Best shipping quotes and services

I have a gentleman in Texas who would like to buy my little Ammco shaper. I need to ship it on a pallet from Michigan.

Who do you recommend for shipping? Are there websites that deal with multiple companies where I can get a quote without having to sign in? I just tried Freight Center.

I will try Greyhound next. Edit: Greyhound is limited to 100 pounds.

Try freightquote.com , you can get instant quotes from major carriers, or you can put it out for bid to smaller carriers, I have done both with good results. If you put it out for bid, expect high quotes at first, wait for someone that is passing thru and headed where it needs to go, may take a week or more. If time is of the essence, get instant quotes.

Do you and purchaser have commercial addresses and forklifts to load/unload? Liftgates cost extra, if answer is NO, then best rates will be if you deliver to a freight terminal, and customer picks-up from freight terminal. If you use a smaller carrier they are more likely to do door to door service. I have used several of the smaller carriers that their main business is transporting motorcycles in 20-30ft box trailers, they tend to have a few sq ft here and there to stuff a smaller item.

FYI, my ballpark estimate is expect $200-$300 fee, if your buyer is not willing to pay (some think $50 should cover it) don't waste time getting quotes.

Thank you, that was helpful. Your range was correct too.

I’ve used Fastenal LTL 4-5x for skid sized equipment. It’s slow but its cheaper than FedEx freight. They’ll unload your truck and load the buyer free of charge.

dalmationgirl had a lot of good info. There's also freightcenter.com if I'm remembering correctly.

The independents are called "Hot Shots." Use that if you want to google or craigslist them. They really are handy. Just like was mentioned... get em with an empty truck on a return trip from somewhere and you might get a great price.

A little something I do on LTL shipments. The lowest price on those freight quote websites may not be the best bet. What I do is google the carrier I'm thinking of using and see what their normal service area is. What part of the country do they seem to work out of and around? You want your equipment to be loaded and unloaded as few times as possible. You select a carrier that doesn't really go to where you're equipment wants to go can pass it off to another carrier. How un-safe that is I don't know, but it likely means at least a couple more loads and unloads. Just something to keep in mind.

I have an iron object that is about 160 lbs. that I need to ship to Texas.
The buyer says he has heard good things from antique engine guys about Fastenal.
I plan to call them in the morning to see what I need to know and do.

Mike

I've used Fastenal a couple times as well. Reasonable price and uneventful service.

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Fastenal 3PL is a good service for this. However I used YRC to move a Little Giant 50# hammer bolted to a skid from central California to Dallas for $350

It pays to check a few