Best online postage provider to use for shipping?

[chalupacollects]

Shipping help?

Stamps.com or Pirateship or other?

I heard Pirateship can be fussy on insurance claims but has great discounts.

Also looking for provider that doesn't notate any insurance verbiage on the package label. Encapsulated in barcodes is fine...

Thoughts?

Thanks all!

[Lucas00]

I use pirateship, it's extremely fast and easy. Has a great auto-fill feature for repeat shipments to the same people. Also gives a nice discount. Usually $1 or so first class and a few bucks priority.
The label doesn't say anything about insurance (Don't think any of them do but could be wrong)

Automatically assume no online shipping method will cover insurance for any cards. You should have a collectibles insurance for that. I don't know of a single shipping service that will cover a trading card with 100% certainty. And if they do you have to shake it out of them like a piggy bank and juggle a chainsaw at the same time to hope they help you.

[robw1959]

I actually hate stamps.com because they don't seem to provide you with any shipping options other than Priority types. The pricing seems to be pretty much the maximum you should pay. The one I use is goshippo.com. Seemingly no fees of any kind and fair pricing as well.

[Kaneen]

I use Pirateship and absolutely love the service. Their discounted postage rates are substantial, and It has saved me a ton of money. They offer discounted rates for both USPS and UPS, and when you input your package type, size, weight, etc. it will calculate and show you all options so you can choose whatever suits you best.

I have not purchased extra insurance for any of my shipments through them, so I have no experience with that aspect of their services. That said, they do have an extremely responsive customer service chat feature where you can live chat with someone if you have questions or need help with site features.

[Orioles1954]

I sell on eBay. How much more substantial are the discounts as compared to eBay?

[x2drich2000]

Originally Posted by Orioles1954

I sell on eBay. How much more substantial are the discounts as compared to eBay?

Or paypal?

[scgaynor]

I use goshippo and been happy with them. insurance is much cheaper than post office rates as well. You can't ship media with goshippo however. Can you ship media rate with pirateship?

[autograf]

shippo.com for me as well. Pretty decent rates. I've tried a TON too. For ebay stuff, unless it's larger, I generally use the ebay/paypal links within the ebay auction as it's just integrated and faster. Price is generally similar to shippo. If it's something larger (over 1 lb), I'll ping over to shippo and see if the rates are similar/cheaper. Like someone said above, if you're spending a ton on insurance with ANY carrier, you will, at some point, be disappointed as they will refuse a claim. I've only had a couple and I'm batting 50% so far.

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by Orioles1954

I sell on eBay. How much more substantial are the discounts as compared to eBay?

For anything around 5 ounces or less, the price is the EXACT same as Ebay. The savings come in for heavier packages and insurance purchases.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by robw1959

I actually hate stamps.com because they don't seem to provide you with any shipping options other than Priority types. The pricing seems to be pretty much the maximum you should pay. The one I use is goshippo.com. Seemingly no fees of any kind and fair pricing as well.

I use Stamps.com and they have every conceivable shipping option from printing stamps, letter rates, first class rates, media, etc....

I pay a monthly fee though, so maybe the free version doesn't offer all those other services.

That said, I'm thinking of ditching them. It used to be convenient because it would easily import all my Ebay/Paypal/Website addresses into the shipping tool as I got paid with the touch of a single button.

Then the import tool started to get sketchy. It's been locked out of Ebay for long stretches at a time. Seems to work now, but wasn't working for almost a couple of years, in which time I got used to using Ebay Shipping. No longer imports my Paypal addresses (separate from Ebay), so I have to input all of those manually anyways.

Just an overall pain, that's seemed to regress over the last several years that doesn't seem to be worth the monthly fee anymore, outside of saving all my old addresses for me.

Might move over to Pirateship when I get ambitious enough.

[Lordstan]

I use https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_ship-now

[Lucas00]

Originally Posted by scgaynor

I use goshippo and been happy with them. insurance is much cheaper than post office rates as well. You can't ship media with goshippo however. Can you ship media rate with pirateship?

Yes you can Scott.

[scgaynor]

Sweet, I have to check that out. Paypal was the only way that I could find to ship media, but I avoid Paypal whenever possible. I just think they are a horrible company.

Scott

[Kaneen]

Originally Posted by Orioles1954

I sell on eBay. How much more substantial are the discounts as compared to eBay?

I don't sell on eBay, so I can't address that specifically. However, just for general reference, I recently sent something in a USPS Priority Flat Rate Envelope...USPS retail price was $9.90 (with the .25 cent holiday upcharge). Pirateship price was $7.60 - a 23% discount.

Pirateship also has a rate checker on the site where you can put in the zip code you are sending to, along with your package type and dimensions, and it will show you the options and rates. You could do that on a few of your eBay packages to check and see how the two services compare.

[Snowman]

Originally Posted by Lordstan

I use https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_ship-now

Me too. Super easy and convenient. Comes with the same discounts as eBay.

[Zach Wheat]

I use eBay standard envelope for basic purchase due to convenience; for other items I default to PayPay and PirateShip. PirateShip has been easy to use.

I have not had to make an insurance claim - so can not address that issue.

[chalupacollects]

Lots of good info! thanks!