I was tipped off on this site and want to keep the message going. Pirateship.com https://ship.pirateship.com/ship has bargain rates for shipping via UPS or post office. I know as I have now used them five times. Ok, some of you wags are going to say how can they ship for less price than you buy at the post office. I know you will because I said that. I used to work at the post office and the reason is that Piratehship can sell you rates that the post office will not sell a single person. Single person means you or me. Pirateship can offer you rates that are reserved for commercial businesses. So check them out.
PSA on shipping
- Thread starter Jeffs55
- Start date
I love Pirate Ship, even if the name doesn't instill confidence.
As stated above, they are just a method to ship via USPS or UPS benefiting from volume discount.
I have had several people ask me about them.
They are NOT a shipper, you still ship through UPS or USPS. You just print the label through Pirate Ship.
Since I am just dropping off at USPS or UPS I have never been asked what I am shipping. It's nice not to have to explain my high speed remote paper puncher etc. just because the person working at the location doesn't fully understand the difference between what is and is not a firearm.
I just sent a package 9x9x36 10.5 lbs. across the country with 500.00 insurance for 32 bucks. It would have cost me no less than double had I shipped directly from the USPS or UPS.
I have not had a claim, but I understand their insurance is better because they are advocating for you instead of trying to save their own company's money. It is a terrible conflict of interest for a shipping company to sell you insurance when any claim honored would come directly out of their own pocket.
As stated above, they are just a method to ship via USPS or UPS benefiting from volume discount.
I have had several people ask me about them.
They are NOT a shipper, you still ship through UPS or USPS. You just print the label through Pirate Ship.
Since I am just dropping off at USPS or UPS I have never been asked what I am shipping. It's nice not to have to explain my high speed remote paper puncher etc. just because the person working at the location doesn't fully understand the difference between what is and is not a firearm.
I just sent a package 9x9x36 10.5 lbs. across the country with 500.00 insurance for 32 bucks. It would have cost me no less than double had I shipped directly from the USPS or UPS.
I have not had a claim, but I understand their insurance is better because they are advocating for you instead of trying to save their own company's money. It is a terrible conflict of interest for a shipping company to sell you insurance when any claim honored would come directly out of their own pocket.
Upvote 0
I've been using PirateShip for the last year or so after another member recommended it and, in turn, I can recommend it without reservation. It allows you to get business/commercial rates on both USPS and UPS that you wouldn't otherwise have access to as an individual. Very easy to use and highly recommended!
Upvote 0
I was just made aware of this sit last night. Has anyone else had experience with them good or bad?
Upvote 0
Been using them for about six months and it's been great. I haven't needed to use a claim, but I've heard it's way better than USPS.
Upvote 0
Talon Tunes needs to contact Pirateship immediately. I’m still recovering from the rape that occurred last night when I ordered something from him.
Upvote 0
Maybe it's just my since of humor but I would trust a company named Pirate Ship over one named You Really Can Trust Us .com.
Upvote 0
I’ve used them three or four times with great results. Seems to good to be true but it is true. Here the USPS rates through pirate ship are no bargain, however the UPS rates are fantastic. I have found the key is to keep the box length below 49” if possible. Seems once you hit that magic number the rate jumps about 10-12 dollars. Seems more crucial than weight. Just make sure you measure and weigh the package somewhat accurate. I’ve heard they will charge the recipient if more money is due on the delivery because of errors.
Upvote 0
Thanks! I've got an Umarex Octane posted locally which isn't getting any bites, so I'll probably post it here eventually.
Similarly https://www.bikeflights.com/ is a great if you need to ship a bike.
Similarly https://www.bikeflights.com/ is a great if you need to ship a bike.
Upvote 0
Just to offer an alternate data point, the USPS rates through PirateShip are consistently a couple dollars cheaper than using my local PO.
Upvote 0
This is probably true I have just found the UPS rates for the exact same package are much cheaper than the USPS rates for the same package on pirate. Here is an example of a gun I shipped to fx USA. I just ran exact package parameters again. Notice USPS is 17 dollars more. It shows that down at the bottom.
Last edited:
Upvote 0
Between eBay and the various forums I've been on for the last couple of decades, I've shipped many hundreds of items so am pretty familiar with the different shipping companies and their various practices.
Each of these carriers have their retail rates that all of us average joes pay and they also have a number of business/commercial accounts that offer varying levels of discounts depending on how much you ship. What PirateShip does when you ship through them is give you the discounted business shipping rates without you having to have a business account yourself.
The rest of the stuff around dimensions, weight, etc. is passed through and enforced by the carriers themselves. For example, I used to ship my individual golf clubs through USPS Priority Mail because it was the best balance between cost (~$15) and delivery time (2-3 days). Recently they changed their pricing to dramatically increase the cost of shipping longer items over 24" (or maybe it's 36", I can't remember) to be almost double what it was before so now it doesn't make sense to use USPS Priority Mail for golf clubs. At the same time, FedEX thru eBay dramatically reduced their 2-day shipping to many states so now it makes more sense to use FedEX for those.
As for dimensions and weight: most carriers will have a surcharge for larger packages. Once you exceed certain dimensions, they no longer charge you the actual weight but, instead, charge you by "dimensional weight." For example, a 28"x20"x12" package might actually weigh 7lbs but will be billed at, say, 16lbs due to the oversized package. Also, if you're purchasing the label yourself online (whether through PirateShip or the carrier's website), whatever dimensions & weight you enter when you purchase the label, they can sometimes spot check and verify the size/weight of the package and if you entered dimensions that are smaller or a weight that is lighter than the actual package, they will charge you the difference. But this is done and enforced the carriers themselves and NOT by PirateShip - so don't blame PirateShip for these after-the-fact charges, it's not their fault - it's yours for not putting in the correct data to begin with.
All in all, PirateShip has been phenomenal to use. It's not only cheaper most of the time, the process & workflow is much easier compared to the UPS/FedEX/USPS website (there are like 7,000 clicks to generate a shipping lable on the USPS website).
Last edited:
Upvote 0
Man I wish I saw this or knew of this before.
I sold and shipped a rifle out to West coast from Florida
Sent it ground , no insurance and I was totally bent over Approached 85 dollars. Man shipping is outrageous. Granted oversized and going about as far as you can in the lower 48. I quoted a ship price of half what I paid. I owned it though. I’d like to avoid such a “ bath “ in the future.
Thanks for the PSA
I sold and shipped a rifle out to West coast from Florida
Sent it ground , no insurance and I was totally bent over Approached 85 dollars. Man shipping is outrageous. Granted oversized and going about as far as you can in the lower 48. I quoted a ship price of half what I paid. I owned it though. I’d like to avoid such a “ bath “ in the future.
Thanks for the PSA
Upvote 0
A buyer of mine on GTA turned me on to pirateshipping to save him shipping costs. In the past when I sold a rilfle on GTA, I would estimate $45 for shipping. With Pirateshipping, I would now budget about $23 for that same rifle. IMHO, If you are not using Pirateshipping, you and your buyer are losing out on the savings! At first, I was skeptical and concerned about how to create a shipping label. I was shocked at how easy it was to make one and when USPS took my pakage and they mailed it, I knew then that it was an awesome service.
I highly recommend that if you want to save up to 45%+ on your shipping, then sign up. It only takes a minute to do so!
www.pirateship.com
I highly recommend that if you want to save up to 45%+ on your shipping, then sign up. It only takes a minute to do so!
Free UPS and USPS shipping software | Pirate Ship
Use our free UPS and USPS-certified shipping software to get pre-negotiated discounts for the cheapest shipping rates, which can save you up to 89%.
www.pirateship.com Upvote 0