ShipStation

Commentaires: I moved from Stamps.com and cut my shipping and customer service time by 80%. I adopted this software at ~15 packages per day because it was more expensive than Stamps.com. Bad move!!! Pay extra for ShipStation from the start.

Avantages: I've used ShipStation, ShippingEasy, ShipWorks, Stamps.com, Ordoro, and SolidCommerce with a few clients. My two favorite are ShipStation and ShippingEasy. They both have different strengths - sweat the small stuff because it really makes a difference if you're shipping 200+ packages a day. It's worth using two or more systems and then picking the best. The time spent is worth the effort. I use ShipStation for managing the shipping and customer service from my website, Amazon, Walmart, Jet, Ebay, and Etsy. The application is rock solid. Creating manual orders is simple, as is importing orders and combining shipments. I like that I can place orders on hold and setup future shipments. Other vendors like ShippingEasy cannot do this (yet). We get a fair number or orders that have a bad address and we're able to put orders on hold until we hear back from the customer. This shipping rules and kitting options are fairly robust. It is easy to identify return customers (this is something not done well by other platforms). The UI is very buttoned-up. ShipStation also has a superior "Search Customers" function that will search on 3 and 4 part names, city, state... Some of the other vendors fail here. Having good search reduces customer service time.

Inconvénients: There are some things that ShippingEasy does better - e.g. they're a single page application and that means that the interface is super fast. ShipStation is slower as you mover around in the interface. I wish that ShipStation could manage my inventory across marketplaces and I'm in love with how some of the other vendors solicit reviews using marketing/email automation. I hope someday that vendors like ShipStation will also connect to Auth.net or Stripe.com so that we can Auth and Settle New Manual Orders. It takes a bit longer to learn ShipStation but if you're running a larger/complicated business you'll come to appreciate the power that comes with the complexity.

Avantages: • I was assigned a specific person as my customer service representative, and when I called with an issue, one of the customer rep picked up the phone and answered my question on the spot; meaning, I didn't have to dial a ton of menu options or wait on hold at all to speak with a person. She is also very responsive to emails. We tend to look at websites and applications as faceless businesses, but with ShipStation I know there is someone on the other end that cares about my experience. • Integrates seamlessly with Squarespace Commerce account • Automatically marks order fulfilled when a shipping label is printed • Connects to printer easier than Stamps.com

Inconvénients: • Have to load balances instead of paying for what you use as you go. I encountered this with Stamps.com as well, but it is annoying because I have to make cash flow considerations when all I need is a few extra dollars to print a label. • Cannot edit manual orders, need to delete and re-create an order if changing quantity or amount of a product. • I "chose" ShipStation because it was the only shipping option that would integrate with Squarespace. Most of my issues were encountered while trying to transition from Stamps.com to become familiar with the new platform. Though very similar, ShipStation INITIALLY felt like a clunkier, gaudier version of the same thing. Thankfully, they've recently made some positive design changes. However, there are still some quirky user interface aspects, including:
— animated "help/info" bubbles (which I just figured out how to hide).
— In Stamps.com, I was able to see if my thermal printer was connected (or visible to the website) before clicking "print" — which, when I click, charges the postage to my account regardless if the label actually printed. In ShipStation, I have to click "print" without knowing if the website is able to send the job to the printer. This has resulted in additional postage billed to my account because I clicked "print." I then have to wait for that amount to be refunded in my account. Though I should add, I rarely have printer connection issues with ShipStation, whereas it used to be the bane of my Stamps.com experience.
— Stamps.com also made it easy to see all the USPS shipping options and rates at a glance, while viewing an order. In ShipStation, I either have to select a service, then an option from within that service or open up a separate rate calculator. This makes it harder to find the lowest shipping fee/service or fastest method for its value when modifying individual orders.