| General |
| Q. How do I handle disputes with other members? |
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First, contact the other member and try to reach a mutually acceptable solution. If you are unable to come to a mutually acceptable solution, we suggest using a third party dispute resolution system such as SquareTrade. Remember to leave negative feedback for the other party if you feel it is warranted. Find Shippers is only a matchmaker and does not provide the actual transportation services. |
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| Q. What is Find Shippers ? |
A. Find Shippers is the first and largest online marketplace for shipping and moving. Shippers list their General Goods, Auction Goods, Household Move, Vehicle & Boat, or Specialty Item shipments in the Find Shippers marketplace. Shipment listings are viewed by and emailed to thousands of movers, van lines, freight carriers, freight brokers, vehicle/boat transporters, couriers and independent drivers. Shippers can save up to 80% by accepting bids from service providers, many of whom are already traveling along the route of the shipment and have extra space. |
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| Q. What are the common terms used on Find Shippers ? |
A. Shipper: The member who lists a shipment and needs transporation services.
Service Provider: The member who makes bids on shipments and provides transportation services (eg. moving company, van line, freight broker, independent drivers).
Target Price: An initial "target" price that the shipper may set for delivery of their shipment.
Bid: The price that the driver requires for delivery of the shipment. Bids can be lower, equal to, or higher than the shipper's target price..
Match: The agreement that results When the shipper accepts the driver's bid for transportation services. |
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| Q. Who uses Find Shippers ? |
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Most of our shippers are individuals, small businesses, and eBay users who are looking for an easy, cheap, and fun way to ship just about anything. Our shippers have listed everything from a 5’ pink flamingo sculpture, to a 6-bedroom household, to a warehouse full of 1 million baseball cards! Our drivers are movers, van lines, freight carriers, freight brokers, vehicle/boat carriers, couriers and independent drivers who are eager to view and bid on your shipment. |
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| Q. Why should I use Find Shippers ? |
A. Find Shippers ’s environmentally friendly peer-to-peer marketplace is revolutionizing the shipping industry just like eBay did for the auction industry. Listing a shipment in our marketplace is an alternative to paying high retail prices for shipping and moving. Our advanced technology allows service providers to find shipments along their route, better utilize the space in their trucks, and bypass the middleman – meaning lower shipping costs and less congestion on our nation's highways. Naturally, the service provider that can deliver the shipment at the lowest cost is able to make the lowest bid, so you can feel confident that you will save money compared to almost any other method of shipping. Finally, because all of our members are feedback rated, Find Shippers is the only way for shippers to read unbiased feedback reviews before transacting with drivers. |
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| Q. How does Find Shippers work? |
A. Shippers list the details of their shipment. Service providers find shipments using our numerous advanced search methods, including our patent-pending uSearch™. Service providers can ask questions about shipments using our Q&A email system and make bids. Shippers then view the details of the bid and can ask service providers additional questions before accepting or declining the bid. When a shipper accepts a bid, the match is complete, and the shipper and service provider are given each others direct contact information to arrange the final pick-up, delivery, and payment details. |
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| Q. What fees does Find Shippers charge for this service? |
A. There are currently no listing or transaction fees for shippers. Service providers only pay a transaction fee if their bid is accepted by the shipper. The transaction fee is 7.9% of the accepted bid price with a minimum fee of $1.00. For example, if a service provider bids $100 on a shipment and the bid is approved by the shipper, the service provider is charged 7.9% of $100, or $7.90. |
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| Q. Why must I enter my credit card information before my first transaction? |
A. Similar to peer-to-peer auction sites, the Find Shippers marketplace is based on trust. In order to build trust among members, we use our members' credit card information to verify their identity. Additionally, your credit card is kept on file to pay for any fees that you incur using our service (See fees above). No charges will be made to your card during identity verification. |
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| Q. How is my personal information protected? |
A. In order to protect your privacy, Find Shippers does not include direct contact information in listings and only releases this information to the other party in your transaction after a match is completed. We use industry standard SSL encryption software to protect your sensitive information. We will never, ever share or sell your personal information to any third party without your explicit consent. For more information, please read our User Agreement. |
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| Q. What is the uSearch™ process? |
A. uSearch™ is our patent-pending search technology that allows drivers to save trips and find shipments along their route sorted by "route deviation", or the number of miles added to their trip for pick-up and delivery. Other systems require drivers to perform numerous radius-to-radius, city-to-city, or state-to-state searches. Our search method allows service providers to find matching shipments with just one search. |
| Shipping |
| Q. What types of items can I ship using Find Shippers ? |
A. Find Shippers can be used to ship anything that the law allows, even many things that traditional shippers refuse to ship, like live plants or even yourself (ridesharing). Shippers list their General Goods, Auction Goods, Household Move, Vehicle & Boat, or Specialty Item shipments in the Find Shippers marketplace. Shipment listings are viewed by and emailed to thousands of movers, van lines, freight carriers, freight brokers, vehicle/boat transporters, couriers and independent drivers. Shipments are not required to be packaged, but packaging of breakable items is recommended. As stated in our User Agreement, service providers have the right to inspect the contents any packages - so we recommend that you wait to seal your package until the driver arrives. For details on Prohibited and Restricted Items, see our User Agreement.
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| Q. What should I set as my shipping "target" price? |
A. Find Shippers allows shippers to set an “target” or "max" price for their shipment. Drivers have the option of making a bid at your target or max price or making a counter-offer bid at another price. While there are no hard rules for determining your target price, many shippers obtain traditional freight or moving quotes and apply a discount of anywhere between 30-80%, depending on how long they are willing to wait for a match. Your target price will determine the attractiveness of your shipment to potential drivers and your likelihood of getting bids in a reasonable timeframe. |
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| Q. How do I know that my shipment will be safe? |
A. The security of your shipments is the number one priority at Find Shippers , and we have developed four primary features for ensuring that your shipment will be safely delivered: Shipper Protection Program, Feedback Ratings, Identity Verification, and Third Party Protection. To learn more about these features and find other security tips, please visit the Find Shippers Security Center. Also, many Find Shippers service providers are professional moving companies, couriers, and freight carriers that offer insurance for your shipments for an additional charge. Be sure to select “Insurance Required” if you need a service provider that offers insurance. |
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| Q. What is Find Shippers 's Shipper Protection Program? |
A. The Shipper Protection Program is part of Find Shippers ’s overall effort to ensure the safe delivery of your shipments. The Shipper Protection Program provides Find Shippers members loss reimbursement of up to $200.00 (minus a $25 processing fee) in cases where items are picked-up and not delivered. For more information, please visit About Shipper Protection. |
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| Q. Why should I use Find Shippers for eBay transactions? |
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Buying and selling large items on eBay can be difficult. Because of high shipping costs, sellers are often forced to limit the sale of large items to “local pick-up only”. By offering Find Shippers , sellers can significantly increase the number of bidders and their bid prices for larger items as well as decrease the number of buyers who back out of purchases after receiving expensive freight quotes. |
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| Q. How do I use Find Shippers for eBay transactions? |
A. There are two main ways that buyers use Find Shippers for eBay purchases:
Situation 1 – You are interested in bidding on an eBay item, but the traditional retail freight price is too high.
Answer - Because you are under no obligation until you accept a bid from a service provider, you can list the eBay item on Find Shippers and find a service provider willing to deliver it at your price – even before you bid on the item. If you win the auction, you accept the service provider’s bid. If you don’t win the auction, then be sure to promtly decline the service provider’s bid.
Situation 2 – You have already won an auction and received a high retail freight quote.
Answer - You can “Try Find Shippers First” by listing the shipment on Find Shippers and trying to get a lower bid from a Find Shippers service provider. Because many Find Shippers service providers are filling extra space in their trucks, you could save 20-80%. If no one selects your shipment in a reasonable timeframe, then you can use the traditional retail freight system. |
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| Q. How can I communicate with Find Shippers service providers before I match? |
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Find Shippers uses an integrated Q&A system that allows service providers to ask shippers questions about their shipment before making a bid. Q&A is both emailed to the member and posted publicly on the listing page so that the same questions are not asked repeatedly. Similarly, shippers can ask service providers questions about their bids from the bid details page before accepting. After you accept a service provider’s bid, we provide you their direct contact information to work out the final details.
You can also "request a bid" from specific service providers by using the Find a Member feature found on our community page.
Marketplace Security Tip: In order to protect your privacy and the integrity of the Find Shippers process, members are restricted from including direct contact information (phone numbers, email addresses, web addresses, etc.) in the Q&A system. Members who transact with service providers off-site (without accepting a bid) are not protected by any of Find Shippers ’s security features (see Find Shippers Security Center) and may have their accounts suspended as outlined in our User Agreement.
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| Q. What happens if my shipping plans change or the driver fails to live up to their end of the agreemen |
A. If you need to change or cancel a shipment and you have not yet approved a service provider, you may change or delete the shipment on your Shipping Page in My Find Shippers . If you must reschedule or cancel a shipment after your match is complete (after accepting a service provider's bid), contact the service provider directly. If you are unable to reach a mutually acceptable solution, we suggest using a third party dispute resolution system such as SquareTrade. Remember to leave negative feedback for the other party if you feel it is warranted. Find Shippers is only a matchmaker and is not responsible for transactions after the match is completed on our system. |
| Driving |
| Q. How do I know that I am not transporting prohibited or restricted items? |
A. Find Shippers can be used to ship anything that the law allows, even many things that traditional shippers refuse to ship, like live plants or even people (ridesharing). As stated in our User Agreement, service providers have the right to inspect the contents of any shipment and refuse any prohibited or restricted items. For details on prohibited and restricted items, see our User Agreement. |
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| Q. How does the "Saved Search" feature work? |
A. You can be the first to know when new shipments are listed on the site by checking the “Save this Search” box on our search results pages. We will email you daily when new shipments are listed that meet the criteria of the search. Simply click on the shipment title in the email and you will go directly to the shipment listing page. You will only receive an email if new shipments are listed that meet your criteria in the previous 24 hours and you can delete your Saved Search at any time from your driving tab in My Find Shippers . Best of all, there are no costs or fees for this service! |
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| Q. How do I communicate with Find Shippers shippers? |
A. Our shipment listings are designed to provide you with all the information you need to make a bid. However, if the shipper does not provide enough detail in their listing, please use our integrated Q&A email system. Your question is emailed to the shipper and posted on the listing page so that the same questions are not asked by multiple service providers. You are notified by email when the shipper replies.
Communication Tip: When you bid on a shipment, you will provide detailed information about your services (vehicle type, offered delivery dates, etc.) that the shipper will review before Accepting or Declining your bid. Therefore, it is not necessary to use Q&A for these details. Further, shippers are able to ask you questions about your services in a similar manner before accepting your bid.
If your bid is accepted, the Find Shippers transaction is complete and you will receive direct contact information (names, email, phone and fax numbers) for the shipper, the pick-up contact, and the delivery contact. We suggest that you contact the shipper immediately to make final delivery and payment arrangements. If the shipper fails to live up to their end of the agreement after accepting your bid, or is found to have misrepresented their shipment, you may be eligible for a full or partial refund of your transaction fee.
Marketplace Security Tip: In order to protect your privacy and the integrity of the Find Shippers process, members are restricted from including direct contact information (phone numbers, email addresses, web addresses, etc.) in the Q&A system. Members who transact with shippers off-site (without an accepted bid) are not protected by any of Find Shippers ’s security features (see Find Shippers Security Center) and may have their accounts suspended as outlined in our User Agreement. |
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| Q. Can I make a bid on a shipment at a different price? |
A. Yes, service providers are able to make bids at any price, even though the shipper may have a "target" price or "max" price specified.. Before you make a bid, you will be able to see any bids made by other driver on the shipment listing page. While price is a very important factor, shippers consider many other factors when deciding which bid to accept, including feedback, vehicle type, pick-up and delivery dates, and services offered. Thus, the shipper may not always accept the lowest bid. |
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| Q. Can I (the service provider) cancel a bid or a match? |
A. If you need to cancel a bid that has not yet been accepted by the shipper, you may do so on your Driving Tab on My Find Shippers . If you must cancel a match after the shipper has accepted your bid (a "Match Retraction"), you should first notify the shipper and then review the Match Retraction rules which can be found on the Community page. If the Match Retraction is the fault of the shipper, you may be eligible for a full or partial refund of your match fee. |
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