Welcome aboARRrrd, Matey! If ye be new to the Pirate Ship, remove y'er eyepatches and check out these Frequently Asked Questions:
Packaging & Shipping Services FAQs
Where can I purchase boxes and mailers?
Buying Plain Packaging: For plain packaging, you can use any old box or check out our recommendations here!
Free USPS Boxes: You can also have USPS Priority Mail Packaging delivered to you for free, just order them directly from the USPS website 🎉
Free UPS Express Packaging: 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 UPS Ground.
Note that you'll need to create a free UPS account to order UPS Express supplies.
Where do I find the option for USPS Media Mail?
Selecting Media Mail Service: 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?
Labels for Package Services Only: Pirate Ship only offers postage for shipping packages, not for mailing letters, postcards, or flats.
Get Stamps at the Post Office: Need some stamps? Your local Post Office should be able to help you with any mailing needs! But when it comes to shipping packages, you can count on our crew 😎
Buying a Label FAQs
How do I refund my label if I’ve made a mistake?
Refunding Labels: To refund your label, you’ll want to click on your Ship page, select the label you no longer want, and scroll down to click on the red Refund Label button.
Refunds Are Applied to Your Account Balance: Once USPS or UPS approves the refund, that will come back to your Pirate Ship account as a credit to your account balance
We can also move credits back to the original card you used on your account, if you'd prefer 👍
Refund Timelines: USPS and UPS have different timelines for approving refunds.
USPS can take up to 30 days to refund labels to your account balance
UPS typically refunds labels within an hour or so.
Can I still use my label if I’ve already requested a refund?
Using Refunded USPS Labels: If you’ve already printed a USPS label, then you can still use it!
USPS will simply deny the refund on your label once they see that it’s been accepted into their system.
If you refunded a label and didn't print it, you’ll need to create a new label.
Refunded UPS Labels: UPS prefers that labels be used as soon as possible after they are purchased.
Old UPS Labels Go to Overgoods: If UPS considers a label too old to use, there's a chance that the package will be routed to a UPS Overgoods location, which is a facility where UPS holds packages that are unable to be recovered 🙈
Best Practice for Old UPS Labels: If a UPS label has been sitting without being used, the best practice is to simply recreate it and pay for a new one!
Pirate Ship Auto-Refunds All Labels: Keep in mind that our software automatically refunds UPS and USPS labels after 28 days.
If your UPS label is auto-refunded, you'll need to recreate that label and not use the original refunded label when shipping out your package.
If you use a refunded UPS label or if you use a label more than once, that package will get sent to an Overgoods location and will be unable to be recovered.
Is insurance included with my postage?
USPS Insurance: All USPS Priority Mail Services include some insurance.
Domestic USPS shipments include $100 coverage, while international USPS shipments include $200 of coverage.
USPS Ground Advantage labels come with $100 of USPS insurance.
USPS Media Mail does not come with any built-in insurance.
UPS Carrier Liability: All UPS labels you purchase on Pirate Ship come with $100 of UPS carrier liability, for both domestic and international shipments.
Third-Party Insurance: Pirate Ship also offers coverage you can purchase for all labels through a third-party provider called InsureShield.
This article will walk you through filing an insurance claim, if you need to submit one.
Can I display Pirate Ship's rates to my customers?
Displaying Shipping Rates to Customers: We don't currently have a shopping cart plug-in to display our shipping rates to your customers during checkout. That said, we have some great workarounds in this article!
Payment FAQs
How do I pay for postage?
Payment Methods: Pirate Ship requires you to keep a debit/credit card on file, but we accept a variety of payment methods. Here are all the ways you can pay for postage:
Any debit or credit card
ACH Transfers (connect your bank account directly)
Paypal
Whether you want to pay with a card, ACH, or Paypal, this article will walk you through all of your options for paying for labels 💰
Where can I view or print receipts?
Payment Receipts: You can find your payment receipts by heading over to Settings > View Payment Receipts.
Once there, you can pull up your itemized payment receipts for your records, or export them all into a spreadsheet.
Printing FAQs
Do I need a label printer?
Label Printers & Desktop Printers Work: Label printers are convenient and work great for higher volumes, but you can also use a desktop printer with paper and tape!
If you're taping labels onto your box, be sure that any tape covering the barcode is as flat as possible.
Print a Test Label: You can print test labels to make sure your settings are all working correctly. Here’s where you can print a test label in any format.
Different Label Sizes: Pirate Ship offers postage in 4x6" and 2x7" label sizes. 2x7" labels can't be printed via a desktop printer and require a 2x7" label printer. Here are some recommendations for label printers.
You can print USPS labels in either 4x6" or 2x7" sizes.
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 Only Get Charged Once: You’re only charged when you click the Buy Label button, so you can print it as many times as necessary 💪
Here’s a handy article to help with troubleshooting some common printer issues.
Shipping FAQs
What can I do about a missing package?
File a Missing Mail Search for USPS Packages: 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 Estimated Delivery Windows: USPS Ground Advantage has a delivery window of 2-5 business days, while Priority Mail has a delivery timeframe of 1-3 business days.
These timeframes are only estimates. The only USPS service with a money-back guaranteed delivery time is Priority Mail Express, which features overnight delivery to most urban destinations and next-day delivery to rural areas.
UPS Estimated Delivery Windows: 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.