I think I'll upset some people with this one.

like I said it was a poor analogy, see how simple that was

 

Over the years I have bought and sold many things. Some things I got for next to nothing and sold them at a great profit. Some things I paid too much for and I really didn't make anything to compensate my time or risk. Once in awhile though, I sold stuff for what I thought was decent money only to realize I sold it way under the money.

Turns out I am most happy in scenario number one, less happy in scenario number two and realize how important research is when scenario number three happens. Worth losing sleep??? Nope. It's business.

 

lol, maybe here you have to be more diplomatic in ripping you a new one, just saying that may be a possibility

 

Wrong again.... There is no fixed commission rate for a real estate agent or broker (Who may or may not be a Realtor) to charge for representing a buyer or seller in a real estate transaction. If there was it would constitute price fixing and be illegal.

Although it is technically true that the seller sets the price of their property, the agent should have performed a Comparative Market Analysis and guided the seller towards a viable asking price. Also, before a lender will fund a mortgage the property is subject to a professional appraisal.

What we have now in the trucking industry is a truly free, virtually unregulated, very open market. What you are proposing is socialism for truckers.

 

There are fixed rates most realtors charge for selling property. It is not price fixing, but pretty much a standard for the industry. I was involved in that industry at one time and it was pretty much a standard rate of commission that I posted earlier. Realtors are free to charge a higher rate, but won't find as many property owners who are willing to pay the higher commission due to the open disclosure by the industry. Commission rates are not regulated by the government, but most will charge the standard rate across the country. There are exceptions. For instance, a property that is selling for many millions of dollars might have a smaller commission attached than a less valuable property. You cannot get with others in the same industry and decide you are all going to charge the same rate of commission. However, you can disclose what you are charging and with open disclosure among your peers decide that you are all going to charge a uniform commission rate. It is a fine line, but legal. If freight brokers openly disclosed rates, I would expect more uniformity in commission rates. If one charged 10% and another charged 50%, the broker with the lower commission rate would get most of the business, with all things being equal.

 

Just tell them you are personal friends with Jimmy Johnson.

 

I've had a CA real estate license since 1975. I have a GRE & am a California Certified Residential Property Manager. I have bought, sold & managed my own income properties since 1999. Many of my closest friends are agents and/or brokers. I think I have a wee bit more knowledge/experience than you do here. All commissions are negotiable, and particularly when you are dealing with an experienced, knowledgeable client, they frequently are negotiated.

Pretty much everything you just said is balderdash. The only point I can infer from your post that makes even remote sense is that transparency in a marketplace is considered a positive by most economists & there is a lack of transparency in the dealings of freight brokers.

There is actually more transparency in real estate in that the commission rates for both the buyers and sellers agents are disclosed in the MLS listing so that any other member of that particular MLS can easily see them.

 

I agree with you carriers need to understand more of how the market works. I thought I had a great understanding on it and while driving I did very well retired with a "pension" and am not at all dissatisfied with what I have accomplished. When I realized how boring retirement was and decided to try brokering I realized how little I knew of the whole market. With the information available on the internet nowadays it's not hard to learn more just takes a little time. So your sitting out the Walmart DC you know it is going to take them 6 hrs to unload you think of your choices. You can sleep, play your Xbox, watch movies or do a little of research on the industry and find out you don't have to sit at Walmart DC for 6 hrs for no pay.

As far as the shipper setting the price that is not always so. I have had several shippers say this is what we are paying for this lane and that's it. I tell them I will see what I can do but your pay is almost as much as I want to pay my carriers. I will stick it on a load board and forget about it until somebody calls me and go to work on loads that make me money. If I get a call on it 75% of the cheap carriers are a hassle and it is time consuming moving cheap freight. However there are carriers that move the freight for that cheap and that is why shippers say that's all we are paying. So if they can move it for that much and have the time to find someone for that price go for it. I can tell you many of my customers will give me a range on what they are looking for and if it's reasonable I will work on it. I don't give any rate quote to any shipper without talking to at least a dozen carriers and getting rates from them. Now I know what the true market rate is and can tell the shipper. Shippers are as (for lack of a better word) "dumb" as carriers. Now before you shoot me this is what I mean. They don't take the time to update or research the market. They work on outdated info or info they assume is accurate (just because the internet says so doesn't make it so). For me the carriers set the price I talk to them get a few ridiculously high prices, some utterly cheap prices all mixed in with reasonable prices that make a truck run. I average them all at and send a quote to the shipper and see how it goes. I win some I loose some but I always have request for quotes because I have carriers willing to work with me.

I think many of the fly by night brokers that were actually trying to make a honest living went out of business because they had it screwed up. They were thinking quantity instead of quality. Thinking the more loads I have moving the more money I make. That is some what true but the truth is the more quality loads you have moving the more money you make. I have learned that cheap freight is time consuming and harder to move and can nickle and dime you to death just like a worn out trailer or tractor. If more carriers would say this is the rate we will move it for more shippers will say okay. They just want to move their freight and get it to their customers as promised. Just my two cents (okay more like $2.00) worth.

 

Man, that was FLAT. Someone needs to BELT you to within 2/32 of your life. But I guess BALD humor is sySTEMic of today's drivers.

Actually... you had me laughing so hard, my SIDEWALLS hurt.

 

Facebook?..whats that?