Who Does The Postal Service Answer To

If there'southward a way to save a few bucks on everyday expenses, like sending packages and letters, why not take advantage of it? Spider web-based shipping platforms similar PirateShip.com hope affordability, just they also cut down on wait times and long lines — all the things that make stopping by your local United States Postal Service (USPS) office such a drag. So, the question remains: Is this kind of shipping service right for you lot?

PirateShip.com is a free, web-based shipping software for mail service of all types, from letters to packages. Information technology sells USPS postage and provides tools for press labels and tracking packages through the USPS. (And, no, they don't ship your packages via pirate ships, but the notion does make for a adept mascot, doesn't information technology?)

Seems like a pretty good deal, right? If fugitive the postal service office seems similar a dream come up true, you'll be happy to know that there are plenty of other services like Pirate Ship, such every bit ShipStation, Easyship, Stamps.com, Shippo and ShippingEasy. Similar Pirate Ship, all of these platforms offer services for all your postage stamp, label and parcel needs.

What Sets Pirate Transport Apart?

To put information technology simply, Pirate Transport knows all the details yous don't have the bandwidth to memorize. That is, the USPS offers over a dozen different types of shipping services, and determining which service is most appropriate for your needs depends on a lot of different factors, including your package'south size, weight and destination. And, of form, your own needs: Practice yous want insurance? How nearly tracking? Needless to say, the right choice isn't always obvious.

Photo Courtesy: Claudio Schwarz/Unsplash

Additionally, there's a lot of overlap between all of those services, though they all come in at drastically different prices. And, let's face it, who has time to memorize all of these details? If y'all're looking for a way to ship affordably, while still getting the near blindside for your buck, Pirate Transport is the mode to go. The platform ensures that y'all'll ever be sold the cheapest selection — and the selection that meets all of your other requirements.

How Can Pirate Send Go on You Better Informed and Organized?

In addition to offering multiple aircraft services — First Class Package, Priority Mail Cubic, Priority Post Apartment Rate, Weight-Based Priority Mail service, Priority Mail Regional Rate and more — USPS as well offers more than than one pricing tier. That is, pricing isn't super straightforward. And things seem to be changing constantly.

Prior to 2019, the USPS had three pricing tiers only, that twelvemonth, it simplified those tiers, reducing them to just 2: Retail Pricing and Commercial Pricing. If y'all go down to your local post part to send a packet, y'all'll exist charged the retail price for whatever service you choose. If you send high volumes of commercial mail, you'll be charged a commercial — and significantly discounted — rate for the same service. Thankfully, Pirate Transport simplifies the cost breakouts even further past issuing an annual statement with all of the USPS prices for customers' information.

How Does Pirate Ship Operate Without Charging Markups on the USPS' Cheapest Rates?

One of the biggest elements of Pirate Transport's business model? Charge no fees or markups above those of USPS, all while passing along the lowest-available, discounted commercial aircraft rates offered past the USPS. So, is Pirate Ship more than affordable than the USPS? Sort of. That is, Pirate Ship makes sure that shipping is absolutely no more expensive than the cheapest possible rate bachelor at the USPS — and it helps regular old retail customers admission those more affordable commercial rates.

When information technology comes to examining Pirate Transport'southward affordability, it might be better to look toward the platform's other spider web-based competitors, rather than the USPS. While Pirate Ship isn't the only visitor providing discounted USPS rates for retail customers, it is avoiding markups. Retrieve that the USPS only has two rates, retail and commercial. If a shipping and postage platform offers multiple tiers for a particular service — using words like "Base," "Plus," "Green," or "Preferred" — then the difference between those platforms are markups charged by that aircraft vendor. Luckily, you lot won't find anything like that on Pirate Ship.

Is Pirate Ship Killing the USPS?

Whether or not Pirate Ship is contributing to USPS' fiscal struggles seems to exist a resounding "no." You might be wondering, If Pirate Ship doesn't charge markups, how is it staying afloat? The reality is we make our money just like any other shipping software company; through our official partnership with USPS," Pirate Transport states on its website. "The large difference between u.s.a. and our competitors is that we've used modern ideas to build a lean business that'southward able to operate with our partnership income solitary, so that nosotros don't accept to accuse our customers nickels and dimes on top similar everyone else."

Photo Courtesy: Hill Street Studios/Getty Images

Since Pirate Ship doesn't undercut the USPS or divert shipping abroad from it, information technology'due south less harmful than other modern-day services. For example, electronic mail has vastly reduced alphabetic character traffic, while entities similar FedEx and Amazon, who ship packages to customers directly, oft cut out the USPS entirely. Sure, Pirate Ship, an Approved Postal Provider, is helping customers find the cheapest USPS options, but, at the aforementioned time, those prices are set by the USPS. All of this to say, the human relationship between the postal service and Pirate Ship is all well and adept — and, in all likelihood, won't negatively impact the USPS' ability to conditions the changing tides.