How eBay sellers can use Shiply to get more bids

When selling a large item on eBay, sellers are often forced into only offering local collection as arranging a ebay delivery is not only a headache but also costly.

However, by not offering a courier solution on your eBay auction, you really do tend to reduce the number of prospective bidders.

Now, there is a solution for eBay sellers. You can simply add a link to Shiply in your eBay listings and prospective bidders can start getting cheap ebay courier quotes before they decide whether or not to bid. You will find that the prices they get on Shiply for delivery services are up to 75% cheaper than traditional methods so they are more likely to bid on your auction - increasing your final sale price.

We hope our site is of great benefit to eBay PowerSellers and sellers across Europe.

LDV Vans hit the headlines - thousands of jobs at risk

LDV vans have had their plea to the Government for financial support denied.

The plant in Birmingham, which carries some 850 jobs look at risk along with several thousand other linked jobs.

Management at LDV wanted to secure a £20-30m loan to help them re-badge themselves as Europe's first green van firm as they felt this was their best chance of securing finance.

Daily Eco Tips

As you all know, we are very keen on helping the environment. By matching people up with couriers and haulage firms already making similar trips we can help reduce the shocking 25% of lorries on our roads that trundle along empty.

But we can all do more, we've come across a great site called Daily Eco Tips. You can subscribe and every day they will send you an email with a green tip. We think this is great, just do a little something each day to help make the planet just that little bit of a better place.

Enjoy!

How To Transport a Classic Car

Transporting a classic car does require some extra care and attention. There is certainly more involved when compared with your bog standard Ford Escort!

Car transport is usually undertaken one of three ways. Either your car is driven on trade plates, transported on a single car trailer or transported on a multi-car trailer.

Generally for classic cars, it is not recommended to have your car driven on trade plates. This adds un-necessary miles and carries with it a higher risk of damage.

Multi-car transporters are generally good and a fairly economical way of transporting cars. However, as your car may be either below others (where fluids from the cars above can leak onto your paintwork), or on the top (where it is more susceptible to damage by overhead obstacle such as tree branches), this option is generally not recommended for classic cars requiring that extra bit of care in transit.

Instead, you should probably opt for a single-trailer transport. Better still, you can choose enclosed car transport which will fully protect your vehicle from the elements in transit.

You should be extra vigilant when assessing car transport companies to transport your classic car. Be sure to scrutinise insurance cover and insist upon seeing references for similar car deliveries they have undertaken. If their forte is vehicle recovery of clapped out mini's after demolition derby's perhaps they are not your best choice!

As always, be sure to document any pre-existing damage before releasing your vehicle and do not sign acceptance on delivery until you have fully inspected the vehicle.

Connect with Shiply on Facebook and Twitter

Shiply is now on Facebook and Twitter. You can connect with us, keep up to date with the goings on at Shiply HQ and send us messages.

Pressure mounting on UK Haulage Industry

A recent survey carried out by the Road Haulage Association (RHA), has found that over 3/4 of haulage companies have seen a a dramatic downturn in business. The findings come as no surprise given the recession.

Jack Semple, director of policy at the RHA, said: "Business demand dropping off is a big enough problem on its own, but coupled with the fact that customers are taking longer to pay, it is a real problem," Semple says. "This industry is already well below the business average for receiving payments."

The survey was conducted amongst 300 drivers, ranging from owner-drivers to large fleets and found:

• 41% reported business was down by 10-30%
• 20% found business had fallen 30-50%
• 9% has seen business drop by more than 50%
• 52% of hauliers say customers are taking significantly longer to pay
• 20% of operators are having serious problems agreeing credit facilities with banks
• 25% of hauliers face difficulties getting credit for spare parts and consumables

Confessions of a saveaholic!

A rather nice surprise this morning was news that Shiply has been featured in today's Daily Telegraph.

The piece which played off the new movie "confessions of a shopaholic" (don't think I'll be rushing to see this one), was an article based on how the reporter Kara Gammell used the Internet to save over £1,000 when moving home. It was a great article which really does show that if you, the consumer are willing to shop around, you can make great savings.

Kara used shiply.com to move some furniture which a friend had kindly given her. Instead of hiring a van and driving it herself, she used Shiply and got a fantastic price of just £54 for a 78 mile journey. This represented a saving of over £81, not to mention time and effort!

We're so glad that Shiply helped aid this move and not only saved Kara money but also helped the environment by keeping that hire van off the road and fitting her delivery in with a transport provider already making a similar trip.

Finding the Cheapest Quotes From House Removal Companies

Moving house is always a stressful time, and not to mention expensive. However, there are ways you can cut the cost of moving home. Shiply is just one of them. We have thousands of removal companies who are constantly up and down the country carrying out house removals. Much of the time however, they are forced to return back from a job with an empty vehicle - what a waste!

What Shiply enables you as a home-mover is to match yourself up with these empty vehicles - saving you up to 75% in costs.

There are 2 main types of removal service you can request. You can opt for a full-service, that is the removal company packs up your goods, loads them into their vehicle, drives to the destination, offloads and unpacks. A cheaper option is semi-service, whereby the transport company will help you with the transport of the goods themselves from your old home to your new home but leave the packing/unpacking up to you.

Home removal firms are waiting now to hear from you, so list your move for free and with no obligation. Compare the prices you receive with the full-rates you got elsewhere and you will be pleasantly surprised. You are helping the environment too, by keeping these empty vehicles full!

What's The Cheapest Way To Get A Car Delivery Quote?

Like most services, you wouldn't accept the first price quoted! So, it really pays to shop around for car delivery quotes. Like most things in life, you do tend get what you pay for, however just because you find a cheap price for moving your car it doesn't mean that service will be poor.

When driving on the motorway in the UK, I'm sure that we have all seen those large multi-vehicle transporters and I bet that you have also seen many that are only half full or some that only have one car being transported. These are the situations where consumers are able to get a low price for car transport. If the car delivery company is already making a trip similar to yours and has capacity to spare, it is not unusual for them to offer discounts of up to 75%.

Similarly, it will often be the case that a car transport company is making a trip with a full load from London to Manchester say and after delivery has to return back to the depot in Manchester empty. Finding loads for that return journey which car transporters have to make is what's referred to in the industry as backloads and generally come with huge discounts.

Shiply enables you, the consumer to match yourself up with these empty car transporters already on the road and with capacity to spare. You simply list your vehicle on the site for free and then thousands of transport providers will bid for your job - like an auction. Don't be surprised to receive quotes up to 75% cheaper than if you just "phoned around"!

You can also quickly and easily import vehicles you are bidding on from eBay for delivery Motors into hiply.

MEP's float idea of green tax for lorries in the UK

MEPs in the transport committee are floating the idea and voting on plans to charge a green tax on lorries.

Under proposals put forward last year by the EU, HGV operators would be charged for noise, congestion and air pollution caused by their vehicles.

If voted in, the tax could be introduced as soon as 2001. The news will be seen as yet more red tape in an industry which is already very highly legislated and indeed taxed.

Rather than yet more tax, we feel the government should be pushing best practice to meet environmental sustainability goals.

How To Transport A Boat / Arrange Yacht Delivery

Moving a yacht or boat, be it a sailing yacht or power boat is not a regular job by any means. The process is a delicate one and one which does require a good deal of planning.

First off, the size of your vessel will often dictate the type of service most appropriate. Smaller boats tend to be transported by road on a trailer as this can be the quickest and cheapest option.

However, if you have a large boat, above 26ft or so, you may find that transport by road is a particularly costly and difficult process. Such large loads generally require permits from government and sometimes even a police escort. That is why sea yacht delivery is generally preferred. You can hire a qualified yacht delivery skipper to deliver your boat from A-B. When opting for a sea delivery, it is very important that you check the skipper's and indeed crew's experience levels and documentation. They should be accredited by the RYA and carry the correct licenses and insurance cover for your vessel. Insist upon references and carry out background checks prior to agreeing a price.

Properly preparing your boat transport is crucial if you want to help guarantee it arrives at its destination in the same condition it left. Before boat transport, it is advisable to fully wash down the vessel and hull so that you can see all the areas and record any pre-existing damage. Make sure to take time-stamped photos as these can be used later as evidence should any problems arise.

Before releasing your yacht to a boat delivery company, you should have it surveyed by a licensed marine surveyor. They will be able to assess whether or not there any major issues which could arise by transporting the boat either by sea or road.

If you need to dis-assemble your yacht before transport, for example dropping the mast on a sail boat, make notes of what you are doing as it will make re-assembly far easier at the destination.

Make sure that you have done the following in advance to pick-up day:

• Any loose gear stored below or removed from vessel altogether
• All hatches should be locked shut, if not possible, these should be secured by taping them up
  
• Ensure your gas supply is switched off

Additionally for road deliveries

• Ensure that all fuel and water tanks are empty
• For road deliveries batteries on board need to be disconnected
• All valuable electronics should be removed
• Take the anchors below deck and secure them with padding

When taking delivery of your yacht, be sure to thoroughly check all areas of the boat. Do not sign anything to accept the delivery until you have carried out a thorough check of the hull, decks, rigging and indeed every aspect. Should there be any new damage, the boat transport company will have the necessary insurance cover to rectify the issues.

How Do I Transport Large & Fragile Items?

Arranging a courier or haulage company to move large and fragile items has always been a bit of a headache. Unfortunately it is never as easy as just nipping down to the post office.

If the goods delivery is over sized and cannot go via a parcel network such as DHL, UPS, City Link etc, then you will need to arrange for an independent courier to collect and deliver your goods.

If the items you are moving are fragile, you will need to carefully choose the most appropriate packing materials for the job. Bubble wrap is always popular as you can easily wrap it around even the most odd-sized goods and antiques. It also a good idea to find out the size of vehicle proposed to be used by the delivery company and the other types of goods which will be travelling alongside (or on top!) of your items.

Particularly with fragile moves such as artwork shipping and antiques, it is important to gauge the level of insurance offered by the courier you choose. Be extra careful with breakables such as glass as some insurance policies will not cover such fragile items. You may find, however, that your own home insurance policy will cover your goods in transit.

When booking a transport provider for moving large items, you should try to gauge whether or not the driver will be working alone or will have another worker with them. If they are a "one man and his van" operation, then it is likely they will need assistance with loading and unloading.

How do I transport a car to Europe?

At some point I'm sure that we have all needed to transport a car in the UK. However, what happens when you need to move your vehicle overseas, say to Spain, France or just over to Ireland?

Finding car transporters to move your vehicle in Europe is a more complicated process. Most importantly you must remember that different laws, rules and regulations exist in different European countries. So, understandably it really does pay to choose a car transport company that have experience with car delivery overseas.

Insurance is another important point, you must check that not only your chosen car transport company has valid insurance within the UK to move vehicles legally and with adequate cover but also that this cover extends to Europe and indeed any other countries which they intend to drive through.

Once you are happy with your chosen car delivery company, be sure to insist upon a written contract and take note of any pre-existing damage prior to pick-up. Note the mileage to cross-check once the car is delivered, there should be no major increases in mileage which would suggest the car has been driven.

We currently have a number of vehicles for delivery, take a look and see how Shiply works.

Shiply launches new search shipments section

As I'm sure most of you will have seen, we today have launched our new search shipments section over at: http://www.shiply.com/search.php.

New functionality includes:

• More accurate search along route results
• Search along a route anywhere in Europe (previously UK only)
• Local search
• Filter by requested pickup/delivery dates
• Display up to 500 shipments per results page
• Save local and along a route serches and receive email alerts of new shipments daily
• Filter all search results by category, price and date
  
• Sort by columns in local and along route searches

We hope this new functionality will be of great benefit to Shiply transport providers and make it even easier and quicker to source work.

Whilst we are very happy with the new search functionality, we will never consider this finished, so please do send us feedback and help us improve this further!

Happy Searching!

Manchester Congestion Charge Out But Rate Rises Likely For Hauliers

Despite the Manchester congestion charge being quashed by residents, it is predicted that hauliers in Manchester may face extra charges.

The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) is now looking for new ways to fund public transport improvements. One idea motioned by AGMA is to increase business rates to raise £38m.

AGMA chairman Lord Peter Smith says raising business rates would enable the city to do "about a tenth" of what it had originally planned.

The news will come as a blow to those hauliers who fought so hard to deny the congestion charge.

Guide to finding cheap and reliable motorbike delivery and motorcycle transporters

Perhaps you’ve just got a great deal by winning a motorbike off eBay or through Autotrader, the only downside being that it is located on the other side of the country. Or perhaps the motorbike is a non-runner and you need to get it from A-B ready for repairs or scrap? Whatever your reasons, getting your motorcycle delivered by a motorbike transporter is a fairly straightforward process. However, there are still a number of considerations you should take in account to help minimize the risk to your pride and joy.

Service Type

There are a few different service options available when looking to move a motorcycle.

a) Motorcycle transported inside commercial vehicles on specially built brackets
b) Motorcycle transported on open trailer
c) Motorcycle transported in enclosed trailer

Quite often, the cheapest option will be for your motorcycle to be transported as a part-load with other goods in a commercial vehicle (van or HGV). However, be sure that the transport provider has experience with moving motorcycles and that they are using industry standard brackets/securing mechanisms to help prevent damage in transit.

Custom-built motorcycle trailers do tend to result in a slightly higher cost, however this will help ensure that your motorcycle is clear of other goods deliveries. Open trailers are more susceptible to damage and theft as the bike is clearly visible (in particular when parked). Enclosed trailers on the other hand offer a more secure solution and do not carry the risk of stone chips or damage from debris on the road.

Getting Quotes / Prices

Just like any service, you wouldn’t just accept the first price you receive. It pays to shop around, so aim to get at least 5 quotes.

Insurance

Without a doubt the most important thing when choosing a motorcycle transporter is to check their insurance documentation. If they are not adequately insured, you run the risk of not only not being able to file a claim in the event of damage but even losing your motorcycle altogether if their transporter is impounded by the police.

Policies do vary from company to company, but the key areas you will want to check are the value of the level of cover and cover for both theft and damage.

Your own motorcycle insurance policy may provide some cover for “vehicles in transit”, so it is worth checking this for extra peace of mind.

Establishing the trustworthiness of motorcycle transport companies

Right, you’re happy with the insurance document and you like the price, but how can you be sure that they are reliable & have the necessary experience to take care of your motorbike? First off, you should do some background checks on the company. A simple search of the company name on Google should bring up some impartial reviews. The company themselves should also be able to offer you testimonials and references. It is up to them to prove to you that they are trustworthy. If they find it hard to do that, then they probably aren’t worth the risk.

Payment terms

General practice is that the motorbike delivery company will take a deposit (definitely no more than 25%) upon booking their services, with the rest payable on delivery. Usually cash or check is accepted but it is advised to use credit card where possible as you will be able to dispute these charges later should a problem occur.

Go through contract

Verbal promises mean nothing, insist upon a written contract for the services to be carried out. If you are uncertain about any clauses, ask the firm and get them to re-draft it if necessary. There should be a clause whereby you are compensated if they fail to deliver within the specified timeframe.

Preparing the motorcycle for transport

Now that you have agreed dates and signed on the dotted line, you will need to ensure that you spend adequate time preparing your motorcycle for transit. 99% of problems on delivery are down to poor preparation. So, don’t leave this to the last minute. The transport firm will no doubt offer you tips as well, but be sure to do the following:

1) Wash the motorcycle thoroughly
2) Make a written note of any pre-existing damage (chips, dents etc)
3) Take photos of the bike from several angles and close-ups of any pre-existing damage
4) Date the photos and written record
5) If your motorbike is being moved as freight along with other goods, be sure that you remove the battery and drain all fluids and fuel.

Remove any accessories and loose items from your bike, the transporter is not responsible for these items if they go missing or are damaged.

If the motorcycle is being trailered, although not always necessary, it is helpful if the bike is in working order in the case that it needs to be driven a short distance between transporters.

So, you should:

1) Inflate tyres
2) Charge battery
3) Fill petrol tank to ¼ - ½ full
4) Check and fix any fluid leaks

What to expect from the motorcycle transport company on pickup / delivery

Before you release your motorbike to the transporter, be sure to record the current mileage, although you bike may be ridden a very short distance to get on/off trailers there should be no major increases in mileage between pickup and delivery.

Make sure that you have the driver’s contact details and that they have yours.

Upon delivery, you need to inspect your motorbike thoroughly. Do not rush this step or sign anything until this is complete. Check for any new damage or increase in mileage. Only once you are happy should you sign any documents, there is generally no come-back once the papers are signed.

In the unlikely event that new damage has been caused in transit, you should file a claim with the transport company and follow their usual procedures. You should also file a claim with your own insurance company within 24 hours.

Snow tests Britain's transport infrastructure to the limit

Britain's roads today were hit hard with snow storms. According to the BBC, we have been seeing the worst snow for 18 years!

Check out the snow map at BBC - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7865477.stm.

We hope that despite the snow, Shiply shipments are making their way to their destinations albeit a bit slower no doubt!!

Take care out there, and don't drive like this: