Autumn 2009

eBay sellers are among the prime targets of Anyvan.com, a brand new online transport resource that not only helps people find spare freight capacity (and hence keen prices), but also enters into the spirit of eBay auctions by using a bidding process to determine which carrier gets the job.

To some extent this makes it a freight exchange on the classic lines of those that flourished around the turn of the decade. However, its prime target audience is not mainstream commercial businesses, as was the case back then, but small traders and private individuals with freight to move.

The company describes the bidding as a reverse auction system. Shippers list consignments that need moving, and carriers bid to handle them – all through the Anyvan web site. The shipper accepts the best bid, and Anyvan then takes what is described as 'a minimal success fee'. Freight payment is made direct to the carrier.

Features include Google maps that show the location of possible consignments, complete with popup details. There is full integration with eBay, so that sellers' details can be imported direct from their eBay profile without re-keying.

 

The service has been set up by Angus Elphinstone and Ben Goor, who say they have already built up a modest community of registered carriers. Though the system is offered primarily as a way of filling empty vans on return journeys, they say it could ultimately become the primary means for van operators to make their living.

One of the features that distinguishes this service from others that have been floated over the years is the company's remarkably refined web site. Although apparently simple, it combines discreet design with advanced features such as AJAX (screens that update without completely reloading) in a way that many large international organisations could probably learn from.

The only technical caveat is that the launch version we examined required a fast internet connection and a fairly recent browser. But we understand a more technology-tolerant version is under development.

The service seems willing to handle almost any kind of goods (other than hazardous), but doesn't give much prominence to small parcels, focusing rather on relatively large or outsized items that wouldn't fit easily into a standard parcel service.