It's a bit scary arranging a shipment with professional truck-delivery services. I'm an eBay buyer/seller. I'm used to shipments via UPS, US parcel post, Fed-Ex and DHL. Anyway, I had to do it, to get my eBay item, so I dove into the task.
Since none of the above outfits (UPS, etc.) could give me a reasonable price, I felt it was time to look elsewhere. Learning the ropes on uShip was new, but somewhat similar to eBay. I sorta felt "at home", as I became familiar with the workings of the system.
I spent a bit of time getting the result I wanted; I just wanted my shipment taken from there (Wisconsin) to here (Oregon). There are lots of great truckers out there, listed in the uShip directory. I sent out over a dozen bid requests. I had no idea how much time it would take, but I'm glad it was productive time, and not wasted time.
The outfit I hired did a great job. This was an important item being shipped, so I feel the time I spent in this whole process was worthwhile. My item was worth over $400, but it's a tool, and that means it can generate thousands of dollars for me, once I get it operating in my business.
uShip had several features that made my experience very profitable: I read quite a number of profiles written by trucking companies in the directory. I also browsed the active shipments, looking for opportunities to have my shipment piggy-backed onto a load already heading my way. Most handy of all, I could request bids from trucking companies.
I would do it again, for other shipments I may have in the future. Working outside of the uShip system to secure a shipping arrangement was not very pleasant (I tried it, first thing, before I settled into uShip). Some of the quotes I received, when I contacted shipping companies on my own (before I started using uShip), were OUTRAGEOUSLY high. That pre-uShip experience was a real waste of time, so I'll be back to use uShip, 'cause I know it will save me time and frustration.