Like many people, I submitted online requests for transportation bids through a handful of sites on the internet. After my mailbox filled up with a zillion bids, I started to narrow it down. My primary criteria is:
1) Lowest Broker Cost
2) Lowest total Cost
Many people don't know that the amount that they're asking for as a DEPOSIT is actually the amount the broker takes for their services, and the rest of the money is what is offered up to the actual trucker. The broker will list the details on a national trucking board, and supply & demand takes over. So, it's in my best interest to find a broker that is willing to work for a LOW deposit, because that means that my vehicle has more money being offered to the trucker, making it more enticing and in turn making it more likely that my vehicle will move faster.
Lowest total cost is good also, because I'd rather start with offering the trucker on the lower but fair side, rather than throwing excess money at a move that I didn't have to. I *always* have the option of increasing my bid amount if the lower price isn't moving the vehicle.
It did take a while to get someone to be willing to get down to San Diego to get my car, but that really wasn't any fault of Red Carpet. It's supply & demand and my vehicle was priced comparably to other ones with similar routes.
We got a trucker to accept the bid, and my vehicle was picked up the next day. (Another thing that differentiates brokers is that some, like Red Carpet, only take payment of the deposit AFTER it's booked and picked up by a truck. That's good for me, because if it got so bad that I had to fly down and get the vehicle myself; I wouldn't have already paid the broker money. It gives them incentive to 'earn their pay'.)
Red Carpet's price wasn't the absolute lowest for the deposit/broker fee. However, they had a lot of advertising talking about their price matching policies, etc. So I hit them up to match the lowest broker fee that I had found. They were willing to price match, and that was great.
In addition, after talking to Sheila @ Red Carpet, she actually recommended that I come here to Transport Reviews to see the ratings... Well, after reading the reviews, Red Carpet had good reviews, but the other company I was considering had just as good and more of them. I was GOING to go with that other vendor, but when I went to call them up to accept, they were gone. Their office was in the midwest and had a two hour time difference. However, Red Carpet was over here in the Pacific Time zone (and I later found out their office was 10 minutes from my work!); so I WAS able to get a hold of Sheila.
The thing that clinched the deal was Sheila's tagline on her e-mails listing the zillion ways that I could contact her, including via instant messenger. ACCESSABILITY OF COMMUNICATION IS HUGE TO ME. Being able to Intant Message w/ Sheila was great to get quick updates or to make adjustments, etc. I tend to be more high maintenance, and having a company that facilitated that kind of service and communication was great. Sheila never made me feel like I was a "pest" or required too much interaction; and that was nice--because I did contact her probably more than her average customer.
The vehicle was delivered as promised (in fact, he called on Tuesday night and we made arrangements to get it the next morning before I left for work. He showed up even a bit early.) The driver was courteous and accomodating. In fact, my car's battery had died on the trip up, and the truck driver had a portable jump starting kit and got it started for me.
It was a bit frustrating that I bought a vehicle from a Location that took a bit longer to get picked up, but that was a function of supply and demand and not a reflection on Red Carpet.
So, in summary, the important things are:
- Price to Broker
- Price to Truck
- Accessabiliity and responsiveness of communication (including hours they are open)
- Payment to Broker made AFTER vehicle is booked on a truck
- Rating and reviews of all of the above on transportreviews.com
Sheila @ Red Carpet fulfilled all the above and I would use her and the company again.
