Shippo Review

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Date Established

2013

Location

San Francisco, CA

Pros

• Easy to use
• Many pricing options
• Good customer support

Cons

• Limited features
• Some confusing billing practices

Overview

Shippo is a shipping platform that simplifies eCommerce processes. By integrating Shippo with your shopping cart and marketplaces, you can easily import orders, purchase shipping labels, and print packing slips. Shippo offers users multiple pricing plans to choose from, so it’s easy to find a pricing plan that fits your business.

However, Shippo is not without its drawbacks. The software is still missing a few features that may be deal-breakers for some merchants, and customer support is only available by web ticket.

Nevertheless, you should take a look at what Shippo has to offer. It’s easy to install and learn, and depending on your daily order load, it could be the cheapest shipping solution for your online store. Keep reading to learn if you should join the 35,000 users that already use Shippo for their shipping operations. Check out our shipping software comparison chart to see your options.

Pricing

Shippo provides users with a few different pricing models to choose from. Your choice will depend primarily upon the number of shipments you send out each month and how consistently you ship that number of items.

Pay As You Go

If you ship under 200 orders each month, you might be best off with the Pay As You Go model. This pricing model charges no monthly rate; however, you will have to pay a small fee for each order you ship. At $0.05 a shipment, 200 orders would come out to $10 plus the cost of postage. Take a look at the list below to see which features are included in this payment model:

• No Set Number Of Shipments
• No Monthly Fees
• $0.05/Shipment + Postage Costs
• Discounted Shipping Rates
• 1 User
• Email Customer Support
• API Order Endpoint

Professional

If you plan to ship more than 200 orders, or if you need access to more features than the Pay As You Go model provides, you can sign up for a Professional plan. All users on the Professional plan have access to the following:

• Discounted Shipping Rates
• No Per Label Fee
• 3 Users
• Email Customer Support
• Branded Customer Experience
  • Branded Packing Slips
  • Branded Email Notifications
  • Branded Tracking Pages

Pricing for the Professional plan is based on the number of orders you ship per month. If you sign up for an annual subscription, you can take advantage of a 10% discount on these monthly rates:

• $10/Month
  • 1-75 Orders Per Month
• $25/Month
  • 76-200 Orders Per Month
• $35/Month
  • 201-450 Orders Per Month
• $50/Month
  • 451-750 Orders Per Month
• $75/Month
  • 751-1,750 Orders Per Month
• $100/Month
  • 1,751-3,500 Orders Per Month
• $125/Month
  • 3,501-5,000 Orders Per Month
• Custom Pricing
  • Over 5,000 Orders Per Month

Premier

For merchants who plan to ship thousands of orders per month, Shippo also offers Premier, their custom, enterprise-grade plan. Premier plans include the following features:

• Technical Implementation Assistance
• Priority Support
• Best Discounted Rates
• 15 Users
• API Orders Endpoint
• API Batch Endpoint
• Multi-Piece Shipments
• Premier Customer Support

In addition to these packages, Shippo offers a la cart tracking and address verification services for shipping labels that are not purchased through Shippo. Pricing for these services is on a per item basis: Tracking is $0.01 per shipment, and verification is $0.09 per shipment.

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Web-Based Or Locally Installed

Shippo is a web-based application.

Hardware & Software Requirements

None. Because Shippo is a web-based software, all you need is a computer, a strong internet connection, and an up-to-date web browser.

Ease Of Use

There are a few ways you can test out the software. You can choose to sign up for a free trial of Shippo, or you can test the platform by just adding Shippo’s Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) plan to your current eCommerce software. With the PAYG plan, you can play with Shippo’s admin all you want. You just can’t place orders without actually purchasing a shipping label and paying the $0.05 fee.

In order to test out the platform, I chose to integrate Shippo directly with my Shopify account. All I had to do was enter my Shopify URL when Shippo asked for it. I was then redirected to my Shopify admin panel where I clicked to confirm the integration. And voila! I had a Shippo account.

Here’s the dashboard I was first presented with upon creating an account:

I was happy to see that the orders from my Shopify account were automatically imported over. I was also pleased with Shippo’s overall admin organization. It’s easy to locate features using Shippo’s toolbar.

To begin my trial, I first attempted processing a few orders. This is the first page you see when you process an order…

From here, you can add package dimensions and verify product weights and addresses (which are imported automatically from Shopify). You can also choose to add shipping insurance on this page.

Click “See all available rates” at the bottom to see more options from your chosen shipping carriers. Here’s what I can see based on the preferences I set up in settings:

Just select the appropriate option and click “Buy Label.”

As a whole, I found Shippo very simple to operate. I see this ease of use as a great advantage, especially for smaller sellers.

Features

Shippo comes with lots of basic features already built in. You can view the full feature list on Shippo’s website or take a look at my simplified list below:

Shipping Features

• Discounted Rates: Get discounts on shipping labels with USPS and DHL (for US-outbound shipments only).
• Discounted Shipping Insurance: You can purchase shipping insurance directly from your Shippo admin. Find those insurance rates in Shippo’s documentation.
• Built-In Integrations: You can use any of Shippo’s available carriers or add your own carrier account.
• Real-Time Shipping Rates: Integrations with shipping carriers give you up-to-date shipping rates.
• Shipment Tracking: Get shipping ETAs that display shipment origins and destinations.
• 99.9% Uptime SLA (Service Level Agreement): Shippo guarantees that they’ll stay online for you.

Automatic Syncing

• Connects To eCommerce & Marketplaces: Automatically sync your orders and tracking numbers between platforms. Manage everything from one admin.

Customer Relation Management

• Customer Email Notifications: Notify your customers when products ship.
• Built-In Address Validation: Shippo double checks customer addresses to make sure they are real addresses. Address validation is included for free with US shipments.

Label Printing

• Batch Label Printing: This feature is a necessity for every shipping software. Print up to 100 labels at once.  However, you can only batch print labels for packages that have the same dimensions.
• Scan-Based Return Labels: Include return labels in your shipments; you’re only charged if they’re used.
• International Customs Forms: Print customs forms for overseas shipments.

While Shippo has enough features to support many smaller businesses, they’re missing some important features that I’d like to see added. For example, you are only able to customize packing slips on the Pro and Premier plans, and there aren’t any security features like different logins or user permissions available on any plan. One of my biggest issues with Shippo is that you can only batch print labels for packages of the same size. This seems very limited in terms of batch printing. 

Reports

Shippo now offers built-in analytics, although this feature is still in beta.

With these new features, you can select a date range and view the number of labels purchased, your average price per package, and the total shipping cost spent. Keep in mind that this “Total Shipping Spent” report does not include subscription fees, surcharges, tracking costs, or address validation costs.

Integrations & Add-Ons

Shippo integrates with a number of shipping carriers, eCommerce platforms, and marketplaces. Here are a few integrations you may recognize:

Carriers

• USPS
• FedEx
• UPS
• Canada Post
• DHL Express

eCommerce Platforms

• Shopify
• WooCommerce
• Magento
• BigCommerce
• GoDaddy
• Squarespace
• SpreeCommerce
• Weebly

Marketplaces

• eBay
• Amazon
• Etsy
• ChannelAdvisor

Payments

• Stripe

You can also import order information to Shippo via CSV files or by connecting your software via Shippo’s API for Order Endpoint.

Customer Service & Technical Support

When it comes to customer service, Shippo is a top competitor. Customers report that support is easy to contact and quick to respond. There are also a few self-help options available. Here are Shippo’s support options:

• Support Center: Find articles, resources, and FAQs.
• Submit a Web Ticket: Submit questions and concerns via email or web ticket.
• Limited Phone Support: You can request a phone call when you submit your web ticket.
• API Documentation: Find information on connecting your software.
• Blog: Read product announcements and articles on shipping.

When I tested Shippo’s customer service, I received responses to my web ticket within three hours, which is in line with industry standards. Most commenters have also had positive experiences with customer support.

Negative Reviews & Complaints

In general, customers approve of Shippo. However, the software still has room to improve. Here’s a brief list of what customers tend to complain about:

• Missing Features: Some customers are disappointed that batch printing only works for packages of the same size. Personally, I was frustrated that you cannot have product weights import without overriding the packaging weights that you saved in Shippo. In addition, wholesale sellers dislike the fact that there isn’t an automatic way to enter multiple packages for one order (although there is a workaround).
• Billing Issues: Users report unexpected charges on shipping labels and difficulties getting refunds on canceled postage.
• Poor Customer Support: Most reviews of Shippo’s customer support are positive. However, there are still a good number of negative reviews online. In addition, some customers are frustrated that they cannot call in with questions.
• Discounts Are Not The L0west: Some users report that Shippo’s discounted shipping rates are not as low as those offered by their competitors.

Positive Reviews & Testimonials

As I’ve said, customers are mostly happy with Shippo. Here are the reasons they approve of the platform:

• Easy To Use: Shippo is very easy to use. I was able to figure out basic features without ever needing to visit the support documentation.
• Good Support: Shippo has a reputation of responding quickly to their clients’ questions. Support representatives are generally knowledgeable and friendly.
• Easily Integrates: Shippo easily integrates with many popular shopping carts, which makes daily operations a whole lot easier.
• Flexible Pricing Model: Merchants love the PAYG pricing model. This model lets smaller merchants access automated shipping at a very low rate. I like that Shippo also now offers Pro and Premier plans that are better suited to most sellers.

Security

Shippo does not offer any advanced security features like different logins and permissions. However, the site does use HTTPS security in the admin.

Final Verdict

If you’re looking for shipping software that lets you pay for only the services you need, Shippo may be the way to go. Shippo’s flexible pricing models make the software accessible to many different types of merchants. In addition, Shippo’s simple UI and strong usability result in software that is a great option for merchants without a lot of technical experience.

However, Shippo is not a perfect option. Many of the automation features are simply lacking the complexity I expect to find in modern shipping software. Nevertheless, if you aren’t afraid of doing things manually or using a few workarounds, Shippo could be a good option.

Sign up for a trial of Shippo to learn more, or take a look at this comparison chart of our favorite shipping software.

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Liz Hull

Liz Hull is an eCommerce Writer for Merchant Maverick. In her two years with Merchant Maverick, she has tested and reviewed over 40 eCommerce platforms and published two ebooks on the topic of online selling. Liz has also been published in Startup Nation and Home Business Magazine Online. Liz has a BA in English and Spanish from George Fox University.

@liz__hull

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