ShipStation Reviews

Pros

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.

Cons

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.

Pros

I like how all shipping services are available and easy to apply. Everything is easy to understand and operate. The software communicates with most selling platforms and keeps updated inventory.

Cons

I would like the pricing to be based on volume not number of platforms.

Pros

Shipstation is great for companies that are looking for a label printing solution for there shopping carts. Shipstation is able to handle high volumes of orders and allows for labels to be pre-printed, which can greatly increase the fulfillment time. There are pretty good filtering options that can lead to more efficiencies when printing that can save time with your fulfillment team.

Shipstation integrates with many different platforms fairly seamlessly, which allows for more diversity in the ever growing number of platforms that are out there. They are also constantly adding new platforms that can integrated with.

I think the fact that this software is user friendly and efficient in its design makes this software a worthwhile investment for those that need a better shipping solution.

Cons

The issues that we have run into with this software as we have scaled to processing over 3000 shipments a day are too many holes which can cause many opportunities for errors, processing speeds, and lack of flexibility.

When you are processing up to 3000 orders a day problems flesh themselves out quickly. One issue that has arisen is the inability to hold people accountable when errors occur. For example, since the labels are pre-printed there is not a simple to way to know who misshiped an order when it is sent incorrectly to a customer. On top of that, since the labels are pre-print there is no way to verify through software on the outbound that a shipment is correct. You have to trust that your team is packing order correctly, which is guaranteed to cause problems regardless. There is also the possibility that labels can be double printed or not printed at all since labels are processed and then a PDF is created to print orders. This has been costly for us an multiple occasions, which is hardly preventable no matter who you have printing.

Due to the fact that Shipstation is cloud based this can cause issues with processing speeds. We have seen hang ups (especially on Mondays) that cause the whole team to be slowed down due.

The other issue with cloud based system is the lack of flexibility for Shipstation to be customized to how you would like it. If changes are made they have to be made globally, which can take a while or just simply cannot happen altogether.

Pros

Once you get all of your rules set up it doesn't require much additional work

Cons

Customer service isn't always easy to get

Pros

It is super easy to implement, it has a lot of features to make your job faster and it has good customer support if you have a bit of patience.

Cons

I don't like that I can not put insurance into auto re charge for more than $100.00

Alternatives Considered

ShippingEasy

Reasons for Choosing ShipStation

Because Shipstation offered better rates and I like their UI more.

Switched From

ShippingEasy

Reasons for Switching to ShipStation

Because Shipstation offered better rates and I like their UI more.

Pros

Integration is a cinch. YOu really need next to no technical knowledge to set this up on most platforms. Once you create all the rules anyone and I mean anyone can just come in and fulfill all your orders.

Cons

Honestly, I would say that I wish it was free but it is as I like to say WEP - Worth Every Penny, and it doesn't really cost very much.

Pros

What I like most is the ability to print directly onto adhesive labels. It sounds like a small thing, but having to print out labels on a paper, and then cut/fold them, and then place into a label sleeve takes a lot of time and effort when packaging a large number of orders. ShipStation allows me to print and stick in one easy step.

Cons

What I like least is because it is not affiliated with an official carrier service (FedEx, USPS, etc) I have to actually go and drop off the packages. A carrier will not come to my business to pick it up.

Pros

Ease of usedont accept many characters to

Cons

Difficult to utilize - Need to login on a certain browser or 1 PC at a time
Poor customer support - Email vollies back and forth with no problem resolution
Expensive postage - Above 1 lb. is more expensive than ebay and Amazon.
Features can be more automated - Same shipments cannot save on every type shipment, Certain pulldown fields not functional like the cubic selection or delivery confirmation, write text fields don't take enough characters to make the phrase, Amazon inteface fails to download orders, etc.

Pros

It's pretty flexible and relatively easy to use. It works with all our existing equipment and systems. It links to Quickbooks to pull orders and provides the tracking information back. The scanning features greatly improved our the speed and accuracy of our shipping process.

Cons

Shipstation Connect does not AutoStart consistently. We have issues from time to time where we need to unplug and re-plug devices for Shipstation to recognize them. We do not have this issue with the same equipment and other systems.

Alternatives Considered

XPS Ship, Fishbowl and Shippo

Reasons for Choosing ShipStation

Better functionality, better and more reliable the working with 3 separate programs, price comparisons, and pack scanning.

Reasons for Switching to ShipStation

We do a lot of shipping and have a large Quickbooks file. Shipstar was too slow for us. Some of the other options were more complicated or did not have a good connection to Quickbooks.

Pros

Easy to use and ability to price shop all carriers on one dashboard

Cons

Cannot be used as an inventory management system.

Pros

I absoutely love using shipstation to manage multiple ecommerce platforms with the ability to fulfill orders, print labels and organize all within one platform.

Cons

As shopify has expanded, it was tough at times to manage fulfillment from multiple locations within shipstation. over time we were able to figure it out but it took some time.

Pros

Shipstation has been great for managing our shipments for our smaller businesses! It's very simple to use and integrates with both Shopify and Klaviyo.

Cons

There's not enough robust sorting/filtering features. I'd like to be able to have some of my shipments be filtered into different buckets and Shipstation doesn't have the ability to do this. If you have a complex shipping system Shipstation wouldn't be for you.

Pros

Helping me ship products out the door fast and mistake-free at least cost

Cons

The Shipping Label screen has a lot of helpful detail but causes clutter and much of it can or should be hidden until needed

Pros

Our publishing company utilizes ShipStation to handle inventory and shipping management. The system is extremely comprehensive, offering a robust feature set covering orders, shipments, products, customers, and reports. It's easy to set up multiple stores for different aspects of the business in order to keep the silos separate, and alerts draw your eye to the areas that need attention. ShipStation can also be seamlessly integrated with various e-commerce platforms so that orders are ported directly over and into the shipment queue. Once shipped, we enjoy the tracking features that allow our team to check shipment status whenever customers have inquiries. Additionally, there's an insight section that shows how many customers interacted with a their personal tracking pages, how many shipment notifications have gone out in a given time period, and general sales trends.

Cons

The interface isn't the prettiest, but it gets the job done and doesn't suffer from glitches. Occasionally, we have a little bit of trouble locating a specific option because the system has so many features. Perhaps the organization or visibility of some areas could be improved.

Pros

What would ShipStation do if 3000 of your orders got returned due to incorrect shipping? Shipping that was chosen from Shipstation software and verbally verified?
Absolutely nothing. Visit BBB and you'll see that I filed a complaint months ago and the case has been closed due to unresponsive communication and in their words "not knowing what to do" from Shipstation. There is a list of events below for reference This was the final communication with ShipStation. It was their turn to respond and they did not.

1- On 4/9/21 products were ready to be dropped off at the post office but it was rejected due to the pricing of the stamps and the thickness of the package
2- Although the ShipStation labels verified the cost and dimensions for Letter Size 5 by 4 by 1 inch at .51 cents, the labels had to be reprinted, products repackaged with less insulation.
3- Help was hired for the packaging and re-packaging of all the products at $12/hr for 2 employees.
4- Shipstation had no solution. In fact, my account rep’s exact words were: “ I don’t know what to do.” and referred us to Stamps.com
5- Stamps website suggested the use of the setting for Large Envelope size 5 by 4 by .75 inches for $1.00.

6- Since the envelopes were getting run through a machine with disregard for the size indicated on ShipStation, the product was ruined for a lot of customers.

This product had to be fulfilled again and shipped.

Cons

Customer service and Shipstation software are not informed of the correct setting / pricing of shipping a product. The settings chosen by Shipstation software and recommended by Customer service were wrong. The post office would not accept the packages that were verified multiple times by Shipstation.

Pros

We've been involved in ecommerce for 20 years, and have tried *all* the ship programs. Shipstation is program we recommend to most people, and the one we've been using for the past 4+ years. The entry level subscription quickly pays for itself with their access to discounted USPS rates, free tracking on many shipments, and easy side-by-side rate comparisons. And if you're an eBay or Amazon seller, this is the best and easiest.

Cons

No program is a perfect fit for everyone. The mobile app is rubbish on Android, can't create batches, can't print, can't email a PDF. So basically you can confirm orders one at a time and just leave them there until you can log in with a PC. But they have a dedicated development team, I suspect it will improve over time. Also, creating manual orders is straightforward, but a bit cumbersome. They do a great job integrating with eBay, Amazon, Woo Commerce ... but not things like Wix and Shopify (unless you have the Plus account). Again, their team is pretty responsive, so I wouldn't be surprised to see integration of these (and more) in the near future. And a few little bugs on the site (the site freezes frequently on us, we have to log out and log back in). But we don't hesitate giving Shipstation a solid thumbs up.

Pros

-- Once you've overcome the slight learning curve (stated as a con below), the layout feels very natural and easy to navigate. Hovering beacons help provide tips throughout each screen.
-- Functionality. ShipStation is an incredibly robust platform with tons of aspects to it: multiple sales channels, customization, inventory management, shipping and tracking, customer logs, reporting, the features go on and on.
-- Love the handy calculator tool right on the main screen, which allows you to quickly calculate postage for any type of shipment.
-- Many tools to automate functions and make your work quicker and easier (e.g., setting up filters, rules, and batch actions).
-- Integrates with many, many, many other apps and tools.
-- Save money by using the discounted pricing you receive on postage through ShipStation.
-- Very thorough helpful articles in the Support Center. They also have a forum where you can submit suggestions and feature requests.

Cons

-- Interface is overwhelming at first. Would have loved to receive a short and sweet video introducing me to the main features and organization. The video I did receive upon signing up for the free trial was more of a marketing-focused pitch video, which served no purpose as I was already invested and ready to explore ShipStation.
-- The $9/month tier exists, but not readily available as an option when you’re ready to upgrade from your free trial. I had to submit a request via Live Chat to have this option provided. The lack of transparency was a bit disappointing after everything else felt so customer-oriented.

Pros

Shipstation is able to connect directly with my eCommerce site and makes getting packages out the door a breeze. As long as you take the time to setup the parameters, there is rarely, if ever, an issue. My customers get an automatic email with the tracking information (that is on a branded page...not the carrier's page!) and we get emails letting us know that the item has been delivered safely. Its such a time saver and everything comes through looking incredibly professional. Small to medium sized operations will benefit greatly from this.

Cons

The only critique I have is that we are not able to effectively communicate the (actual) added cost of insurance and/or delivery confirmation from our eCommerce software to ShipStation. We get around this by adding a percentage handling amount onto higher value items so that we're not losing money on the shipping cost for these pieces of merchandise.

Pros

I liked the fact that this software synced with online sales through places like Amazon and initially seemed to work pretty well.

Cons

A few months ago, Shipstation released a new version and I have had many problems with it. It simply does not work as advertised. Things that were seamless before no longer work. The fact that they have not fixed these issues after a few months is very frustrating. I would not recommend them any longer for shipping.

Pros

It has a fairly easy operating face that makes training simple. Easy and simple shipments rarely if ever, have issues.

Cons

There is nowhere to be able to input a weight of a shipping carton itself to help with calculations of when something will be too heavy to go via a certain shipping services which has led to some overcharging later down the road. There are several features that have been requested through the threads that devs neither respond to, nor seem inclined to implement. To use all the possible features, you have to switch back and forth between the old layout and new layout, and this is not a simple toggle feature.

Pros

easy to use, has many reports, many integrations with other programs and seems like they are working constantly on more.

Cons

no phone calls to customer service
I need to set up the inventory differently and not sure how it can be done.

Pros

Integration with most major platforms and channels - it communicates back and forth between your Shopify, Amazon, eBay, etc. accounts to mark orders shipped and email the customer.
Discounted shipping labels - The subscription pays for itself with how inexpensive the labels are.
Automated tracking emails - create your own template and look the part of other major e-commerce stores.

Cons

Can get a little confusing when dealing with international shipments but their support team is definitely top notch and can help you sort out the issues quickly.

Pros

Easily track and ship orders from multiple channels. Ability to use your own shipping accounts with carriers or use Shipstation's negotiated rates. Filters, tags, notes, automations help streamline our shipping and order processing.

The interface is user friendly and the rare times I've had an issue and had to contact support, my issues were resolved fairly quickly.

Cons

Shipstation recently forced all users to the new interface, which I'm not a fan of. But that's more from having used the software for years. With the move, it changed how some things are processed or handled.

Pros

We ship a lot, and ship station enables us to ship more quickly and more effectively. It also helps us track returns which as a rental business, all of our shipments come back and having all of that in one place is really helpful.

Cons

They've established the software, they focus on vendors who aren't rental companies and ship a lot of smaller packages. Updates are slow coming and it feels like they've said "hey we've done it!!! Let's coast." and don't really do updates anymore. Although if you ship to Zimbabwe on a regular basis they are more than happy to add rickshaw as an option, but won't give you the option to select that it was delivered by someone internally.

Pros

We love how ShipStation integrates with our Stamps.com account. Our favorite features are how they keep track of the packages you ship to each person, the value, and the items. You can keep track of promotional items this way or keep detailed notes. Another of our favorite features is the branded tracking page that your customers will see with the tracking code. It looks great and helps give your site a more polished and professional look.

Cons

The monthly subscription for this is just way too expensive. Even with the amazing features that make a business look awesome and really helps the customers, it's just way too expensive for smaller or starter businesses.