Why I Use Shipping Management Software For My Business

Recently in Katherine Terrill's Facebook group eBay Stores Nothing But Stores, a group member asked what the advantages were to using Stamps.com over just using eBay's built in shipping flow.

I explained that I have been using Stamps.com for a few years now. I usually use it in conjunction with ship-management software. I was using Auctane Ship Manager, which is an app in eBay. It is fee based and it’s a scaled down version of ShipStation. Both are web based and can be accessed from anywhere and not just on computers loaded with the software

I loved the program and the interface is very easy to use. While attending an ecommerce event in June, I was talking to Eric Nash, who is the senior director of online marketing for Stamps.com. At his suggestion, I tried out ShipStation and fell in love with the program and have now replaced Auctane with Shipstation.

It’s much more powerful than Auctane. However, it does have a little steeper learning curve.

Why you ask do I use a fee based shipping program when it cost me nothing to use eBay?….. For me it's very simple..... It saves me money in the long run since I sell multi-channel.

Both Shipstation and Auctane come with a free Express 1 postage account attached. They are also a postage provider and with them, you buy your Priority and Express mail postage and you buy it at commercial plus pricing. That is the same postage rate as TRS (Top Rated Seller) on eBay. Then you use the included Stamps.com account for the rest of the mail classes (1st class Parcel Select and Media Mail).

Well, I’m TRS and so I get the commercial plus pricing thru eBay….. However, I also sell on Facebook, Amazon, Etsy, Bonanza, Addoway, Square and direct sales thru Paypal. You don't get the commercial plus pricing discounts from these other sites.

The amount I save printing shipments for my other sites, more than pays for my extra expense as well as the time savings having it all in one place. Shipstation also imports my sales from a whole list of ecom sites

With those other sites, I would have to pay commercial base pricing (same as non TRS). I would also have to be shipping from Paypal or via the rest of the sites I sell on.

I regularly forward many packages to a freight forwarder at the Mexican border for my brothers business and I do it all at the better rates.

Also, with ShipStation, I have both my negotiated rate UPS and Fedex accounts linked. So I now ship everything in one spot. I pay for all my postage using my miles reward credit card as well and can print out just one report showing all my shipping cost.

I get to do comparison pricing with any of the carriers I have linked in just one window and they have full integration with most of the popular providers.

When I bring up my shipped orders on Shipstation, I can see in one look what has been delivered and what is still in transit. 

I get customized packing slips from Shipstation that prints out on my thermal printer as well as my logo and custom writing at the bottom of my shipping label

Every label I print with this software gets auto saved into a folder on my computer and I can go back and reprint anytime I need to.

It's never buggy, it never seems to go down and as we read everyday in the groups, sellers are always having trouble printing from eBay for one or more reasons. I can’t imagine not using this program anymore.

In closing, I did not touch on all the great features from Shipstation and this may not be for everyone depending on your the size of your business. But, if you sell on multiple channels and when it does make sense, it really is shipping nirvana! 

Shipstation Intro