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Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions

Some of the most common FAQ's to help you get sailing with Pirate Ship

Updated over a week ago

Welcome aboARRrrd, Matey! If y'ee be new to the Pirate Ship, remove y'er eyepatches and check out these Frequently Asked Questions.

Packaging and Services

Where can I purchase boxes and mailers?

For plain packaging, you can use any old box or check out our recommendations here! You can also have USPS Priority Mail Packaging delivered for free directly from the USPS store 🎉

If you're shipping with UPS, you can also order free Express packaging from the UPS website that you can use for every service except Ground (though you'll need to create a free UPS account to do so).

Where do I find the option for USPS Media Mail?

You’ll find Media Mail within the Extra Services menu while entering your shipment details! Please note that this option doesn’t currently appear in the Rates Calculator.

Does Pirate Ship offer stamps or USPS Mail Services?

Pirate Ship only offers postage for shipping packages, not for mailing letters or postcards. You're best off getting some cool stamps at the Post Office for that 😉

Buying a Label

How do I refund my label if I’ve made a mistake?

To refund your label, you’ll want to click to your Ship page, then click into the label you no longer want and scroll down to click on the red Refund Label button. Once USPS or UPS approves the refund, that will come back to your Pirate Ship account as a credit to your account balance, but we can always move that back to the card on your account if you'd prefer 👍

USPS can take up to 30 days to refund labels to your account balance, while UPS refunds them within an hour or so.

Can I still use my label if I’ve already requested a refund?

If you’ve already printed a USPS label, then you can still use it! USPS will simply deny the refund once they see that it’s been accepted into their system. Otherwise, you’ll need to create a new label.

If you use a UPS label that you've already refunded, UPS will accept the package, and then charge your Pirate Ship account balance for the cost of postage again so it all evens out 😅 This charge will appear as an adjustment on the individual shipment page.

Is insurance included with my postage?

All USPS Priority Mail Services include some insurance. Domestic shipments include $100 coverage, while international shipments include $200 coverage. USPS Ground Advantage labels also come with $100 of USPS insurance. USPS Media Mail does not come with any built-in insurance.

On the other hand, all UPS labels you purchase on Pirate Ship come with $100 of carrier liability, for both domestic and international shipments.

Pirate Ship also offers coverage you can purchase for all labels through a third-party provider called Shipsurance. This article will walk you through filing claims, should you need to file one.

How do I display Pirate Ship's rates to my customers?

We don't currently have a shopping cart plug-in, but we do have some great workarounds in this article!

Paying for Labels

How do I pay for postage?

Pirate Ship requires you to keep a credit card on file, but you can also load your account balance by manually transferring money from your Paypal account. This article will walk you through all of your options 💰

Where can I view/print receipts?

You can find payment receipts by heading over to Settings > View Payment Receipts.

Printing

Do I need a label printer?

Label printers are convenient and work great for higher volume, but you can also use a desktop printer with paper and tape! Just be sure that any tape covering the barcode is as flat as possible. Here’s where you can print a test label in any format.

Note: You can print USPS labels in either 4x6" or 2x7" sizes, while UPS labels only come in the standard 4x6" size.

My label didn’t print correctly! Will I be charged twice if I print again?

You’re only charged when you click the Buy Label button, so you can print as many times as necessary 💪 Here’s a handy article to help with troubleshooting some common printer issues.

Shipping

What can I do about a missing package?

For missing domestic shipments, or international shipments that haven’t yet left the US, you can file a missing mail search request with USPS! We suggest first waiting 7 business days from the shipment date (or 30 days for international shipments).

When will my package be delivered?

USPS Ground Advantage has a delivery window of 2-5 business days, while Priority Mail has a delivery timeframe of 1-3 business days. However, these timeframes are only estimates. The only USPS service with a money-back guaranteed delivery time is Priority Mail Express.

UPS services are generally quicker than USPS, and feature more complex delivery timeframes 😊 You can learn more about all the UPS services on Pirate Ship here, along with the delivery timeframes for each service.

Have any other questions? Chat in with our Support Crew and we'll lend a hook 😃

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