With ShipStation Carriers you can start shipping your orders right away! ShipStation Carriers provide immediate access to multiple carriers with our pre-negotiated preferred rates. There is no need to open and manage your own separate carrier accounts (but you can do that, too). Additionally, you'll purchase all ShipStation Carrier labels using the funds in your ShipStation Balance. Instead of managing payments for multiple postal accounts, use just one balance for all labels!
Once you activate ShipStation Carriers, you can create labels using any of the available services immediately.
To activate ShipStation Carriers, you must provide the payment method you wish to use for purchasing labels. This payment method will fund your ShipStation Balance, which is used for label purchases and any related label fees.
You'll be prompted to add your payment method the first time you attempt to create a label, or you can follow the steps below to add the billing method in advance:
-
Click the Get Started button.
-
Follow the on-screen instructions to enter your billing details, agree to the terms and conditions, and finish the setup.
This billing method will apply funds to your ShipStation Balance, which is used for any labels you create using ShipStation Carriers and for ParcelGuard (US only) shipment insurance costs. Charges to add funds to the balance will appear on your credit card reports with the description “STAMPS."
Enable Auto-Funding For a Seamless Experience
We recommend you enable auto-funding to ensure your balance never falls below a set threshold amount.
To change the payment method details for your ShipStation balance:
Transaction History is where you can view an itemized list of transactions that affect your ShipStation Balance.
The Transaction History grid lists transactions chronologically by date starting with the most recent. It includes the following transaction types:
-
Label purchases
-
Insurance purchases
-
Service charges/adjustments
-
Debits and credits to the ShipStation balance
-
Refunds
Once activated, all available ShipStation Carriers and their included services are enabled by default. However, you can enable and disable specific services or disable the carrier entirely so you or your staff only select from the services you actually plan to use.
To enable or disable specific services:
-
Click the Services link next to the carrier whose services you want to edit.
-
Deselect the services you don't want to use (you can also reselect them to enable them at any time).
-
Click Save.
The disabled services will now no longer appear in your Services drop-down menu when configuring your shipments or browsing rates. They will also no longer be available to use in Automation Rules.
If you do not plan to use a specific carrier at all, you can disable all of the services at once so the carrier no longer appears in your Services drop-down or in the Rate Calculator at all. Essentially, this is a single-click process that disables all of the services for that carrier. You can always re-enable the carrier at any time if you change your mind.
To disable a ShipStation Carrier:
-
Click the toggle next to the carrier you wish to disable.
The disabled carrrier will now no longer appear as an option to select when configuring your shipments, browsing rates or creating an Automation Rule.
The following notes apply broadly to all carriers included with ShipStation Carriers. However, individual carriers may also have specific limitations or other noteworthy information. Be sure to check the notes section in a specific carrier's help article for notes specific to that carrier.
-
Post-shipping adjustments may occur with certain carriers if actual package details (like weight and dimensions) do not match the package details used to print the label. These adjustments are assessed by the carrier and reported back to ShipStation. They are then automatically either credited to or deducted from your ShipStation balance.
You can view any adjustments that have been applied to your account on the Transaction History page.
-
When you void a label created with ShipStation Carriers, the cost of the label is credited back to your ShipStation balance. Most funds for voided labels are credited back the same day but can take up to 21 business days to process.
-
When you cancel your ShipStation account with any remaining balance, you will automatically receive a refund within 30 business days.
-
If you have added XCover insurance to a ShipStation Carriers shipment, you can file a claim with Total Shipping Protection by XCover from the Shipments grid. Once you have filed a claim with XCover, you can review the details and status of your claim on the XCover Claims page.
-
ShipStation handles all billing requests for ShipStation Carriers. To submit a request about billing, contact ShipStation's Support Team.
-
If there are updates to the Terms of Service or expanded functionality to any ShipStation Carriers, you will see a banner on the Carriers page with the option to click the Update button.
Here are some common issues, potential causes, and troubleshooting tips.
|
Issue |
How to Troubleshoot or Resolve |
|---|---|
|
Unable to save payment details during the initial setup. The Finish Setup button disappears when attempting to save. |
What to do: Try clearing your web browser's cache. Then, try adding your payment method again with your browser in a private or incognito mode. |
|
Error: User registration error. State is not a valid: physical_address.state. |
What it means: The billing address for the credit card you are attempting to use is not in the same country that your ShipStation account is based in. What to do: Ensure you use a payment method based in the same country as your ShipStation account when activating ShipStation Carriers (US cards for US accounts, Canada cards for Canada accounts, etc). |