Auto Shipping Glossary: Standby Auto Transport
Standby auto transport services are when you opt to pay a lower price than the standard rate for your vehicle along your route, knowing that it may take a bit longer to find a shipper but for a better (read: lower) price. It’s not optimal for most people; on the whole, customers prefer to ship when they want to ship their vehicles, as opposed to when it’s convenient for their carriers. On the whole, standby auto shipping won’t be best for everyone – in fact, there are few people who actively opt for standby shipping, simply because of the drawbacks that are associated with the practice, which we’ll attempt to shine a light on today.
Standby shipping tends to take a lot more time – of course it does, that’s kind of the point. Standby is specifically designed for people who need to ship a car but have the luxury to not have to ship it right away. There are a lot of different reasons why people don’t ship their vehicles right away, but standby can be a good way to get your vehicle moved when you’re not pressed for time. Oftentimes standby won’t be the best course of action for you, since more often than not customers need to ship their vehicles right away.
Not only that, but standby shipping really isn’t the preferred method of transporting vehicles for most auto shippers, the reason being that they pay less. This is why standby works the way it does; auto shippers need to make their money on the routes that they service, and if a vehicle isn’t paying as much as others along the route they’re almost always going to choose the highest-paying loads first. If you’re pressed for time and money’s not an object, higher prices can get your vehicle picked up more quickly, but if you’re pressed for money and not time, standby is going to take longer, but it’s going to be cheaper.
Shippers that pick up standby loads are usually ones that have only one or two extra slots on their truck and they aren’t finding any other convenient loads that are worth the price. If they’re already running the route your vehicle is shipping along and they only have one or two spaces left to fill, they will likely pick your vehicle up at a lower price since they’ll still be making money on the shipment thanks to the rest of the vehicles on their truck. Standby might take longer in terms of transit time in addition to pick up; at a lower price, your vehicle is going to be lower priority than those that are paying more.
Is standby auto transport the best thing ever? Far from it. Does it have its uses? Most definitely. It’s not for everyone, but some people can take advantage of it to get a good deal without having to bend over backwards. If you’re interested in shipping your vehicle on standby, you can fill out our free online auto transport quote request form. If you do, you’ll get a free, instant quote right away. Or, you can contact us over the phone any time for a quote. Just give us a call at 800-930-7417 to speak to a live agent. They can answer questions, give you a quote, book your shipment, and more.
Since 2007 Dave has written all the content and blogs for American Auto Shipping and during this time added the duties of customer support and transport logistics.
He currently resides in Washington with his three kids and their mom and cat. A fan of Marvel movies and good stories, when not shipping cars Dave can be found working on his novel, enjoying a good book or playing some tournament HALO.
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