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If you are selling products online and want to print postage online, you may want to read this article before proceeding. There are several software platforms to choose from and it can get quite confusing. I think you will find that this article can help you make a decision about which platform is best for your business.
Some important factors to know before selecting a postage printing software
1) Will you use order management software? Some companies use an order management system that helps them print batch labels for orders that come in from various sales channels.
2) Are you looking to automatically send your tracking numbers to various sales channels? If you’re selling across multiple sales channels and want tracking numbers to be automatically posted to that channel, you’ll need an order management system.
3) Are you looking to qualify buying from multiple carriers at the same time? If so, you’ll want to use an order management system that handles multiple carriers for shipping.
Most Popular Order Management Systems
1) ship station – is an Austin, Texas-based software company serving the electronic retail community. Currently this is one of the most popular systems on the market. This system allows e-retailers to automate all parts of the fulfillment process and create many custom rules with minimal effort. Pricing starts at $25 per month for 500 orders per month and increases to $145 per month for their business system that supports unlimited shipping.
2) shipyards – is very similar to Shipstation, except that it allows pricing to start for small volumes of less than 500 orders per month. Shipworks pricing starts at $14.95 per month for up to 99 orders and will scale up to $49.95 per month for 1,000+ orders per month. I found that many start-ups use shipbuilding to keep costs down in their start-up phase. The only downside to using Shipworks is that shipping information is stored locally on your desktop and eventually you’ll run out of storage, crippling the program and requiring tech support to remove old order information.
Postage Printing Software
1) endicia.com – It is a company based in Palo Alto CA that has designed a great postage printing mechanism. Endicia supports all United States Postal Service services and many consolidators. Endicia pricing starts at $9.95 per month and goes up to $34.95 per month for your Endicia professional service. The only downside to using Endicia solo is the inability to return your tracking number to your various sales channels automatically. Using Endicia will allow you to receive commercial pricing for all of your USPS shipments.
2) stamps.com – It is a company based in El Segundo CA that has designed a great postage printing mechanism. Stamps.com directly integrates with many popular sales channels like eBay and Amazon, allowing you to automatically submit your tracking numbers. Unfortunately, Stamps.com only generates labels for all USPS products and does not support consolidators at this time. Pricing starts at $15.99 per month and goes up to their Pro Shipper program for $34.99 per month. Using Stamps.com will allow you to receive commercial pricing for all your USPS shipments.
3) click and send – It’s the USPS online postage printing solution. Allows customers to print shipping labels online at no monthly charge. Does not allow printing of consolidator labels for larger envelopes. It also doesn’t integrate directly with many of the sales channels.
What system works best for your size of operation?
In my experience, I have found that there are specific niche markets that many of these programs serve and serve well.
Start-up operation – Most start-up operations I’ve seen are using Stamps.com. It provides a cost-effective solution for a start-up business that allows them to batch print labels and receive discounted postage rates immediately upon registration.
Medium to large size operation – Most midsize operations I’ve seen start migrating to an order management system, specifically Shipstation. Shipstation provides the customer with the ability to purchase rates from many parcel carriers simultaneously. As well as giving you access to all USPS products. Through Shipstation you can activate an Endicia.com account. Having access to Endicia.com will allow a medium-sized company to start doing business with some of the parcel consolidators and further reduce their postage rates.