Blue Crates

What Blue Crates does

Blue Crates is a Chicago-based on-demand valet self-storage and moving service founded in 2014. The company delivers reusable plastic crates and wardrobes to customers' doors, picks up packed items, stores them in a single climate-controlled, 24/7-monitored facility near Chicago's 60607 zip code, and delivers recalled items back on demand at no extra transportation cost. A separate offering called The Vault™ extends the model to larger furniture and oversized items in 5'x5'x7' sections at $75/month per section, while a Moving Rental Service packages reusable crates for relocations at $199–$499 per two-week rental.

The underlying technology stack is a lightweight digital platform: customers order and schedule through bluecrates.com, the Smart Inventory System catalogs each crate's contents with customer-supplied photos and descriptions accessible from a phone, and authentication is handled via Facebook and Google OAuth social login. The proprietary differentiator is operational rather than algorithmic — a last-mile logistics choreography in which Blue Crates crews handle every pickup, transport, and redelivery, eliminating the customer-side truck rental and facility visits that define traditional self-storage.

The revenue model is predominantly recurring subscription (crates $15/month, wardrobes $20/month, oversized items $12.50/month, Vault $75/month), supplemented by transactional moving package rentals and ancillary fees ($55 swaps, $75–$150 returns, $50 missed appointments, replacement charges). Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer via the website, content marketing (blog, YouTube), organic social, and a small set of referral partnerships with real estate agents and lifestyle influencers. Customer segments span urban Chicago residents (primary), college students, small businesses, real estate agents and their listing clients, and moving customers — almost entirely long-tail B2C rather than enterprise accounts. The company remains privately held with no disclosed institutional funding.

Name

Blue Crates

Legal name

Blue Crates, LLC

Website

https://bluecrates.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Blue Crates is a Chicago-based on-demand valet storage and moving service that delivers reusable crates and wardrobes to customers, stores them in a climate-controlled facility, and returns them on demand. It serves urban residents, students, real estate agents, and small businesses in greater Chicago.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

On-Demand Self-Storage Services

NAICS

General Warehousing and Storage (493110), Packing and Crating (488991)

SIC

Public Warehousing & Storage (4220)

akta.pro primary industry

Wardrobe & Garment Packing (Wardrobe Boxes) (HSAKADAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Closet Labeling & Inventory Systems (HSAFABAG), Crates & Cases (Wooden/Plastic/Metal, Export Cases) (IMALAFAG)

Keywords

• On-demand self-storage
• Valet storage service
• Reusable moving crates
• Climate-controlled storage
• Smart inventory storage

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Monthly Storage Subscriptions: Recurring monthly fees for storage of crates, wardrobes, and oversized items. Customers pay per crate/wardrobe per month with free pickup and delivery included. Basic protection plan included free.
2. Vault Storage: Monthly fees for climate-controlled vault spaces (5'x5'x7' sections at $75/month each) for larger items and furniture
3. Moving Rental Services: One-time rental packages for moving with reusable crates. Packages range from $199-$399 for 2-week rentals including designated number of crates. Additional weeks billed at storage rates.
4. Ancillary Fees: Fees for swaps ($55), returns ($75-$150), missed appointments ($50), and late payments. Also revenue from crate/wardrobe replacement fees if lost or damaged.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Blue Crates delivers reusable plastic crates, wardrobes, and oversized items to customers' homes for packing, then picks them up and stores them in a climate-controlled Chicago facility, with on-demand recall delivery back to the customer's door. Customers manage their stored items through a web-based Smart Inventory System that catalogs contents digitally.

Product overview

Blue Crates offers an on-demand self-storage platform built around reusable plastic crates and wardrobes that are delivered to customers' doors, stored at climate-controlled facilities, and recalled on demand. The core On-Demand Self-Storage Service ($15/month per crate, $20/month per wardrobe) is the primary offering. Customers can add The Vault™ ($75/month) for larger furniture and oversized items, utilize the Moving Rental Service for relocations ($199-$399 per two-week package), and manage their belongings through the Smart Inventory System (digital catalog). The Swap Service allows seasonal item exchanges. All services include free delivery and pickup within their Chicago service area.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• On-Demand Self-Storage Service Blue Crates' flagship subscription service that delivers reusable plastic crates (27"L x 17"W x 12.5"H, ~2.5 cubic feet) and wardrobes (27"L x 20.6"W x 48"H) to customers' homes, picks them up, stores them in a climate-controlled facility, and recalls any item on demand. Crates start at $15/month and wardrobes at $20/month, with free pickup and delivery included within the Chicago service area.
• The Vault (Climate-Controlled Storage) Climate-controlled, monitored storage space available in 5'x5'x7' sections that can be expanded in additional sections to accommodate larger furniture and oversized items, priced at $75 per Vault section per month with a $25 minimum delivery fee.
• Moving Rental Service Two-week rental packages of reusable moving crates sized to apartment/home size, ranging from Studio ($199) up to 4+ Bedroom ($499), with delivery and pickup included and additional weeks billed at storage rates.
• Swap Service Service that lets customers exchange the contents of stored crates with seasonal or other belongings, with Blue Crates delivering crates for a $55 fee per swap so customers can rotate seasonal items without recalling all stored belongings.

Quantifiable outcome

• Storage plans starting at $18.50/month with free delivery
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature4 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• CubeSmart: Self-storage REIT with a national footprint including urban locations. Comparable for unit-economics and pricing benchmarking in dense markets Blue Crates targets.
• PODS: Established portable moving and storage container company with national scale. Differs in delivery model (drop-off container vs. valet crates) but serves the same underlying moving-and-storage need, especially for moves referenced in Blue Crates' Moving Rental Service.
• Public Storage: Largest U.S. self-storage REIT with thousands of facilities. Represents the traditional 'self-storage' alternative that Blue Crates explicitly competes against in its comparison table on the homepage.
• Extra Space Storage: Major self-storage REIT offering climate-controlled units nationwide. A relevant incumbent benchmark for Blue Crates' climate-controlled Vault premium positioning.

Direct peers

• MakeSpace: Pioneering valet-style storage service delivering empty bins, picking up packed items, and storing them in a centralized facility — the closest comparable model to Blue Crates. Now operating under Walmart's ownership, MakeSpace demonstrates the multi-city scale Blue Crates aspires to.
• Clutter: On-demand storage and moving service with the same full-service valet model (pickup, climate-controlled storage, recall delivery) plus smart inventory tracking. Operates across multiple major U.S. metros, representing both the comparable playbook and the well-capitalized competitive threat.
• Trove: Valet storage and concierge moving service that stored items in centralized warehouses and delivered on demand. Closely comparable model though it has shifted focus; useful as a comparable for unit economics and operational design.
• Closetbox: Valet self-storage company that picks up items from a customer's home, stores them, and returns them on demand. Closely comparable in pricing architecture (per-item monthly fees) and target customer (urban dwellers needing closet overflow).

Others

• Lugg: On-demand moving and delivery service for large items. Not a storage peer, but relevant for the moving leg of Blue Crates' value chain — particularly for oversized items handled by The Vault — and as a benchmark for urban logistics unit economics.

Emerging players

• Neighbor: Peer-to-peer storage marketplace connecting customers with underutilized space in neighbors' garages, basements, and driveways. Adjacent value proposition (cheaper, local storage) that could either complement or compete with Blue Crates in dense urban zip codes.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/realbluecrates
• Facebookfacebook.com/bluecrates
• Instagraminstagram.com/realbluecrates
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blue-crates

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Blue Crates