Mastering ShipStation's Shipping Features Rates, Labels & Processes

ShipStation Decoded: A Deep Dive into Features, Rates, and Labels

by

For any ecommerce business, the moment an order is placed is just the beginning. The real challenge lies in getting that product into the customer’s hands quickly, efficiently, and affordably. This is where shipping and fulfillment software becomes a game-changer. If you’re exploring your options, you’ve undoubtedly come across ShipStation, a platform trusted by over 130,000 businesses to streamline their entire shipping process.

But what is ShipStation, exactly? In this comprehensive guide, we’ll decode everything you need to know about its powerful shipping features, how it helps you save on rates, and how it simplifies the creation of professional shipping labels. We’ll explore why it’s a leading choice for sellers on Shopify, Amazon, eBay, and beyond, helping you determine if it’s the right solution to scale your business with confidence.

Table of Contents

What Is ShipStation and How Does It Work?

At its core, ShipStation is a web-based Software as a Service (SaaS) platform designed to make ecommerce shipping more efficient. What is ShipStation and how does it work? It centralizes your entire fulfillment workflow into a single, user-friendly dashboard. Instead of logging into multiple carrier websites or selling channels, you can manage everything in one place.

Here’s a simple breakdown of how does ShipStation work:

  1. Import Orders: ShipStation automatically imports orders from all your selling channels—like your website, marketplaces, and ERP systems—into one consolidated view.
  2. Compare and Choose: For each order, you can compare shipping rates and services from various carriers to find the best option based on cost, speed, or customer preference.
  3. Create and Print Labels: Generate shipping labels individually or in batches of hundreds with just a few clicks.
  4. Automate and Update: Once a label is created, ShipStation automatically sends tracking information back to the original selling channel and notifies your customer that their order is on its way.

Essentially, what is ShipStation shipping is a system that removes the manual, repetitive tasks from your fulfillment process, freeing up valuable time so you can focus on growing your business. It’s built for merchants of all sizes, from small Etsy shops to large enterprises with multiple warehouses.

Core ShipStation Features for Ecommerce Success

The platform is packed with powerful tools that go far beyond simple label printing. These shipstation features are designed to optimize every step of your fulfillment workflow.

  • Centralized Order Management: With over 180 integrations, you can pull orders from virtually anywhere you sell. You can then use tags, filters, and custom views to organize and prioritize your fulfillment queue.
  • Powerful shipstation automation: This is one of the most significant benefits of ShipStation. You can create "if-then" rules that automatically apply specific actions to orders as they import. For example, a rule could automatically assign a specific carrier service to international orders, add insurance to high-value shipments, or apply a tag to orders from repeat customers.
  • Inventory Management: Maintain accurate stock levels by syncing your inventory across all your stores. You can set re-order alerts to prevent stockouts and ensure you always have products ready to ship.
  • Branded Post-Purchase Experience: Strengthen your brand identity with custom packing slips, branded email notifications, and a personalized tracking page that features your logo and colors. This creates a professional and cohesive experience for your customers from checkout to delivery.
  • Real-Time Data and Reporting: Gain valuable insights into your shipping operations with detailed reports on shipments, carrier charges, product sales, and more. This data helps you make smarter decisions about your shipping strategy.

Unlocking Savings: ShipStation Rates and Carrier Integrations

One of the most compelling reasons businesses choose ShipStation is the potential for significant savings on shipping costs. The platform provides access to pre-negotiated, deeply shipstation discounted rates that are often much lower than what you’d pay at the post office.

Here’s how you can save:

  • Deep Discounts with Top Carriers: ShipStation users can access discounts of up to 84% off USPS retail rates, up to 77% on UPS Ground, and up to 83% off UPS international services. You can also get significant savings with other major shipstation carriers like FedEx (up to 90% off) and DHL Express (up to 81% off). This answers the common question of who does shipstation ship with—it’s a vast network of global and regional providers.
  • Real-Time Rate Shopping: The ability to evaluate the shipping and fulfillment software company shipstation on real-time shipping rate comparison is a core function. With the shipstation rate shopping feature, you can instantly see the shipstation rates from all your connected carriers for any given order. This allows you to choose the most cost-effective service every single time, whether you need speed or savings. These shipstation shipping rate comparison features ensure you’re not overspending.
  • Single Postage Balance: Instead of managing separate accounts and invoices for each carrier, you can consolidate your billing through a single postage balance within ShipStation Carrier Services, simplifying your accounting.
  • No Hidden Fees: With many of the integrated carrier services, the rate you see is the rate you pay. There are no surprise fuel or residential surcharges, giving you predictable shipstation shipping costs.

Ultimately, the platform is designed to lower your shipstation shipping prices and improve your bottom line.

Creating Professional Shipping and Return Labels

Generating accurate labels is the primary function of any shipping software, and ShipStation excels at making this process fast and flexible.

  • Batch Printing: The shipstation bulk shipping capability allows you to process and print hundreds of shipstation shipping labels at once, a massive time-saver for high-volume sellers.
  • Customization and Branding: You can create shipstation custom labels and packing slips that feature your company logo and other branding elements. These shipstation branded labels reinforce your brand and create a more professional unboxing experience.
  • Effortless Returns: Managing returns is a critical part of ecommerce. ShipStation allows you to easily create a shipstation return label to include in the original package or let customers print one themselves from a branded returns portal. This hassle-free process helps build customer loyalty.

From standard 4×6 thermal labels to multi-part international forms, shipstation labels can be configured to fit your exact needs.

Mastering International Shipping with ShipStation

Expanding to a global market can seem daunting due to complex customs regulations and documentation. However, international shipping shipstation tools are designed to simplify this process.

Here’s how ShipStation helps you sell worldwide:

  • Automated Customs Documentation: The platform automatically generates the necessary customs declarations (like CN22 or CN23) and commercial invoices based on the order’s product information. For many carriers, including FedEx, UPS, and DHL Express, this information is submitted electronically, eliminating the need for extra paperwork.
  • Global Carrier Network: With access to global leaders like DHL Express and GlobalPost, you can reach customers in over 220 countries and territories. So, does shipstation ship internationally? Absolutely.
  • Global Advantage Program: For US-based merchants shipping with USPS, this program streamlines the process by first sending packages to a domestic sorting facility where they are re-labeled with the proper international forms before being sent to their final destination.
  • Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) Options: For a better customer experience, you can choose to prepay duties and taxes for your international shipments with supported carriers, so your customer doesn’t face unexpected fees upon delivery.

The robust shipstation international shipping features remove many of the traditional barriers to global commerce.

ShipStation Pricing Plans and Costs

A common question for prospective users is, "What does ShipStation cost?" The shipstation pricing is structured in tiers based on your monthly shipping volume. This allows the platform to scale with your business.

  • Monthly Subscription Model: The shipstation cost per month depends on the plan you choose. Each plan includes a set number of shipments, starting from a basic level for new sellers and going up to an enterprise-level plan for high-volume shippers sending over 7,500 packages a month.
  • What’s Included: Every plan includes access to discounted shipping rates, integrations with unlimited selling channels, and customer support. Your shipstation monthly cost is a flat fee for the software; you still pay for the postage you purchase. The shipstation charges for postage are deducted from your carrier accounts or your ShipStation postage balance.
  • Free Trial: Before committing, you can take advantage of a 30-day free trial to test out all the features.
  • Is ShipStation free? While there is a free trial, ShipStation does not offer a permanently free plan. After the trial period, you must subscribe to one of the paid shipstation plans to continue using the service.

The overall cost of shipstation should be weighed against the time and money it saves you through efficiency and discounted postage. The various shipstation pricing plans ensure you only pay for the volume you need. It’s recommended to check their official pricing page for the most current shipstation price and plan details, as these can be subject to change. The platform’s goal is to offer a transparent shipstation monthly fee structure without unexpected shipstation fees.

Top ShipStation Integrations: Shopify, WooCommerce, and More

ShipStation’s power comes from its ability to connect with the tools you already use. It integrates seamlessly with hundreds of ecommerce platforms, marketplaces, ERPs, and accounting systems. Some of the most popular integrations include:

  • shipstation shopify: A deep integration that syncs orders, products, inventory, and even allows you to display live shipping rates from your carriers at checkout.
  • shipstation woocommerce: Easily connect your WordPress-based store to manage orders and automate fulfillment.
  • shipstation etsy: Perfect for handmade and vintage sellers looking to streamline their shipping process.
  • shipstation ebay: Manage orders from the global marketplace and provide a branded post-purchase experience.

Other key integrations include Amazon, Walmart, BigCommerce, Squarespace, and many more, making it a true multi-channel fulfillment hub.

ShipStation Competition: How Does It Stack Up?

In the world of shipping software, there is plenty of shipstation competition. Merchants often compare platforms, asking questions like "is shippo better than shipstation" or looking for companies like shipstation. While many services offer similar basic functionalities, ShipStation differentiates itself with its vast number of integrations, robust automation engine, and deep carrier discounts, especially for high-volume shippers.

When you see comparisons like smartshyp vs shipstation, it’s important to look at your specific needs. For sellers who operate across multiple channels and require sophisticated automation rules, ShipStation is often considered a top contender. The question of "is shipstation cheaper than shopify shipping" depends heavily on your shipping volume and the carriers you use. While Shopify Shipping is convenient for low-volume sellers, ShipStation’s discounted rates with carriers like UPS and DHL Express can offer greater savings as your business grows.

Ultimately, whether you find something better than shipstation depends on your unique business requirements, but its long-standing reputation and comprehensive feature set make it a benchmark in the industry.

Additional Tools and Services

Beyond its core features, ShipStation offers a range of other tools and shipstation services to further enhance your operations.

  • Hardware Integration: ShipStation works with common shipping hardware, including thermal printers and digital scales. For businesses needing precise measurements to avoid carrier surcharges, the platform can also integrate with a shipstation dimensioner. The support for shipstation dimensioners helps automate the process of capturing package dimensions.
  • Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA): You can use ShipStation to manage multi-channel fulfillment, sending orders from any of your stores to Amazon for FBA fulfillment.
  • Developer API: For businesses with unique needs, ShipStation provides a robust API that allows for custom integrations and workflows.
  • High-Volume Plans: For enterprise-level sellers, ShipStation offers dedicated support and features to handle thousands of shipments per day, solidifying its position as a top shipstation shipping solution.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the main benefits of ShipStation?
The primary shipstation benefits include significant time savings through automation, cost reduction via discounted shipping rates, improved operational efficiency by centralizing all order management, and an enhanced customer experience with branded tracking and notifications.

Does ShipStation calculate shipping cost for my customers at checkout?
Yes, for certain ecommerce platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, and Wix, ShipStation can display live shipping rates from your connected carriers directly in the shopping cart at checkout. These shipstation shipping calculator features help eliminate undercharging or overcharging for shipping by providing real-time, accurate costs to your customers. So, yes, does shipstation calculate shipping cost at checkout is a feature for supported integrations.

Is ShipStation legit?
Yes, is shipstation legit is a common question for new users, and the answer is a resounding yes. It is a well-established and highly-rated platform used by over 130,000 online sellers worldwide. It is powered by Auctane, a global leader in shipping and fulfillment technology, which adds to its credibility and reliability.

What does ShipStation do?
In short, what does shipstation do is streamline and automate the entire order fulfillment process for ecommerce businesses. It imports orders, allows you to compare carrier rates, prints shipping labels in bulk, and sends tracking information to customers, all from a single platform.

What is ShipStation used for?
What is ShipStation used for is managing the post-purchase operations of an online store. This includes everything from organizing orders that need to be shipped, creating postage, managing inventory, tracking packages, and handling returns, ultimately making the entire shipping process faster and more affordable.