I have been using Pirateship for a couple of years now, ever since I saw Dennis Leonhardi mention it here on Stunthanger. It's quick and easy, and for the last year or so they have been offering UPS options along with USPS. My take on it is that you are replacing the clerk and doing their job, kind of like the self check out lanes at the grocery store, but you get a discount at the end of the line! This takes a lot of load off the individual USPS facilities. All the packages are loaded onto the same truck or airplane so it is pretty efficient. The USPS or UPS still gets their piece of the pie, and they don't have to pay you or me the same wage and benefits that they pay the clerks. Pirateship gets their cut and makes money on the volume because their only overhead is software and computers. When I get a package ready to go, I still take it to the USPS or UPS facility and wait in line to hand it off to the clerk, who I have scan it and get a receipt from to start the tracking process and prove that it is in their possession. Thanks a lot to Dennis Leonhardi for the suggestion!!
Type at you later,
Dan McEntee
PS to add: As an illustration of the service, I just bought a kit from Mike Griffin recently, and the best rate he could get at the USPS was their Ground option at over $17. I did a quote request at Pirate ship and got 4 UPS quotes that were almost half of that, and the best USPS quote was a little over $14 and all of the quotes showed more or less the same delivery time. I chose the lowest UPS rate that was $9 and some change. This isn't the same for all points of shipping and destinations. The rate depends on the zone that the shipper is in and the zone the receiving end is in, and then the options vary. That is why you use the quote option first to determine the rates. I have never failed to save some signioficant money using Pirateship and have never had any problems.