Instant bidding is a great way for you to bid on a load without having to contact a broker directly!
When you submit an instant bid on a load, we send the broker the amount you'd like to bid via API directly to their broker portal. If they accept your bid, you can go in and confirm the booking. If they reject it, you can continue negotiating with them via offline channels.
This article goes into more detail on how instant bidding works.
In this article:
- Which brokers offer instant bidding?
- How you'll know if a load offers instant bidding as an option
- How to submit an instant bid on a load
- How-to videos
- How soon can I expect to hear back after I bid on a load?
- What happens if a broker rejects my bid?
- Why am I getting an error for an instant bid I submitted?
Which brokers offer instant bidding?
Today, the brokers listed below all offer instant bidding on certain loads. We plan to integrate with more brokers who offer this option soon!
- Convoy
- JB Hunt
- RXO
- Parade
Please make sure to create a free broker account with each of these brokers and link them to your CloudTrucks account so you can start instant bidding on their loads! To learn how to link your free broker accounts click here.
How you'll know if a load offers instant bidding as an option
Not every load from these brokers will have instant bidding as an option, but when it does you will see a blue ‘Bid’ button on the load details page under the price and CT Estimate, that looks like this:
How to submit an instant bid on a load
For loads that are eligible for instant bidding follow this step-by-step guide or watch the videos linked below
1. Click on the blue ‘Bid’ button from the load details page.
2. Use the CT Estimate to help you decide how much to bid based on current market rates and toggle the blue dots to set your minimum bid and preferred bid amount. We will only submit your preferred bid amount to the broker.
3. When you’re happy with your bid, click the blue ‘Submit Bid’ button and your bid will be sent directly to the broker. The job will be added to your jobs list under the ‘Negotiating’ tab.
4. If the broker does not accept your bid and prefers to negotiate another rate, you will receive an email or phone call from the broker to the email address or phone number you have linked to your broker account. You can continue negotiating offline.
5. Once agree on a price and confirm the booking with the broker, go back to the load under your 'Negotiating' tab, click ‘Confirm Booking’, add details like the broker load ID and price, and click ‘Book’. The load will be added to your jobs list under ‘Your Jobs’ and the status of the load will change to 'Booked'
6. Don't forget to get your ratecon from the broker and add it to your load documents!
How-to videos
How to submit an instant bid on web
How to submit an instant bid on mobile
How soon can I expect to hear back after I bid on a load?
It varies based on the broker and their bandwidth to respond to instant bids and/or send counter bids. For example, with J.B. Hunt loads, sometimes our team receives counter offers within 1 minute or less of a submitted instant bid; other times we only hear back after the load is covered.
Often, 'time to pick up' plays a big factor. For example, if the load picks up several days from the day you're bidding on it, you might not hear back for a couple of hours. However, if you're bidding on a load that picks up later on in the same day, if you don't hear back in ~10-15 mins, it probably has already been booked.
What happens if a broker rejects my bid?
If the broker does not accept your bid and prefers to negotiate another rate, you will receive an email or phone call from the broker to the email address or phone number you have linked to your broker account. You can continue negotiating offline.
Why am I getting an error for an instant bid I submitted?
There are a few reasons you might see an error pop up on your screen for an instant bid you submitted, such as if the load you were bidding on has already been booked or if your network connection is poor.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to flex-support@cloudtrucks.com.