Bait-and-Switch Pricing: Why Lowball Quotes Almost Always End in a Price Hike

How the Carrier Dispatch Board Actually Prices a Lane

Most consumer auto transport runs through Central Dispatch, the industry's national load board where brokers post available shipments and carriers accept the ones that fit their route. Carriers don't accept loads based on what the customer was quoted — they accept based on the carrier-pay number the broker posts. That number is shaped by fuel cost, distance, lane density, season, vehicle size, and how empty the carrier's return trip will be. A broker who quoted you well below carrier-pay market either eats the difference (rare) or 'updates' the quote after deposit (the scam).

Why Pricing Sometimes Legitimately Changes

Not every price change is fraud. Genuine reasons a quote can move:

• Fuel surcharges shift when diesel prices jump 10%+ in a short window
• Winter routing closes I-80 and shifts traffic to southern lanes, raising rates on I-10 and I-40
• Snowbird, PCS, and college seasons cause concentrated demand spikes
• Customer disclosed inoperable, oversized, or modified condition after booking
• Vehicle location changed (e.g., moved from metro to rural pickup)

Legitimate Adjustment vs Bait-and-Switch

The difference is documentation and timing. A legitimate adjustment is disclosed in writing with the reason, often with a cancellation option without penalty. A bait-and-switch is communicated by phone, framed as 'no carrier will take this', and accompanied by pressure to decide immediately. The original quote was never realistic against the dispatch board.

How To Protect Yourself

Get three to five quotes on the same lane on the same day from different brokers. Throw out the highest and lowest. The middle range is your real market rate. If one quote is dramatically below, that's the scam — not the bargain.