Welcome aboard, Captain!

As a new crew member aboard Pirate Ship, you're able to create labels for your personal or business shipments and have USPS® or UPS® deliver them for you! You can check out What is Pirate Ship? and watch our Getting Started video to get a quick overview of everything you need to get started 👍

And you can read on to learn more about creating labels, choosing USPS or UPS services, additional options, and what to do with your shipment after you've made your label.

Creating YARRrrr Account

Provide Your Name & Billing Address: When creating a Pirate Ship account, you'll be prompted to enter your name and billing address. You must enter your legal name and/or business name when signing up! This will help you avoid any issues with your account down the road.
- If you'd like, you can display a different name in the Return Address section on your shipping labels. You can read more about this in our article: How do I edit my Ship From Address?

Creating a Label

Making your first label is a breeze no matter where you’re shipping to 😊 Here’s some helpful information to get you started:

Domestic Labels

Enter Recipient Information: To create a label for your U.S. recipients, you’ll need to enter your recipient information in the corresponding address fields. That section looks like this:

Enter Package Details: Next, you’ll need to enter your package details. Be sure to enter the most accurate dimensions and weights (in both ounces and pounds) 🤓
Get Rates: Click on the Get Rates button and review your recipient address and order details
Buy & Print Your Label: Once your label looks good, click the Buy Label button to generate your label! You can then click on the green Print Label button to print out your label whenever you’re ready 🎉.
- Here's how to pay for postage on Pirate Ship

International Labels

Customs Forms Required: The international label creation process is similar to above, but you have to fill out a customs form before clicking on the Get Rates button. Here’s a great guide for how to fill those out 👌
International Addresses: Need help formatting an international address into those address fields? Chat in and let us know - we're here to help!
International Shipping Guide: For all the info you'll need to get started making international labels, check out our International Shipping Guide.

Extra Services

Shipping Insurance: Looking for extra protection? Check out this guide on adding insurance to your shipments.
Signature Confirmation: Want your recipient to sign for your package? See this guide showing you how to add Signature Confirmation service 🙂
Media Mail: Need to ship Media Mail? We've got you covered here!

Choosing a USPS or UPS Service

We Show You the Cheapest Service: Between the USPS and UPS labels we offer, Pirate Ship automatically chooses the cheapest service for your package, so you don't have to worry about it! If you’re not seeing the service you were looking for, it's because we found a better, more cost-effective option for you 😉

Choosing a Service: Want to ship with a specific service? This guide will show you how to choose a particular shipping service when creating a label.

All Services Available: The USPS and UPS services available on Pirate Ship include USPS Ground Advantage, Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, UPS Ground, 3 Day Select, 2nd Day Air, Next Day Air, and more! To see all of the services available to you, check out our rates page here: https://www.pirateship.com/rates

I Created My Label... Now What?

Once you've bought your label and printed it out, stick it on your package and you're good to go! After that, you've got a few options for getting your package to USPS or UPS.

Getting Packages to USPS: To get packages to USPS, you can:
- Drop off your shipments at your local Post Office
- Schedule a USPS pickup directly from your designated location
Getting Packages to UPS: For UPS shipments, you can:
- Drop off your packages at over 85,000 UPS drop-off points
- Schedule a UPS pickup for a small fee

What's Next?

Now that you're officially sailing, here’s some helpful information to keep in mind:

Tracking Updates: Wondering why your tracking information isn’t updating on the USPS or UPS website? Check out this article for more information.
Reading Tracking Statuses: USPS tracking updates can have various meanings depending on what USPS notes in their updates. Learn more about what your USPS tracking status means.
Send Tracking Emails: Would you like to automatically provide your recipients with tracking information? Find out more about how our tracking emails work.
Carrier Adjustments: Make sure you enter your package information correctly to avoid carrier adjustments from USPS or UPS 🙈
- Here’s more information on the USPS Automated Package Verification (APV) system, as well as information on the UPS surcharges you may incur on Pirate Ship.