Oh i miss the banter

Can anyone remember the good old days of this forum?

The constant slanging match between Rob from Speed and the Expert.

The regular tongue in cheek replies from M.K bikes.

The Genuine help and advices given by Simon from Notts and Derby.

What happened? have all those people deserted the U.Ks Number 2* exchange site?

Hopefully with the offer of Free pro membership all these "BIG HITTERS" may return.

I do hope so because it feels like the lights are about to go out and ill be left in the dark

• SELF PROCLAIMED

MK Bikes passed away suddenly last September.

The Expert now has more members than MT after he used the site to recruit them.

Switch the lights out as you leave.

Shame, isn't it.

In the previous incarnation MTVan from 2002 (or earlier) actually had it's own jobs which created a backdstop for the site, but it really has never been the same since Amtrak went Belly Up with the loss of their mis-routes and a not inconsiderable sum of money. We got tied up doing various jobs for "Independent Logistics" (Brian Penrose) who was factoring through MTVan's finance arm Courier Finance Ltd and lost out to the tune of around £6k.

But, hey that's progress for you !

Dennis said:

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MK Bikes passed away suddenly last September.

The Expert now has more members than MT after he used the site to recruit them.

Switch the lights out as you leave.

Are you serious? Tony has passed away?

Mr G Courier Service said:

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Dennis said:

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MK Bikes passed away suddenly last September.

The Expert now has more members than MT after he used the site to recruit them.

Switch the lights out as you leave.

Are you serious? Tony has passed away?

Yes Mr G... thats correct, I miss his regular calls of griping about other business's, thought you would have known, as it was posted on Shed about the funeral..

Mr G Courier Service said:

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Dennis said:

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MK Bikes passed away suddenly last September.

The Expert now has more members than MT after he used the site to recruit them.

Switch the lights out as you leave.

Are you serious? Tony has passed away?

Unfortunately yes, I was clearing out my shed5 messages the other day and came across some from him, was part very sad, part humorous reading the banter :(

Gas Motorcycle Couriers said:

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Mr G Courier Service said:

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Dennis said:

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MK Bikes passed away suddenly last September.

The Expert now has more members than MT after he used the site to recruit them.

Switch the lights out as you leave.

Are you serious? Tony has passed away?

Yes Mr G... thats correct, I miss his regular calls of griping about other business's, thought you would have known, as it was posted on Shed about the funeral..

Wow

Somehow missed it! What a massive shame

https://twitter.com/mk_couriers

Gas Motorcycle Couriers said:

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Mr G Courier Service said:

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Dennis said:

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MK Bikes passed away suddenly last September.

The Expert now has more members than MT after he used the site to recruit them.

Switch the lights out as you leave.

Are you serious? Tony has passed away?

Yes Mr G... thats correct, I miss his regular calls of griping about other business's, thought you would have known, as it was posted on Shed about the funeral..

I Was away the first 2 weeks of September. I've just looked through the shed forum and notice it said please don't post any information on other sites.

I guess that's why a lot of people never knew.

I'm gob-smacked... I met Tony on a number of occasions and he was a first rate bloke.

Mr G Courier Service said:

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Can anyone remember the good old days of this forum?

Before my time. Did they check stuff in those days? I've just looked at a job which might have interested me at first glance, small van, route passes me by, so (even though I didn't get a notification, of course) it should have been feasible. Until I look at it closer. Small van for a "small flat" move! Would that be a dolls house size small flat? What if I got the job for a peanuts price, then drove 150 miles all the way there only to find the small flat is rather bigger than a small van? Of the four couriers who have put in bids, three don't have GIT insurance according to their profiles. Maybe that's OK by the vendor who is also a small courier who has no GIT?

That job also asks for a Luton, the flat is bigger

GB Distributors (Bridgend) said:

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That job also asks for a Luton, the flat is bigger

? I didn't realise that's how you spell "small van"?

Hi you are both right the vendor added the same job twice once for a luton and once for a small van. I did put a bid in and got no reply. Dennis maybe the guy was looking for a luton at small van prices?

Or a small Luton perhaps?

Getting back on track i have saved a shed load of threads simply as reference guides. Back in the day ignoring the courier expert arguments there was some cracking info being posted, it all seems a little tame at the moment

A E Delivery said:

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Getting back on track i have saved a shed load of threads simply as reference guides. Back in the day ignoring the courier expert arguments there was some cracking info being posted, it all seems a little tame at the moment

I. Don't miss the banter I rarely come on here any more it's aimed people wanting work done for fuck all and desperate people willing to do it for fuck all, the two best guys don't come on here any more that's Alan RTL and ROB at Speed sorry guys but this site is past its best.

Sad but true Gary... Rob does make a guest appearance now and again though. Can't believe how much this site has declined. I think it's mainly due to greedy vendors wanting backload rates for their jobs and greedy couriers wanting to earn a decent wage. Bit of a viscious circle, (innit)..

I check on this forum from time to time but sad to say nothing is being said... And it's being said by less and less contributors. There is little being asked that hasn't been asked before and little to rant and rave about that hasn't already been done to death.

And i only came back as i was forced to take out a free lifetime membership! Welcome back Rob...

FREE! I feel it may be short lived the way its going on here. Wonder if the 'expert' has been given one.

MrG, I think we are still in the dark?

GB Distributors (Bridgend) said:

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MrG, I think we are still in the dark?

Dammit, I thought we were going to see a fortnight with no posts and you go and spoil it.

It's getting pretty bad if we have to post a post about no posts.

Sorry Den, got lonely driving needed to talk and everybody still sleeping. Will go for a fortnight silence starting now...

I suspect we've all found better things to occupy ourselves with this past year or so, certainly seems to be the case with the proprietors of this site for sure.

It never did get back to where it had been pre 2008 workwise, but at least the forum held its head above the water for a wee while. Nothin like a bit of controversy or a daft question from a newbie to ruffle the feathers and keep it ticking over, a bit of banter chucked in for good measure.

Alas all seems to have faded away.

yep agreed . I feel quiet depressed, still it has given me some good contacts along the way.

As I keep saying, there is nothing wrong with this site, its provides a medium for vendors and od's to share work opportunities at a fraction of the cost of Courier Exchange. If all the members of Courier Exchange used this site it would be No 1. The site works fine, It's a shame most of its members don't! Use it or lose it.

The site hasn't got the membership to make it work so it isn't "fine" at all. The only way any site can work properly is by being able to post and cover a job quickly. There is only one site currently that can do that. The reason people continue paying more than all the alternatives is it has a track record. It works. I don't see why people feel the need to want an alternative. At around a tenner a week it's a no brainer.

Sorry Rob but the site Is fine. The site does it's job. It's the apathy of the members that lets it down. If everyone deserts the "ship" it will sink, as would Courier Exchange if every member of CX deserted. "Quote" "There is only one site currently that can do that. " It's the members that make it work not what it's called. And at less than £3 a week that's a no brainer.

How can you say the site is fine when it doesn't do what it'd designed to do and fill mtvans. At £3 a week it can't find enough of a membership to make it work but another charging 4 times that continues to attract members. That to me suggests a fundamental flaw. If you put a job on and it doesn't get any "bids" then it is a site that doesn't work!

The site is not designed to fill mtvans it is designed to provide a platform for vendors to post work and couriers to quote for that work. In this respect the site does work, easy to post and easy to quote. It's the vendors that give up if they don't get a quote. The couriers then stop looking, so its the vendors and couriers that let the site down. So post the jobs on here as well as elsewhere, why not? it only takes a few seconds, "if you build it they will come". It's out there for all to use at a very reasonable cost. If I look at my allocated jobs on here there must be thousands of jobs covered by members of this site over the years. BTW I have just received an invoice from Speed Couriers that was posted on this site? Lol.

3D Courier Services said:

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The site is not designed to fill mtvans

Well Steve, if that's the case, the website's name is all wrong, and it proves Rob's point: the website has no direction, no marketing strategy, to plan. Or at least that's how it seems.

Yes, Courier Exchange costs a lot of money, but it does a bloody good job. A lot of what Courier Exchange members pay for is the PR, which attracts new members on both company and driver sides. The other thing is the technology. Courier Exchange is continually being developed and updated, with new features and bug fixes being released all the time. I'm not saying it's perfect. There are ways it can improve, as the forums illustrate. mtvan is cheap, Courier Exchange is expensive, but whilst mtvan is adequate, it's not a patch on Courier Exchange. You do get what you pay for.

Jamie Goodland said:

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3D Courier Services said:

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The site is not designed to fill mtvans

Well Steve, if that's the case, the website's name is all wrong, and it proves Rob's point: the website has no direction, no marketing strategy, to plan. Or at least that's how it seems.

Yes, Courier Exchange costs a lot of money, but it does a bloody good job. A lot of what Courier Exchange members pay for is the PR, which attracts new members on both company and driver sides. The other thing is the technology. Courier Exchange is continually being developed and updated, with new features and bug fixes being released all the time. I'm not saying it's perfect. There are ways it can improve, as the forums illustrate. mtvan is cheap, Courier Exchange is expensive, but whilst mtvan is adequate, it's not a patch on Courier Exchange. You do get what you pay for.

I just want to pay for a site that I can post work on and get quotes, nothing else. Simples, I don't want all the other stuff on CX that I would have to pay for even if I don't use it. I think the name of this site was designed for couriers with an empty vans to log on to see if there is work available. I can only think of a couple of times that members have had issues with rogue traders on here and yet Courier Exchange seems to have a plethora.

Why post work elsewhere if the site you're using gets your work covered... And covered quickly. The fact that I've only put 2 jobs on here this year as opposed to around 30-50 a week elsewhere tells it's own story doesn't it?

That's the very reason why this site has deteriorated work wise. Post 30-50 jobs per week on here, along with others, and the couriers will return. "Build it and they will come"

Sat waiting Rob ( not literally)... Courier here would love more work on this site. Or you could always pick up the phone and call me always willing to help if i am free and at the right price i would add.

I hear what you're both saying but if most of us are successfully covering our work elsewhere, why would we bring it over to a site where it's more difficult to get our work covered? I also know it's very much chicken and egg but like I said, if whatever site works for you why change? There has to be a reason to do so otherwise it'd just not going to happen

never good having a monopoly... Competition is what its all about keeps people on their toes.

There is no monopoly though is there, the competition just needs to up its game.

not at the moment there isnt Rob but if this site goes under there would be. You are dead right about this site needing to up its game though.