Comparing quotes and booking one are different jobs. Comparison is about making numbers equivalent; booking is about confirming that the quote you chose will survive contact with reality. This is the second job — a short pre-booking pass over the quote you have already selected.
If you are still at the comparison stage, start with the best way to compare freight quotes, which covers normalising scope and surcharges. Come back here once you have a winner.
The short answer
Before booking, confirm seven things in writing: the validity window, what can still change, free time at destination, the actual routing, who holds the contract of carriage, whether cargo insurance is arranged, and the cancellation terms. Six of the seven cost nothing to ask and each one is a common source of an invoice you did not expect.
1. Validity window
How long is this rate held, and does it apply from booking or from sailing? A rate valid "until end of month" that is superseded by a general rate increase mid-shipment is not really held. Get the expiry date in writing and check whether it survives a delayed ready date at your supplier — that is the most common way a rate quietly lapses.
2. What can still change
Ask explicitly which components are fixed and which float. Most tariffs allow surcharges in force at time of shipment, so a surcharge announced after you book can still apply. That is legitimate, but you should know which lines are exposed. The stack is decoded in freight surcharges, and the emergency ones in war risk and emergency surcharges.
3. Free time at destination
Days before demurrage and detention begin, at both ends, in writing. Three free days versus ten is frequently worth more than the entire rate difference between two quotes, and it is the single most common cause of a bill that lands weeks after delivery. Model your exposure with the detention and demurrage calculator.
4. The actual routing
Direct or transhipped, and through where? A transhipment adds a handling point and a chance to be rolled. Ask for the vessel or flight, the transhipment port if any, and a realistic door-to-door transit rather than a port-to-port sailing time. Route-level expectations are in ocean freight transit times.
5. Who holds the contract of carriage
Whose bill of lading are you getting — the forwarder's house bill, or the carrier's? It decides who you claim against if the cargo is damaged, and it is a one-sentence answer from a competent provider. The distinction is explained in broker vs forwarder.
6. Cargo insurance
Confirm whether cover is arranged, what it excludes, and who is buying it. Carrier liability is capped far below the commercial value of most cargo — roughly 666.67 SDR per package or 2 SDR per kg for sea, 22 SDR per kg for air — so freight charges are not insurance. See cargo insurance explained.
7. Cancellation and amendment terms
What happens if your supplier slips two weeks, or the order is cancelled after booking? Ask about amendment fees, cancellation charges, and whether the rate is re-quoted on a new ready date. Suppliers slip constantly; this is not a hypothetical.
The one-line version
Send the chosen provider a single message: "Before I book — can you confirm the rate validity, free time at both ends, the routing and transhipment, whose bill of lading I receive, and the amendment terms if my ready date moves?" A good provider answers all five in one reply. A vague answer is itself the finding.
If you would rather have several providers answer these against the same shipment, post a freight request and compare the responses.
