The 400 review broker is often just a call center that farms your load out to whoever bids lowest anyway, so the premium you pay doesn't even reach the guy touching your truck. I booked a $950 guy with 30 reviews from Phoenix to Portland last year and he texted me pics at every stop, meanwhile a "top rated" outfit with 600 reviews lost my buddy's car for two days in a rail yard. Reviews mostly measure how slick the sales pitch was, not how the haul goes. Small brokers live on word of mouth so they can't afford to screw you nearly as much as the big names can.

Gus was right, 12 percent trim loss beats sour slime any day.

Waited a whole week with three lowball quotes? That's wild. I would've lost my mind. Booking in May sounds like the move if it means a carrier is locked in that fast. Three brokers stringing you along and you still paid more is the part that gets me. Summer pricing is already rough without the runaround.