[08rookie]

courier business next door to my work is looking for drivers. i drive alot anyway...they pay one dollar per loaded mile...if the packages is over 50 pounds they pay an additional .10 cents per loaded mile...i have a 330 and 2 cargo vans for work and 2 SUVs...i was thinking of putting the cargo vans to use?!

now the x factor is the actual job itself...10 bucks to 10 miles in a city through rush hour will blow but if you can be on the road for 8 solid hours and drive 450 loaded miles in that 8 hour period would you consider it worthy in that scenario?

this company is kinda big...runs in 11 states...has 135 drivers contracted in those 11 states...as a driver you need to be TSA certified (which i am through my business already) allowing you to drop off and pick up at airports...you work when you want...they guy made it seem you can call dispatch and tell them the hours you are available and they will dispatch accordingly...

thoughts anybody?

[Blake]

buy a beater for a day's pay and use that.

[MediaArtist]

Interesting. Would you do the driving yourself or hire someone to do it for you?

[Freakazoid]

can you pm me the company name? I'd be interested!

[Feyd]

I used to use courier services all the time when I lived/worked in LA.

No joke I had an envelope delivered to me in a shiny white 535 with some killer HRE wheels on it once.

I kind of gave the driver a bit of grief about it and he told me that he makes "supprisingly good money" so I'd believe it.

*shrug*

[08rookie]

i actually liked the idea of starting a courier company...a close family friend runs a different courier business out of cherry hill nj...they are just a dispatch center and have indy contractors all over to to the driving...they make a killing...charge like 2.50 per loaded mile and pay the driver anywhere from .80 to 1.50. they market towards lawyers and real estate agents and medical supply places and blood banks and yada yada...the business owner is loaded, a porche, range, benz for the wife, 2 homes in jersey and one in boca.....

this courier gig i am responding to is right next to my day job...my day job has extremely flexible hours...and i could def balance the two...just didnt know if the finances are worth it?!

MediaArtist...i would do the driving to start, however there is an opening for the slight possibility of me to try to put together a team of drivers i guesss?!

[Comet]

you have to see if the gas consumption makes sense
I don't know how much gas costs in your area and how heavy of a foot you have..

is it 1$ + gas? or 1$ including gas

[scollins]

So it is "$1.00 mile loaded". You get a load just under the premium kick-in, and it is 50 miles away from the pick up location. The pick up location is 10 miles from you. So, round trip you are looking at driving 120 miles to make $50. Assuming you could cover all that distance in 2 hours, you are making $25/hour gross.

For sake of easy math, let's use the IRS's figure for the cost to operate an average car per mile ($0.50/mile.) Driving 120 miles in theory costs you $60 (120 miles at $0.50/mile).

You just lost $10......

[08rookie]

Originally Posted by scollins

So it is "$1.00 mile loaded". You get a load just under the premium kick-in, and it is 50 miles away from the pick up location. The pick up location is 10 miles from you. So, round trip you are looking at driving 120 miles to make $50. Assuming you could cover all that distance in 2 hours, you are making $25/hour gross.

For sake of easy math, let's use the IRS's figure for the cost to operate an average car per mile ($0.50/mile.) Driving 120 miles in theory costs you $60 (120 miles at $0.50/mile).

You just lost $10......

correct with that scenario...

rotating drivers into position for pickups such as the one described above will only frustrate the driver...obviously...however giving the company the benefit of the doubt, i also assume that there will be other runs in the same shift that might outweigh the given scenario above...

what if you call dispatch and you have a free saturday and you dont mind driving...you tell dispatch you are available from 8am to 6pm...(this is all hypothetical but still very possible)...you devote 10 hours to driving and in those 10 hours of driving you accumulate 500 miles...(assuming you are not driving the entire time but the time you do drive you are doing a solid 75 mph)

thats 50gross and maybe 40net per hour...or even 35 net per hour...

is it worth it then? 35 an hr net? if you assume 35an hr net is equivalent of netting 280 a day/1400wk/72800yr....based on 8 hr days, 5 days a wk all year...and basing this on the simple idea that you will never have down time

im guessing that its only worth it unless you can get long distance work over the course of your shift...and you will only find out if you have long distance work if you actually take the position as a courier...

a catch 22
a paradox of the 13th dimension
what would yoda do?

[08rookie]

Originally Posted by Comet

you have to see if the gas consumption makes sense
I don't know how much gas costs in your area and how heavy of a foot you have..

is it 1$ + gas? or 1$ including gas

you have to pay your own gas...but you get reimbursed for tolls and hookers

[JayKay335i]

I'm confused. You own your own company. You want to drive a cargo van for a courier service?

[08rookie]

Originally Posted by JayKay335i

I'm confused. You own your own company. You want to drive a cargo van for a courier service?

in short yes...my brothers and i inherited my fathers mortuary...the business generates a lot of income but also has alot of expenses...hopefully i can say il be swimming in the money in due time but for now the day to day grind just doesn't put me where i want to be. if i can supplement myyy income by a couple hundred extra bucks a wk/day it would help...

i actually like to work...i feel bored and useless when i dont work...if im not at work im at the gym working out ha...and the reality is the mortuary kinda runs itself...ive been around this my entire life and my brothers and i can run a full service funeral fit for a king in our sleep lol...

that being said...the mortuary has a fleet of vans, cargo vans, sedans, and i personally own an SUV and 330...and im always out in the tri state area, philly jersey metro and the courier business nxt door to us literally presented an offer to me...so i thought i could use the forum to help me navigate the process...

not like im a CEO who delivers pizza on the side for weed money ha

[CollinsE90]

Originally Posted by 08rookie

in short yes...my brothers and i inherited my fathers mortuary...the business generates a lot of income but also has alot of expenses...hopefully i can say il be swimming in the money in due time but for now the day to day grind just doesn't put me where i want to be. if i can supplement myyy income by a couple hundred extra bucks a wk/day it would help...

i actually like to work...i feel bored and useless when i dont work...if im not at work im at the gym working out ha...and the reality is the mortuary kinda runs itself...ive been around this my entire life and my brothers and i can run a full service funeral fit for a king in our sleep lol...

that being said...the mortuary has a fleet of vans, cargo vans, sedans, and i personally own an SUV and 330...and im always out in the tri state area, philly jersey metro and the courier business nxt door to us literally presented an offer to me...so i thought i could use the forum to help me navigate the process...

not like im a CEO who delivers pizza on the side for weed money ha

i commend you for that man, more people in this country with those thoughts we wouldnt be in the situation we are in today as a country

[kyleb350]

It'd all matter on the amount of highway driving you could do. Also remember you're not getting paid for the return trip.

[08rookie]

Originally Posted by kyleb350

It'd all matter on the amount of highway driving you could do. Also remember you're not getting paid for the return trip.

correct, but on the return trip you are still "available" and dispatch will know where you are....if you pick up in philly and have to drop off in nyc and on your way home from nyc a packages from trenton needs to be taken to baltimore then you will be in the prime locations for that call...

also...the boss i spoke to leveled with me and told me there are many contracted drivers (135) spread out over 11 states but he only has 8 servicing the philadelphia metro area...and those 8 drivers have to be rotated 24/7...which leads me to believe that there may be a good chance of work to be spread out among the 8 drivers in the area considering philly is a large metropolis, heavily populated, lots and lots of hospitals and medical supply facilities and labs....

[CollinsE90]

Originally Posted by 08rookie

correct, but on the return trip you are still "available" and dispatch will know where you are....if you pick up in philly and have to drop off in nyc and on your way home from nyc a packages from trenton needs to be taken to baltimore then you will be in the prime locations for that call...

also...the boss i spoke to leveled with me and told me there are many contracted drivers (135) spread out over 11 states but he only has 8 servicing the philadelphia metro area...and those 8 drivers have to be rotated 24/7...which leads me to believe that there may be a good chance of work to be spread out among the 8 drivers in the area considering philly is a large metropolis, heavily populated, lots and lots of hospitals and medical supply facilities and labs....

banks use couriers too, idk if that company does

[Alexander]

Originally Posted by Feyd

I used to use courier services all the time when I lived/worked in LA.

No joke I had an envelope delivered to me in a shiny white 535 with some killer HRE wheels on it once.

I kind of gave the driver a bit of grief about it and he told me that he makes "supprisingly good money" so I'd believe it.

*shrug*

My brother did it while in college driving an M5. He always got crazy looks from people.

[scollins]

08rookie, since it seems like you wouldn't have to spend any money on certifications, why not just give it a try and see how it works out? It might cost you a day or two, but it would be a pretty cheap experiment. Then you'd have a much better idea on whether it would be worth it longer term.

[08rookie]

Originally Posted by scollins

08rookie, since it seems like you wouldn't have to spend any money on certifications, why not just give it a try and see how it works out? It might cost you a day or two, but it would be a pretty cheap experiment. Then you'd have a much better idea on whether it would be worth it longer term.

valid point...would it be wrong of me to try the job based not on the value of the work but based on the idea that maybe in the future i would consider starting my own courier business...i can use this time period to figure out the industry, find out what business use couriers, find out what is a competitive rate to promote?!? there is value in understanding the industry...i consider it an paid internship lol