If you're an eCommerce business, Pirate Ship gives you access to the best rates USPS offers, Commercial Pricing, and they can't be beaten anywhere else 🙌
However, there may be a couple of reasons why your rate quote on Pirate Ship is more expensive than the Post Office.
You may see a more expensive quote if USPS considers your package to be mail
USPS considers your package as mail: The main exception why you're seeing a higher rate quote on Pirate Ship is if you're shipping a very thin or light item that technically qualifies as mail, according to USPS.
No mail services on Pirate Ship: Pirate Ship only offers package services, not mail services.
Package services are for merchandise, and come with tracking, while mail services are generally only for letters, and don't include tracking.
When to use mail services: If your item is something that fits in a thin, super-light envelope, such as stickers or small posters, and you don't care about tracking, then mail services can get you a great deal.
This is basically writing the person's name on the envelope and putting a stamp on it.
To be honest, due to the lack of tracking, we never recommend using a mail service for eCommerce orders.
What if I'm not sending mail and it's still more expensive on Pirate Ship?
Different shipment details: This situation can only happen if the shipment details are different between the package you shipped at the Post Office and the label or quote you get at Pirate Ship.
Postage gets more expensive based on the package's weight, dimensions, and how far away it's going (USPS Zone). If any one of these is different, you'll get a different rate.
Use our Rates Calculator to compare rates: Pirate Ship's Rate Calculator will show you how the Commercial Pricing rates you get from Pirate Ship compare to the Retail Rates you'd pay if you walked into a Post Office.
Just enter all your shipment details, and then you'll see the retail pricing and savings on the left:
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