Opinions On Pirateship

Perhaps I am a luddite on some things, but I just learned about Pirateship today and that anyone can use it. How do you think this service compares to using postage stamps purchased at a discount on packages?

What sort of discount are you regularly able to get purchasing postage? Not a theoretical purchase you hear about online, but what are you actually paying? I'm not talking about counterfeit coils and forevers, but legitimate discount postage.

As you weigh your options, would it be better to save a bit of time per package, or get a bit of a discount per package? Different people will have different answers to this question, and that's okay.

I have used pirate ship for packages and I am very happy with it. I also have hundreds of dollars worth of discount postage. For larger packages or for packages that require tracking I prefer to use pirate ship. All I have to do is print the label and attach it to my package. This is very simple, and the package doesn't stand out. I would only consider stamps if I had enough high denomination stamps to use so that the package doesn't look ridiculous. High denomination postage does not sell at as deep of a discount.

For letters and first class packages I use discount postage, because I already have it and it I only need to use a few stamps on the envelope.

I've been using it about 6 months and it's always my first go-to for shipping. I have had 1 or 2 instances where there was an adjustment, up or down from the initial cost, which has been pretty much negligible.

I've had an account with them for several years. I haven't compared recently, but they have had more attractive rates for international envelopes than the USPS offers.

cjd: I pay about 65% of face value.

From your experiences, is 65 to 70 percent of face value (let's say for stamps in the 30c-40c) range a wash with Pirateship rates?

I'd say it depends on where you're selling from. PirateShip from ebay, Etsy and other sites are definitely the way to go. If the package doesn't require tracking or insuring then have fun with postage stamps.