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Alex is the founder of 9Kilo Moving, which he started to help people easily find and choose the right moving company to make their move as stress-free and seamless as possible. He has spent over 20 years working in the moving industry, so he knows every aspect of the business and uses his knowledge to write about the industry and give moving advice. More on about us page

Learning the Basics: uShip 101

uShip is one of the biggest and most reliable transportation marketplaces for freight, household goods and vehicle shipping markets. It's basically a melting pot where both consumers and businesses can compare upfront quotes, name their own price or receive bids (like an auction) from a pool of over 300,000 service providers in the transportation and moving industry. uShip is open to everyone- from independent owner-operators to large, freight carriers and brokers as well.

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For example, when small-time carriers (truck owners and operators) want to fill out the space in their trucks, they can contact uShip and find clients to fill it up. They can contact uShip directly, or use their mobile app. This service of course won't be free for the trucker and will cost him a certain charge.

According to uShip.com, their operations have amounted to:

  • 432,862 registered transporters on uShip
  • 1.85 million registered customers
  • 2.5 million total listings that have been posted on their site
  • 12.1 million bods by transporters
  • $365,000,000 total business transactions all in all

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So How Does it Work for Customers?

To make it easier to understand, we're going to break down the process for customers who just need to avail of services from uShip. For example, let's say that you have a beautiful dresser that you want to be delivered to your parents' home in Texas. Let's pretend that you're too busy at work and don't have enough time to do the delivery yourself.

  1. Go to uShip.com and post the job. Mention what you need to be delivered or shipped and indicate when you want the delivery to be made. Putting up listings is totally free of charge.
  2. Service providers can then give you a quote based on the information that you provided. They can range anywhere from independent truckers to national movers and freight carriers. These companies will then try to offer you the best price because they can see each other's bids. Think of it like an auction where everyone's trying to win. This process will save you a lot of money because the companies will try to outbid each other. This is also a much faster way as opposed to getting quotations manually via phone calls. With uShip, everything can happen in just minutes.
  3. You can then go over the bids for the project and make your decision based on the company's bid price, delivery date and feedback score.
  4. After making your decision, you will then be connected with the trucker of your choice to complete the actual shipment.
  5. Once the shipment is completed, both the customer and the service provider can provide feedback for one another. This ensures a good check and balance system which will be very helpful for future shipments with other people.

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In a nutshell, if you need something delivered, uShip can help you find the people to do it.

Advantages to using uShip

uShip's bidding process can save you up to 50% in costs because the truckers are competing with one another the competitive process will play to your advantage here. This is because the truckers may just be filling out empty spaces in their truck. That's why they're willing to give better rates.

Another good thing about uShip is that they only give your contact details to the service provider you've chosen. This prevents unwanted phone calls and sales pitches from agents.

When is uShip Most Applicable?

uShip is highly recommended for people with special, one-time shipping needs. Because uShip caters to a diverse pool of service providers, you can easily find someone to ship your item regardless if it's just one or a couple of pieces.

You can post a listing on uShip if you need to transport your motorcycle, send furniture, or deliver a crate full of toys. It's a great option for shipping singular, bulky items.

However, if you're planning to relocate your entire household, this may not be best option for you.

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We highly recommend that for a complete household relocation, the more practical option is to hire full-service movers instead because that way, your shipment will not be combined with other things inside their trucks, and get the right amount of attention and space from the movers.

To get in touch with trusted full service movers, just fill out a short form and tell us about the details of your move. In no time, you'll get competitively priced quotes from some of the best moving companies today.

If you are planning an out of state or cross-country relocation, then get in touch with 9Kilo Moving today to get instant moving quotes and estimate!