Crating can help a moving company protect fragile, expensive, and sentimental items, but it can also create risk if handled poorly. This playbook shows moving company owners when to outsource crating, how to price it, when to require it, and what mistakes to avoid.

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How Moving Companies Should Price Crating Services Without Taking on Too Much Risk

Crating services can help a moving company win better jobs, protect expensive items, and serve high-end customers. But if you do it wrong, one fragile item can turn into a costly claim and a major headache.

Use this playbook to decide when to crate, when to outsource, how to price it, and how to protect your moving business from unnecessary risk.

When Should a Moving Company Offer Crating Services?

Crating means building a custom wooden crate around an item that is fragile, unusual, expensive, or highly sentimental. It is often used when regular padding, boxes, or shrink wrap are not enough.

Crating is a smart option for:

• Marble tops
• Stone or granite pieces
• Large glass tops
• Artwork
• Statues
• Taxidermy or mounted items
• Grandfather clocks
• Chandeliers
• Large TVs
• Other high-value or highly sentimental items

Simple rule: if the customer would be very upset if the item was damaged, and normal protection does not feel safe enough, discuss a custom crate.

Should You Build Crates In-House or Use a Third Party?

For most moving company owners, the safest starting point is to outsource crating to a local third-party provider. Some companies specialize in working with moving companies on crating, pianos, billiard tables, and other specialty services.

This keeps your crew focused on the move and puts the crating work in the hands of someone who does it often.

Decision Guide: In-House vs. Third Party

• Use a third party if: you only do one or two crates per month.
• Use a third party if: your team is not trained to build crates safely.
• Use a third party if: the item is very expensive, unusual, or hard to replace.
• Consider in-house crating if: you have steady demand for custom crating.
• Consider in-house crating if: you have someone on staff who already knows how to do it well.
• Consider in-house crating if: you can build a repeatable process and train your team properly.

The podcast hosts both leaned toward outsourcing for most movers because crating can be time-intensive, risky, and hard to keep consistent if your team does not do it every week.

How Should You Price Crating Services?

There are three pricing methods mentioned in the podcast. The best option depends on whether you outsource the work or build crates yourself.

Examples from the podcast included third-party crating often costing around $300 to $500, a small crate around 2 feet by 2 feet costing about $150, and large TV crating around $300. Another rough in-house estimate mentioned was around $13 per cubic foot.

What Should You Tell the Customer?

Keep the customer explanation simple. The goal is to protect the item and set clear expectations before move day.

Customer Script You Can Adapt

“Because this item is fragile and high value, we recommend a custom crate. This gives the item much better protection than standard moving materials. We can schedule a crating provider for move day and include the crating fee on your estimate.”

If the customer declines crating on a risky item, you may need a release of liability. The podcast mentioned requiring custom crates for TVs over 75 inches or getting a release of liability because of the risk.

What Crating Mistakes Should Movers Avoid?

Crating looks simple until something goes wrong. One example from the podcast involved a high-value chandelier where a hook failed inside the crate. The damage ended up being repairable, but it showed how quickly a crating mistake can become a claim.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Building crates without real training or a proven method.
• Using hardware that is not strong enough for the item.
• Letting untrained movers use table saws or build crates casually.
• Taking on high-value crating jobs just to make a small extra fee.
• Failing to offer crating on large TVs, glass, marble, or chandeliers.
• Not having a clear release of liability when a customer refuses protection.
• Forgetting that specialty providers may do the job faster and better.

How Should You Handle Large TVs?

Large TVs are a common risk area. The podcast mentioned one company moving toward requiring custom crates for TVs over 75 inches or getting a release of liability.

TV Protection Checklist

• Decide what TV size requires a crate in your moving company.
• Use proper TV boxes when a crate is not required.
• Use foam corners with TV boxes.
• Use pads correctly inside the box.
• Track pads so they do not get left inside TV boxes after delivery.
• Consider reusable TV crates if your company handles many large TVs.

One idea discussed was using different colored pads for TVs so movers can easily identify them and avoid leaving pads behind inside boxes.

Quick Win: Build Your Crating Rule in 30 Minutes

Today, create a simple rule your sales team and estimators can follow.

Use This Simple Crating Policy Starter

• Items made of marble, stone, granite, or large glass require a crating discussion.
• Artwork, chandeliers, statues, and grandfather clocks require a crating discussion.
• TVs over 75 inches require a crate or signed release of liability.
• All third-party crating costs must be confirmed before the estimate is finalized.
• Any customer who refuses recommended crating must sign a release.

How to Apply This This Week

1. 1. Find one local crating provider. Search your area for third-party crating or specialty moving services and ask if they work with moving companies.
2. 2. Get sample pricing. Ask what they charge for small crates, large TVs, marble tops, glass tops, and chandeliers.
3. 3. Decide your markup. Choose whether you will pass through the fee or add a service fee on top.
4. 4. Update your estimate process. Add a crating question to your sales or estimating checklist for fragile and high-value items.
5. 5. Create a release rule. Decide when customers must sign a release if they decline recommended crating.

The Bottom Line for Moving Company Owners

Crating can help your moving company serve better customers and reduce damage risk, but it should not become an uncontrolled side project. If you are new to crating, outsource it first, learn the pricing, protect your margins, and only bring it in-house when you have enough demand and the right person to do it well.

To hear the full conversation, watch the original video on YouTube and visit the 2 College Brothers Moving & Storage YouTube channel for more moving industry discussions.

What is Grow Your Moving Company Podcast?

Follow the host, Wade Swikle from 2 College Brothers Moving & Storage, Moving Titan Retreats, and Titan Up Training as he showcases successful moving companies from around the world and offers valuable insights on increasing revenue and operating efficiency. They aim to help the independent mover dominate their local market.