MakeSpace Company Review

The company now has more than 30 U.S. locations (see map). MakeSpace is comparable in price to traditional self-storage options if renting a moving truck is necessary. MakeSpace and a competitor known as Stashable have recently merged under the same ownership.

• Basic Service: Professional movers “SpaceMakers” will wrap and load your items and then transfer them to a storage facility. Service is billed monthly for as little as $69. Basic supplies such as bins, bags, and blankets are included with other related supplies available for purchase.
• Delivery: Customers can have items delivered back to them upon request several times per month. Deliveries can be made to different locations than where they were originally picked up from, but it must still be in the same local area. Delivery service is available only Monday through Friday.
• Furniture Disassembly: SpaceMakers will arrive equipped with tools for disassembling most types of furniture. This does not include items that require special tools or advanced processes to be disassembled. Furniture reassembly following delivery is not currently a service being offered.
• Detailed Inventory: Items are photographed and barcoded and are trackable online via an iOS application or website browser.
• Storage Bins Included: Items are stored in bags or bins that are provided that have three cubic feet of interior space. For example, the available space equates to 12 pairs of shoes or 30 shirts. The maximum weight limit is 40 pounds per bin.
• Business Storage: Rates begin at $79 per month for businesses and include several discounts and other perks such as a $100 credit for signing up.
• Secured Storage: The MakeSpace storage and warehouse facilities are not open to the public. The sites are monitored 24-hours a day and have motion-activated detection equipment, night vision, and alarm notification systems.

States with MakeSpace Locations

Using a variety of resources, we have identified some of the company’s strengths and weaknesses.

The Good: Excellent Inventory System Using Photos and Barcodes

Smartphone Photo Inventory Application

Items are photographed and each bin or box is affixed with a barcode. Customers can easily view their storage inventory online and add a description (see photo below).

The Bad: Too Many Damaged Items

Customer reviews suggest that items are often moved and stored hastily and carelessly by the staff. Purchasing the Silver or Gold plans of insurance protection is strongly suggested. The organization recognizes this problem by promoting its protection plans and placing emphasis on their policies regarding fragile items.

These prices include storage bins, bags, blankets, and the basic protection plan. Certain cities such as Los Angeles and New York are significantly more expensive than most. Cancellations made with 48 hours of advanced notice are permitted without penalty, otherwise, a $100 late cancellation fee applies.

There are currently three levels of insurance (protection) coverage outlined in this chart that is billed monthly:

Fragile Items Policy

MakeSpace generally discourages customers from storing fragile items. This includes furniture containing glass such as cabinets, ceramics, pottery, and similar materials. This also applies to electronics such as televisions and computer hardware or appliances and musical instruments.

Furniture that is constructed of particleboard must be carefully packaged in protective material. Fragile items are only eligible for the basic coverage of 0.60 cents per pound and the management may require that a Fragile Item Waiver be signed by the customer.

The New York City headquarters location has a rating of 3.3 of 5 on Google based on over 300 reviews. Several negative reviews involved the movers arriving late on the day of the move and many pickups were postponed for days or weeks. The most common complaints involved damage to belongings and unresponsive or unavailable customer service or support.

The Los Angeles area location has a rating of 4.4 of 5 on Google. Many customers praised the movers for being professional and helpful. There were many customer service complaints from those who tried calling and emailing without receiving responses. Another common criticism is the lengthy delays that occur when deliveries are ordered to bring items back to the customer.

The New York City location’s Yelp page has more than 600 reviews with an overall rating of 3.5 of 5. Customers consistently complain about being unable to reach a live customer service or support person. Many of the negative reviews involve items being damaged either during transport or storage.

The MakeSpace concept and business model seems to be efficient and economical. Unfortunately, based on customer feedback, there are some serious concerns with operations. Those with expensive, oversized, or delicate belongings should choose another option, as these items may be damaged.

Many customers expressed dissatisfaction with the way their service and support concerns are handled. MakeSpace certainly could improve customer satisfaction by improving their responsiveness and reducing the amount of time that it takes for deliveries to be completed.