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What's your experience with Pirate Ship "adjustments"?

I've used Pirate Ship twice so far, and both times I got hit with a UPS surcharge after the fact, which PS immediately charged to my credit card on file. Both shipments were incoming, so I have the packaging and I was able to confirm that the actual dimensions in fact matched those on the label. 

On one box, UPS claimed a one-inch difference and assessed a 10% surcharge... Seems like one inch would be well within the margin of error of their automated measurement portals?

Now there's no doubt that Pirate Ship is much less expensive than going through UPS directly, and I'm wondering if UPS has a zero-tolerance policy towards Pirate Ship-originated shipments to help them recoup some of the lower cost... Have you had similar experiences with PS?

 

devinplombier
Post removed 
devinplombier OP
1,635 posts
 

@renosteve wrote:

Pirate Ship is awesome I use them all the time.

Agreed, PS is basically just good old UPS door-to-door service but at half the UPS price.

I guess it just triggers me when someone reaches into my pocket without warning. Hence my wondering whether those surcharges were part of the business model. Based on the responses so far, it seems not, and that’s good news.

@mofimadness wrote:

I’ve had several that I over weighed and they credited my account.

Interesting, so it goes both ways and UPS credits the shipper too? That seems fair though. I’ll oversize my next shipment just for giggles and to see what happens :)

 

tksteingraber's avatar
tksteingraber
783 posts
 

I recently used PS to send a nice set of tubes to Serbia.  First time sending internationally with them.  I selected UPS international.  It was much easier than expected.  They provided all the proper paperwork and instructions.  The package arrived quickly and was only delayed  due to Serbia's Customs taking almost a week to contact the buyer to clear the fees.  I would use them again internationally.  

renosteve
40 posts
 

I've never had any problems but generally select slightly larger and heavier dimensions unless 100% certain.

 

mattw73
190 posts
 

I can't say enough good things about P.S. 

Price can sometimes be substantially cheaper..& I hate shipping costs. Kind of like taxes lol. 

Just never measure in half or quarter inches..round up. And unless I know for sure the dead weight of a package I normally round up to the nearest pound as well. 

I don't exactly understand the relationship between P.S. & UPS. It would seem that UPS taking P.S. packages would be counterintuitive but I'm glad that they do. I've never encountered added costs for adjustments or have heard back from buyers complaining or mentioning it. So far so good 

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