SAM vs. PODS: Moving and Storage Compared (Prices, Sizes, and More Reviewed)

There are lots more options for portable storage containers than just PODS and SAM. Of course this varies based on where you are living (in a city, in the suburbs, small rural town etc.) Search the internet yellow pages and you’ll surely find a list of moving and storage companies that will help with this. Call each one and not only should you compare rates, but ask how many days you get to pack it, whether or not you can access the POD while it’s in storage, how large the physical pod is, is there a weight limit, etc. A little effort will go a long way. In the end, portable storage is surely less stressful than normal self-storage.

After weighing both options (SAMs and PODs)I just booked a move though PODs.
The quotes were very similar, the issue was not price.
The issue to me was the loading/unloading of the containers.

PODS:
Uses some kind of “patented process” that keeps the containers flat at all times. No tilting for loading or unloading.

SAMs:
Uses the same process as a dumpster delivery and pick-up where the containers are dragged up an inclined flat-bed type vehicle.

This may not seem like a big deal when the containers are empty, but when they are full and being dragged up onto the flat-bed (30-40 degrees?), the odds are more likely for shifting (regardless of how secure it is packed.

Anyone else have thoughts on this?

After doing quite a bit of research on both companies, I eventually chose PODS for the same reason that Martin did. They’re “Podzilla” lift system (which is patented incidentally) keeps the container flat while moving. I didn’t like the idea of my container bbeing dragged up an inclined bed, just in case I hadn’t packed as securely as i thought. Besides, all things aside, pricing seemed to be about the same.

I can testify that our experience with PODS was excellent, and I’d recommend them to anyone moving or in need of storage space.

I moved from Boston to DC in October, had PODS ship my stuff in Sept and it has been in storage since then. I picked PODS because they were the cheapest option for moving out of state. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

Moving is stressful enough – but PODS made it 100 times worse, first by selling me a POD size that no longer exists, then reneging on the quote they gave and by that time the next appropriate size was sold out. Every time I called I spoke to a different person and got a different quote. It was finally escalated and they gave me my original quote. This is after a week of wondering if I’d even be able to move my stuff when my lease ran out. The difference in quotes was not insignificant – usually $500. Nobody knew what I was talking about when I called. It was miserable.

I will say that the people I spoke with were all nice – but I have never been more stressed over a move in my life (I move just about every year). And they were very inconsistent with their information.

Now, after being assured that delivery was included in my original quote – I am told they stored my stuff outside of the area where I moved and it will be another $1000 to deliver it (WHAT??). I don’t even know what to do now – this is after more calling back and forth. I don’t understand how – after I told them I was moving to the DC area they stored it near bmore, but they did and apparently I will have to pay for it.

IT IS NOT WORTH THE STRESS

I have used SAM and they were great. Driver gave me tips on how to load. The issue of the delivery system only comes into play if your a bone head and choose not to secure your load properly. Did you know that the majority damage occurs while in transit and not during delivery and pick up? The inertia of stopping, turning, hills and traffic causes loads to shift over and over. I chose SAM because I was given access to the driver unlike pods. Oh well I’m sure the fact that SAM is 100% american owned company and pods is owned by a company in dubai may have had a small play. Anyway do your own research and enjoy your final destination as I did

So is SAM the most better one to go with when moving out of state? We are moving to Ohio and we don’t know a thing about what we need to look for. We saw the commericals on T.V. there are so many to choose from. You have PODS, SAM, PACKRAT they all seem great but we want our stuff to get to where we are going without having to pay extra for our stuff. It’s kinda of scary. Can anyone lend some more experience on this issue.

Thank you.

I move a lot due to my job, averaging a move every 6 months (sometimes across town and sometimes across country). I’ve had this job for several years now, giving me the change to try a little bit of everything from the very expensive full service moving companies like Mayflower all the way down to the very small SmartBox Portable storage containers. When I first decided to go with portable storage, SAM was not in the industry yet. I went with PODS for my first 2 containerized moves (1 local and one out of state). Let me just say that I’m glad that some competitors joined the industry. My first move with PODS was an out of state move ending up a lot like the story nonix999 had shared. It was a mess and I swore to never use them again. However, after reading up on them and hearing everyone’s great experience, I figured that it was a 1 time thing. I mean all companies can have a bad day, right? Well, when I used them for the second time for my local move, it wasn’t quite as bad, but it engraved in stone my choice to never use them again. My belongings had actually shifted against the walls in transit. I had everything wrapped with moving blankets, but somehow I had wooden splinters go through the blankets and into my furniture. I’ve since used SmartBox; they were too small and took 4 boxes to move the same amount of stuff costing more in the end. Not to mention they were just wooden boxes (more splinters?) with tarps on them….thankfully it did not rain because I was worried. My experiences with SAM (3 local moves and 1 out of state) have all been great. My 2 SAM moves were in Maryland with all of the things that make container deliveries hard for the drivers. I had hills, low lines and skinny driveways. I had heard that the rollback method was bad and yes, they use a rollback to raise the container and it requires a certain amount of space, but Travis the driver (see, I know his name still because he personally made my move better) did take the time to call me the night before and go over all of that, so I prepared the space for him. During that same call, he let me know an ETA of when he planned on arriving and told me to go about my day until I heard from him on the delivery day. He called again the day of delivery and said he would be at my house in an hour, saving me from waiting around and putting my errands off all day; I was so nervous by what I had heard about the delivery method that I wanted to be there. Once he was there, he delivered the SAM, showed me how to secure my things so they wouldn’t shift and went over all services that they provide just in case I needed something else. So, since I’m no “bone head” as John form above had advised, I took his advice, purchased rope from the driver and strapped things down. I was also very excited to see that their containers were made of very smooth fiberglass inside and out. YAY !! No more splinters !! It had metal rings to tie my stuff to and I could see because the top was translucent, letting in plenty of light even in the late afternoon. Initially the prices were competitive to PODS, but since then, I’ve learned to find and locate the dealer to book my order with them directly instead of using their 800 number or website saving me a lot of money off the standard pricing. I still use their website to locate the dealer in my area and for the space calculator, but that’s it. SAM is more personal and deals with their customers 1 on 1, so why not take advantage of that? They have never charged me for storage access at their warehouse and they have even gone out of their way to deliver my container from storage on the same day I called, not saying it is too short of notice as one of the others had in the past. The drivers are always friendly for each of these companies, but only with SAM did I see the same one for each phase of a move. I will only use SAM now and I try to tell everyone that I can about them. So, SAM is always cheaper (when you find the dealer), very functional on all aspects of containerized moves and just a lot easier to work with.

I was in need of a moving company last year and wanted to make my move as easy as possible, so I decieded to look into portable containers. I shopped both PODS and SAM and found that PODS was cheaper or will match SAM pricing. In the end I decieded to go with PODS because of how they deliver and move their containers. They use a hydrolic lift system that doesn’t damage your property or belongings. SAM on the other hand just rolled their containers off their truck…
So to me it was a no brainer that PODS was the way to go.