[Milsurplus] Rideshare package services

[Ron Lawrence]

I think it's a GREAT idea. A couple of my friends and I have been
talking about it for a while.
I had a very rare Clough-Brengle transmitter transported this way
a few years ago, a radio collector friend was attending a meet in
TX, the transmitter was picked up at the home of the seller by
the president and auctioneer for the meet at the same time he was
picking up other stuff for the meets auction. He carried the transmitter
to the meet where my friend from TN picked it up and took it home
with him. I was planning to drive from home to my friends home in
TN when I found out that the son of another friend was driving to
Charlotte for thanksgiving and would be going very close to my 
friend home where the transmitter was waiting. I told my second 
friend that I would pay his son $100 if he would pick up the 
transmitter on his way through TN and bring it to me. He jumped
at my offer and a few days later I had my transmitter safe and
sound all the way from TX.

I think a radio related transport service would be great. I would
much rather have a radio guy carry my stuff that some slope with
oopsPS. 
I think all it would take is a special email reflector like a
yahoo group were guys interested in having things moved and folks
interested in handling the transport would post messages. 
If you know you're going to be driving from the NE to FLA you
could post a message saying so, if you have something that needs
to be moved somewhere along this route you chime in, or if you
have something you need moved from X to Y say so and see if someone
going that way wants to help out.
I'm sure there would be more wrinkles to smooth out, be that's
the basic idea.

LLAP

------------------------------ 
Message: 2 
Date: Mon, 4 May 2015 16:35:07 -0700 
From: "Hue Miller" <kargo_cult at msn.com> 
To: <milsurplus at mailman.qth.net> 
Cc: armyradios at yahoogroups.com, tetrode at googlegroups.com 
Subject: [Milsurplus] Rideshare package services 
Message-ID: <BAY181-DS25434E7A7D9BE7628DF757E4D20 at phx.gbl> 
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="UTF-8" 
 
 
Milsurplus recently discussed the packing and shipping service startup ?SHYP?. I 
agree with the commenters 
who opined that this business model was not long for the world.  $5 for package 
pickup is ludicrously low, 
and SHYP cannot get that much of a discount from UPS, FedEx to actually make a 
living. Maybe their absurdly 
low rates are meant as a starter. But it?s a waste of everyone at that company?s 
time to even pursue this. 
 
On the other hand, the millennial, smartphone way to ship MAY be a ?rideshare 
package service?. The deal 
is, someone who is already going to drive route A to B offers to haul your item 
along, for some agreed-to fee. 
This sounds good to me. It?s a hand to hand handoff. No double boxing, foam 
packing, conveyer belts, tailgate 
drops to concrete, wondering what your item will look like when it?s unboxed. 
Theoretically. 
A Google search on the term in the title of this email elicits some hits but not 
as much as you?d hope. The 
following quote is from one review site: 
 
?The service also eliminates the need for packaging. "We say your cargo can ride 
commando," he says. "It actually can?it's not going to have to bounce through 
four trucks and an airplane to get there. It's going to sit in a blanket safely 
in my backseat. You're reducing packaging materials by at least 80%." 
It's not an entirely new idea?I used Craigslist rideshare to help deliver a 
dresser from storage just last weekend. But by vetting drivers and providing 
some accountability, it's a lot less sketchy than something like Craigslist. The 
service also insures all items up to $500, more than you'd get through a 
traditional shipper. 
While Roadie is starting with a focus on peer-to-peer deliveries, it may 
eventually make deliveries for businesses as well. "You see folks dipping their 
toes in the water with this idea already," Gorlin says. Walmart, he points out, 
has already experimented with asking shoppers to make deliveries to their 
neighbors on their way home. ? 
 
I don?t have time to pursue more reading about this right now. That can be your 
homework assignment. But I?d say my interest is this potential option is VERY 
high, 
as I plan on selling off quite a bit of equipment in the next couple years. 
The above quote is for this service: 
 
https://www.roadie.com/ 
 
There is a second one, http://www.rideship.com/   doesn?t seem to be very strong 
yet. 
As I said, digging into these is your assignment. 
I will be very happy indeed to hear about anyone?s experience using such a 
service. 
-Hue Miller / Newport, Oregon 
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Knee-deep in the cosmic overwhelm, I’m stricken
by the ricochet wonder of it all: the plain

everythingness of everything, in cahoots
with the everythingness of everything else.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

73, RON w4ron 
http://radioheaven.homestead.com/menu.html 

Antique Radio Charlotte
http://antiqueradiocharlotte.homestead.com/2015.html