Some brokers have the load and some are just fishing.

[WanderngFool]

Do I have that about right? Sometimes I call a broker and he's trying to secure the lowest bid for a load. Fair enough. I may not like bidding low but there's nothing dirty about it - I'm free to look elsewhere.

And then there's the broker that doesn't exactly have the load, he's just fishing. He'll post the load and when you call him and tell him you can do it for x number of $, he contacts his customer and gives him a price of x+$200 ($200 markup is a wild guess on my part).

On the face of it, there's nothing wrong with this but it creates a situation where the broker MUST keep the carrier "hanging on" while he awaits approval from the shipper. I had one of these this past Monday. They kept me hanging on with lame excuses about how they're just "waiting on final approval" or "so and so is at a meeting but we're just about all set". I'm embarrassed to admit that it wasn't until late Wednesday morning that I told the broker that I was tired of being played like a fool.

I've come to the conclusion that the worst of their abuses against carriers is when they lock you into loads that they don't even have yet.

 

[Murraycroexp]

That's pretty much how it happens. They want the load too and hate giving up. I had one take an hour and did finally get approval. Many time they have the load and many times they don't. Markups vary widely. I have had some take small loss on the load just to cover an I have had some marked up as much as 100%. I only know about the 100% markup on my $545 pay because I saw the invoice laying on the shippers desk for $1090.
But the hardest part is just not knowing. Many dispatchers don't communicate with bidders that they don't use their bid. It gripes everyone. But they won't change, they're human.

Just my $.02.

 

[ATeam]

I told the broker that I was tired of being played like a fool.

You don't have to worry about the broker. He or she will find another fool in short order.

 

[Murraycroexp]

True dat!!!!!

 

[tknight]

I've put bids in many times only to find another load which I then take when I get the call 4 hrs later they get ****ed cause I can't do it ,go ahead drag your feet waiting for a better offer , I'm not at your beckon call o lord and master ill do what I want when I want! I can't stand sitting still waiting to be the end of the food chain! Make up your minds in a reasonable fashion and answer your emails promptly we won't sit around all day waiting to be your chosen few..

 

[CharlesD]

I've put bids in many times only to find another load which I then take when I get the call 4 hrs later they get ****ed cause I can't do it ,go ahead drag your feet waiting for a better offer , I'm not at your beckon call o lord and master ill do what I want when I want! I can't stand sitting still waiting to be the end of the food chain! Make up your minds in a reasonable fashion and answer your emails promptly we won't sit around all day waiting to be your chosen few..

Well, there's a way to handle that situation too. If you expect some communication back from a broker when they don't use your bid, they should expect the same communication back from you at the point you are no longer available to haul that load. If you have a bid in with a broker and haven't heard anything back from them and you secure another load, the thing to do is contact them immediately after you secure the other load and let them know you are withdrawing your bid. If you don't do that, then the broker has every right to be upset, because as far as they're concerned, your bid remains active until the load is awarded to someone else or you notify them that your truck is no longer available.

 

[Murraycroexp]

All it takes, at least for us, is "Retract".
That's all. Just "Retract."

If they jack around and you get a better load, do it. Otherwise we send...
"Is this load covered?"
If no response, we move on.

 

[rollincoal]

Vast majority of my most lucrative loads are from brokers who say, "hold on, let me check and get that authorized" in fact all of my repeat business brokers say it. These are the good ones. The ones who don't play around and act as if $5 a mile on 400 miles 1 pallet tractor trailer loads are nothing but a thing. All the rest of them, cheapest bid seekers, the desperate that's how it goes most of the time. You sift thru that chaff finding the ones who unwillingly and grudgingly admit "I need your truck" muhahahaha.. hang up on the rest. The ones I hate are the ones who act as if I am some kind of fool for telling them what the rate is, or proceed to question why so expensive??? Huh??? They angrily hang up and say "good luck with that" who's the sucker needing a truck here?? Not me already got one haha!! Have fun with it drivers that how you beat these brokers....

Sent from my droid using Tapatalk 2

 

[Murraycroexp]

Yeah, that's not the market we find ourselves in. At least IMHO.
But thanks for the input "Rollincoal".

 

[tknight]

I do email them most of the time that I'm out but they never read their emails! Or texts ,Calling them and putting me on hold they want me to think they are that busy!!! I've got better things to do than sit on hold,like take my 30 min break.

 

[jimlookup]

A good broker will tell you the milage and time frame, You may have to estimate the deadhead. I consider tolls, city driving etc. and try to make a quick decision on what I can haul the load for. I tell the broker, or dispatcher, my price, and that I will not accept another load for the next 1/2 hour, and then I will assume we didn,t get the load. I have lost some nice loads in that half hour but I try to do what's fair for all.

 

[ATeam]

It is educational to go to YouTube and search and view videos on freight brokers and truck brokers. Some there talk openly to their peers and broker wannabees about how to maximize their profits by talking truckers into taking loads cheap. It seems to work, the techniques and phrases they use; at least with a good number of truckers.

 

[Murraycroexp]

Trust me!! Always check the miles on your own mileage program. There are several brokers and 3PLs on Sylectus that use "shortest" instead of "practical". I didn't check yesterday and it coat me 77 miles. Not major, but when every dollar counts that money is super-valuable.

 

[tknight]

When I first got started took a job at brokers miles only to discover it was over a hundred short due to the shortcut they figured wrong across the lake from Detroit to buffalo! That took some fighting to get paid!

 

[Murraycroexp]

I did the SAME thing on a Taylor, MI to Cazenovia about a year ago. I didn't have to argue with him but I did feel stupid for not doing the mileage check. Glad he was reasonable about it.

 

[scottm4211]

I did the SAME thing on a Taylor, MI to Cazenovia about a year ago. I didn't have to argue with him but I did feel stupid for not doing the mileage check. Glad he was reasonable about it.

Cazenovia NY? Probably had it routed through Canada as tknights was.