You can save a lot of money up front because Pirate Ship is a free ecommerce platform. Shopify, on the other hand, charges a monthly subscription fee beginning at $29 per month. The Pirate Ship is the way to go, then, if you’re looking to save money right away.
How Does Pirate Ship Make Money?
- A cloud-based shipping software provider for small and medium-sized businesses is called Pirate Ship. Bjorn Borstelmann and Jameson Morris established the business to make the order fulfillment process simpler and provide companies with access to more affordable shipping rates.
- Without any markups, monthly subscription fees, or hidden fees, Pirate Ship provides its shipping software for free.
- The price difference between commercial shipping rates and the rates Pirate Ship can work out with carriers in exchange for their business is probably where Pirate Ship makes its money.
What Sets Pirate Ship Apart?
Simply put, Pirate Ship is aware of all the details that you lack the time to memorize. That is, the USPS offers more than a dozen different types of shipping services, and choosing the one that best suits your needs will depend on a variety of factors, including the size, weight, and destination of your package. Of course, there are also your own needs: Do you need insurance? The best option isn’t always obvious, so how about tracking?
Even though they are all offered at wildly different prices, all of those services also have a lot in common. And let’s face it, who has the time to memorize all of these details? Pirate Ship is the best option if you want to ship cheaply while still getting the most value for your money. The platform makes sure that you are always offered the most affordable option that also satisfies all of your other needs.
Origin Story
For small and medium-sized businesses, Pirate Ship offers cloud-based shipping software. Bjorn Borstelmann and Jameson Morris established the business in 2014.
Some of the first subscription box businesses were founded by Borstelmann and Morris, who also provided advice. Through the process, they learned how expensive and time-consuming it was to create shipping labels for thousands of different packages.
They set out to develop a platform that would make the challenging and complicated aspects of learning how to ship simpler in order to solve this issue. This would enable small business owners to manage logistics independently and eliminate the need for pricey third-party fulfillment services.
The platform also lowers costs for small business owners who lack the purchasing power to bargain for lower postal service rates. In order to give customers access to a variety of package-shipping options, Pirate Ship collaborated with the USPS. The United Parcel Service (UPS), which operates in about 117 countries and territories, is also integrated for international shipping.
The user of Pirate Ship software can print the shipping label, import eCommerce orders from their online store or marketplace, and automatically update the store with tracking data. Thousands of small businesses use Pirate Ship every day to purchase USPS and UPS labels.
Pirate Ship Revenue Generation
Free shipping software is available from Pirate Ship. There are no markups, monthly fees, or hidden charges, and the small business owner is not even required to present a credit card.
So how does the business turn a profit?
The majority of shipping software providers charge a monthly access fee in addition to making money by marking up the actual postage cost. However, Pirate Ship earns money thanks to a collaboration with UPS and the USPS. Because of the volume of packages it can send to postal carriers, there is a chance that the company is negotiating a lower shipping rate with them despite the fact that the nature of this partnership is somewhat opaque.
In essence, Pirate Ship makes money by charging its partners the unofficial, lower rate that it negotiates as opposed to the official, higher rate for commercial shipping. The Pirate Ship platform depends on a sizable order volume to generate sizable revenue because the difference could be as small as a few cents.
The company asserts that in order to maximize its viability, it has built a lean business on the basis of contemporary ideas. Additionally, since the business primarily relies on word-of-mouth to bring in new clients, advertising costs are reduced.
How Can Pirate Ship Keep You Better Informed and Organized?
In addition to providing a variety of shipping options, such as First Class Package, Priority Mail Cubic, Priority Mail Flat Rate, Weight-Based Priority Mail, Priority Mail Regional Rate, and more, USPS also provides a variety of price points. In other words, pricing isn’t exactly clear-cut. And it seems like everything is changing all the time.
Prior to 2019, the USPS had three pricing tiers, but in that year, it streamlined those tiers and reduced them to just two: Retail Pricing and Commercial Pricing. When you send a package through your neighborhood post office, you will be charged the retail rate for the service you select. If you send a lot of business mail, you’ll pay a commercial rate for the same service, which is significantly less expensive. Fortunately, Pirate Ship further simplifies the cost breakdowns for customers by providing a yearly statement that includes all USPS prices.
How Does Pirate Ship Operate Without Charging Markups on the USPS’ Cheapest Rates?
What is a key component of the Pirate Ship business model? The lowest-possible, discounted commercial shipping rates provided by the USPS are passed along without any additional fees or markups. Does that mean that Pirate Ship is less expensive than USPS? Sort of. Pirate Ship ensures that shipping costs are never higher than the lowest rate offered by the USPS, and it makes it easier for regular retail customers to access those lower commercial rates.
It might be preferable to focus on Pirate Ship’s other web-based rivals rather than the USPS when evaluating the platform’s affordability. Pirate Ship doesn’t use markups even though it isn’t the only business offering discounted USPS rates for retail customers. Keep in mind that the USPS only offers 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 shipping vendor. Fortunately, Pirate Ship is devoid of such things.
Is Pirate Ship Killing the USPS?
Whether or not Pirate Ship is contributing to USPS’ financial struggles seems to be a resounding “no.” You might be wondering, How does Pirate Ship remain afloat if it doesn’t charge markups? The reality is we make our money just like any other shipping software company; through our official partnership with USPS,” On its website, Pirate Ship states. “We’ve used contemporary strategies to create a lean company that can run on our partnership income alone, which means we don’t have to add extra fees to what we already charge customers like everyone else. This is the key difference between us and our rivals.”
Pirate Ship is less harmful than other contemporary services because it does not undercut the USPS or divert shipping away from it. For instance, email has significantly decreased the amount of letter traffic, while companies like FedEx and Amazon, which ship packages to customers directly, frequently do away with the USPS entirely. Pirate Ship, an approved postal provider, does, in fact, assist customers in locating the most cost-effective USPS options, but those costs are still established by the USPS. All of this to say that the postal service’s relationship with Pirate Ship is fine and will probably not have a negative impact on the USPS’s ability to withstand shifting tides.
FAQs
Does Pirate Ship Work With Shopify?
Are you ready to set sail on the high seas of e-commerce? If so, you’ll need a solid ecommerce platform to support your company, and Shopify might be a good option.
Can You Use Pirate Ship for Shopify?
No, Pirate Ship cannot be used with Shopify, to put it simply. However, you can get around this by using a few workarounds. An eCommerce business platform is called Shopify.
Can I Use Pirate Ship With Shopify?
One of the most well-liked choices for eCommerce platforms is Shopify. And with good reason; it’s easy to use, has a ton of features, and is endorsed by some of the biggest brands in the world.