Beware: PirateShip Hidden Fees

[ldm-wlm]

I use Pirate Ship for heavier packages because they can let you ship USPS Ground Parcel which is cheaper than the other options-but it ONLY works for packages over 2 lbs.

I mysteriously was charged $5.15 today and I could not tell why. I did some research and found that USPS claims a package I weighed at under 5 lbs was actually 15 lbs on their scales. They hit Pirateship with the extra charge and Pirate Ship charged me and paid the extra postage WITHOUT CONTACTING ME FOR APPROVAL. I asked Pirate Ship if that meant USPS can charge me $1000 and Pirate Ship would pay it. They refused to answer the question and only showed me in the user agreement where I agreed to pay for additional charges. (It did not say it could be done without my approval, but Pirate Ship conveniently ignored me when I raised that point.)

I won't use them again. I rarely use them because the Ebay rates are much better except for the very heavy items. I will use UPS or FedEx for heavy objects in the future.

I wanted to share this with other sellers just to make you aware of what Pirate Ship can do.

[nobody*s_perfect]

That sounds like it might be for a dimensional weight. Was the package over 1 cubic foot?

[funfactorychannel]

all shipping services does the same thing if the weight  or dimensions are is off. Its not a Pirate ship thing

[wastingtime101]

As others said, this has nothing to do with PirateShip and everything to do with the USPS APV system.

First you need to determine if the charge was legit. What were your package dimensions @ldm-wlm? If your package exceeded a cubic foot, then the charge is because you ran into dimensional weight.

Packages over a cubic foot are charged based on both size and weight, not just weight. If USPS determined that the measurements, package type, service type or weight on your label were incorrect, they will charge (or credit) the difference through your original point of purchase, in this case PirateShip.

If your package was small and under a cubic foot, then you can appeal the charge through USPS directly (link).

[ldm-wlm]

No, but USPS might have measured it incorrectly. Pirate Ship requires dimensions on all packages so I had to measure it before it would calculate the postage.

This was posted as just a warning: I was shocked that I was not notified of the "automatic" charge and that Pirate Ship will allow USPS to deduct anything they want without my approval.

[inceptions]

The same thing would have happened had you bought your label through eBay.

Sounds like you made an error when entering the weight and/or package size. (Depending on the package size, the dimensional weight could have been 15 pounds.)

[ldm-wlm]

The package weight and dimensions were accurate.

Per Ebay: "USPS identified sellers with significant postage discrepancies, and since May, eBay has been notifying them of the issue."

I have only shipped 50000+ packages in Ebay over the past 25 years and NEVER had one hit with this charge. (AND yes, I realize this is a new program that allows USPS to cheat sellers out of even more money) But I assume if it ever happened on Ebay, they would notify me, according to the above. My argument is that Pirate Ship will let USPS take anything they want out of my payment method and not tell me. I only found this when a strange charge from Pirate Ship appeared on my credit card.

[wastingtime101]

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@ldm-wlm wrote:

But I assume if it ever happened on Ebay, they would notify me, according to the above. My argument is that Pirate Ship will let USPS take anything they want out of my payment method and not tell me. I only found this when a strange charge from Pirate Ship appeared on my credit card.

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USPS makes the occasional error which is why there is an appeal process. Your package might have been stuck to another which skewed the weight.

If you purchased the label through eBay then eBay would have done the same thing: charged you automatically.

eBay and PirateShip both send e-mails when an APV charge occurs. If you don't have an e-mail from PS then I suggest checking your e-mail's spam folder and checking your communication preferences on the PS website.

[straserco]

We have had this happen twice now. And both times it was because of an error made by USPS.

You should have received an email from Pirate Ship Support with the subject line of..
Adjustment Notice: Your shipping cost was different than expected

Body of the email was...

-----------------------------------------------------
Ahoy "Your Name"
The shipping carrier has notified us that the package they transported was different than what you entered when purchasing the shipping label:
"Tracking Number"
Weight changed from  "Example 13 oz to 2 lbs"
-$ "Amount you are charged" 

The shipping carrier has charged your Pirate Ship account a total of $-.--. You can review these transactions in your Reports Page.

These adjustments are coming from the shipping carrier—not Pirate Ship—and would have happened no matter where you buy the label. The carrier's automated machines detected that your package was different than you said it would be. Common differences include:

• Different weight.
• Different dimensions.
• Dropped off in a different zipcode.
• Using Priority Mail packaging with a different service.
• Using Flat Rate packaging without buying that specific Flat Rate service.
• Address correction was required for delivery.
• Residential vs. Commercial address.

Of course, the automated machines the carriers use for this sometimes make mistakes. If you're sure your shipment is what you said it was, you can dispute the charge. To do so, just open the shipment in Pirate Ship and click the “Dispute this adjustment” link to start the process.

You can find more information on the carrier's adjustment systems and the dispute process in this article.
If you have any questions just let us know, we’re here to help!
ARRrrrr,
Pirate Ship

----------------------------------------------------------------------

We disputed both charges and USPS reversed the charges and credited back to our account.

[richard1rst]

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@ldm-wlm wrote:

I use Pirate Ship for heavier packages because they can let you ship USPS Ground Parcel which is cheaper than the other options-but it ONLY works for packages over 2 lbs.

I mysteriously was charged $5.15 today and I could not tell why. I did some research and found that USPS claims a package I weighed at under 5 lbs was actually 15 lbs on their scales. They hit Pirateship with the extra charge and Pirate Ship charged me and paid the extra postage WITHOUT CONTACTING ME FOR APPROVAL. I asked Pirate Ship if that meant USPS can charge me $1000 and Pirate Ship would pay it. They refused to answer the question and only showed me in the user agreement where I agreed to pay for additional charges. (It did not say it could be done without my approval, but Pirate Ship conveniently ignored me when I raised that point.)

I won't use them again. I rarely use them because the Ebay rates are much better except for the very heavy items. I will use UPS or FedEx for heavy objects in the future.

I wanted to share this with other sellers just to make you aware of what Pirate Ship can do.

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I use Pirateship. I get those adjustments from time to time. In the notice there is a link to appeal the charge. I appeal if I disagree, enter what I believe to be the accurate information. More of than than not I later get a note FROM PIRATESHIP that thee appeal has been approved and the charges reversed.

As others here have noted it is NOT pirateship doing this. It is the post office. And your decision to use UPS or FedEx will not make any difference., They do exactly the same thing with a much more difficult appeals process.

If you had read the notice when you received it and acted accordingly instead of going off on a rant your rant would have been superfluous.

[slpentico]

Something had to be off with the package. I’ve tripped myself up once or twice by eyeballing the measurements on a package. If you didn’t enter the dimensions exactly and pirate ship thought your package qualified for the cubic rates when it didn’t then that would explain the additional charge. Honestly if it was a weight issue and you were off by 10 pounds the up charge would be substantially more that $5. I haven’t found any free service that beats eBay shipping rates other than pirateship’s cubic rates but you have to be sure you are precise on the package details. 

[wastingtime101]

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@slpentico wrote:

Something had to be off with the package.

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Not necessarily. I've received some crazy charges by the APV system that I had to appeal. Ex: 4 oz package in an eBay-branded polymailer was upcharged by the APV system as a Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope. Maybe my package got stuck to someone else's flat rate envelope. Whatever the reason, the charge was 100% incorrect.

[dryophelia]

@ldm-wlm 

USPS has changed a lot in the last couple years. What was doable 3 years ago may be very different today. Years ago lots of packages that were not measured properly found their way to the buyer and no one paid it too much thought. Maybe the package was a priority box that was reused… there were many instances. 

If we had the exact dimensions of the box that was sent, we can let you know if it is worth appealing the case. 
Here is a link about determining (DIM) weight. https://ir.ebaystatic.com/pictures/aw/shipping/DIM_Weight_client_R6.pdf

[powell-memorabilia]

Not at all.  USPS makes mistakes.  Heck, they have given a lot of REFUNDS to me for lighter packages.  They were crazy amounts - items that I know are ~15 ounces being weighed by the USPS as 2-4 ounces.  

[blingfling123]

"They hit Pirateship with the extra charge and Pirate Ship charged me and paid the extra postage WITHOUT CONTACTING ME FOR APPROVAL. "  

But you did give them approval, when you signed up and agreed to their Terms Of Use on the site.