I hired Silver Express Logistics to ship a 1994 Toyota Pickup (in pristine condition) from Pasadena TX to Northwest Connecticut. I am very satisfied with the entire process from beginning to end. I signed the contract and paid the brokers fee on July 7, 2020. Silver Express Logistics found a shipping carrier to do the job for $75 less than the original quote. The vehicle was picked up on July 10th, shipped 1800+ miles, and delivered on July 12th.
Robert Martin, the owner of Silver Express Logistics, was very personable and did a fine job of explaining the ins and outs of hiring a shipping company. He also explained to me that due to the new level of Covid-19 scare (July 2020), there might be a delay of up to 2 weeks in finding a shipping carrier. Apparently unforeseen complications had arisen due to regulations changing. Despite that, Robert was able to quickly secure a shipping carrier company for me and I received my truck much faster than expected.
About Researching Shipping Companies
Prior to hiring Silver Express Logistics, I did a lot of research on different shipping companies. I checked shipping company reviews on Yelp, Better Business Bureau, transportreviews.com, and RipoffReport.com. I asked several different shipping companies about the disparity between rating levels on different sites and was told that some review sites manipulate the reviews in the companies favor if they pay a yearly fee. I'm not sure if this is true but it would certainly explain why a company may not have consistent ratings across the different review sites.
About The Shipping Company Process
To help those who may be unaware, when you call a shipping company, most if not all, are "brokers" and not the "shipping carrier" themselves. The shipping broker posts your shipping job and waits for a shipping carrier that will be traveling near your location to respond and bid on your job.
Once a shipping carrier is selected by the broker, and your vehicle or items have been picked up, the broker is no longer in control of your item(s). From that point forward, you communicate with the shipping carrier company. In my case, this was an easy and painless process.
When doing my initial research and reading many different company reviews on different review sites, it became clear that most folks don't understand how the shipping company "broker" and shipping carrier relationship works. Consequently, they seem to feel cheated and lied to and make claims that shipping brokers are scam artists. While there is a potential for this in any industry, it was not my personal experience.
Simply put, the shipping company / broker you select will find the best shipping carrier traveling near your location to ship and deliver your item(s). Since I understood this before hiring Silver Express Logistics, there were no surprises. For me, the broker/carrier relationship and process makes complete sense... brokers do the leg work in securing a shipping carrier for you and shipping carriers buy and maintain their trucks and do the actual shipping.
Details About My Shipment Experience
My vehicle was shipped in an enclosed carrier and arrived on time and in perfect condition. Communication with the shipping carrier company was easy. The 2 different people I spoke with were helpful and provided me with the drivers cell number. I texted the driver only once to inquire about estimated delivery day/time, he responded back within a reasonable time frame. I did not expect an immediate response back considering he was driving and would need to wait until he made a stop to respond.
Details About My Vehicle Delivery
Though the driver did not have a good command of the English language, we did use google translate and were able to understand each other just fine. I inspected my new truck upon arrival and it was in perfect condition. I paid the driver the remaining balance that was due. I tipped him for a job well done and he was on his way. Overall, it was a very fast and easy exchange.
As one would expect during an 1800+ mile trip in an enclosed carrier, there was a very fine, barely noticeable, film of road dust. There is no way to avoid that even in an enclosed shipping carrier, short of wrapping your vehicle in plastic, because no shipping carrier is air-tight. A simple rinse easily took care of the fine film of road dust and gave me a chance to bond with my new truck.
All in all, I am very happy with my Silver Express Logistics experience and the service I received from Robert Martin. Thank you Silver Express Logistics! read more