uShip proudly works alongside more than 2,000 of our nation’s veterans. Here we take a moment to honor a few who are connected to the uShip family in various ways. In 2021, veterans owned approximately 304,823 employer businesses—about 5.4% of the 5.68 million U.S. businesses with at least one paid employee, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 Annual Business Survey.

We thank each and every one of our military service members for their service to this country, not only today, but everyday.

Meet Mary Ellen

Mary Ellen graduated from LSU in 2010 and joined the U.S. Army in 2012, before making her way to uShip in 2014 and joining our team as a Commercial Sales Representative.

Currently, Mary Ellen is on active duty service to our country and the uShip team in looking forward to her safe return.

Meet Bud Holtfort

Bud is a retired Senior Master Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. He joined the uShip team back in 2014 and is currently the Senior Manager of Human Resources.

Meet Brenda Lopez (left) and SCM Leveda McCardell (right)

Lopez and McCardell are currently serving in the Texas Army National Guard at Camp Mabry, here in Austin, Texas.

Meet Vic Bullard

After retiring from the U.S. Army as a Specialist-Retired E-4, Vic came to join the uShip team as our current Helpdesk Manager.

Meet Colton Lichty

Lichty is a retired SSG Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army.

Meet Jerry Jameson

Jameson is a Private in the U.S. Marine Corps and a current uShip transporter, known as Mtn. Shippers.
From all of us at uShip, thank you!

Happy Veterans Day!

Update: some of the uShip team members mentioned above have since left the company, but we’re always appreciative of their service and the time they spent here. Our hats go off to all veterans.

The post Veterans Day Salute appeared first on The uShip Blog.

The original all-hands-on-deck culture faltered during growth.

Raleigh Schickel, DevOps Manager, has seen uShip evolve from a small team with a few developers, to a larger company with a dev team size of 60 and growing. Initially, everyone was always on-call for their own code. But this culture of ownership changed as the company grew.

“As we hired more people, code ownership centralized, though not intentionally,” says Raleigh. Developers started expecting Operations to be responsible for the running system, and started working on features and moving on.“

uShip is a continuous deployment shop and developers are empowered to deploy code at any time. As Operations became more centralized, it was becoming more difficult to determine cause of application issues.

“Problems that could have had a quick easy fix would lag,” says Raleigh. “This made our Time to Identify and Time to Resolve unnecessarily long. The question became: How can we decrease time to identify and resolve?”

The challenge: how to recreate that early culture of code ownership.

uShip’s developers also expressed their desire to own their own infrastructure and not wait on others. But they didn’t want to be on-call. Raleigh says, this didn’t add up.

“[The developers] are looking for ways to speed up their development processes and time to market, but there are security and operational problems with that. If they change a setting and go to sleep and the service breaks, who deals with it? Who knows the most about it? I don’t know what they did.”

In response to their request, Raleigh convinced the developers to take on-call responsibilities. “Our rationale was this,” says Raleigh. “If you are willing to be responsible for the code you are delivering today, then we can expand access to the infrastructure that we are creating for tomorrow.” They agreed.

VictorOps helps democratize the on-call process.

Now (more than ever) with a team of 60 and growing, uShip needed a better way to manage on-call. uShip had handled incidents and log communication via email, with Nagios paging the team directly. This process was unwieldy.

They chose VictorOps for intelligent alerting, routing, and incident management. Now this 60+ person team could intelligently and humanely handle incidents that might occur anytime. Raleigh explains:

“Before VictorOps, we were limited to the same four or five people who were on-call all the time and that was a burnout gig. VictorOps allowed us to democratize the on-call process. We spread out the on-call load, which helps build empathy among developers about what other people go through. It allows those people who have traditionally been on-call to step back for a moment and catch their breath.”

The VictorOps developer discounted pricing program enabled uShip to affordably provide accounts for the entire development team.

Creative approaches to on-call rotation schedules.

To manage their on-call schedules, development teams work on a three-month cycle in which each team spends two weeks on call. They are on-call from 6pm until 9am, at which time the Ops team takes over.

uShip’s developers use the VictorOps team set up and scheduling features extensively. Since each team sets its own schedule for its members, they have used their creativity to design complex rotations. For example, they used VictorOps to put themselves on-call in two-hour chunks.

Raleigh especially loves the scheduled override feature because if there is a last-minute schedule change, it’s no problem. If someone on-call gets sick or something happens, they can just create an override instead of having to tweak the on-call schedule.

Devs on-call handle application health and well-defined issues.

Raleigh explains that uShip’s development teams are primarily on-call to monitor application health. They respond to incidents related to questions such as, How many exceptions do we have? Is the marketplace healthy? Do we have enough new listings? Do we have enough new users?

Developers are also on-call for infrastructure issues that have well-defined, simple fixes. “As long as the alert is clear and tells them what is going on, they can go push a button and easily fix a problem,” says Raleigh. “If they have to go reset app servers, we have buttons for that.”

However, if a Linux server is broken and requires intensive troubleshooting or if a telemetry system is down, an Ops team member handles those incidents and are not a developer’s responsibility to solve.

Always on-call in their particular area of expertise.

For the most part, developers aren’t part of a time-based on-call rotation. Instead, they are always on-call for their code in their area of expertise. Via the VictorOps Incident Automation Engine, Raleigh set up routing keys that send each alert to the right expert. During feature releases, the responsible dev team goes on-call until everyone is comfortable that the deployment was successful.

“Developers get to think about and understand the whole system in a way that they were not able to before,” says Raleigh. “Their mindset was: of course my code works. Actually, there is a giant system out there that interacts with your code.”

Using Slack to create manual incidents eliminates even more noise.

The dev teams self-organized to have one person from each team on-call at all times in case of a problem. They wrote an app called the Victorbot that allows anybody in Slack to create a manual incident and page the appropriate team via Slack in case of an emergency. “This is another way that VictorOps has helped us only page the right team when we need a response,” says Raleigh.

Devs on-call feel empathy and build even better code.

Raleigh explains why putting devs on-call has been so great for the team. He says, “The devs get a little taste of what it’s like to wake up in the middle of the night and handle the platform. They have shown great desire to make sure the launch of new code is healthy and for being the primary person on-call for it at launch. The best part is that we’re shifting back to the ownership culture.”

Choosing to build features rather than building a huge operations team.

Ultimately, owning code isn’t just a nice-to-have. It enables uShip to put its resources toward development rather than toward supporting increasingly complicated infrastructure, especially as microservices proliferate and require specialization. Raleigh says:

“If you believe in democratizing operations, then developers need to be on-call. Otherwise, if you have 20 microservices and five go down, how many Ops people would you need to put that fire out? It’s a choice. Are you going to pay for developers or are you going to pay for an Ops team? We think our company benefits more from delivering products. The more developers you have, the more you can develop product. It’s just kind of the reality.”

The DevOps team has more time to innovate.

With uShip’s culture shift and devs now available to take on-call, Raleigh’s DevOps team has more time to focus their work on helping the company innovate faster, which means writing code and developing and improving infrastructure. Raleigh says, “At some point in your company’s life, you’re going to take another look at code that was written with ideals in mind, and realize that as volume and traffic increase, it doesn’t always perform very well. Right now, for example, our team is currently focused on writing code to reduce load on the database.

“We’re turning two of my senior dot net developers into SREs so we can focus on this work,” Raleigh continues. “It’s good for everyone involved to be doing this type of work as a means to improve platform performance and mitigate future issues and alerts. We would rather have the team working for the future than firefighting today’s application issues.”

The post Distributed Operations: How uShip Built a Culture of Code Ownership for Faster Feature Delivery appeared first on The uShip Blog.

But if you’ve been under a rock and missed all the hype, allow us to get you caught up: earlier this year, Amazon began testing its drone delivery technology, known as Amazon Prime Air, and earlier this month, made its first successful customer delivery — a FIRE streaming TV device and some popcorn —  in the Cambridge area of England.

If you’re looking for some insight and perspective on what this all means for your future shopping (and shipping) needs, here are 11 things you may want to know about Amazon Prime Air:

1. While there is a successful drone delivery in the books, the reality of widespread drone delivery is still far off.

For now, Amazon’s drone delivery technology is being tested on a very small scale. While the announcement of this breakthrough in logistics is excited, it could be a good decade before you’re able to use Prime Air services.

2. You will need to live within a certain radius of a Prime Air fulfillment center in order to use the service.

Prime Air fulfillment centers will be much smaller than its regular fulfillment centers and placed throughout the country. However, the drone have a travel distance limit on them. Delivery qualification will be based on the location and distance of your drone delivery landing pad.

3. Product selection will be limited to what these smaller fulfillment centers have in stock.

4. You will need a landing pad in your yard or on your roof in order to receive packages.

So you’ll still have to up off the couch, but hey, fast delivery is fast delivery. This will make it difficult for those in apartments, town homes, or cities like New York to use the Prime Air service.

5. You can expect a 30-minutes-or-less delivery window!

Yes, it’s true and no, we aren’t talking about a pizza.

6. There are weight limits to what the drone can carry

So, if you’re ordering a set of encyclopedias, you’ll be limited to more traditional delivery methods.

7. There will be different drone models

Amazon is testing a few different drone models.You can see in the images below how much the models have changed since the concept of drone delivery was first announced.

8. The demand for trucks isn’t going anywhere.

It will be years before we see a sky full of delivery drones, and even then trucks & truck drivers will be in demand.

9. Amazon’s drones are 100% automated and run on their own from launch to return

And yes, they are calibrated to dodge flying birds.

10. ‘Free Shipping’ for all could be our new reality

By eliminating the cost of human labor on these deliveries, Amazon will be able to pass down the savings in the form of free shipping!

11. Although it seems you will need to be a subscriber of the Prime Air service to reap those ‘free shipping’ benefits.

And with a subscriptions comes and annual fee. There’s talk that the subscription will work in the same manner a subscription to Amazon Prime does.

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The post 11 Things You Should Know about Amazon Prime Air appeared first on The uShip Blog.

Amazon’s Prime Air made its first delivery to a customer’s home last week. The total time, from click to delivery, took 13 minutes, according to a tweet from Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

“[Prime Air is] designed to safely get packages to customers in 30 minutes or less using small unmanned aerial vehicles, also called drones. Prime Air has great potential to enhance the services we already provide to millions of customers by providing rapid parcel delivery that will also increase the overall safety and efficiency of the transportation system. Putting Prime Air into service will take some time, but we will deploy when we have the regulatory support needed to realize our vision,” according to Amazon.

For now the technology is being tested on a small scale.

But the idea of a sky full of delivery drones isn’t far off. The 30-minute or less drone deliveries are being conducted on a private trial basis that consists of two customers located in the Cambridge area of England. From there Amazon plans to expand its delivery zone to dozens of people near the Prime Air fulfillment center.

How it works: Trial customers choose from a select number of items that are stored in an Amazon fulfillment center just miles from their home. The items are then placed into a delivery box and weighed to ensure it does not exceed 5lbs. Once the package is secured to the drone, the drone and the package travel outside on a conveyor belt to a launching location.

From there, the drone is 100% automated and runs itself from launch to return.

While fulfillment centers are nothing new, the Prime Air fulfillment center will be smaller than normal with more locations spread throughout the country. In the beginning, your delivery address will have to be located within a defined radius of the Prime Air fulfillment center. But as the number of Prime Air fulfillment centers grow, so will delivery locations.

Learn more about how the Prime Air delivery drone and watch actual footage from the first delivery below.

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The post It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s a Package! — Amazon’s Prime Air Makes its First Drone Delivery appeared first on The uShip Blog.

After working at uShip for a couple years, Davenport left for deployment last summer with the U.S. Army Reserves. While she is away serving her country, her desk and team await her safe return.

The Patriotic Employer Award reflects the efforts made to support citizen warriors through a wide-range of measures including flexible schedules, time off prior to and after deployment, caring for families, and granting leaves of absence if needed.

Before Davenport’s departure, sales team social committee head John Estrada organized a going away party and company-wide happy hour to say her “see-you-later”s in true uShip fashion.

But the team didn’t forget Davenport then. Davenport wrote: “In addition, since I have been deployed, [they] made sure that I received a gift card to the Green Bean Coffee Shop on base here… to celebrate my work anniversary at uShip. [Estrada] also spearheaded organizing a care package from many of my coworkers.”

In her request for the award, Mary Ellen wrote “These may sound like small acts, but for a deployed soldier, little acts mean so much more. The team’s efforts made me feel appreciated and valued as a soldier and co-worker.”

Hurry home, Mary Ellen! When you’re back in Austin, you’ve got an endless run of Royal Blue coffee breaks waiting for you.

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The post uShip Honored with ‘Patriotic Employer’ Award appeared first on The uShip Blog.

Otto hauled 45,000 special edition cans of Budweiser while its driver let go of the wheel on Interstate 25. Police escorts followed the semi truck as it made its way to its destination with the trucker hanging out in the sleeper cab.

What a time to be alive, huh.

Yesterday Otto made its second delivery in Ohio. Though this time, the semi truck navigated through traffic at a busier time of day. The journey ran about 35-miles down Route 33 between Dublin and East liberty, Ohio.

Ohio Governor John Kasich tweeted out: “Today, we’re seeing the future of transportation 1st-hand as we send off Otto’s self-driving truck on US 33 & later the Ohio Turnpike”.

With another successful run in the books, we wonder what this means for the future of jobs in the trucking industry? Only time will tell. However, even this robotic semi truck still requires a driver to monitor the truck’s performance from the inside. And as far as we can tell now, human intervention will always be needed in any automated vehicle.

Keep an eye out for Otto’s next haul— a 241-mile test drive on a heavily traffic toll road from the East Coast to Chicago.

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The post Self-Driving Semis: Otto Makes Its Second Delivery appeared first on The uShip Blog.

Perhaps no one has more pressure picking a tree than Erik Pauze. You’ve probably never heard of Erik. He’s the guy responsible selecting the world’s most visible Christmas tree: the one that rises high above New York City’s Rockefeller Center, viewed by millions every holiday season.

As head gardener, Pauze searches the tri-state area throughout the year looking for a worthy Norway Spruce that, um, makes the cut. Ideally it’s at least 70-feet tall and 45-feet wide. Once Erik finds his tree, it’s guarded like the crown jewels. Pauze and his team will visit the tree regularly, maintaining it until it is time to cut it down for transport.

This year’s tree comes from Oneonta, N.Y., reports NBC New York. To-date, the tallest tree stood 100-feet tall and came from Killingworth, Conn., in December 1999.

But what isn’t widely known is how it gets there and what it takes to pull off the feat. Let’s just say it takes a bit more doing than strapping it to the top of your mini-SUV with some rope or bungee cords.

Transporting the Tree

The tree removal process is no quick thing. It takes about one week to wrap up the tree and secure all branches. Then, the tree is anchored by a giant crane and cut from its stomp by a chainsaw. It takes the crane, plus five to seven men on the ground with ropes in hand, to direct the massive tree and prevent it from swinging wildly once cut free.

The tree is then lifted onto its side and laid on a 115-foot flatbed trailer for transport. Once it’s tied up and strapped down the tree makes its journey to Rockefeller Center.

Arriving in Rockefeller Center

Crowds gather around as the giant 115-foot flatbed pulls into Rockefeller Center. If you’ve ever driven a large, long truck, you know doing this in New York City is an accomplishment all on its own.

Erecting the tree is a spectacle in itself. After a steel dowel in place in the center of the trunk, it’s traditionally hammered in by the tree’s donors.

A large crane then lifts the tree from its side and into the air, mounting it in its final resting place for the season.

When in place, the tree is held sturdy by multiple guide-wires and the steel spike in the center of the trunk. Lastly, the tree is wrapped in 45,000 LED lights (try finding the bad bulb in that strand) and topped with a 500-lb Swarovski crystal star.

This year marks the 84th annual Rockefeller Tree Lighting. The event is free and open to the public. Learn more about the event and the tree itself, here.

So, what happens to all that lumber when the holiday season ends?

We were happy to find out that the trees have been annually recycled since 1971. Back then it was ground down and used as mulch for the nature trails in Manhattan. These days the tree is donated to Habitat for Humanity where its lumber is used to build homes for those in need. This tradition started back in 2007, when the organization was rebuilding homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

If you happen to have a prime 75-foot Norway Spruce sitting in your yard, submit your tree to be chosen as the 2017 Rockefeller center piece.

TL;DR: Hauling the Nation’s Most Famous Christmas Tree

• Iconic Journey: Transporting the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree is a monumental task, requiring meticulous planning and execution.
• Specialized Equipment: The tree’s massive size necessitates custom trailers and equipment to ensure safe and secure transport.
• Experienced Drivers: Veteran drivers with specialized training handle the journey, navigating diverse terrains and weather conditions.
• Community Engagement: The tree’s journey includes stops across the country, allowing communities to partake in the celebration.
• uShip’s Role: uShip facilitates the coordination of such complex logistics, connecting shippers with experienced carriers.

The post How to Haul the Most Famous Christmas Tree in America appeared first on The uShip Blog.

HOW DOES CAR SHIPPING WORK?

Getting Down to the Nitty Gritty of Car Shipping

Unless you’re a car dealer or a gear-head, you’re probably not familiar with how the vehicle transport process works. That’s OK!

uShip is here to help ease the process and answer any questions you might have. Before we make a deep dive into the logistics of car shipping, let’s start with some of the most common questions:

Q. Will my transporter pick up my vehicle(s) or will I have to bring it to them?

A. This is something you will work out with your chosen transporter. A lot of variables come into play here. Such as: is your vehicle being picked up from a private residency or a commercial business? Did you arrange for private (one car) transport or are you using a large volume transporter?

It’s common to arrange a convenient local meeting place with your transporter to safely load your vehicle if you are in a residential area. Navigating a large truck and trailer in crowded residential roadways is often difficult. Note: If the vehicle is not in running condition make sure your transporter knows this before booking.

Q. Upon delivery, will I go retrieve my vehicle at a specified site or will my transporter bring it to me?

A. Again, the definite answer to these types of questions can be answered by your chosen vehicle transporter. Communicate with them, providing them full-details of your transport needs before booking.

Q. Will my car be transported with other cars? If so, how will they prevent them from touching?

A. It is likely that your vehicle will be transported with other vehicles. However, multi-car trailers use several safety mechanisms in addition to your own car’s emergency brake and transmission (park) brake for automatic transmission vehicles or placing it in a drive gear for manual transmissions.

You do have the option to reserve a private transporter who will transport your vehicle alone. This option is the more costly of the two. If you would prefer to have your vehicle transported this way, be sure to note this in your listing to only attract those transporters who can accommodate your request.

Professional carriers are attentive to leaking fluids (oil, power steering fluid, etc.) and should take precautions if there is a suspected leak.

Note: Vehicle transporters are required by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to properly secure all cargo. Under the Cargo Securement Rules, stating that “…must be restrained by chocks, wedges, a cradle or other equivalent means to prevent rolling. The means of preventing rolling must not be capable of becoming unintentionally unfastened or loose while the vehicle is in transit.” 

Q. Will open trailer transporters provide coverings and necessary protections for my vehicle?

A. Covering a vehicle may be worse than having it uncovered, for this reason it’s not standard practice to cover a vehicle during transport. A loose cover can scratch and heavily damage your vehicle’s paint. In lieu of coverings, uShip recommends washing the exterior of your car very well and applying a layer of fresh wax. This will help protect your vehicle’s paint and serve as a good barrier against bugs, road salt, dirt and debris.

Q. Should I empty my vehicle’s gas tank?

A. Yes! Empty the tank as much as possible, but make sure you leave a little fuel in the tank so that the car can make it to a gas station on the other end of its journey – a gallon should do.

In accordance with FMCSA regulation, hazardous materials, such as gasoline, are not permitted to be transported by a motor carrier. Take your car for an extra ride around the block or burn the tank off running around town. Either way, make sure your entire gas tank is emptied before your scheduled transport date.

Q. How do I ensure that my vehicle is empty if I need to drive it daily?

A. The week before shipping your vehicle be sure to put only a few gallons in your tank to avoid being in an awkward situation.

Q. How much time does vehicle transportation typically take?

A. This depends on where you’re having your vehicle transported to and how many other vehicles are being transported along the route. Your transporter will provide you with an estimated drop-off date and a great transporter will keep up good communication during the transport process.

Remember, if you have any questions that aren’t answered in this article reach out to the uShip Help Center.

Leading to the ultimate question: what will it cost to transport your vehicle?

LISTINGS VS. INSTANT QUOTE BOOKING

The beauty of uShip is that you have options when it comes to car shipping costs. It is up to you to decide what your shipping budget is and how YOU want to manage your shipping experience.

  List, Compare, and Book instantly.

After building your vehicle transport listing you will have the option to submit your listing to our online marketplace for bids or to accept an instant quote. Every shipping customer’s transportation needs are different. Take the time to learn about each option and then decide confidently which is best for you!

CAR SHIPPING INSTANT QUOTES

On uShip you are able to see instant live quotes from a number of vehicle transporters in your area. Choosing to book your transporter through instant quotes can be the faster option. Booking through instant quotes also allows you to quickly see the wide scope of pricing options available in our marketplace. Simply pick the price that best fits your shipping budget and hit “Book”. It’s really that easy.

CAR SHIPPING QUOTES

Choosing to put your listing up for quotes in our marketplace puts the power in your hands. This listing method may take a little more time, as you won’t want to accept the first quote you receive. Though, it can be well worth it for your pocket! Once your listing is live in the marketplace, vehicle transporters will reach out to you with pricing and any logistical questions they may have. For this reason, it is important to have a well-built listing. A well-built listing ensures that you only attract the best-fit transporters to offer a quote on your vehicle transport.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO ENSURE THE SAFE TRANSPORTATION OF YOUR VEHICLE

BUILDING THE PERFECT LISTING

Earlier we walked you through creating a listing and deciding which listing process is best for your shipping needs. Now, let’s discuss how to build the perfect auto transport listing.

From measurements to photographs, building the perfect listing comes down to one thing: detail.

The perfect detailed listing includes:

• Take good quality photographs of your vehicle– quality pictures are very important and allow transporters to feel confident in a lower quote.
• Gather precise measurements of your vehicle– vehicle transport trailers are loaded with precise measure—everything is planned for so everything fits in its place. For this reason you will want to provide as many details about the size, make and model of your vehicle.
• Dates– specifying whether your listed shipment dates are flexible or concrete will ensure only transporters whom are available on those dates will bid for your shipment. The more flexibility you have on dates the more bids you are likely to receive.
• Vehicle loading and unloading abilities– it’s difficult for a large vehicle transport trailer to navigate through neighborhoods, for this reason make sure you are able to designate a meeting location for your transporter to load and unload your vehicle on each end of its journey. If your vehicle is not in running condition, and thus cannot be transported to a meeting destination, note this in your listing.
• Transport specifics– if you have any specific needs for your vehicle transport, list them!
• Origin and destination points– Transporters plan their routes according to available shipments, picking up and dropping off along the way. If your pick up or drop off is along the ways likely you’ll get quotes at a discounted rate. No transporter wants tonsil a half empty trailer across the country. Work with them and your pocket will thank you.

Make your listing as detailed as you can. Let prospective transporters know exactly what you’re looking for and what your shipment will require. Will you be able to meet the transporter offsite with the car? Would you prefer an open or enclosed trailer transport? How flexible are you on dates? These are things you should think about when building your listing. Answering these types of questions will help ensure you receive quotes from only the best fit vehicle transporters.

CHOOSING A CARRIER

Whether you choose to book by car transport quotes or introduce your listing to our online marketplace to receive quotes, you will want to research any prospective transport before booking. The most important step in the vehicle transportation process is research.

At uShip we believe the most informed shipping customers get the best shipping experience. For this reason, we encourage all of our shipping customers to fully research each carrier before booking.

To help with this step uShip clearly lays out a detailed transport history, live customer feedback, regulation compliance and a five-star rating system in each and every Carrier Profile.

Below is an example of a top-rated vehicle transporter Carrier Profile:

A lot goes into making a vehicle transporter a Power Carrier. Things such as: great communication, positive customer reviews, extensive transport history and compliance with FMCSA regulations all combine to make a great carrier. Look for these types of things as you’re scrolling through each prospective carrier’s profile.

uShip also recommends researching your prospective vehicle transporter in the FMCSA’s SAFER System

Knowing to whom you’re entrusting your vehicle to is the key to shipping with confidence.

The post Car Shipping—How It Works appeared first on The uShip Blog.

When a shipper googles something that brings them to uShip, Google sends us a report of their search query. This helps us get an inside look at our shipping customers’ needs and wants. Sometimes, their requests are a bit out there. The following are the search queries we found to be the most humorous. Enjoy!

1. www uship

Well, they were almost there…

(Note: this is a very common entry, in many forms.)

2. motorcyclist shipping

Is he trying to ship a human? I believe that’s illegal.

3. thorny devil pet

A insane as it sounds, this is a real thing—in Australia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorny_dragon

4. horse shipping boots

Boots for horses? Do you have to put boots on them before you put them in the trailer? Charles, our resident PPC Pro, learned this is a thing.

5. how should firearms be transported in a boat

Depends if you want to broadside someone or not.

6. rates for flying dogs

Where can I buy a flying dog?!

7. flyying pets

And this guy, who clearly found out about the flying dogs and is just too excited about it.

8. iuship

Apple. Has. Taken. Over. Everything.

9. how big is a boat before it is a ship

Um. What?

10. the ugly pet collection

I recently learned that The Ugly Pet Collection is real thing, though, I have no idea how this person ended up on uShip. Our pets are b-e-a-u-tiful.

11. shipping 20 ft boat from vegas

I guess you really can win those “enter-to-win” boats on the casino floors…

12. pet jewelry

Stylin’ and profilin’

13. can flamingos be pets

Honestly, we had to Google this too. No, you cannot keep flamingos as pets, Valerie, but high-five flamingo loving friend.

14. statue of liberty transportation cost on boat

New York—would you like to tell the rest of us something?

15. sex on ship

No comment.

16. how much are dogs

17. And all the people who refuse to use spaces.
Google’s patience is applaudable.

“harleyhaul” |  “wehaulbike”  |  “ship petsanbjose to orange county”  |  “bestwaytoshipapet fromstatetostate”

We tip our hat to our fellow Googlers and look forward to next year’s submissions.

The post uShip’s Strangest PPC Search Queries appeared first on The uShip Blog.

COLLEGE MOVE-IN GUIDE

1. LEARN HOW TO MAKE COFFEE

You’ll need it for moving day and every day after.

2. WEAR COMFY SHOES

This is not the time to get fancy. You will be on your feet a lot, walking long distances from move-in day to graduation day so keep the shoes practical. And pack extras.

3. HIRE A PROFESSIONAL

Don’t try to tackle such a big move by yourself and don’t force your parents to do it for you. Hire a professional and leave yourself time to worry about what really matters; like registering for classes, getting to know your new surroundings, and preparing for your first day of school.

4. FEEL OUT YOUR NEW ROOMIE

Universities will usually let you know who your roommate will be before you move in. Find them on Facebook, if you live in the same town meet them for coffee, or ask to video chat. No one wants to live with a stranger, and it’s likely they are just as curious about you, so introduce yourself and ask them a ton of questions!

5. PACK PHOTOS OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Pack your favorite blanket or bean bag. When you get homesick or stressed out you’ll be glad to have something that makes you feel close to home and comfortable. It really is the little things.

6. PACK THE ESSENTIALS

Don’t forget things like a shower caddie and robe, sheets, or a desk lamp. There are plenty of resources for dorm room essentials on Pinterest or Bed Bath & Beyond, so check them out. There’s even a site, Dorm It Up, that will let you customize what your dorm room is lacking and have it delivered directly to your door! Ah, 2016, we heart you.

7. PACK A FIRST NIGHT BAG

Fill it with things you know you will need on day one. You may not think you have as much stuff as you do, but after a long day of lugging boxes up stairs (unless you were smart and hired someone—but we all make rookie mistakes) you’ll only want to shower, eat, and crawl into bed.

8. DON’T OVER-PACK YOUR BOXES

Over-packing is the number one reason boxes break and valuables end up strung along the concrete. If it’s too heavy to lift, it’s too heavy for the box! Split things up, pack light, and learn how to properly pack your breakables in our How to Pack Fragile Items guide.

9. BRING ALONG A TOOL BOX

You’ll want to decorate and hang pictures. To do this, you’ll need tools.

10. MAKE YOUR BED

When you arrive, make your bed first thing. At the end of a long day you’ll appreciate being able to crawl into a nicely made, comfortable bed. Plan ahead and future-you with thank you.

11. MOVE THE FURNITURE

You’re totally allowed to, so move it around. You will be living in that room for the next 9 to 10 months of your life, so make it you own!

12. TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY YOUR NEW ADDRESS

It’s not easy being away from home for that long. They’ll want to send you warm thoughts and you’ll love receiving them!

13. STAY ORGANIZED AND LISTEN TO YOUR PARENT’S ADVICE

You may not know it all, but most likely they’ve been through it all. Write down a Moving Checklist, fill your planner (and get one if you don’t have one already!) with important dates and deadlines, and fill out an Moving Inventory of your belongings. Hundreds of students who are also on their own for the first time will be living in your apartment or dorm building. This is why you have things like renter’s insurance and if the day comes that you actually have to file a claim, you’ll be glad you kept a record of your things.

14. KEEP THE IMPORTANT STUFF SAFE AND SECURE

If you’re not leaving important documents with your parents (which we advise doing), make sure you’re keeping them organized and in a safe place.

15. DOUBLE CHECK YOUR FINANCIAL AID STATUS

Hiccups happen. Don’t arrive to campus to find out your FASFA loans, grants, or scholarships haven’t gone through.

16. VERIFY YOUR HOUSING SITUATION

Whether you will be living on campus in the dorms or off campus in an apartment, verify and double check your move-in date, time, and location. If you’re moving into a dorm, then everything will be outlined for you and you will have a move-in schedule. Check with your campus housing department to get any questions answered before moving day.

If you’re moving into an apartment off campus ask them about their move-in schedule as well. Most incoming students don’t know this, but it is common for apartment complexes in college towns to streamline the move-in process. From key pick up to entering your new apartment, it’s all scheduled. Check with your apartment’s leasing off for specific dates and times

17. GO TO NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION

Just do it. Meet other students, learn how to register for classes, discover unknown campus resources, and get the low-down on the best off-campus activities from campus veterans.

18. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR UNIVERSITY’S WELCOME WEEK ACTIVITIES

This is a time when most universities introduce incoming freshmen to their surroundings through events and social gatherings. Welcome Week can be a lot of fun and it’s a great opportunity to meet new people.

19. DON’T BE LATE

Don’t kick off your college career by being late. Even the most studious student will run into some early morning hiccups, so save your tardiness for the morning after your first long night—that you spent studying.

The post The Ultimate Move-In Guide for a College Freshman appeared first on The uShip Blog.