uShip Forum / Discuss uShip Features & Functionality / Tools and Features

snook63 Ken Hills

nespeland — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:42:37 GMT

I gave Ken Hills $1,500 through pay pal in advance to ship my bobcat mini excavator from Michigan to Montana. He said he would pick it up in 7 to 10 days, but after waiting 63 days and hearing one excuse (lie) after another I finally told him I had had enough. Now he won't give me my money back because in his words "I broke the contract." He is a total liar and a theif, I was wondering if anyone else has gotten ripped off by him too.

Improved workflow for My uShip!

community@uShip.com — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:55:54 GMT

uShip is excited to announce a great improvement to the workflow for My uShip:

* When a customer accepts your bid, the shipment will now move to the new "Booked Shipments" section.
* After completing the shipment, you can now mark the shipment as "Completed". This will move the shipment to another new section, "Completed Shipments"
* These new sections have replaced the old "Recent Matches" in order to give you better control over your workflow, making it easier than ever to efficiently manage your shipments.
* You can also leave feedback directly from your "Booked Shipments" section, which will post your feedback and archive your shipment.

Tip: If you ever need to report a problem later on, you can always remove a shipment's "Completed" status. Keep in mind that, once you leave feedback for a shipment, it will be marked as "Completed" and archived as usual, at which point you will no longer be able to report a problem.

As always, we welcome your feedback and suggestions.

Sorting through the chaff...

mremarine — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 08:33:20 GMT

I spend a few hours per day perusing the BOATS section of UShip. Have experience a phenomenal growth in the volume of listings, but with that volume is an annoying amount of 'chaff' - or listings that from my perspective, have no value.

However, day after day, week after week, I spend (limited) mental cycles looking at them, trying to recall if they are worth a second look, or if they may work into the latest schedule for our three trucks. The color codes for un-opened, opened, bid items are helpful, but here are two tools that would REVOLUTIONIZE the productivity of high volume haulers, looking for every deal nationwide...

1) 'Scratch' funtion. A way to permantly eliminate a listing from coming back into your personal search criteria. Great for flagging that deal with a shipper that isn't answering questions, is out of range from price expectations, or items that simply won't fit our equipment, but are in a search-intensive area.

2) New heading under 'My UShip' called 'My Q&A' where all listings with questions, (un-answered and answered) would be highlighted for quick reference.

Whaddya think???

Provider Directory

EEH2 — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 06:44:27 GMT

I have noticed that the listing order in the Provider Directory, at least in the Vehicles section, does not appear to make any sense. This has been the case for quite a while and it doesn't seem to have been discussed on the forums.

It says on the Service Provider Tools page that "The more active you are the higher you will rank, meaning more business everyday." I don't know if "active" means placing bids, asking questions, booking shipments, or what. But there are highly placed TSPs that do not appear to be active:

On the main directory page (http://directory.uship.com/) just now:

haroldone (0)
a1american (0)

On the vehicles national directory (http://directory.uship.com/vehicletransporters/nationwide/) just now:

kingkopla (2)
muleshoe (3)

Also, it appears that quality of service is not taken into account in the directory. For example:

Vehicles national directory front page:

alessandrabenevides (13) - 57% positive, 17 excessive cancellations, last 7 feedbacks: 2 negative, 1 neutral, 4 cancellations
easytrucking4u (51) - 67% positive, 41 excessive cancellations, 4 negative & 7 positive in last month
muleshoe (3) - 43% positive, 50% cancellations

All this leads me to wonder if the Directory is broken or just severely neglected. Hopefully everyone can see that it needs some work. My suggestion is that the ranking take into account total feedback, quality of service, and recent activity. Also, I believe there was a forum post saying that those who service only one category are placed highest in that category's rankings, which strikes me as an unreasonable idea. One would expect that many outstanding TSPs would service multiple categories, and this should not sink them in the rankings.

Wher do I find this u ship estimater

rodL — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:09:36 GMT

Where do I find this at?

first time user rebate

prissypets — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:38:47 GMT

can anyone tell me how i apply for the first time user rebate? thanks

i cant find a place on the site to do it

a shipment from canada

4383jeffers — Fri, 11 Nov 2005 14:53:00 GMT

Does uship cover canada too? If so, how can a shipment be listed? pls post on FAQs.

How to track bid requests

pkuebler — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:32:38 GMT

Hi,

I've sent out several bid requests for a shipment. Is there a screen that summarizes my requests so I know who I have and haven't sent requests to?

Thanks.

UShip Stories

VeteransTransport — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:42:05 GMT

The correct answer is:
UShip Stories are a result of UShip's request for such stories upon a Shipper leaving a positive feedback.
As you can see, this Shipper declined such an invitation

no thanks

"no thanks" [more]

[read more stories]

AND HERE'S THE PROOF:

At uShip, we believe strongly in the value of our Community. When a uShip member has a positive experience, as you just indicated via feedback, we want to know more about it so that we can share it with everyone in the Community.

Please take a minute below to tell us more about your experience. Your story will be posted to the Community Forums. If your story is really unique and interesting, you might find some cool uShip items (t-shirts, stickers, etc…) in the mail and your story might be highlighted on our Community home page.

Some things to consider when telling your story:

What was the item you were shipping?

Why were you shipping this item?

Who was your service provider? Tell us what a great job they did!

Did you get a good price… was it better than others you found?

Anything else interesting or unique about this transaction that you wish to share.

Would you use uShip again?

[quote]matt@uship.com (11/30/2007)[/b]

The simple answer is that the overwhelming majority of users have great experiences using uShip. We do not edit or delete Stories or any other forum posts (negative or positive) unless they violate our forum rules (e.g. spam, hostile comments, interpersonal disputes, legal claims, etc.)

[quote]We do not edit or delete Stories

They just simply don't let the Shippers post stories unless it's going to be based on a positive feedback and experience !

uShip.com Announces a New Feature: Share Your Story

ldahiyat@uship.com — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:51:16 GMT

uShip is excited about a great new feature on our uShip Stories pages. Now at the top of every uShip story is a button, which lets you share the story via email and on your favorite websites, including:

Facebook
My Space
Digg
Reddit
Google Bookmarks
...and more!

This is a great way to share some of the wonderful uShip stories left by shippers with your friends, family, and the web! To share, just click on the Share button on the Story page.

How do I get PAID !!!!!!!!!

FriendlyshipperNo1 — Tue, 27 May 2008 18:01:13 GMT

Any help here drivers??????? Info.on recieving payment. How long? Etc. Thanks

I'm not able to request bids from my Favorite Provider List

smitty20012 — Thu, 22 May 2008 13:21:53 GMT

When I have an active shipment listed on uShip and I go to my Favorite Provider List and select a provider, and then click on request a bid button. Apparently no bed request is sent for my shipment, but instead the uShip takes me to "List a Shipment" page as though I had no active shipment listed. I don't understand why this happens.

Cargo Insurance

Denmax — Wed, 21 May 2008 17:34:12 GMT

Cannot find any info on the Cargo Insurance? Does anyone know who to get it? There was a link apparently at one time but it has a lock on it?? Please help, need insurance on shipment!

Thank you!

Check out uShip’s NEW Find Shipments Video Tutorials!

clairevo — Wed, 21 May 2008 11:02:11 GMT

uShip is excited to announce a great new resource--uShip Video Tutorials. These video tutorials provide step-by-step guides to using uShip tools and products for both customers and Service Providers.

We'll be adding many videos that cover several topics in the coming months. Today, Service Providers can view the Find Shipments Video Tutorials, which provides a basic overview of the Find Shipments console as well as instructions on executing advanced searches.

Check out the Find Shipments Video Tutorials now:

* Introduction to Find Shipments

* How to use the Multi-State Search

* How to search for shipments Along-a-Route

* How to use the Intrastate Search

* How to use the Local Search

* How to use the International Search

* Using category filters

* Using pricing filters

* Using service type filters

* Using origin and destination type filters

* Using "My Activity" filters

* Using more filters

These tutorials are a great resource for new and seasoned Service Providers to learn the powerful capabilities of the Find Shipments console.

You can view any of these tutorials directly from the Find Shipments console or from the Video Tutorials Index.

As always, we welcome your feedback and suggestions. Let us know what you think in the uShip Discussion Forums!

uShip Announces the Transportation Price Index (TPI)

clairevo — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:04:33 GMT

The Transportation Price Index (TPI) tracks monthly changes in prices paid for transportation services. The TPI uses proprietary, transactional data from the uShip marketplace and encompasses domestic (US) shipments across our categories/commodities. The TPI is expressed in terms of US$ per ton-mile.

View the Transportation Price Index (TPI) to learn more.

As always, uShip welcomes your questions and discussions on this exciting new tool.

u ship estimater

INDIAN — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 05:57:48 GMT

here is a question for the person or people that set up the u ship load estimater i have seen this more than once,is this up dated by the cost of riseing fuel,if not get rid of it because thats what people think they should pay an they want it less than that even.just a thought.jack Indian

New Advanced Bidding Tool – Bid Valet

clairevo — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 17:19:33 GMT

uShip is excited to announce the launch of a new advanced bidding tool: Bid Valet. We have noticed that Service Providers frequently bid multiple times on the same shipment in competitive bidding situations. In an effort to make this re-bidding easier and faster, our new Bid Valet tool allows qualified* TSP’s to automate their re-bidding based on their desired bidding strategy and timeframe.

Why should I try Bid Valet?

• Save time bidding and re-bidding - just set your lowest acceptable bid price and Bid Valet will do all the re-bidding work for you to give you the most possible revenue. No need to come back to the site if you are on the road or away from your computer. Bid Valet works for you 24/7.

• Get higher match prices – with Bid Valet, you can start with a higher bid without the hassle of re-bidding down to a lower price. Bid Valet will lower your bid in your customized time and dollar increments depending on how aggressive you want to be.

• Be more competitive by automating your bids - you can set Bid Valet to automatically underbid competing Service Providers until you reach your lowest acceptable bid price.

There are two ways Bid Valet helps you:

1. Automatically re-bid when you are underbid by other TSP's. If you are underbid the Bid Valet will automatically place a lower bid in small, predefined increments until reaching your preset "lowest bid" price. These bids are triggered after a 2 hour delay or if the customer declines your bid because the price was too high.

2. Automatically lower your bid periodically by a set amount. Bid Valet will automatically lower your bids in the time and dollar increments you choose, until you reach your "lowest bid" or until any bid is accepted.

You can use either option above on any bid - or use them both to doubly increase your chances of winning jobs.

In addition, Bid Valet can be used simultaneously with other suites of tools such as Group Bidding, Book-it-Now, and My Rates to provide you with a “virtual business manager” that works on your behalf.

Click here to Learn More about Bid Valet, including examples of when a TSP might choose to use it. You can also give us your feedback and discuss Bid Valet in our uShip’s Discussion forums. We are very excited about the power of this unique, customizable tool and we hope that all qualified TSP’s will give it a try.

*Bid Valet is only available to "qualified" Service Providers who have at least 10 feedback and at least a 90% positive feedback rating.

Payment Method Input

SouthpawCouriers — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 21:58:59 GMT

I see no place on my profile to enter info of what types of payments I accept. I see other providers have this info in their profiles. What am I doing wrong?

Additional insurance

Legal — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:30:11 GMT

Can somebody explain how the shipper can purchase additional insurance threw Uship ?

The constant question we get from the customers is how they can purchase additional insurance threw Uship. shipping tools section has Cargo Insurance but it is locked ??? and no link....

Need to contact Thomas Duncan Trucking of texas

terrygar — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 17:50:19 GMT

Hello, I need to talk to Thomas Duncan, if someone knows him please have him email me.

Thanks,

Terry

Issues with posting

Delanymotorsports — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 14:19:59 GMT

I've tried this a thousand times and can't quite get it to work. I want to center my signature, but unless I have a line break in between each line, it doesn't work for me. Someone walk me through it?

prices

flatbedpuller — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 23:15:45 GMT

hello,why can't the shippers here understand that it cost at least 30-40 cents/mile (@$3.99 diesel) just for fuel not to mention ins.,lic.,repairs (who knows how much) ,tires ($150-$200) ,and if you drive a deisel atleast 4 gallon of oil ($35-$45),filter ($20-$40).I hope some shippers see this.

Local Moving

nick@uship.com — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:48:40 GMT

uShip is excited to announce the launch of uShip Local Moving, a better way to bid on and book local household moves. Beginning March 19, 2008, uShip will change the way local household moves are handled on the uShip marketplace, which will benefit Service Providers and Shippers alike.

What happens when a shipper lists a local move in your area

When a shipper lists a local household move in your service area, they will be presented local companies and rates and given the opportunity to send an exclusive, pre-paid booking request for their services. These booking requests are:

· Secured with a pre-paid deposit

· Only made to one company at a time

· Guaranteed solely for the Service Provider requested

· Exclusive, which means the move is not listed on the open uShip marketplace

· Available for a Service Provider to accept for only 24 hours

If you enter your local moving rates and cities you service in My Rates, you will be able to receive local moves booking requests.

Local moving in the uShip marketplace

If a shipper declines to send any booking requests, their local household move will be listed on the uShip marketplace like any other shipment. However, local moves will now be bid on by Service Providers based on an hourly rate and the number of movers required.

Both of these changes will help you win more jobs and bid in a more efficient and accurate way.

Favorite Provider List

goldstarlog — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 13:58:21 GMT

I have added a number of providers to my 'Favorite Providers' list but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get to the list. Can someone help?

Local movers aren't

hbfunk — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 07:38:11 GMT

The first 40+ movers listed in the local directory for my area are all national shippers. That's not helpful when I'm trying to find someone to do a cross-town move. I think there should either be:
- enforcement of the 'local' nature of listings (e.g., Minneapolis is *not* Houston), or
- improved search of the listings (e.g., main or branch office location).

I know that's not applicable for brokers, but the directory listing as is just isn't helpful.

Thanks,
Harry.

uShip announces Phone Alerts

clairevo — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 00:48:39 GMT

uShip has partnered with Unwired Nation to bring uShip members an exciting new service. Now you can be notified via phone when you receive activity on shipments you have listed or bid on in the uShip marketplace.

What are Phone Alerts?

Phone Alerts are automated phone calls that let you know about uShip activity that requires your attention.

Shippers are notified immediately by phone when:
• A new bid has been placed on your shipment, including amount and expiration date
• An answer to a question you asked about a bid has been posted

Service Providers are notified immediately by phone when:
• A question is asked about a bid you placed on a shipment
• A bid you’ve placed on a shipment has been accepted

Why use Phone Alerts?

Communication is essential for a successful uShip transaction. Being immediately informed about uShip activity ensures that opportunities for Shippers and Service Providers to connect are not missed.

• uShip works for you—24/7* – No one can be at their computer all day, managing their uShip account. With Phone Alerts, uShip will call you with updates on important bids and questions.
• The best bids are never missed - Great bids sometimes happen on weekends or are placed on a restricted timeframe and may expire or be cancelled before a Shipper can respond. To keep these bids from being missed, Phone Alerts will notify Shippers the minute a bid is placed.
• The answers you need, when you need them - Because Shippers and Service Providers are called when important bid questions are asked or answered, communication (and matches!) occur faster.
• Connect and ship faster than ever – Even if they are on the road or away from the office, we’ll call Service Providers to let them know about accepted bids. This way, Shippers and Service Providers can get in contact and ship faster.

*When you sign up for Phone Alerts, you can set the hours uShip should call you. No midnight calls unless you want them—we promise!

How to receive Phone Alerts:

• Shippers: Sign up to receive Phone Alerts when you list a shipment

• Service Providers: Sign up for Phone Alerts when you place a bid

All uShip members can sign up for Phone Alerts by updating your communication preferences in My uShip.

We’re excited to have partnered with Unwired Nation to bring this exciting new feature to the uShip marketplace. Phone Alerts are just another way uShip is working hard to improve the shipping experience for all our members.

New Feature - My uShip Reminders

clairevo — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 14:39:28 GMT

uShip is excited to announce My uShip Reminders, a digest view of all the actionable items on your account and an improved way for you to manage your uShip to-do list. My uShip Reminders let you keep an eye on tasks that require your attention, without having to navigate through My uShip.

Service Providers will be notified about things like questions asked or answers, bid requests, or feedback that needs to be left. Shippers-My uShip Reminders shows you new bids, pending questions, and other activity on your shipments. My uShip Reminders will also be used to keep you up to date on new tools and services that make using uShip better and easier.

You will see this new feature in two areas of the website:

* My uShip reminders in the upper right-hand corner (by your login information) shows your most pressing tasks.
* My uShip Snapshot on the home page and at the top of My uShip will show a complete uShip to-do list, with all your tasks and notifications.

This is just another way uShip is improving the shipping experience for all uShip members and making uShip easier and faster to use.

New Feature - Profile Completeness

clairevo — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 15:03:39 GMT

A complete profile is one of the best ways for uShip Service Providers to market their business and win more jobs, so uShip is excited to announce our new “Profile Completeness” feature, which helps Service Providers determine exactly what to add to their profile to attract more customers.

Now when Service Providers edit or view their own profile, they’ll be given their “Profile Completeness” percentage, which compares the information in their current profile to a “model profile” based on the metrics of uShip’s most successful providers. The more information you add to your profile, the higher your Profile Completeness number. According to our research, Service Providers with profiles that are 100% complete are the most successful at winning jobs in the uShip marketplace. As more Service Providers use this feature and update their information, we will continue to track and update the Profile Completeness feature to give you the accurate feedback on the effectiveness of your profile.

Want to see how complete your profile is and what you can do to get to 100%? Log into My uShip and select “Edit My Profile” to explore this new feature.

Where is my watch list?

medusaorange — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 07:17:22 GMT

I had added some lists to my watch list, but when I went look for my watch list and I could not find it anywhere. Where do I find it?

Maps are Dead-tools not showing

Readyship55 — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 19:36:52 GMT

THE MAPS ARE DEAD?

Today, I see that all the route maps do not show any active tools to scroll, move or zoom the maps,, but that feature still shows up on the homepage USA map, so I know it's not likely to be my computer.

Has USHIP lost or cancelled its map tools on the individual bid pages? or is the just a temporary problem with some part of the servers or service here or there?

If I cannot play around with each little map,, it's going to make things a lot harder.

Everything was ok the other day. I've also seen this same behavior in Firefox and IE.
Also,, I've just visited mapquest and google maps..and seen that they are working just fine on my system.

Maps not loading

BullyHillbullies — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 12:15:27 GMT

Is it just my puter or are the maps not loading on anybody's??

~Tonda

My Recent Matches

paposteve — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 19:50:14 GMT

what do you think.

New Advanced Bidding Tool - Group Bidding

nick@uship.com — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 19:14:06 GMT

uShip is excited to announce the launch of our first advanced bidding tool: Group Bidding. Group Bidding will enable TSP’s with limited capacity who are on tight schedules to win more jobs, much faster than ever before.

Group Bidding allows qualified TSP’s to “group” and name similar shipments, (for example, “Chicago to Seattle”) and set a limit on how many shipments from that group TSP’s are willing to service. The system will automatically cancel all open bids in the group once a TSP reaches their limit for each group. This allows TSP’s to bid on numerous shipments all at once without the risk of overbooking and/or risking cancellations. Group bidding is only available to “qualified” service providers who have at least 10 feedback and at least a 90% positive feedback rating.

Example: Bid on multiple loads in the same direction

A TSP will be travelling from Chicago to Seattle and only has room for two vehicles in their multi-car trailer. The TSP finds 4 vehicle shipments going in similar directions and is willing to service the first two that accept their bid.

The TSP is qualified* and decides to use group bidding. When he bids on the first vehicle, he creates and names a new “group” using the

dropdown menu in the bidding box and uses the dropdown menu to set the group’s settings to only accept a maximum of 2 shipments. He then bids on the other three vehicles, and assigns them all to the same group.

Once this is set:

· The TSP can only match a maximum of 2 shipments from this group, regardless of the order the bids are placed or accepted.

· If the TSP reaches 2 matches from this group, all their open bids on other listings in the group will be automatically and immediately cancelled.

· The TSP may always manually cancel any open bids in the group before they are accepted by a customer.

Example 2: Bid on large front haul loads going in different directions

A TSP is in Chicago and has the capacity and desire to service one large household move for $2000 or more whose delivery is less than 500 miles from his current location. The TSP uses our search filters and finds three shipments that fit this criteria. Instead of bidding on them one at a time, the TSP uses group bidding to group these shipments and bid on all three in the same session. From the group bids table in My uShip, the TSP uses the dropdown menu to change the group’s settings to accept a maximum of 1 shipments from the 3 in the group. As soon as the first customer in this group accepts a bid from this TSP, all the other open bids in this group will be cancelled automatically.

You can also create, name and delete new groups directly from your My uShip and move open bids from the Open Bids table to the new Group Bidding table in My uShip.

We are very excited about the power of group bidding and hope that you will give it a try to win more jobs, faster! Feel free to give us your thoughts and comments on this feature.

How about a new sort feature?

TrueNorth — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 15:58:33 GMT

Nick,

It would be helpful to be able to sort by origin or destination. That way we could see everything coming from or going to a specific city together.

Just a thought.

Rick

RUN SAFE. RUN LEGAL.

Ship safety

chchzhzh — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 17:00:39 GMT

Hi,
I am planning to accept a bid for my shipping. I wonder what should I check when I meet the carrier to confirm he is legal?
And where can I buuy the insuance for any possible damage or loss of my shipping stuff?
I need these answer urgently coz i need to ship tomorrow.
Thanks!

DirectoRank

lhirshon — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 09:30:36 GMT

Just wondering, what is DirectoRank and how does it work? Some of the shippers I see at the top of DirectoRank don't have a very high feedback rating. How can I move my shipping company farther up in DirectoRank?

LIST-A-TRIP

Clyde10horse — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 16:39:17 GMT

U-Ship is there any way you can put a list-a-trip on this site? I only haul when I have a horse of my own to deliver or pickup, normally use delivery as a selling tool, then look for other horses to go along to cover expenses. I have one horse going to TX. at the end of the month and even though I can search the site if there was a way to post my trip I think it would help others as well. Give it sum thought. Thanks Clyde10horse

Listing under Service Providers

KayLogistics — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 19:39:37 GMT

Hi,

I tried to look myself up under Frieght and under Utah and only found two cities listed Provo and Salt Lake, what would it take to get Brigham City, listed as a city and my company listed under said city?

Thanks Kay Logistics

Accepting bids

rodfarrar — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 09:36:34 GMT

How do I accept the bid w/o paying deposit since I have paid the entire shipping cost up front and item has been picked up?

Mapping Improvements

deadtoad — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 09:21:46 GMT

I think it would be useful for the small companies out there, who plan their routes, to be able to "add stops". If I've taken a load from OK to OH, and want to be able to maximize my space in the truck on the way back.....I might need to pick up and deliver several small loads along a route. This would help me calculate expenses and offer better prices for the shipper.