By Paul Kalra, Founder, Part n Parcel
Quick answer: Chit Chats is built for small, light parcels going to the US and overseas. It sells you its own rates on Canada Post, USPS and PostNL, paid from a prepaid balance. Part n Parcel opens carrier accounts in your business’s name at enterprise rates, which are the lower rates carriers give their biggest shippers, and the carrier picks up at your door. Once you ship every day, the time spent getting parcels to Chit Chats belongs in the price.
What is the difference between Chit Chats and Part n Parcel?
Chit Chats sells labels at its own rates. You pay from prepaid credit. Its carriers are Canada Post, USPS and PostNL, with Canpar used only to bring parcels to Chit Chats (Chit Chats carriers). There is no option to use your own carrier account.
Part n Parcel opens direct accounts in your business’s name with carriers like FedEx, UPS, Purolator, Canpar, Canada Post and regional carriers. The rates come from the collective volume of 240+ Canadian brands. You print in your own software, usually ShipStation, and we set it up. The carrier picks up at your door. 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?
On Chit Chats, the first answer is no and the second is Chit Chats.
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 Chit Chats?
Chit Chats’. A platform can print your business name on the label and still keep the account. When you buy Chit Chats’ own labels, you are Chit Chats’ customer. If a parcel goes missing or a charge looks wrong, the carrier deals with Chit Chats 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 Carriers do not publish what they charge each business, and a platform’s price is the one it chose for you today.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 Chit Chats customers say when it goes wrong: a merchant shipping nine boxes was told to call Canpar, and wrote that “Chitchats didn’t even help me out as they’re working with Canpar too” (February 2026, Trustpilot). Another, in August 2026: “Customer service is impossible to reach to get help” (Trustpilot).
How much time does the drop-off run cost you?
On Chit Chats, many merchants drive their parcels to a Chit Chats location. At a few parcels a week, that is a short errand. Once you ship every day, it is a job.
Dropping off is the easiest job in your business to delete. One hour a day in the car is about 250 hours a year at 250 shipping days. On a direct account, the carrier comes to your door. Our approach is to build you to scale and avoid dropping off any packages.
Do this now: count last week’s drop-off trips and how long each one took. Multiply by 50 weeks. That is the hours number to put beside the rate.
What does the gap look like on a real invoice?
A coffee brand came to us from Chit Chats. Across their parcels, our rates were 30% lower overall. They told us Chit Chats was “working well,” and they moved anyway. Beyond the rate, the case I made to them was one software setup in ShipStation, one pickup at their door, and a direct relationship with the carrier when something went wrong.
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.
Want this number for your own parcels? Send one Chit Chats invoice and your savings report comes back line by line. Free, no call.
Who controls your price and carriers on Chit Chats?
Chit Chats does. Its terms say it can change “the prices, fees and charges” without any notice (Chit Chats terms). It also decides which carriers you can use.
Carrier quality changes, most of all at peak. When Canada Post stopped work from November 15 to December 17, 2024, merchants on a Canada Post-based setup had few options. On your own accounts, you choose which carrier runs which lane. A lane is one route, like your warehouse to Western Canada. If a carrier slips, you can move that lane by changing one automation rule.
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 Chit Chats?
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. If you are not sure which side you are on, read when you have outgrown Chit Chats and Stallion Express.
Frequently asked questions
Is a carrier account in my own name cheaper than Chit Chats?
It depends on your parcels, so we price your real ones, and count the time you spend dropping off. 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 Chit Chats?
Yes. Send us one invoice and keep shipping as you do today. Nothing changes until you see the number and say yes.
What file should I send from Chit Chats?
One recent invoice or shipment export. Not sure where to find it? Let ChatGPT or Claude find it.
Whose name is on the carrier account?
Your business’s. Chit Chats has no option to use your own carrier account. With us, the account is opened in your business’s name, so the carrier knows who you are.
Will my store or shipping software change?
You print in your own shipping software, usually ShipStation, connected to your store. We set it up for you, and the carrier picks up at your door.
How do you test it?
Send one recent Chit Chats invoice or export. You are probably thinking we will tell you to switch whatever the numbers say. We will not. If we cannot meaningfully improve your rates, we will tell you. If we can, you will know the number before you change anything.
- Send one Chit Chats 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
- Chit Chats carriers, chitchats.com/carriers, checked Oct 28, 2026.
- Chit Chats terms, chitchats.com/terms, checked Oct 28, 2026.
- Part n Parcel, Canadian e-commerce shipping cost benchmarks, January to May 2026 data.
- Part n Parcel sales records and invoice re-rates, 2020 to October 2026. Merchants anonymized.
