Type of business Private Area served North America Website www.citizenshipper.com Founded 2008 | Type of site Online auction Industry Transportation Founder Richard Obousy | |
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Slogan(s) Find the Lowest Shipping Rates and SAVE Headquarters Longview, Texas, United States Motto Find the Lowest Shipping Rates and SAVE | ||
Citizenshipper shipping your stuff made easy
CitizenShipper is an American online auction-based peer-to-peer shipping marketplace, which aims to connect shipping customers with couriers and transport providers, especially citizens already driving the customers' routes anyway. The company matches "citizen shippers" to couriers and drivers who bid on the right to fulfill contracts.
Contents
History
Physicist Richard Obousy founded CitizenShipper in 2008, citing both high gas prices and U.S. Department of Transportation figures suggesting empty trucks account for 29% of single-unit truck traffic.
The company's website is designed to match people who need items shipped economically to certain locations with people already traveling in those directions, thus reducing overall carbon emissions. Obousy believes clients "can make a significant impact on reducing the country's carbon footprint." The website reached 10,000 members in 2010, and had served more than 42,000 members by 2013. CitizenShipper is available internationally and now has drivers in all 50 U.S. states and in Canada.
In February 2013, Escrow.com became the exclusive escrow provider and preferred payment method for the company's site, pursuant to a partnership agreement. Later that year, the company developed an eBay-certified application that allows eBay purchasers to see bids from CitizenShipper transport providers. Single Source Services provides background checks of "citizen couriers" upon request.
Reviews
According to Courier Magazine, CitizenShipper claimed to have had zero complaints of lost or damaged shipments or of unpaid drivers during its first three years of operation. Obousy attributed this to staff listening to "every suggestion and request from every member". Significant cost savings over FedEx and UPS have been reported.
Mother Earth News stated that shipping "could be both environmentally-friendly and easier on your pocketbook .... The green shipping service is free and offered worldwide to reduce the need for inefficient delivery vehicles." Clean technology blog CleanTechnica said, "Shipping ... in a vehicle that is being underutilized helps greatly to reduce greenhouse gases .... [CitizenShipper] looks like it would get you the cheapest and one of the greenest deals out there."