There's a price difference between Mail services and Package services
If you're an ecommerce business, Pirate Ship gives you access to the best rates USPS offers, Commercial Pricing, and they can't be beat anywhere else 🙌
The only exception is if you're shipping a very thin or light item that technically qualifies as Mail according to USPS. 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.
However, 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 doing this for ecommerce orders.
What if I'm not sending Mail and it's still more expensive on Pirate Ship?
This can only happen if some of 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 are different, you'll get a different rate.
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 walk into a Post Office. Just enter all your shipment details, and then you'll see the retail pricing and savings on the left:
Any questions? Just reach out to our support crew, we're here to help 😃