Just wanted to say thanks for pointing me to Uship. I got something going with them in about a week. I think it's mostly brokers bidding which is good if you want licensed and insured. I had a couple guys trying to sneak around the bidding for $200 less but I'm scared of those wild cowboys - might even be a scam the way things are today.
The bid I accepted was $1600 + $120 Uship fees + $90 optional insurance ($1000 coverage). Uship needed $500 down and the rest is between me and the broker when the load arrives. This is my first barbeque but it sounds doable and legit. TX is recovering from a winter weather disaster right now. The broker was ready to jump right on it but the shipper wasn't ready till next week. I'll let you know how it turns out.