Basics:
Citizen Shipper connects long-haul truckers with consumers who need help moving possessions and animals
Expected pay: You set it
Husl$core: $$$$
Commissions & fees: $25 monthly
Where: Nationwide
Requirements: 21 or over; pass a background check, which includes driving record, references and credit
Citizen Shipper Review:
Citizen Shipper plays matchmaker between people who need help moving pets or possessions long distances, with the drivers willing and able to do it. And, since some jobs involve moving animals, you don’t even need to be a burly guy with a truck to participate.
How it works
Customers say what they need to ship, where, when, and, sometimes, how much they’re willing to pay. Drivers get notified about new jobs in their area and decide whether to bid or accept a proposed job.
Citizen Shipper also promotes on-the-way deliveries by creating a stack of up to five other potential deliveries that are between the driver’s current destination and the one that was accepted. Citizen Shipper postulates that drivers can provide more competitive bids — and make more money — by adding deliveries in the stack.
This is a nice feature that should work well for both customers and drivers.
Subscription model
Drivers can try the service for free for three months. After that, however, they must pay $25 per month to remain on the site. The site also charges shippers a fee that’s calculated as a percentage of the shipping cost. This fee does not come out of the driver’s pay. It’s an added cost to the consumer.
The site does not collect payments, nor charge commissions to drivers. Drivers make payment arrangements directly with shippers, determining, for instance, whether to demand all cash or take checks. Payment is usually made at the time of delivery. Naturally, customers can also tip.
One concern
Our only concern with the site is a gag-clause in their driver agreement. This clause subjects drivers to a $1,000 fine if they “defame” the site’s business integrity or “make damaging statements regarding our business and services.” Gag clauses are usually a bad sign. However, we saw no indication of trouble in this case.
Want to check out Citizen Shipper?
Recommendations
You can find other driving, delivery and moving options that might be of interest at GoShare, Dolly, and Amazon Flex.
What their users say: (from an in-person interview)
I’ve only been on the site for a month, but it’s worked out really well so far. We’ve had more than a half-dozen deliveries.
The site has a wide array of happy pet owners, who have posted about using Citizen Shipper on SiteJabber.
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