more than three years where I supervised my own crews. While at Beverly Hills Transfer, I became involved with specific contracts connected with the relocation of Mariott Hotel executives that included the full-service package from origin to destination. The desire to remain closer to home and family caused me to terminate an enjoyable contract with a Houston, Texas agency affiliated with Suddath United Van Lines. There again, I was involved with large corporate full-service relocation for such companies as Home-Express, the Bechtel Corporation, Texaco and Union Oil Companies, and the then "Houston Oilers" football team. I have handled countless military and C.O.D. relocations and also serviced a variety of international customers. I am currently maintaining my ties to the industry as a contractor with a Wheaton Van Lines agency in Brea, California.