Post an ask on the marketplace

The marketplace is where a shipper asks for rates and forwarders answer. It lives under Freight quotes in the dashboard.

Post an ask

Press New request and describe the lane: where the cargo is going from and to, what it is, and when it is ready. The more specific the ask, the more comparable the answers — a request that leaves the ready date open gets quotes that cannot be compared on price, because each forwarder has assumed a different sailing.

Comparing what comes back

Quotes land under My Requests. Open the request to see them side by side rather than reading them one email at a time.

Compare the all-in figure, not the ocean freight line. The gap between two quotes is usually origin charges, destination charges or a currency assumption, and a headline rate that looks cheaper often is not.

Free days matter as much as the rate

A quote with more free days at destination can beat a cheaper one outright — demurrage runs per container per day and does not care what you paid for the sailing. If the free-day allowance is not stated, ask before you compare.

Accepting

Accept the quote you want from the same screen. The forwarder is notified, and the request closes so the others know where they stand. Declining is not rude here — an unanswered request is what makes forwarders stop quoting.

If nothing comes back

Thin lanes get thin coverage. Widen the ready date, check the lane is described the way the trade describes it, and re-post. A request that expires without quotes costs nothing.