I sell exclusively on EBay with 1 account. Is there any reason to consider Pirate ship?

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

Ok, so much talk about Pirate Ship and other shipping services.

I have one account on EBay and sell exclusively through that account. Is there any sane reason for me not to use the convenience and centralized EBay shipping labels?

I did a quick look at Pirate Ship and it seemed, initially, like the rates they offer are the same as EBay and that there is no apparent upcharge on EBay labels. Am I correct that I would be getting the same price for the labels? Or does Pirate Ship offer them cheaper?

Is there any reason for me to entertain the idea of using a different label service? Is the sole benefit to have centralized shipping on one platform (Pirate Ship) when selling on multiple accounts/platforms?? (Ebay, Etsy, Amazon, or multiple Ebay accounts)

[rudy2828]

I use them in my regular business for any UPS shipments that go Second Day or Next Day. Their discount is better than my UPS negotiated.

For USPS I haven't seen it to be worth it to save a few pennies. CS is top notch though.

[titipeo]

Like you, I also sell on one account as well, and have noticed that the Pirate Ship cost identical to eBay. However, I do have a PS account and my reasoning is that eBay tends to be a bit slow to implement any cost increase, i.e. the recent surcharges that USPS installed on items greater than 30", also eBay sometimes tends to be a bit restrictive to some of the shipping service offered, Regional box A/B for example. 

Most of my shipping is strictly flat rate boxes with shipping included in price, no surprises there, but when not using flat rate boxes, my own packaging, I always compare PS and eBay, and go with the cheapest option. Besides, there is no cost to belong to PS, and you can use it for your own personal shipping when sending non eBay related parcels. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

Pirate Ship offers Priority Mail "Cubic" rates, which eBay does not. So if that specific service is a good match for your packages, that would be a reason to use Pirateship.  

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

Thank you all.

I offer free shipping across the board with the exception of the rare instance I'm shipping something larger. I ship coins in padded envelopes, everything is FCP, and rarely, but on occasion, I do ship flat rate, regular priority or USPS ground.

I'd rather pay the couple extra pennies just to have my shipping label cost consolidated in my Managed Payments so I can see everything easily in one place to manage my expenses etc.

Never used UPS or FedEx, never had the need or desire. Also like the free home pick up of USPS.

I'll consider doing a PS account for the occasional larger item to at least compare prices.

Thanks for the help, much appreciated!

[nobody*s_perfect]

I'm pretty sure that Pirateship rates are the same as eBay's for FCP's, so you're not paying even a "couple extra pennies."

[chevymontecarlo88]

Its always a good idea to have a contingency shipper if one of them goes down. (offline) 

Things happen from updates, need to clear cookie, use different browsers, or if they just go offline for any reason. 

I primarily like and use Ebay shipping however there has been a few times that i needed to find another source because of some difficulties i had. 

[Anonymous]

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@ajs_coins_and_alchemy wrote:

I offer free shipping across the board 

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Even more reason to use PS and more reason to consider UPS sometimes. UPS (3-day) is often much cheaper than priority mail and on PS, you are billed immediately unlike buying the UPS label on eBay.

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@ajs_coins_and_alchemy wrote:

I offer free shipping across the board 

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Even more reason to use PS and more reason to consider UPS sometimes. UPS (3-day) is often much cheaper than priority mail and on PS, you are billed immediately unlike buying the UPS label on eBay.

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Agreed on the premise, but when I ship priority it's because my stuff is like 1lb 1 oz. I'm either minimal weight priority mail, or use a flat rate box on those rare occasions, had one huge bulk order recently that required large flat rate box. If the shipping is in fact cheaper, it probably isn't cheaper by much, and USPS does the free home pick up, so I barely have to lift a finger.

Again, I won't rule it out, but I have very limited situations where I think UPS/FedEx can even compare price wise...(for my needs) and if they beat them price wise, if the USPS "premium" is small like I think it would be, I'll take the convenience "fee" for home pickup.

I thought there may be something I was totally missing with PS. Having it for price comparison and occasional ship if cheaper, I'll do that, but I don't believe there is any reason to move my entire process over to it, that is what I was looking to see if there was any compelling reason to use it exclusively or heavily (w/ my parameters).

Appreciate all the responses!

[natoman777]

Pirate ship is good, but I NEVER use it with eBay as it does not offer lower prices.  They are the same price with discounts.  I honestly see no reason to use them with eBay

[lakefor94]

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@chevymontecarlo88 wrote:

Its always a good idea to have a contingency shipper if one of them goes down. (offline) 

Things happen from updates, need to clear cookie, use different browsers, or if they just go offline for any reason. 

I primarily like and use Ebay shipping however there has been a few times that i needed to find another source because of some difficulties i had. 

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@ajs_coins_and_alchemy. This. ^^^^^^^^^

Always have backup shipping sources. That way, when eBay shipping is having a glitch, you don't have to call ebay or post here about it being down, etc.  I see sellers posting here that they have been waiting for hours to print a shipping label.  I have used my alternative sources many times. 

[downunder-61]

I am in Au and I have never used eBay shipping. I always had accounts with Au Post Office and their affiliated courier Startrack.

I got very competitive pricing given the bulk shipments and while that was an added bonus, my reasoning was if there was an issue, I could deal directly with 'my' carrier with little to no inconvenience to the buyer.

[richard1rst]

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@natoman777 wrote:

Pirate ship is good, but I NEVER use it with eBay as it does not offer lower prices.  They are the same price with discounts.  I honestly see no reason to use them with eBay

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NOT TRUE

I am a TRS+ seller which means I get an extra discount on eBay on some shipping labels.

HOWEVER even with that extra discount I have found that Pirateship has been cheaper SOMETIMES depending on the ZIP code. So if you are not a TRS+ seller there is a bigger additional savings.

PS offers cubic pricing which eBay does not. BIG savings there.

PS offers Parcel Select which it appears that eBay does not.

PS is WAY CHEAPER than eBay on first class international. And during the USPS blockade to Australia PS was able to deliver with no problem. And I just had a successful delivery of a package to Germany WITHOUT jumping through all the LUCID hoops.

PS has SOMETIMES been cheaper on UPS.

In fairness I am not sure why they are SOMETIMES cheaper than eBay but not always. Maybe it has to do with whatever contract they struck with the post office. BUT- It is not important for me to know why - it is only important for me to know that it is.

AS AN ADDED BONUS.

I get generate proof of delivery for EVERY package I have ever shipped right from day one. That is super important for the credit card charge backs that can happen more than 90 days after the sale. eBay and even the post office does not keep that information over 90 days. That has been a money saver several times.

And I can pay PS with a “cash back” card so there are additional savings not available on eBay.

And, just as throwaway line - there have many posts on these boards about eBay label printing glitches. Never had a problem with PS.

[ajs_coins_and_alchemy]

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@richard1rst wrote:

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@natoman777 wrote:

Pirate ship is good, but I NEVER use it with eBay as it does not offer lower prices.  They are the same price with discounts.  I honestly see no reason to use them with eBay

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NOT TRUE

I am a TRS+ seller which means I get an extra discount on eBay on some shipping labels.

HOWEVER even with that extra discount I have found that Pirateship has been cheaper SOMETIMES depending on the ZIP code. So if you are not a TRS+ seller there is a bigger additional savings.

PS offers cubic pricing which eBay does not. BIG savings there.

PS offers Parcel Select which it appears that eBay does not.

PS is WAY CHEAPER than eBay on first class international. And during the USPS blockade to Australia PS was able to deliver with no problem. And I just had a successful delivery of a package to Germany WITHOUT jumping through all the LUCID hoops.

PS has SOMETIMES been cheaper on UPS.

In fairness I am not sure why they are SOMETIMES cheaper than eBay but not always. Maybe it has to do with whatever contract they struck with the post office. BUT- It is not important for me to know why - it is only important for me to know that it is.

AS AN ADDED BONUS.

I get generate proof of delivery for EVERY package I have ever shipped right from day one. That is super important for the credit card charge backs that can happen more than 90 days after the sale. eBay and even the post office does not keep that information over 90 days. That has been a money saver several times.

And I can pay PS with a “cash back” card so there are additional savings not available on eBay.

And, just as throwaway line - there have many posts on these boards about eBay label printing glitches. Never had a problem with PS.

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I agree or figured most everything you said, and appreciate all that. Most doesn't apply to me as I ship domestic FCP for nearly every order.

@richard1rst 

You're wrong on this red statement. I just went into my ebay labels, and I can switch my payment method to my credit cards on file, all of which offer me cashback. I have totally thought about doing this many times before, but have held off for the simple reason that then my charges are all centrally located so I forego the 1.5% cash back to have the convenience of very centrally located selling expenses. Trust me, I'm huge on charging everything for cashback, Utilities and all, but this is the one thing I have hesitated on, couple bucks a month I give up, fine by me to have convenience of not having to track down each credit card charge.

[the_fancy_fox]

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@natoman777 wrote:

Pirate ship is good, but I NEVER use it with eBay as it does not offer lower prices.  They are the same price with discounts.  I honestly see no reason to use them with eBay

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Until ebays labels go wonky and won’t print. When it happens I just to to PS and print there. 

if you ship small heavy packages as I do, cubic rate is great. Can’t get it on eBay.