[tomkarlo]

Picking up things without the boxes allowed them to use bike messengers and/or foot messengers rather than vans, which is a lot more efficient in urban areas (no traffic issues, parking problems, etc.) They'd just put whatever you gave them into a bag and then into their messenger bag. Then they'd hand off to a truck located at a central location that served multiple messengers.

I used them a few times, it was pretty cool and if you didn't have the box for something could save a bunch of time. Unfortunately I think most consumers don't ship things often enough (aside from returns where you already have a box and a label) to be worthwhile serving this way. Small businesses were better but many of them already get discounted rates from UPS if they ship a lot.