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Pirate Ship Questions
- Thread starter Jeff K
- Start date
It's fantastic. Beats the snot out of all other pricing options. They are the only way to fly, if you ask me.
I'm new to Pirate Ship and very interested. If I understand correctly, the cost of the shipping label you buy online and print is based on the measurements that you give them. What if your measurements are not 100% accurate? I'm thinking mostly weight, as in bathroom scale. What I'm looking to ship is a a double boxed empty bass case.
Also, if I bring it to a UPS store are there added handling fees?
Also, if I bring it to a UPS store are there added handling fees?
Depends on how accurate your bathroom scale is. If you have some objects with known weights, you can do a test. Another way would be a water weight by volume and bucket test.
No, when you bring the box to a UPS store you are just dropping a prepaid shipment, they do not add a fee.
FWIW, shipping a bass box (or other large box) ends up using DIMENSIONAL WEIGHT in their system
In other words, as long as it weighs under something like 55 or 80 lbs (I forgot where they set the limit, but it's far higher than a bass in a case in a box would be, assuming it's not a Peavey T40), the price is the same.
(51x20x8 is typical bass box size and it could weigh 15 lbs or 30 lbs and cost the same. Or at least, that's how it was last time I used it.)
For measuring, you'll always want to go up, even if it's less than 1/2", just to be safe. If they do spot a discrepancy that requires a price change, you'll likely get hit with extra costs. And that is UPS, not Pirateship.
Also, you can estimate costs before buying the label. There are some instances where an inch does change things dramatically. Keep that in mind when packing a bass, more so than the weight.
In other words, as long as it weighs under something like 55 or 80 lbs (I forgot where they set the limit, but it's far higher than a bass in a case in a box would be, assuming it's not a Peavey T40), the price is the same.
(51x20x8 is typical bass box size and it could weigh 15 lbs or 30 lbs and cost the same. Or at least, that's how it was last time I used it.)
For measuring, you'll always want to go up, even if it's less than 1/2", just to be safe. If they do spot a discrepancy that requires a price change, you'll likely get hit with extra costs. And that is UPS, not Pirateship.
Also, you can estimate costs before buying the label. There are some instances where an inch does change things dramatically. Keep that in mind when packing a bass, more so than the weight.
i've used pirate ship for the last maybe 15 or so transactions i've made on tb and reverb. will porbbaly never not use them unless i get screwed over on a shipment. it's a no brainer
I have a travel scale, and for small items I use my wife's digital kitchen scale. Once a long time ago I under-weighed and there were issues I had to resolve (UPS) because of it, so I always over quote my weight and if the box is 1/8" bigger than an integer, I round it up.
Pirate ship has refunded my overpayment twice. Turns out I'm too conservative with my measurements.
Another bonus: I had a purchase cancelled after I bought the label. Refunds on Pirate Ship for unused labels are ALSO easy.
Can't say enough good things about them. I miss seeing my friends at the local FedEx office, but I'll live.
Also - even though USPS and UPS have drop off kiosks that provide a receipt, I always hand off to a live person for that drop off receipt, even if there's a bit of a line.
Also - In case anyone hasn't heard, UPS Groundsaver service that would sometimes hand off packages to USPS for final delivery, has been terminated. It was cheap but confusing, since packages would have UPS and USPS tracking numbers. But the biggest drawback was that the included $100 insurance was only good up to the point of the hand off to USPS. But I guess that topic is now moot.
@ Bob Coldwell, Check out the support section in Pirate Ship. There's a list of possible UPS surcharges that UPS may impose if your package is declared under actual weight or size, though UPS rounds everything up to the nearest pound and that will be reflected on your label when you print it. I use a digital scale that's accurate up to 1/10th of an ounce and always add a few tenths of an ounce to factor in extra tape and the label. I forget where USPS starts racking up ounce by ounce charges... its every few ounces or so. You can play around with the forms and see the effects on your rates when you make changes. A lot of times you can declare slightly larger or heavier just to be safe, with no rate penalty.
The only time I've ever been dinged after the fact was if my home (shipped from) zip on the label and the actual drop off Post Office zip were such that the destination would be in a different zone. Though my Post Office is only a few miles away, we're in different zip codes. There's an on line tool to look up the USPS domestic zone chart. Depending on which direction and how far the package is heading, there could be a zoning discrepancy. Pirate Ship allows for you to create multiple "Shipped From" addresses so you can click on the one that you made, for ex. "Your Name c/o Such and Such Post Office, Zip xxxxx" if there is a zone discrepancy. The post office will always count their zip code as the location of origin, so it helps to know this zoning stuff. If no discrepancy, just use your default address. Wheeew....I hope that was clear.
Also - In case anyone hasn't heard, UPS Groundsaver service that would sometimes hand off packages to USPS for final delivery, has been terminated. It was cheap but confusing, since packages would have UPS and USPS tracking numbers. But the biggest drawback was that the included $100 insurance was only good up to the point of the hand off to USPS. But I guess that topic is now moot.
@ Bob Coldwell, Check out the support section in Pirate Ship. There's a list of possible UPS surcharges that UPS may impose if your package is declared under actual weight or size, though UPS rounds everything up to the nearest pound and that will be reflected on your label when you print it. I use a digital scale that's accurate up to 1/10th of an ounce and always add a few tenths of an ounce to factor in extra tape and the label. I forget where USPS starts racking up ounce by ounce charges... its every few ounces or so. You can play around with the forms and see the effects on your rates when you make changes. A lot of times you can declare slightly larger or heavier just to be safe, with no rate penalty.
The only time I've ever been dinged after the fact was if my home (shipped from) zip on the label and the actual drop off Post Office zip were such that the destination would be in a different zone. Though my Post Office is only a few miles away, we're in different zip codes. There's an on line tool to look up the USPS domestic zone chart. Depending on which direction and how far the package is heading, there could be a zoning discrepancy. Pirate Ship allows for you to create multiple "Shipped From" addresses so you can click on the one that you made, for ex. "Your Name c/o Such and Such Post Office, Zip xxxxx" if there is a zone discrepancy. The post office will always count their zip code as the location of origin, so it helps to know this zoning stuff. If no discrepancy, just use your default address. Wheeew....I hope that was clear.
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It's almost too good to be true, one wonders why UPS allows them to undercut their prices by 50 percent. As soon as that eventually changes, I'll probably stop shipping things bigger than effects pedals as it's just not worth the overhead.
Pirateship.com is the only way to ship IMHO. Nobody can touch their prices or service.
I used Pirate Ship a few months ago to ship my Phil Jones for repairs. Affordable and Simple!
D
The prices have been increasing bit by bit, since I started using PirateShip in 2022.
I expect this is because PirateShip's contract with UPS & USPS expires and must be renegotiated periodically.
To be clear, PirateShip does not "undercut" UPS or USPS. PirateShip does not do any actual shipping, so they are not a competitor to either UPS or USPS. PirateShip instead purchases a large quantity of shipping services from UPS/USPS, then resells the capacity to customers. This wouldn't be possible without the consent of UPS and USPS.
Yes, the rates offered through PirateShip are far below those charged at a retail UPS Store, or directly through UPS. UPS must think the guaranteed volume of business is worth it. Same goes for USPS.
FedEx and DHL apparently are unwilling to make such an arrangement with PirateShip, so you can't purchase their shipping services through PirateShip.
D
UPS Stores always charge much higher rates. It is not explicitly an extra "handling" fee, their rates are simply higher in general. True if you bring in an already-packed-up, ready-to-ship package.
Correct, you pay rates based on weight and dimensions, plus any extra services wanted (signature required, extra insurance, etc.).
In practice, I have never yet had a problem from box measurement or weight estimate that was not 100% accurate. Tape measure and bathroom scale have been fine. There is some slop allowed for by UPS and USPS. I expect this is built into the contract pricing.
Pirate ship works great for me; used them close to 200 times without a single issue. Seems that Reverb shipping prices, via UPS, are way out of line. PirateShip's UPS pricing is almost identical to my Ebay Store pricing....sometimes a bit better.
Also, I am fortunate to have a UPS driver that has had this area route for several years. Being an Ebay and Reverb seller, Mr. UPS man offered his cell number, so if I have a package to ship, I'll just text him and he snags it.
Also, I am fortunate to have a UPS driver that has had this area route for several years. Being an Ebay and Reverb seller, Mr. UPS man offered his cell number, so if I have a package to ship, I'll just text him and he snags it.
I sold a pro camera and shipped with PB via USPS. The PO waylaid the shipment due to the Li-ion battery and it got "lost."
PB customer service was awesome and was just about to payout when USPS found the package and all went well.
PB is great. Highly recommend.
PB customer service was awesome and was just about to payout when USPS found the package and all went well.
PB is great. Highly recommend.
