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!
Comments
What Matt Chasen did say, was that the raised their fees significantly during 2009!
From:
Tier Amount Rate Fee
$.01-$500 $500.00 12.9% $64.50
$500-$1500 $1000.00 10.9% $109.00
$1500-$3000 $1,500.00 8.9% $133.50
$3000-5000 $2000.00 6.9% $13.80
Total: $3200.00 $320.80
To:
Tier Amount Rate Fee
$.01-$300 $300.00 12.9% $38.70
$300-$700 $400.00 9.9% $39.60
$700-$2000 $1,300.00 6.9% $89.97
$2000+ $500.00 3.9% $19.50
Total: $2500 $187.50
Also Matt Chasen didn't dare say how much that their pie chart on their home page is NOT a true reflection of the real statistics and the customer's experience. For instance, if a Shipper has a negative experience with their chosen Carrier before anything actually takes place, ie Carrier raises price, fails to show or some other thing. The Shipper must record it as a cancellation in order to get the deposit back that they made immediately upon bid acceptance. They are also given default reasons to choose from for the cancellation.
Last but not least, in addition to the fees shown above, there is a $29.99 fee as well. One is supposedly assessed as a fee against the Shipper for use of the site. The other is disguised as being a deposit for the Carrier. In reality, both are fees and are retained by 100% by UShip. Once agin, the Shipper pays both immediately upon bid acceptance before they gain access to the Carrier's contact information.
Customers (Shippers)should google UShip, UShip fraud and access Stop Illegal Trucking dot Com like I did before using UShip.
Its a horible way to buy moving services , any freight carrier can get involved with out having moving experience.The van line service is bad enough already ,this just brings out all the cheap & nasty bottom feeders
I wish that I really had an opportunity to comment on the subject. I was interviewed in NPR "Market Place" studios and only part of one sound bite was used. I remain concerned by the many calls that I and other association executives receive from "damaged" consumers who thought that they had done their due diligence by using the internet to select a mover. Only to be ripped off and treated poorly by the "company" that appeared so terrific before the move.
I wonder why they didnt use the T news report that AIRED on FOX NEWS that a uship shipper got scammed by a uship carrier when he put her furniture in storage and she had to go bid on her stuff or she would loose it. It was FOX NEWS out of WASHINGTON DC and I am sure it could be found if someone wanted to find it. Uship has more scams going on than craigs list
Steve,
You should comment on the story on NPR - that way you're not caught up with this couple of guys that go and post on every uship story on the internet and clearly have their own agenda.
I'd be interested to hear a rational discussion about how transparency and feedback aren't an ideal way to find a service provider. If you can verify credentials and read feedback from other customers, isn't that much better than picking some random company out of the phonebook?
Justin
There is a large amount of misinformation about uShip being spread by several individuals associated with stopillegaltrucking.com via annonymous and even impersonated blog comments. It's sad and unfortunate that these individuals continue to abuse the open forums of the internet to pursue their misguided cause.
The facts are that fraud on uShip is far below industry averages because of our unique feedback-rating system and advanced fraud detection systems - and we stand behind our service with our Guarantee. In the last 2 years, over $70,000,000 has transacted through our platform and we've only had 4 claims against our Guarantee. Feedback on uShip is over 98% positive and customers have written over 6,000 stories about their uShip experiences. We offer more tools than any other site to help customers evaluate movers. It is obvious to most people who do any amount of research that uShip is part of the solution and not the problem.
The issue isn’t FeedBack, but rather the fact that the majority of these transports are being conducted illegally. Transporting on our highways is a regulated industry for good reasons.
The average consumer (Shippers in this case) have no knowledge of what a carrier is required to have and therefore they don’t have a clue that something is amiss when looking at your site or a Carrier’s profile contents. To further compound the situation, is the fact that UShip's site rules are slanted in favor of suppressing this type of information.
UShip does provide links to this information and these links are discovered only after a series of other links are traveled through. Consumer protection information (fine print) is just that, small and inconspicuous and hard to find.
The 6000 stories is simply no more than the result of Uship’s software design. It provides a pop-up feature that strongly encourages the Shipper to leave a story, only after they leave positive feedback.
Character limits prevented including this information on previous post.
Is it true that: Uship.Com is to the transportation industry, like Craigslist was to prostitution until the Feds got involved?
We’re not talking about fraud here. We’re talking about putting more consumers at risk by them unknowingly soliciting improperly licensed services. If this issue of legality wasn’t your Money Maker, then you wouldn’t suppress it so much and try so hard to sell “FEEDBACK”. You wouldn’t find it necessary to scour the web to deflect the issues and attempt to redirect the main topic. You wouldn’t find it necessary to make it a Uship site violation to discuss such issues on the forum or in the question/answer section of a shipment listing.
Care to discuss this any further?
Character limits prevented including this information on previous post.
Misguided cause? Working towards educating the public with the Laws governing transportation, assisting those trying to get into the business and identifying those persons transporting in a “For Hire” capacity across state lines without the proper Federally mandated credentials, is a misguided cause? Who’s misguided? It’s only misguided in your eyes because you make an enormous financial windfall the longer this stays under the radar..
Quote: uShip is part of the solution and not the problem.
Is Mr Chasen implying that by simply gathering all those who advertise on Craigslist, in newspapers, through websites (that would cause the average consumer to believe that they were dealing with a legitimate and properly licensed business) and consolidating them into one place is a part of the solution? That’s like taking adult service offerings off the street corner and consolidating them onto Craigslist!
Character limits prevented including this information on previous post dated August 21, 2009 @ 2:35 AM
Stories Con’t: Any shipper that leaves neutral or negative feedback never receives access to the story feature. Some Shippers do manage to tell their story elsewhere on the web though.
A Google search for Uship or Uship Scams pulls up some the eye opening articles that you will not find on UShip itself.
Mr Chasen,
Misinformation? What exactly is the "misinformation" that these select people are posting?
OH! You mean the facts pertaining to UShip that you don’t want anyone to know?
QUOTE: Fraud on uShip is far below industry averages
What's your definition of fraud and what's the industry average?
Take note that as a means of site preservation (publicity and income) your staff has been more aggressive at catching it. But you've already collected your outrageous fees and then tell the victims "Sorry we're a neutral venue".
Tracey, you pretty much hit the nail on the head when you mentioned carrier compliance to existing state and federal regulations regarding the transportation of the regulated goods in intra- and interstate commerce.
I'm waiting on some additional information before I publish Part II.
In the meantime feel free to visit RELO Roundtable and leave your comments at the forum topic with the same title. There aren't any character limits on entries there or in the post with the same name in the Examiner category.
To expand on something that 'Tracy' mentioned:
Neutral Venue
Those words are a catch phrase that UShip uses that really means:
Our user agreement is now so long (Because we re-write it every time something happens that might come back on us) that nobody can understand it except a lawyer! But, it basically says that the customer CANNOT go after UShip for anything because we tell them that it is their (the customers) responsibility to verify that a carrier is legit! UShip knows that a LARGE number of its 'TSPs' (Carriers) are operating illegally, but they leave it up to the customer to discover that for themselves, so when a customer has a problem, they have to deal with the carrier directly, and UShip will simply say that they are a 'Neutral Venue' and will not get involved.
For more info on that, simply look at the list of 'illegals' that is ever growing on stopillegaltrucking.com, most of whom are on UShip...
Character limits prevented including this information on previous post.
Now, how many Shippers have not followed the steps 100%, have gotten taken, have approached you about the guarantee claim only to be turned away because they had no clue how to identify a properly licensed Carrier?
Care to discuss this Mr Chasen?
Mr Chasen,
In a nut shell I have become very oriented in these twists and turns that you’ve put into place throughout your site. I’m a little smarter than your average cookie. So if at anytime you feel confident to discuss your site with me, I’d be obliged. Just be aware of the fact that I would be accompanied.
Character limits prevented including this information on previous post.
One of the Fraud Prevention guidelines is to:
Verify credentials
Verify the credentials of any service provider you choose to do business with. Federal government sites such as Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Safety and Fitness Electronic Records System may provide you with useful information about your service provider.
So what you’ve said is that you’ve had only 4 claims by Shippers that have used properly licensed Carriers in the last 2 years?
QUOTE: we stand behind our service with our Guarantee. In the last 2 years, over $70,000,000 has transacted through our platform and we've only had 4 claims against our Guarantee.
Your guarantee as you call it.
What is not covered?
Problems that arise from not following our Fraud Prevention Guidelines.
Your Fraud Prevention Guidelines
As suspected and expected. Mr Chasen will not be back to inject his self defense into this forum. He has discovered by now that not everyone can be BS'd even though UShip.Com has been successful in suckering in those that have not analyzed the site, its design and have very limited (if any) knowledge of the laws governing "Transport for Hire Operations".
I personally challege Mr Chasen to a "Live Airing" or "Face to Face" debate of his website. Like Tracey, I also have a thorough knowledge of UShip, the laws, the history of UShip, the site's design and rules as well as an enormous amount of "documented" evidence to support my position. When we got done, I would suspect that UShip would have respect for something other than $ signs.
I think that it only be fitting to invite the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Federal Trade Commission, the IRS and the The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) along for the festivities.
It's about greed, double booking(illegal), and illegal carriers. As a legal DOT carrier on uShip, all I ask is a equal legal place to make my bids with legal DOT carriers. uShip thinks that anyone with a pickup and a trailer is legal to do this.
This is not a good old boy moving his family stuff but interstate commerce with rule and regulations that legal carriers pay at a very high price to do business.
Carriers must maintain high levels of insurances for their trucks and trailers plus cargo insurance. If something happens the shipper has nowhere to go to collect on a clam.
uShip uses a price index to control the price of the move is out of date, when they have no clue what it takes to move shipments. Illegal can bid for fuel money and pay no taxes.
USHIP GET RIGHT OR GET OUT
I am more than happy to respond to these comments and/or discuss this face to face provided that you simply post or email the full and real name(s) and contact information for T C, Tracey, Mike, Pat, A LEGAL USHIP CARRIER so that we can get in touch with you. I look forward to a respectful and constructive discussion in a more appropriate venue.
Regards,
Matt Chasen
CEO, uShip.com
Like everything there is a + and - to using Uship. We fill alot of slots there and find it a mutually beneficial relationship. However, we have started booking more repeat, overseas, dealerships and used other brokers now that Uship's fees have gone up and our business has grown. Here's how Uship benefits legal transporters: It is a well advertised site. It offers more exposer than what a new company starting out could reasonably afford. It offers easy load searches and alot of potential clients. Since Mr. Chasen asked, here's where I think it can improve: It offers ranking based on monetary sales which is widely determined by number of trucks, drivers, and trailer size NOT by quality of performance. This is very misleading to shippers. Unlike illegal transporters it cost quite a bit to legally run a fleet of trucks-with proper insurance. This really is unfair competition and the fact that rankings are not performance based requires digging.
The feedback system can be a double edged sword. I can say that without malice b/c our FB is OK. You do run into shippers that want to hold your feedback hostage for more work, more loads or discounts & tend to expect extreme cs because they can "tarnish" your reputation. Like the guy who demanded delivery a day earlier than planned b/c he had a date to go to eat w. his girlfriend or the client who left us waiting hrs while he went matress shopping with his wife. Everytime you have to be realistic with customers and "offer" to store the bike and redeliver at their expense (industry standard)you have to hold your breath that they don't turn into lying negatives. FB is really hard to deal with b/c while it is like a survey for shippers, it is your business reputation left up to someone's whim who may not know industry standards of delivery and pick up windows. + FB is HARD WORK!
These are my personal feelings and observations & don't reflect those of Matt or Wolverine Transport
Why is my post reposted at 5:37? I emailed you. Let me know your thoughts.
Thanks,
I apologize for having the comments in several of the posts repeated. It's a system error. I've notified the Examiner staff about the problem. Sorry!
To the others, your feedback is appreciated but I'm not sure what needs to be discussed. The federal and state statutes are pretty specific about what's required of household goods carriers, move brokers and freight forwarders that operate in both intra- and interstate commerce.
It's apparent that the advertising requirements included in the Consumer Protection Regulation (Part 375.207) are not being adhered to by many of the HHG TSPs included in uShip's provider list. Recently the California Public Utility Commission required Craigslist, another popular online bulletin board, to remove the advertisements of any firms moving household goods that had not included their T-number in their post. Several other states are considering imposing the same requirement.
This is Linda Jacobs Washington, the secretary from the DOT, and i agree completely. Transporting on our highways is a regulated industry for good reasons. The government is the only entity who can rightly say who is capable of transporting goods, especially when state lines are involved, and the goods are being transported across them.
Linda Jacobs Washington
I now see where the site has become even more restrictive and the fees have grown astronomically. The fees used to be a flat 7.9% per accepted bid. It looks like they are about 30% higher now?
I personally think that Uship should simply answer the questions that you’ve posed right here in the open. They claim to be the “solution” and that they’re the best there is in this internet transportation service stuff, so let them sell themselves right here! Everyone benefits that way. They do, you do and the readers do. It also supports the Article’s title. mmm I’ll just tell you that, they’d love nothing more than for you all to stop posting all this dirty laundry.
If Uship has nothing to hide they’ll take advantage of this perfect opportunity to sell themselves. The internet travels to all parts of the world. Closed door conversations do not.
Tracy and Pat,
As a former Carrier and member of UShip, I would suggest that since you seem to have some very strong points concerning "The first and largest online auction-style marketplace for shipping and transportation services on the planet" (UShip), that you continue dialog with UShip right here. Afterall, the article is titled: Is shopping for a mover in a virtual marketplace safe?
What better way to answer the question than to receive input from those who are involved 1st hand on a daily basis and come from both sides of the isle? It also allows for the public to chime in and come to their own conclusion in answering the subject title.
It might be disastrous to try to take this issue behind closed doors for a number of reasons. A group of us were invited more than once to go to Austin, TX a few years ago and meet with the Uship partners and it never materialized.
As a reminder, I posted this article because of concerns that virtual marketplaces, online bulletin boards, and internet media companies are not required to adhere to the same advertising and compliance standards as properly licensed common and contract motor carriers, move brokers, and freight forwarders engaged in the intra- and interstate transportation of used household goods.
The issues of how these virtual venues are monitized is between the advertiser and the vendor and are not part of this discussion. Comments that do not stay on topic and address those concerns will be removed. Play nice!
Have to admit I felt a tinge of excitement when I saw the name of a USDOT Administrator tied to a comment on this post. Unfortunately, the time and date it was left make me somewhat suspicious of its origins - and the intentions of the person who left it.
This topic seems to be drawing interest from some who’ve sparred before in different venues. If you’re one who is party to some of that hostility, take your fight outside. You're not welcome here.
If you’re the owner of the comment, I’d appreciate an acknowledgment sent from your government email account to verify your identity. Without it I’ll be forced to strike the ‘official’ sounding statement from the discussion.
Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.
UShip's transparency and claim of: "In the last 2 years, over $70,000,000 has transacted through our platform and we've only had 4 claims against our Guarantee", can best be read all about (1st hand) by following the steps below:
Google the phrase:
Uship feedback negative rating
Scroll down to where it says: “Show more results from www.UShip.Com” and click on that.
Scroll down to where it says: “Show all results from www.UShip.Com“ and click on that.
Once all of the results appear, click on them until you've read all you care to read!
Warning! Be prepared for an eye opening and in many cases a heart wrenching experience.
Tracey, your comments digress from the purpose of this post. Many of the criticisms posted online about this virtual marketer do not deal directly with complaints about shipping household goods which was the subject of APM’s Marketplace report – the basis used for this series of articles.
While some u-Ship detractors have other issues regarding how the company collects and displays their ‘rating and review’ information, the focus on in this series has been on u-Ship’s reluctance to aid users of their reverse auction services by enforcing Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations.
The consumer protection regulations included under 49CFR, Part 375.207 require every interstate household goods motor carrier or move broker to include their name or trade name, and the U.S. DOT number assigned by FMCSA authorizing them to operate as a for-hire motor carrier in all advertisements for all services (including any accessional services).
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