By Paul Kalra, Founder, Part n Parcel
Quick answer: ShipTime sells carrier labels at its own discounted rates, and it lets you connect your own carrier accounts. Part n Parcel gets you those accounts, in your business’s name, at enterprise rates, which are the lower rates carriers give their biggest shippers. Then we set them up for you. Since October 15, 2026, ShipTime adds a 15% fee to applicable carrier adjustments, so you should know which of your labels print on ShipTime’s rates and which print on yours.
What is the difference between ShipTime and Part n Parcel?
ShipTime is shipping software that sells you labels at its own rates. It has “no monthly or recurring fees to ship,” so you pay through the label price, and ShipTime sets that price. It also has a bring-your-own option for carrier accounts you already have, and its terms say those shipments are billed under your own carrier terms (ShipTime, bring your own rates).
Part n Parcel is a managed shipping economics company. We open the carrier accounts in your business’s name and negotiate enterprise rates through the collective volume of 240+ Canadian brands. Then we set up your software and keep the rates working. Our markup is shown to you before you commit.
The Bring-Your-Own-Account Test: before you compare features, ask two questions. Is the carrier account in your business’s name, so the carrier knows who you are? And who sets the price on every label you print?
ShipTime lets you answer yes to the first question, if you already have the accounts. That is the part we do. We have seen a merchant load the FedEx and Purolator accounts we set up into ShipTime and ship on them. So the real choice is whose rate sits on each label.
We make money when you move your shipping to accounts we manage. Our markup is shown to you before you commit. Check our numbers the way you would check anyone’s.
Whose customer are you on ShipTime?
ShipTime’s, on its own labels. A platform can print your business name on the label and still keep the account. When you buy ShipTime’s own labels, you are ShipTime’s customer. If a parcel goes missing or a charge looks wrong, the carrier deals with ShipTime and may not know who you are. On an account in your business’s name, you are on the carrier’s books, and we take the problem to the carrier for you.
A company whose product is your rate will price your rate to its business. I negotiate rates with carriers all the time. In my experience, a carrier will not set up a platform to undercut its own sales team, so it is careful about the rates it lets any platform sell online. On its own account, your business can often earn a lower rate.
You cannot see what other stores pay. Carriers do not publish what they charge each business, and a platform’s price is the one it chose for you today. On an account in your name, your rates are in your carrier agreement and you see every line. We price your parcels on the rates the collective volume of 240+ Canadian brands earns, and show you the gap line by line.
What ShipTime customers say when it goes wrong: in September 2026 one reviewer flagged the new “15% administrative fee to applicable ‘carrier adjustments'” (Trustpilot).
What does the 15% adjustment fee cost you?
An adjustment is the extra charge a carrier adds after it re-measures your box and finds it heavier or bigger than the label said. On shipments created on or after October 15, 2026, ShipTime’s terms say it “will apply a 15% administrative fee to applicable carrier adjustments.” The fee is taxable, and some adjustment types may be excluded (ShipTime terms).
Here is what adjustments looked like on one merchant’s ShipTime invoices in July, before the fee existed. Four weekly invoices, 78 shipments, five re-measure charges totalling $256.35. That is about $3.29 for every parcel shipped, on top of the label.
If all of those charges were applicable under the new terms, the same $256.35 would carry another $38.45 in fees, plus tax, on about four parcels a day. As an illustration only, the same adjustment rate at 10 parcels a day over 250 shipping days would be about $8,200 a year in adjustments and about $1,200 a year in fees. You only see either number if you read every invoice line.
Do this now: search your last three ShipTime invoices for the word “adjustment” and add up the total. For labels on ShipTime’s own rates created after October 15, add 15% plus tax to the applicable ones. That is your cost going forward.
Want this number for your own parcels? Send one ShipTime invoice and your savings report comes back line by line. Free, no call.
Who sets your price on ShipTime’s rates?
ShipTime does. Its terms say it “reserves the right to change its pricing policy” at any time. When a platform sells you its rates, it controls three things you do not see: the price, its margin and which carriers you see. On accounts in your name, no platform sets a margin you cannot see. Our markup is shown to you, and you choose which carrier runs which lane. A lane is one route, like your warehouse to Western Canada.
What does the gap look like on a real invoice?
A store that now works with us shipped on Canada Post, with Purolator and Canpar through ShipTime as a backup. Our quote on their parcels came in 40% lower than their ShipTime labels, before tax and before insurance. They told us the rates were fantastic and signed on.
Across a wider set, in our audit of 22,353 domestic Canadian parcels from 11 merchants, shipped January to May 2026, the median parcel cost $15.84 on what the merchant actually paid. On a Part n Parcel managed account, the median was $11.03. That is a 30.4% gap, taxes and duties excluded (Canadian e-commerce shipping cost benchmarks). The median is the middle parcel: half cost more, half cost less. At 10 parcels a shipping day over 250 shipping days, a $4.81 gap is $12,025 a year. At 100, it is $120,250. Your number depends on your parcels, routes and current rates.
Pickups count too. On accounts in your name, the carrier picks up from your door. Once you ship every day, nobody on your team should be driving to a depot.
How do you avoid costly mistakes when you switch?
We know the carriers and the software, so we help you avoid costly mistakes. We have seen merchants test a new carrier on their own. Their customer service issues skyrocketed. Their accountant had far more billing questions. Their own time went to backtracking. We set it up right so you avoid that.
When should you stay on ShipTime’s own rates?
Stay while you are still finding product-market fit, the stage where you are proving people want what you sell. Your early customers buy on the value of your product, and we do not want to distract you from that. Once shipping is a real cost, test us.
Frequently asked questions
Is a carrier account in my own name cheaper than ShipTime’s rates?
It depends on your parcels, so we price your real ones, adjustments counted. In our benchmark of 22,353 domestic parcels, the median managed-account parcel cost $4.81 less than what merchants paid.
Can I test Part n Parcel without leaving ShipTime?
Yes. Send us one invoice and keep shipping as you do today. Nothing changes until you see the number and say yes.
Will I have to retrain my team on new software?
Not if you like ShipTime. ShipTime lets you connect your own carrier accounts, and we have seen a merchant ship on the accounts we set up inside ShipTime. If you would rather move, most of our merchants print in ShipStation, and we set it up for you.
Does the 15% fee apply to my own carrier account?
ShipTime’s terms describe the fee on applicable carrier adjustments, and say bring-your-own shipments are billed under your own carrier terms. Send the invoice and we will show you which lines it hit.
What file should I send from ShipTime?
One recent invoice, with the adjustment lines included. Not sure where to find it? Let ChatGPT or Claude find it.
Whose name is on the carrier account?
Your business’s. The carrier knows who you are, and your rates are in your own carrier agreement.
How do you test it?
Send one recent ShipTime invoice, adjustments included. You are probably thinking a new carrier setup means weeks of work for your team. If you keep ShipTime, it means connecting accounts, and we do the setup. We price your actual parcels first. If we cannot meaningfully improve your rates, we will tell you, and nothing changes.
- Send one ShipTime invoice. Not sure which file? Let ChatGPT or Claude find it.
- Your savings report comes back line by line: every parcel priced on accounts in your name.
- If the number is worth it, we set up the accounts. If it is not, you stay where you are.
Free. No call. If we cannot meaningfully improve your rates, we will tell you.
Sources
- ShipTime bring your own courier rates, shiptime.com/bring-your-own-courier-rates/, checked Oct 28, 2026.
- ShipTime legal and privacy policy (terms), shiptime.com/legal-privacy-policy/, checked Oct 28, 2026.
- Part n Parcel, Canadian e-commerce shipping cost benchmarks, January to May 2026 data.
- Part n Parcel invoice analyses, March to August 2026. Merchants anonymized. Rates pre-tax.
