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A&E: Shipping Wars

46K views 282 replies 48 participants last post by  Jayjoans 
#1 ·
#102 ·
havent checked but I wonder if they are actually even really bidding on these loads in the first place. All the "jobs" could be preplanned by the producers.
They do probably bid on these loads, but it doesn't go down anything like is shown on the show. There is no "same time everyday" stuff. Bids do have to be submitted by a certain time but the "shippie" then gets to chose whatever bid they prefer and then notify the shipper. This could be minutes or days later.

As has been shown, it's not just based on price. Somebody could win with a higher price because they have a better rating or because they have a certain type of truck/trailer.
 
#104 ·
both good questions... If you remember, the recipient of the Baja truck pointed out that the rust was already starting on the front bar, so it wasn't painted before he delivered it.

I sure hope this doesn't become something like TruTV's repo shows, it strangely shows some promise but if they keep doing things like this it will flame out quickly.
Ahh..you're right. It wasn't painted on delivery.

And I agree that I hope this doesn't get "repo'd"

I love this show and there really is no need for all of this fake stuff. I'd rather they throw in a 3rd shipment every episode.
 
#106 ·
Clearly the whole staged bidding drama is shot after the fact. There's just too many variables that go into bidding on a load. Most have already been pointed out here:
type of load
type of equipment
requirements of the shipper
location of the load
destination of the load
time requirements

My opinion is that rarely, if ever, these people are actually bidding against each other. More than likely they get the loads they want (and more importantly are in the right location/time to get) bidding against shippers we don't see, then the producers recreate a bidding war among these 4 personalities and script their comments while doing so.

This is obviously all backward engineered and in real danger of getting too hokey to watch.
 
#111 ·
btw....why on earth would you try to ship that "pirate ship" using the same trailer you use to haul actual ships? That load looked like it would be perfect for a small enclosed trailer and a total waste of space/gas on that HUGE tralier.
All I can figure is that they were near the origin of the shipment when it came on Uship and was supposed to be delivered somewhere in the general direction of going home or wherever they were headed for a real boat job. That's the downside to their setup, they can take the huge boats that nobody else can, but the odds of picking up another big boat in the area that they drop off their load is pretty slim. I would guess of all the people on the show, that husband/wife team has the most chance of pulling an empty trailer around. There is no way he can make a living waiting for a boat to come up on Uship and hope he's in the general area. I'm confident they get real jobs from yacht dealers and such and just do the Uship thing to get some cash on the way home.

I previously said I thought the couple was based out of the PNW, but I read the sticker on her window and it listed some city in Tennessee. I wouldn't have guessed that Tennessee would be the best place to base a boat shipping business, but maybe it's something like a Liberian flag on a cruise ship...the taxes are lowest there...

Oh, and would you have accepted that pirate ship when it arrived?
 
#113 ·
All I can figure is that they were near the origin of the shipment when it came on Uship and was supposed to be delivered somewhere in the general direction of going home or wherever they were headed for a real boat job. That's the downside to their setup, they can take the huge boats that nobody else can, but the odds of picking up another big boat in the area that they drop off their load is pretty slim. I would guess of all the people on the show, that husband/wife team has the most chance of pulling an empty trailer around. There is no way he can make a living waiting for a boat to come up on Uship and hope he's in the general area. I'm confident they get real jobs from yacht dealers and such and just do the Uship thing to get some cash on the way home.

I previously said I thought the couple was based out of the PNW, but I read the sticker on her window and it listed some city in Tennessee. I wouldn't have guessed that Tennessee would be the best place to base a boat shipping business, but maybe it's something like a Liberian flag on a cruise ship...the taxes are lowest there...

Oh, and would you have accepted that pirate ship when it arrived?
Actually in Tennessee there is a lot of major waterways and boat manufacturers from small boats to multi million dollar boats.

There is at least five places in just my county that makes boats, one within walking distance for fishing boats and one at the edge of the county currently making a boat for Tiger Woods worth over $3 million.

http://www.boatbuilders.us/tennessee.htm
 
#116 ·
I know that commercial type vehicles over 26' need a CDL. Roy might have one and I'm pretty sure that both the trucker and the boat hauling couple would be required to have one. The cowgirl and the noob are probably winging it on unintentional or intentional ignorance.

If you have a CDL, I do think you have to respect the time limits when driving for hire. If the trucker is just deadheading to his house, I'm not sure he is considered as on the clock, if he owns his own truck.
 
#117 ·
I know that commercial type vehicles over 26' need a CDL. Roy might have one and I'm pretty sure that both the trucker and the boat hauling couple would be required to have one. The cowgirl and the noob are probably winging it on unintentional or intentional ignorance.

If you have a CDL, I do think you have to respect the time limits when driving for hire. If the trucker is just deadheading to his house, I'm not sure he is considered as on the clock, if he owns his own truck.
Obtaining classes of CDL depends on what you are driving/towing, and it varies by weight. Class B (Single unit heavy duty class 7 in most states) is a truck weighing between 26,001 lbs 30,000 lbs and the ability to haul a trailer under 10,000 lbs. These trailers are not (typically) required to have air brakes,

Class A vehicles (33,000 lbs+, heavy duty class 8 in most states) are any combination vehicle hauling a trailer over 10,000lbs typically with air. In my state, any driver operating a commercial vehicle, regardless of weight are limited in their on-duty driving time.

As for above, any driver, empty or not, are required to take their breaks and down time per fed regulations.
I think the only one on the show required to have a CDL is tractor-trailer guy. Everyone elses trailer looks to be light enough, and w/o air
 
#118 ·
I totally agree, and it is a shame. The concept is totally solid and doesn't need any of this crap.
I didn't put all the pre-planned bidding drama together, but I was getting a little tired of each competitor commenting on each other's shipments. They are watching the video obviously, but the comments get old. "I guess to Jarrod, size really doesn't matter!" har dee har har. I guess all these people know each other supposedly, when these comments might be funny among friends?

It reminds me of stories I've heard from Big Brother, where the producers keep asking certain questions in the Diary Room until they get the desired effect.

I would rather have some kind of narrator, and maybe make their shippers compete for real. First to get $10,000 in shipments by X date gets $100,000 in prizes or something. Make them race along the same routes or something.
 
#119 ·
...I would rather have some kind of narrator, and maybe make their shippers compete for real. First to get $10,000 in shipments by X date gets $100,000 in prizes or something. Make them race along the same routes or something.
That would be hard to admin because the trucker guy would have a huge advantage over the "rookies" cause he can make that on one load.
 
#121 ·
I was at a luncheon today for best companies in Austin. And who do we get seated with? None other than the CEO of uShip! I ofcourse had to comment how I knew them, and asked him a few questions about the show, and how it came about. He's really nice and really was informative.
 
#124 ·
Let's see...

Apparently the show came about from another local company here in Austin. He knew someone from the video company, and the video company came to them (I forget the video company's name) and said how much A&E would like a show about shipping things. He said that that was crazy, but agreed to go along with it. They followed a few drivers around and shot a lot of footage, sent it over to A&E, and A&E loved it. He mentioned that A&E also has ordered 26 episodes for next season.

He mentioned that its definitely "adapted" for tv. As you know, the auctions don't run at the same time. They happen over time, when items are put up. He also mentioned that most people don't haul assorted things. For example, the woman (I forget her name) who hauls livestock? She basically just hauls livestock. He said she doesn't really bid on the other jobs. The show just adds that in to create some bidding drama.

He also mentioned that in addition to the small-time people on the show, they have a rather large fleet of trucks, and many big companies use them as well to ship large quantities of items. However, A&E doesn't find that exciting, so it leaves it out of the show.

From what I gathered they don't have a lot of interaction with the office as much now. It's more following the drivers, and seeing what they will be hauling. He did say that the drivers are shipping/delivering a lot more things than it appears on the show. I am guessing those people either didn't want to be on the show, or as with the trucks, the products aren't very interesting.

He was a really nice guy. I definitely get the sense that he has been asked about the show A LOT, and less about the company as a whole since the show first began to air.

They also have a European division, based out of Amsterdam I think. I wonder if they will follow European shippers, or create a European version of the show.
 
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