subject: Warning Signs Of A Bad Freight Forwarder [print this page] Any time shipping products or baggage, you can find basically two major ways of doing things. First, you can consider yourself for a freight forwarder and do all of it by yourself. Next way should be to just contact a professional freight forwarding company and allow them to do all of the hard work for you.
Whenever you choose to do it all by yourself, you should consider finding a shipping company and negotiating shipping rates and trucking fees. Finding the best value is of utmost importance but there is more to a freight forwarder than the price alone.
One of the initial things you need to take a look out for could be the reputation. Whenever a freight forwarder refuses to fess up a portfolio of previous work then they may be pleased with. This is usually a sign they havent been being employed as long as they state they've.
Entrusting your baggage or products to freight forwarders can prove to be quite difficult for you, because you are entrusting your products to a total stranger. You dont even know what will happen until your products arrive at your door or your customers dock. Even after years of research you cannot say for certain that the company you are trying to trust will meet your every shipping need. To know more, you should dig more.
Nonetheless, usually there are some firms that don't have presence whatsoever. This may be another warning call that will help you avoid bad freight forwarders. There has to be information somewhere or these may very well be people who won't be exactly being truthful. They might even be smugglers this also may lead one to more problems over time.
You also need to be careful of other bad attitudes of a freight forwarder, specifically price gouging. This is why it is important to get a quote from more than one freight forwarder. You need to find how each one prices and compare their quotes side by side. Some may be overcharging and other may be tacking on other charges without your knowledge. With a freight forwarder, you never really know how much of a mark-up in services the forwarder is adding on. For example, a trucking company may charge you $3,000 to deliver a shipment. If you contracted an unethical freight forwarder, he may state the trucking company is charging $5,000.
If you do all the freight forwarding services and documentation filing costs yourself, your budget can be met. However, it is important to stay informed and know when a freight forwarder is screwing you over.
And last but not the least the product loss scene. If you entrust a freight forwarding company to do all the packing and shipping, you do not have control of how the items were packaged in the container. If the freight forwarding is good, no problems develop. However, if the freight forwarder is inept, the losses become excessive. A good customs broker must have safeguards and insurance in place just to deal with this sort of thing.
