Direct Freight Loadboard - Time waste

Ok this thread went a little sideways but never mind.
This was to fill a hole for anybody looking for some basic information about the load board Direct Freight. Then it has turned into a discussion about Convoy.
So here goes.
I have been using Convoy for about 1 year 3 months. I quite regularly take freight with them. I have had several long conversations with several people there. On occasion they have called me to offer me loads.
They are good people.
They are a broker. They are not an app where you can get direct freight.
They are a brokerage with a method of getting the deal done with the minimum of fuss. They have been copied by just about everybody now. JB Hunt have unsuccessfully tried it with 360. CHR has Navisphere - not worth a light. The Coyote app sucks. Uber is ok with reservations.
If I could I would book all my loads with them. They are super easy to deal with and getting paid is a breeze.
The problem is they don't have any freight ! Same with Uber. The reason that I prefer them - if possible - is because they don't fool around and I do not get charged ANYTHING to get my own money. JBH stills charges you even if you use the app. I object to doing the work, paying for the fuel and all the fees then on top of that giving them 1.5% just to get my own money.
5% factoring is completely out of the question.
I also strongly object to paying for a loadboard. They are useless for me. Now a load board that someone has had the gumption to set up that allows carriers to DIRECTLY interact with shippers would be the bomb.
Doesn't exist though.
So I will keep plodding forward until something breaks. I am not starving. I do ok.
All brokerages are thieves. They take a HUGE cut for themselves. Uber recently made a mistake with some paperwork with me and I saw for myself. They grabbed 33%.
Most of my stuff is CHR.
I believe I do this the best way. I book with the same guy all the time. He actively looks for me constantly. It is like having a dispatcher without paying anything. I have found that leasing is just a glorified dispatch service. A VERY expensive way to do that.
I know this guy. We have spoken many times about our arrangement. It is in his best interests to negotiate as high a rate as he can. I am also a steady stream of revenue in a commission driven job. I give him a little security. We work together and there have been several times that I have known for a fact that he is eating when others in his office are going hungry.
When he cannot help and it happens regularly just lately I turn to first Convoy, then Uber. Lastly JBH and Truckloads. At the bottom of the list is Coyote. They charge 3% and are a pain.
When I had Truckstop load board I took 2 loads with them, a waste of money. I liked the load board and the features but it was like taking a hammer to crack an egg.
It was money down the drain. If there isn't any freight or the rates are an insult then it is going to be that way everywhere and chucking money at a load board isn't going to change that. So I will sit before I will take below my rate. Bottom line is that the strong relationship method is the best. Doesn't have to be CHR just somebody with actual freight - not promises.

 

Why "of course"?
My point is that so called Direct Freight are liars. The name claims that they are a direct freight company - clearly they are not. It is like calling your company "Joe's Eats" when you only sell candy bars.
IT IS DECEPTIVE.
This thread exposes them. It is a search reference point. There was nothing and now there is.

Please explain how you 'work for it'. I seriously want to know. Please outline the work I need to do. I would like to know what you mean by this.

I must admit that finding good drivers is a bit like looking for unicorns. I have witnessed the insanity that small trucking companies go through trying to find drivers but that is also very much a 2 way street.
As for securing your own freight that isn't as bad. The problem is downing tools and dedicating yourself to a phone and knocking on doors. Meanwhile you have no money coming in and I haven't even gone into the geographical problems. Large companies have people dedicated to this. Small guys haven't the time or resources to invest in this. Also most of the direct freight is utter bs.
We want 3 loads a week we don't want to pay anything and we will cough up the money in 60 days.
Bs followed by bs and then a little more bs.
No.
Finding direct freight is a matter of weighted luck. You try and weight the dice in your favor. So you keep looking, engage in conversation but always realize that it is a shot in the dark. Many ways to do this. I have a friend in Fort Worth who exclusively runs for CH Robinson with a dedicated customer for Little Caeser. 4 runs a day home every night and due to all sorts of stuff makes more money although takes in less. No expenses. Just bought a 2nd trailer. CHR are virtually invisible. Direct freight can come in many different ways it just takes being in the right place at the right time.