Shipping large, oversized items has traditionally been a major pain point for buyers, especially within online auction marketplaces, such as Proxibid, where unique, valuable and oversized items need to get transported with care. 

To help address this issue and bring greater efficiency Proxibid’s auction process, uShip is pleased to announce Proxibid and uShip have joined forces to provide Proxibid’s online bidding community with direct access to uShip’s network of transporters. 

Drive Your Business Forward – In a FREE 2012 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Van

If there was ever a promotion tailor-made for a transporter on uShip, this is it. 

Fast Company magazine and Mercedes-B​enz Sprinter have created a marketing program to find the brightest small or midsize businesses​ looking to grow while using a Sprinter van in the process.

All they are asking for is a :30-90 second video telling them about your business and how it could benefit from owning a Sprinter van (hint: it helps if you haul stuff).  Their judges then select the business whose video represents the most compelling plan for using a Sprinter van to propel its overall business strategy.

Submission deadline is next week – May 31, 2012 – so grab that smartphone and start filming. 

The winner not only receives a brand new 2012 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, but will be featured in a video series promoting both Sprinter and the winning business. The winner also receives a voucher worth $10,000 toward customizing the new van.

Here’s the kicker:  If you are a uShip service provider – and win this contest – uShip will toss in an additional bonus:  no match fees for an entire year from the moment you are announced the winner.

Good luck!

 

uShip Seeks Pirate; Named Among Austin's 2012 Best Places to Work

If the list of openings on uShip.com/Jobs is any indication, we're GROWING!

We're also thrilled to be named to named among the 2012 Best Places to Work by the Austin Business Journal.

A third-party survey of uShip employees places the company among Austin's top medium-size employers-- and as we grow, it's no mystery why. We have fun at work, we do awesome things and we like each other.

Here at uShip, our culture ultimately lends itself to our #1 core philosophy: "Never stand still-- always experiment and innovate." We're constantly working (day and night!) to deploy new features on our site and mobile app, to implement fixes and improve the many moving parts of the uShip platform.

Carriers and Transporters: Submit Your Photos to be Featured on uShip's Home Page!

Frequent visitors to uShip may have noticed our home page has "had some work done" over the past few months! 

Among the more important changes in the home page facelift:  We've (1) simplified the way shippers are introduced to the site, and (2) given our awesome transporters a hefty amount of real estate on the left side of the page.

We're especially excited to show off some of the best transport businesses on the site in the home page image rotator. You could be featured, too!

Send us photos of your business or shipments any time! Simply email your high-quality photos to photos@uship.com.

How can I be featured on the home page?

Our featured carriers will rotate every month-- and we'd like to invite businesses from all over the US to submit interesting photos of their work. 

To be considered for a call-out on the homepage:

1. Get CarrierWatch verified -- or have Power Carrier status on the site.
2. Ensure your profile is complete and features the name of your company.
3. Upload high-quality images featuring your business to your carrier profile OR email them directly to us at photos@uship.com.  

If you have positive (mostly 5-star) feedback and few cancellations, we'd love to feature your business for thousands of uShip visitors!

What counts as a high-quality image?

A high-quality image for our carrier feature:

• Will be no smaller than 442 x 300 px.
• Features you, your vehicle, trailer or hauling equipment, or one of your shipments.
• Will be positioned horizontally -- keep this in mind if you're using your phone to take photos.
• Should be taken in daytime for quality lighting.

*(Obviously, sending us images does not guarantee placement. The selection and duration of any carrier featured on the home page is at the sole discretion of uShip.)

Send away! We look forward to seeing your photos! 

Highway to Help: uShip Carrier StreetShip Hauls for a Great Cause

As part of uShip's "Highway to Help" charitable shipment program, non-profits and charities can often locate low or no-cost transport services on uShip. Among uShip's network of thousands of carriers, many are willing to haul for deserving charities at little or no charge.

Today we were delighted to find out that auto/motorcycle hauler StreetShip completed a free shipment for one of our favorite charities in Austin, Colin's Hope.

Colin's Hope creates and supports water safety programs to prevent children from drowning. As part of their preparation for the summer recreation season, Colin's Hope had an immediate need to distribute thousands of Water Safety packets. See the shipment listing here.

Executive Director Alyssa Magrum's feedback speaks to the StreetShip's generosity:

"uShip and their member Street Ship helped us prevent drowning yesterday by moving 10,000 of our water safety packets from their stuffing location in North Austin into one of our target zip codes in Hays County & at no cost to Colin's Hope! We can now distribute this life saving information to families more quickly to raise water safety awareness to prevent children from drowning! Thanks again uShip and Street Ship!"

Many thanks to StreetShip and all the generous carriers hauling charitable shipments on uShip.

uShip App All-Star: How Carrier TShreeves Does Business on the Road

uShip Mobile has an MVP! 

Last month, we ran our first-ever Mobile Madness promotion for the uShip Mobile App, giving away thousands of dollars in credit for transporters on uShip. The top "bracket" of 64 carriers that booked the most loads using uShip Mobile won site credit.

We were impressed to find out that some uShip carriers book exclusively using mobile devices! The winner of uShip Mobile Madness, Tobias Shreeves, booked 17 loads throughout the month, all of which where booked with the uShip Mobile App. 

Shreeves (tshreeves) is an owner-operator from Tucson, Ariz. hauling boats, commercial freight, household goods, motorcycles and vehicles across the Western US. Since registering on the site in January, he's hauled 21 shipments with 100% positive feedback.

Seeing carriers doing brisk business with the app is a big deal for us-- we're putting a lot of sweat and tears into making the app an awesome, simple tool for carriers and customers that want to ship anything, anywhere, anytime. 

A couple days ago, we spoke with Shreeves to ask him how he uses uShip while on the road. Here are some of the highlights, along with some general advice for transporters:

 

How do you use uShip Mobile to book loads on the road?

"I have a full-time job during the week, and operate my hauling business on weekends. uShip is basically a vacation for me after work!

Typically I'll start looking for large shipments using Find Shipments during the week. I use search filters to narrow down the shipments that are along my route, and then for shipments that will safely fit on my trailer.

It has to be a shipment that is "significant" or pays well enough to cover my fuel and the way back as well. I always look at photos and shipment details to make sure its something I can haul.

Once I've booked a well-paying load, I'll look on my iPhone for smaller shipments to add along my route and for a backhaul shipment for the return trip. I've found I can book several shipments in one trip."

What are some other mobile apps you use?

"I frequently use Google maps, a GPS navigation unit and my mobile internet browser."

Do you have any practical advice for new transporters?

"Definitely. You'll never have everything you need on the road, so just be prepared to shell out for things you need at the last minute: chains, tie downs, blocks of wood, blown tires… and always ongoing maintenance costs. 

Other than that, you have to be smart about what you book. Pay attention to shipment details, and always know your limits in terms of your equipment and your planned route." 

Congrats to our Mobile Madness winner, TShreeves! Keep on truckin'!

Earth Day 2012: Meet the ‘Prius Trucker’

Among the 250,000 registered carriers on uShip there are some truly colorful characters. Without a doubt, the greenest, most eco-friendly of them all is green tech “trucker” Adam Winters.

But you won’t find Adam driving a Class 8 rig or even a Ford F550.  Adam drives a Toyota Prius. 

Five years ago, Adam transformed his electric hybrid hatchback into a custom, re-engineered, trailer-hauling machine that primarily moves motorcycles, including Harley-Davidsons. 

Known as the Green Technology Transporter, he’s driven ~20,000 miles a month since getting on uShip 4-5 months ago.  Today, he earns 100% of his business though uShip.com, where he’s a Silver Power Provider with a 100% customer service rating. 

His 40-50mpg and emission-free driving gives him amazing fuel efficiency and ability to offer the best prices while going green, a double-win for his customers and the environment as the world  celebrates Earth Day on Sunday, April 22.   

Where Adam creates Prius envy is when he transports motorcycles to big cities.  “With my Prius, I can zip in and out of alleys and make deliveries in places bigger trucks can’t or would rather not go.” 

As a ASE (Automotive Service Excellence) certified mechanic, Adam also does a free inspection of motorcycles before he hauls them -- especially for customers who purchase bikes site-unseen.   A significant portion of the motorcycles that he moves come through eBay Motors, where uShip is offered as a shipping service to buyers and sellers. 

Adam’s gone totally paperless in his business, thanks to his array of Apple products, including his iPad2, Macbook Pro and iPhone.  He uses uShip Tracking to keep his customers informed, as well as the uShip Mobile App.  He’s also signed up as a TerraPass Certified Provider. 

When he hauled pets in years past, he even used his iPad to host pet-video-conferences so excited owners could get to know their in-bound pet virtually before delivery.          

While he may not be a trucker in the traditional sense, Adam is a great example of green innovation and entrepreneurial spirit in the transport industry. 

“uShip has been great for me because it’s given me a career where I was the boss and a dream job where I became a workaholic doing something I really enjoy."

‘Shipping Wars’ Season 2 Hits This Summer

 A&E has ordered new 26-episode seasons for three of its popular real-life series:  Shipping Wars, Storage Wars and Storage Wars: Texas.   All three will launch this summer.   uShip serves as the backdrop of Shipping Wars which premiered in January to 3 million total viewers. 

Shipping Wars trucker (and Baja road race enthusiast) Marc Springer loads a vehicle for transport to Mexico.

If you haven’t seen Shipping Wars, it follows six independent truckers who competitively bid to transport oversized, bulky loads found on uShip.com. From rookie haulers to seasoned veterans, no shipment is too big or bizarre for these carriers, who compete in a high-stakes, deadline-driven race where any setback can cost big bucks.

“America is at a crossroads where people are finding new ways to make money and earn a living,” A&E’s EVP programming Davod McKillop told Deadline.com. “We’re holding a mirror up to this trend in our programming and it’s proven to be incredibly relatable to our viewers yet remain highly entertaining.”

Check out the transporter leaderboard at http://uship.com/shippingwars or catch video from Season 1 episodes, the “uShip Utorial” or watch the uShip Webisode, checkout A&E’s Shipping Wars site.  Below is Shipping Wars pilot episode that aired Jan. 10:

We have a winner!

The race was close and the competition fierce, but Mobile Madness Month (and a half) came to an end this weekend. After 46 days of bidding and booking through the uShip mobile app, we have crowned a winner - not to mention 63 others who are also walking away with a prize. 

Congratulations to tshreeves on taking home the top honors and $1,000 in uShip account credit!

Check out the top 64 below. And of course, don't forget to download the uShip mobile app. 

17	IHAULJOSH
18	nehi1960
19	JTRofOKC
20	grizzlytransports
21	liljones
22	turbocummins
23	sfd902
24	TYsLogistics89
25	MHack82
26	BKEnterprises
27	aoktows
28	dfreshpromotions2012
29	armllc
30	HughesHualing
31	adexpress2012
32	apeit001
33	devcore1
34	cicoleman
35	JohnDeereCrazy
36	vlbmovers
37	Mightyford
38	eric2846
39	Rbane1181
40	DRTrans25
41	david650
42	DartCouriers
43	chuckjason
44	ATeamMovingandDelivery
45	HardingTrucking
46	ARMYLTC
47	hightide4063
48	Kofarms
49	alldixiemoving
50	combatmedic1
51	deerelver06
52	btstoday
53	hoss88
54	JandJTrucking1
55	jerrefields
56	EliteMoversTX
57	Wadewhite2w
58	kalamakadanes
59	ProChoice
60	DZShipping
61	JWent88
62	mbsprinter
63	mrjlw30
64	markspad

Why Your uShip Carrier Profile Matters (Hint: It Involves Gold)

What do you think your potential customers trust more?

a. Newspaper articles
b. Online customer reviews
c. Ads in a magazine
d. Online banner ads

If you chose b. online customer reviews then you made the right call. New Nielsen research says 70% of people trust online consumer opinions, second only to recommendations from friends and relatives (92%). Newspaper articles (58%), magazine ads (47%) and online banner ads (33%) rank lower. See more on the research findings on Marketing Charts.

Matt Chasen Discusses uShip's Growth, JOBS Act Importance (Video)

While in Washington, D.C., last week attending the JOBS Act Bill Signing Ceremony at the White House (see photo below), uShip CEO Matt Chasen stopped by Journal of Commerce for a quick hello.  Senior Editor Bill Cassidy interviewed Matt on a number of topics, including uShip's growth, global footprint and the importance of the JOBS Act for entrepreneurs.