Date: Fri, 19 Jun 2020 22:49:20 -0400
Reply-To: The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Subject: Re: Shippers
In-Reply-To: <DD9E687D-680B-4D83-8180-93DFF4018FB2@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
> Haven’t had one shipped since ‘06.
> Who should I trust? Or maybe
> more importantly, who should I avoid?
Decades ago (wow, am I that old?) I used to buy Buses in California that had solid bodies but wouldn't pass smog, and local rustbuckets with strong engines, and make one good Bus out of the two. I used the profit I made to seed the Bus Depot. It's been a long time since I transported vehicles regularly, but the basic process hasn't changed.
Some companies you contact have their own drivers, but many are brokers. Often even with their markup you can get a better price with a broker. The broker quotes you a price with a deposit due up front and the balance paid upon delivery. The deposit is his commission; the balance goes to the driver (or company) that actually does the haul. Once they quote you they post the job onto a national online bulletin board and try to get someone to take it for that price. So if they quote you $1000 with $200 of it due up front, they're offering $800 on the board. This is where it becomes a negotiating game. The broker can go one of three ways:
1) Be realistic and honest about what they think they can get a driver to do the haul for, tack on their profit, and quote you that price. It may not be the absolute lowest price but it's most likely to actually occur. From my limited recent experience eshiptransport.com works that way.
2) Quote a lowball price with quick pickup, realistic or not, to rope you in ("I have a driver who can come tomorrow for $500") and hope they get lucky and find a driver "deadheading" (traveling with an empty trailer on the way to a pickup) who will do the job for almost nothing so they can honor that quote. If they don't, then come the excuses and the price increases as they incrementally up their offer on the board until a driver bites. I dealt with shipwit.com twice and my gut feeling is that this is how he operates. That being said, the final prices I paid (though higher than the initial quotes) were still lower than anyone else I found. Being wise to the game, I'd use him again but take the initial quote with a very large grain of salt.
3) Quote high and hope you are not price sensitive. If you bite, both the broker and the driver make out very well. I didn't bother with these brokers as my pockets aren't deep enough.
The one thing you don't want to do is talk to multiple brokers, as they will each put it on the board and you are effectively competing with yourself. If a driver sees the same job on the board numerous times with various brokers' names attached, needless to say he'll respond to the broker who is offering the highest price, so that's what you'll pay.
Ron Salmon
The Bus Depot
www.BusDepot.com
