Help center
›
The marketplace
the-marketplace

How do I answer a counteroffer or see why a bid was rejected?

Open Bids, click a bid marked Counter, then accept, counter or reject. A Rejected bid means the rate was not taken; you can bid again.

Carrier
Updated
October 1, 2026

In 3 steps

  1. Open Bids
  2. Open a bid marked Counter
  3. Accept, Counter or Reject

Step 1: Open Bids

In Find Freight, choose Bids in the blue sidebar. The list shows your bids on postings that are still active.

Top: the whole app, dimmed, with the Find Freight sidebar highlighted and marked Step 1. Bottom, zoomed in: the sidebar with Load board and Bids. Callout 1 marks the red number 2 next to Bids.
  1. The red number counts bids that need a look from you, such as a counteroffer waiting for your answer or a rejected bid.

Step 2: Open a bid marked Counter

Each row shows where the bid stands. Click a row marked Counter. The posting opens with your bid card on it.

Top: the whole app, dimmed, with the rows of the Bids list highlighted and marked Step 2. Bottom, zoomed in: three rows. Callout 1 marks Counter with $4,700 in yellow on a Monterrey, NLE to Chattanooga, TN load from Pied Piper Logistics. Callout 2 marks Bid with $2,950 in gray on a Saltillo, COA to Dallas, TX load from Hooli Freight. Callout 3 marks Rejected with $3,300 in red and an X on an Apodaca, NLE to Houston, TX load from Raviga Freight Partners.
  1. Counter, with the new amount in yellow: the logistics company sent a different rate. It is your turn.
  2. Bid, with your amount in gray: your rate, waiting on the logistics company.
  3. Rejected, with your amount in red: the logistics company did not take your rate. The X takes it off your list.

Step 3: Accept, counter or reject

The card names the logistics company, says it sent a counter offer and shows its rate. Choose one of the three buttons.

Top: the whole app, dimmed, with the counteroffer card in the open posting highlighted and marked Step 3. Bottom, zoomed in: the card says Pied Piper Logistics sent a counter offer, 5 minutes ago, bid submitted by Daniel Reyes, USD $4,700. Callout 1 marks the Accept USD $4,700 button. Callout 2 marks Counter. Callout 3 marks Reject.
  1. Accept USD $4,700: takes their rate. Confirm to finish.
  2. Counter: enter your new amount and choose Submit counter. This sends a new bid at your amount. Cancel counter leaves their counteroffer open.
  3. Reject: confirm to turn down their rate. You cannot accept it later. Your own bid stays active.

Your counter may get an automatic answer, or the logistics company reviews it. If you reject their rate, you get a notification if they accept your own bid.

Tip: Before you counter, check what the lane usually pays. See market rates for carriers.

After you accept

On a Load or a Lane, you see Rate Accepted! The logistics company sends you a rate confirmation. If you are not set up with them yet, you onboard with them first.

Top: the whole app, dimmed, with the Rate Accepted! window highlighted. Bottom, zoomed in: Rate Accepted! with a check mark. Next Steps: contact Pied Piper Logistics to confirm details; Pied Piper Logistics will send a rate confirmation. Callout 1 marks the Message Broker button.
  1. Message Broker: opens your chat with the logistics company.

On a Potential Load or Potential Lane, you see Bid used! instead. The logistics company uses your rate to bid for that freight. If they win it, expect to hear from them. See I won the freight. What happens now?

If your bid was rejected

A rejected bid means the logistics company did not take your rate. The app does not show a reason when a person rejects it. If a bid is rejected as soon as you submit it, the message says your bid was above the highest rate the logistics company set.

With a rejected bid you can:

  • Open the posting and bid again with a new amount, as long as the posting is still up.
  • Ask the logistics company about it in the chat.
  • Choose the X next to Rejected (Remove from active bids) to take it off your list.

Good to know

  • Tabs: Everything, Spot Loads and Lanes & Projects narrow the list.
  • Accepted bids: they leave the Bids list.
  • Contact details: once a rate is accepted, you can share phone numbers and email addresses in the chat.
  • Payment: payment, paperwork and tracking stay between you and the logistics company. See how carriers get paid.
  • Can't bid at all? See Why can't I bid on a posting?

Still stuck?

Email us and a person on our team will answer. Send the posting link or a screenshot if you have one.

carriers@cargado.comfor carrierssuccess@cargado.comfor brokers and shippers

Related articles

Get started in nine minutes
The whole loop for a new account: set it up, price it, post it, work the bids.
getting-started
Install and use the Excel add-in
How to get the add-in into Excel, sign in with your Cargado account, create the Cargado sheets, and every function it gives you.
market-rates
Your first week: five things brokers ask us
Five things brokers tell us on their first call after signing, and what is actually true.
getting-started
Part 1 · Set up your account
The right people invited, freight split the way your team works, and your own carrier vetting still in charge.
getting-started
Part 2 · Price it first
A rate on the lane before you quote it: in the app, in Excel for a whole RFP, or through the API.
getting-started
Part 3 · Post it right
A posting carriers actually bid on, and the three habits worth building from day one.
getting-started
Part 4 · Work your bids
Every bid answered, a carrier booked, and loads flowing straight out of your TMS.
getting-started
Two-factor authentication: set it up, and what to do if you are locked out
Connect an authenticator app, a text message or a passkey, and the one step that gets you back in if you lose your device.
account-access
Cancel, pause or close your account
There is no self-serve cancel button. Here is who to email and what to expect.
account-and-billing
"There is already a user with this email" when you invite someone
What that error means, the two cases behind it, and how to get your teammate in.
account-access
Your DOT, MC, RFC, NSC, CVOR and NIR numbers
Which identifier Cargado asks a carrier for, country by country, and what each error message means.
getting-started
Why you cannot bid on a posting
What blocks a bid, what does not, and what the generic message actually means.
the-marketplace
After a match: reaching the carrier, or the broker
What the match message gives you, where the chat is, and how contact details get exchanged.
the-marketplace
Find your invoice, and change where it is sent
Where invoices live, who on your team can see them, and how carriers get paid.
account-and-billing
Plan limits, and what the usage warning emails mean
What counts against your plan, what happens when you reach the limit, and who can lift it.
account-and-billing
Block a carrier from your freight
The Do Not Use list: per posting you can do it yourself, company-wide we do it for you.
the-marketplace
Change your language, and read chat in your own
Where the language setting lives, which languages we support, and how chat translation works.
language-support
Does the market rate include fuel?
Yes. The Low, Mid and High totals in the app include fuel. That does not mean tolls, border crossing charges or every accessorial are included.
market-rates
Get an API key for your integration
How to get an API key when your system is not one of the TMSs Cargado integrates with, what the permissions mean, and how to keep the key safe.
integrations
How you get paid after you win a load
Cargado does not pay for the load. What happens between the match and your invoice, and who to ask about payment.
account-and-billing
Getting approved as a carrier
What the application asks for in the United States, Mexico and Canada, and the steps after your invite.
getting-started
Post a round trip or a multi-stop load
Two options on the posting form you already use: the Round Trip checkbox, and extra pickups and deliveries.
the-marketplace
Post LTL or partial freight
There is no separate LTL form. Pick Partial truckload (LTL), and give carriers the size so they can tell if it fits.
the-marketplace
Rename a workspace, or make it private
Where workspace settings live, who can change them, and exactly what private does.
account-and-billing
Filter the freight you see: hazmat, trailer, crossing and more
Every filter in freight search, including how to hide hazmat, overweight and oversized loads.
the-marketplace
Desktop app, mobile app or browser
They are the same Cargado. Where to get the apps, and the one real difference: notifications.
getting-started
Reset your password
The reset link on the sign-in page, and what to check when the email does not arrive.
account-access
Point someone to a specific posting
Postings do not show carriers a load number. Send the posting link instead.
the-marketplace
Persona física and persona moral: how your RFC sets your documents
Cargado reads your RFC to tell whether you are a persona física or a persona moral, then asks for the documents that match.
getting-started
Why isn't my posting getting bids?
What Cargado's matching engine looks at when it notifies carriers, and the fixes that bring bids back.
the-marketplace
Why does my posting say Respond?
Respond means a carrier's bid is waiting for your answer. Find it in Pending Bids, join the chat, then accept, counter or reject.
the-marketplace
How to read a market rate
What Low, Mid, High and Confidence mean on a Cargado market rate, plus the 12-week chart, extended markets and currency.
market-rates
Look up a market rate in the app
Price one lane on the Rates tab: trailer, origin, destination, crossing and currency, then read, share or post from the result.
market-rates
What does a TMS integration do?
A TMS integration syncs your loads into Cargado and posts them under your rules. When set up for it, Cargado also sends bid events to your TMS.
integrations
Why is there no market rate for my lane?
What each no-rate message means, in the app, Excel and the API, and what to do next, including posting the lane as a potential.
market-rates
How Cargado vets carriers
Cargado checks a carrier's authority and identifiers before they can bid; your own onboarding still decides who you dispatch.
the-marketplace
Manage your team: invites, roles and access
Invite teammates, pick their role, change an admin and deactivate access from Organization > Members.
account-and-billing
Price a bid file in Excel
Price a whole RFP with the Excel add-in: map your file's wording, point one row at the RFP, then copy it down to every lane.
market-rates
How do I cover Mexico freight?
Mexican carriers are on Cargado directly and are approved before they can bid, so you don't need your own Mexican network. You book and pay them your way.
the-marketplace
Get market rates through the API
What the Market Rates API returns, how to get a key, and what to know about batching, caching and test data before you build.
market-rates
How do I control my Cargado notifications?
Choose email, WhatsApp or push for your bid, chat and posting updates. These switches are for your account only, and one must stay on.
account-and-billing
Download the weekly market rate export
With an Enterprise plan that has the export turned on, download a weekly CSV of market rates through the API.
market-rates
Which border crossing should I put on a posting?
The crossing field shows only on routes between Mexico and the U.S. or Canada, is required, and helps decide which carriers are suggested and notified.
the-marketplace
Market Rates for carriers
When Market Rates is on for your company, look up a lane's rate range on the Rates tab. It is free for carriers for a limited time.
market-rates
Post flatbed, oversize, power-only and other special moves
Flatbed, RGN, oversize and power-only moves post on the standard form. Transload and container drayage have no posting type, and tanker is not supported.
the-marketplace
How do I set up my company profile so the board shows the right freight?
Fill in Operations and Service Areas after approval. They decide which postings show on your Load board and which ones you get alerts for.
getting-started
How do I add people from my company?
Invite coworkers by email from Members, pick their role, and add them to a chat. Adding people is free and has no seat limit.
getting-started
How do I read the load board?
What the Load board shows, what each part of a row means, and how a Load, a Lane and a Potential posting differ.
the-marketplace
What does a posting tell me before I bid?
How to read a posting from top to bottom: the summary, stops and border crossing, equipment, load details, requirements and the company.
the-marketplace
How do I bid on a load or lane?
Open a posting from the Load board. Book now at the pre-approved rate if one is shown, or enter your rate and choose Submit bid.
the-marketplace
How do I answer a counteroffer or see why a bid was rejected?
Open Bids, click a bid marked Counter, then accept, counter or reject. A Rejected bid means the rate was not taken; you can bid again.
the-marketplace
How does chat with a logistics company work?
Start a chat from any posting, before or after you bid. Phone numbers and emails unlock in that chat once a rate is accepted.
the-marketplace
I won the freight. What happens now?
Once your rate is accepted, you onboard with the logistics company if needed and they send a rate confirmation. Find wins under My loads and My lanes.
the-marketplace
How do I get alerts for the lanes I want?
Search the Load board for a lane, save it with a name, and choose email, WhatsApp or push alerts for new spot loads and lanes on it.
the-marketplace
How do I post an empty truck?
Click Post under Posted Trucks, enter where the truck is, its trailer and the day it is free, and see loads that fit one truck or all of them.
the-marketplace
Fill out a posting, section by section
A top-to-bottom guide to the new-posting form: what each section asks, what carriers see, and which fields change with the route.
the-marketplace
Who handles the border crossing: Pre-set transfer or Transfer by carrier?
Pick Transfer by carrier when the carrier you book crosses the freight, and Pre-set transfer when someone else already has the crossing.
the-marketplace
Post a lane you already cover without your current carrier seeing it
List your current carrier under Incumbents on a lane posting. They won't see it or bid, so you can test the market without them knowing.
the-marketplace
What happens when I set a target rate? Instant Responses, explained
Set the highest bid you'll accept and Cargado answers carriers in seconds. Carriers see a lower Book Now rate, never your number.
the-marketplace
Who are my suggested carriers, and how do I work the Coverage tab?
The Coverage tab lists the carriers Cargado suggests for your posting, shows why each one fits, and keeps every bid and chat in one list.
the-marketplace
Message a carrier before they bid
Open any suggested carrier on the Coverage tab and send a message. The chat starts when you send, and the carrier sees your posting with it.
the-marketplace
What should I write in the custom message?
Your custom message rides on the posting email and WhatsApp alert. Put the one reason to take this freight in the first 100 characters.
the-marketplace
Find, filter and repost your freight on the Freight tab
The Freight tab holds every posting your company has made. Pick a view, choose whose freight you see, search by ID, then post it again or duplicate it.
the-marketplace
How long does my posting stay live, and why did it come down?
Loads come down when their appointment passes, Lanes after their End Date. A bidding deadline can end Lanes and Potentials sooner.
the-marketplace
Post freight inside Mexico
You can post freight that moves only inside Mexico. Pick a Mexican unit such as a Torton or 3.5 Ton, and set the rate in pesos if you like.
the-marketplace
What does the Analytics tab show, and can a manager see the whole team?
Analytics shows your whole company's postings, bids and Market Rates use. Everyone on your account sees the same company-wide view.
the-marketplace