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Is shopping for a mover in a virtual marketplace safe? - Part I
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The title of American Public Media’s recent podcast, Online competitors move in on shippers, is somewhat confusing. According to the teaser, Marketplace’s Lenora Chu reports that “online competition is also giving traditional movers a headache”.
I guess that depends on your perspective. What, exactly, are online marketers moving in on shippers with? Do consumers need to bring protection to the dance? And who eventually ends up with the headache?
In the piece (which aired locally on NPR) Matt Chasen, the CEO of uShip, the “world’s first and largest online marketplace for shipping and moving” where transporters of various types bid for business, claims that more people are going online “where they can try to get better pricing and more competitive quotes”.
That’s certainly true. According the latest research, 80% of Americans now start their shopping experience at the computer keyboard instead of in the mall. Hence the proliferation of well ranked lead generating business aggregators, online bulletin boards and find-a-mover websites found everywhere on the Net. You know them…they’re the companies indexed near the top of the search engine results pages regardless of the browser you use or the bargain you’re looking for.
Shopping online for jeans, golf clubs, draperies, appliances or even a new living room ensemble, however, is far, far safer – and, for most, a heck of a lot cheaper - than looking for moving services in cyber space.
Take a few minutes to listen to the arguments. Have you shopped for personal relocation or transportation services online? If so, what were your experiences?
Has deregulation of the trucking industry put you in control - or jeopardy - when shopping for moving services online? In Part II we’ll discuss some of the pitfalls of using virtual marketplaces to move your stuff. Stay tuned!
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