Packing & Crating in Pico, Santa Monica
Serving ZIP 90404, 90405
Walk-up apartment, student and small shop moves along Santa Monica's Pico Boulevard, priced in writing before loading
Popeye Moving & Storage has provided packing & crating to Pico, Santa Monica and the rest of Los Angeles County since 1994. License #CAL T 189749 | USDOT 1472924 | MC 498816C. Fully insured.
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Accredited Business with an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.
Licensed and insured
CAL T 189749 | USDOT 1472924 | MC 498816C, fully insured.
Open seven days
6 AM to 9 PM, seven days a week. Call (310) 823-9510.
Free estimates, binding price
Free in-home and video estimates, with a guaranteed binding price after a video survey.
Best Packing & Crating in Pico
Moving along the Pico Boulevard corridor in Santa Monica, from the Civic Center past Santa Monica College to Centinela Avenue. Popeye Moving & Storage plans walk-up stairs, student-term moves and small shop relocations with a written price before loading.
The Pico corridor runs across Santa Monica from Ocean Avenue and the Civic Center past Lincoln Boulevard, Cloverfield Boulevard and 20th Street to Centinela Avenue at the Los Angeles line, through ZIP codes 90404 and 90405. Santa Monica High School at 601 Pico Boulevard and Santa Monica College at 1900 Pico Boulevard anchor it, with Virginia Avenue Park and the Pico Branch Library further east. Much of the housing is older two- to four-storey apartment buildings with no lift, plus small houses and duplexes, and the Los Angeles line is close enough that we confirm which city an address is in before planning parking.
Packing & Crating in Pico: What Changes Here
Packing, custom crating and moving supplies delivery in the Pico corridor of Santa Monica each carry their own planning demands. Walk-up apartment buildings with narrow stairwells, a large student population near Santa Monica College, and a busy commercial strip along Pico Boulevard itself all shape how packing crews work, how crates are built and timed, and how supplies get to the door. This page covers what is different about packing and crating work specifically in the 90404 and 90405 ZIP codes.
Full-service packing scope in walk-up buildings
Most apartment buildings in the Pico corridor are two to four storeys with no lift. For full-service packing, that means the crew is carrying cartons, wardrobe boxes and dish packs down flights of stairs with tight landings and small doorways. The number of flights, stairwell turns and carry distance to the truck all affect how long packing takes, so the estimate must capture that geometry rather than relying on room count alone.
Custom crating timed around student and term-move calendars
Santa Monica College drives a predictable surge of moves in late summer and at the end of each term. Custom crating for art, mirrors or glass tabletops requires build time after the assessment, and crates cannot be rushed. Customers near the college who need a piece crated before a term-end move should book the assessment several weeks ahead, not in the final week when crew and build time are both harder to secure.
Moving supplies delivery on and near Pico Boulevard
Residential addresses on or near Pico Boulevard lose curb space through the day as retail traffic and through traffic fill it. A moving supplies delivery that arrives in the afternoon on a busy block may have nowhere to stop. Ordering supplies a week or two before the move and scheduling delivery for a morning window reduces the chance of a driver circling without a place to unload, particularly for larger orders including wardrobe boxes and dish packs.
Partial packing for cost-sensitive households
Pico is the most price-sensitive part of Santa Monica, with a high share of renters, smaller units and working households genuinely comparing quotes. Full-service packing for a one-bedroom typically ranges from $300 to $800, and a three-bedroom from $600 to $1,500. Many customers here choose partial packing, handling books and clothes themselves and having the crew pack the kitchen, glassware and fragile items. Defining that scope clearly in writing before the crew arrives keeps the estimate accurate and the bill predictable.
Local Issues
Common Packing & Crating Issues in Pico
Stairwell geometry not captured before packing day
In Pico's two- to four-storey walk-ups, wardrobe boxes and large dish packs sometimes will not turn on a landing or fit through an original doorway. If the estimate was based on room count alone without recording floor, flights, stairwell turns and doorway width, the crew arrives to find the planned materials do not work and the job takes longer than quoted.
Crating assessment booked too close to move date
Custom crates for mirrors, glass tabletops or framed art are built to measure after an assessment. In the late-summer term-move rush near Santa Monica College, assessment slots and build time both compress. A customer who books the assessment in the final week before a move may find the crate cannot be completed in time, delaying the whole job.
Unpacking scope not agreed before crew arrives
Unpacking in Pico often covers priority rooms only, with the customer finishing the rest. If the rooms to be unpacked, where items go and whether cartons are removed are not recorded in writing before work starts, the crew and the customer can disagree mid-job about what was included, and the bill does not match the expectation.
Moving supplies order placed without confirming building access
Some Pico apartment buildings have no off-street drop point and limited alley access. A supplies delivery including wardrobe boxes and dish packs needs somewhere to stop. Orders placed without confirming whether the building has alley access or a loading area can arrive to find no legal stopping point, particularly on blocks where curb space is taken by midday.
Partial packing scope left undefined in writing
Many Pico households choose partial packing, handling some rooms themselves and having the crew pack the kitchen and fragile items. If the split is agreed verbally but not recorded in the Agreement for Moving Services before work starts, disputes arise about what was included and the not-to-exceed figure cannot be enforced accurately.
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What we offer in Pico
Our Packing & Crating Services in Pico
Full-Service Packing in Pico
Packing is the part of a move that always takes longer than planned. With full-service packing, Popeye Moving & Storage packs your home room by room, labels every carton and keeps an inventory. We can pack in stages, so your kitchen and bedroom stay usable until the last day.
Learn more →Unpacking Services in Pico
The truck leaving is not the end of a move; the boxes are. Our crews open them, put things where you want them and take the packing material away. You decide what goes where, and we do the lifting and the clearing.
Learn more →Custom Crating in Pico
Some items should not travel in a carton, however well padded. Custom crating gives a single piece its own wooden case, measured and braced so it cannot move inside. Popeye Moving & Storage crates art, glass, stone and fragile furniture for local moves, long distance moves and export shipments.
Learn more →Moving Supplies & Delivery in Pico
If you are packing yourself, the right materials make the difference between a clean move and a box that splits on the stairs. Popeye Moving & Storage delivers moving supplies to your home or office across Santa Monica. Tell us your move date and home size and we will help you work out what to order.
Learn more →What to Expect - Packing & Crating in Pico
- 1
Free estimate
We walk through your home in person or by video, note what needs packing and any fragile items, and agree full or partial packing.
- 2
Packing plan
We set the packing days, starting with rooms you use least, so the kitchen and bedroom stay usable until the end.
- 3
Room-by-room packing
Our crew packs each room with the right materials, labels every carton by destination room and records it on an inventory.
- 4
Ready to load
Cartons are staged for loading and we walk through with you so nothing you set aside gets packed.
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Licensed CAL T 189749 | USDOT 1472924 | MC 498816C, fully insured and BBB A+ accredited. Free in-home and video estimates. Open 6 AM to 9 PM, seven days a week.
Local Tips
Packing & Crating Tips for Pico Residents
When requesting a packing estimate for a Pico walk-up, tell the estimator which floor you are on, how many flights and turns the stairwell has, and how far the entrance is from the nearest legal parking. That information sets the hours more accurately than room count alone.
If you are having a single piece custom crated, such as a mirror or sculpture, you do not need to book a full move. Book the assessment early enough to allow build time, and earlier still if your move falls in late summer when demand near Santa Monica College is highest.
For unpacking, agree in writing which rooms are included, where items will be placed and whether cartons and paper will be removed before the crew starts. That written scope is what keeps the bill predictable and the job on track.
Order moving supplies a week or two before your move date, not the day before, and schedule delivery for a morning window if your building is on or near Pico Boulevard. Afternoon curb space on the corridor fills quickly with retail and through traffic.
Keep your estimate, Agreement for Moving Services and bill of lading after packing or unpacking is complete. Under Maximum Rate Tariff 4, a claim for loss or damage must be filed in writing within nine months of delivery, and having the paperwork is what makes a claim supportable.
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What Customers Say About Our Packing & Crating in Pico
Real reviews from Pico and nearby Santa Monica neighborhoods.
“Fine schedule starts at the citywide Santa Monica overflow 1. Legal parking in Santa Monica, no letter.”
“Eleven months stored through a job transfer. The Wilshire Montana gate never yellowed the linens and Wilshire Montana redelivery was on a Saturday.”
“A stone console arrived while we still owned the Wilshire Montana curb. They photographed, held, and the Wilshire Montana set waited for the designer.”
Packing & Crating in Pico - FAQs
Not always. Santa Monica treats Temporary No Parking Signs as advised but not required when the truck is not parked overnight (9pm to 6am) and a legal space can be found. If you want the curb reserved, the steps must be completed at least 24 hours before the start, the permit is collected in person at City Hall East (323 Olympic Drive) or City Hall Historic (1685 Main Street), and Traffic Services must inspect the posted signs between 72 and 24 hours ahead. Blue curb, red curb, loading zones and bicycle lanes cannot be reserved.
A one-bedroom apartment local move in the Los Angeles area typically runs $350 to $650. Local residential moving is typically $150 to $200 per hour for a two-person crew and truck. Those are typical ranges, not a quote. Stairs, carry distance and how much is going decide your figure, which is set in writing before loading, with a Not To Exceed amount on a move inside California.
Yes. Popeye offers free in-home and video estimates. A video walkthrough of the stairwell, landings and doorways helps us price the carry accurately, and a video survey can lead to a guaranteed binding price. You get an itemized written quote you can share with a roommate or family member before deciding.
Yes. Small moves and part loads are normal around the college. Tell us at the first call which items are yours and who is authorizing and paying, so the paperwork is in the right name. Late summer before the autumn term fills up, so booking ahead helps if your dates are fixed.
We ask which floor you are on, how many flights and turns there are, and how far the truck will be from the entrance. A quote based only on an inventory list would miss that time, so the estimate covers the building as well as the furniture. Large pieces that will not clear a landing can be taken apart and reassembled.
Yes. Retail, service and office units along Pico are regular work. We plan around your trading hours, often with an early or after-hours start, and confirm loading access on the boulevard before the day. Office & Business Moving and Retail & Restaurant Moving both cover this kind of job.
Yes. Partial packing is common in the Pico area. The crew packs the rooms or item types you specify, using dish packs for the kitchen and appropriate wrapping for fragile pieces, and labels everything by destination room. The scope and the not-to-exceed price are set in writing before work starts, so there are no surprises on the day.
Book the assessment as early as you can, ideally several weeks before your move date. Crates are built to the specific dimensions of each piece after the assessment, and late summer around the start of the autumn term is a busy window. A single piece, such as a mirror or sculpture, can be crated without booking a full move, but build time still needs to be factored in.
Under Maximum Rate Tariff 4, if you declare no other value, the mover's maximum liability is up to $20,000 of actual cash value for the shipment. That is the California intrastate default. Carriers are required to offer higher valuation options, and you can choose one before anything is loaded. Ask to see all options listed in writing so you can decide knowingly.
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