Shipping Automation?

[egormsen]

Has anyone tried Shipper 3.0? I tried signing up for the beta, but have not heard back from them.

[WylieE]

It looks like they are up to beta 5. You can download it from their website:

http://structured-solutions.net/Shipper3Beta5

[afm]

I accidentally posted beta 5 without changing the expiration date so it expired yesterday. Unfortunately the installers are in a state of flux while I prepare the first release candidate which is due on Monday.

Can you wait until Monday? If not, I'll stop what I'm doing and post a new beta.

[WylieE]

Hi Andy,

Thanks for the response. No problems waiting. I hadn't noticed the beta until this thread was updated today. We've got plenty of other development work to do.

[Robbie@FireFold]

Still excited about this!

[afm]

Shipper 3.0 Release Candidate 1 is now available.

[compunerdy]

Anyone using this or find a different option?

[Robbie@FireFold]

I have already purchased.

[compunerdy]

Robbie

Can you describe how the system works and what you need to purchase and pay monthly fees for? I am interested in just UPS and USPS but if you offer others maybe somebody else would like that info as well.

[afm]

Hello Tim,

The Shipper system has 2 parts: a desktop application called Shipper and a small, open source web service for your website called Shipping Agent. In a nutshell, Shipper downloads orders from your website. Once they are in Shipper, you can print labels, postage, customizable reports (invoices, packing slips, etc), send emails, and more. You can read more about it at these links,

Shipper 3 Release Notice
Shipper 3 Platinum Edition
Shipper 3 Gold Edition
Compare Shipper 3 Editions

Shipper prints UPS, USPS, FedEx, and DHL shipping labels. The cost depends on the Shipper Edition (there are 2). You would need a special Endicia account to print USPS postage. The cost for that is $39.95/month.

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

[calvis]

Hi Andy,

I just read though your links. What made you use an annual licensing model? What are the benefits of using this kind of licensing model? Did the previous versions of shipper use an annual licensing model as well? From what I gather the program uses another program - ShipRush, which also uses an annual license model. And the annual renewal fee for Shipper (Platinum and Gold) is equal to the original cost of the license? Am I understanding that correctly? How many major versions are you planning per year?

Now comparing the packages:

Platinum and Gold

Platinum
Yearly Cost
$1295 / Location


Gold
Yearly Cost
$395 / PC

I can understand the big jump being one is for a PC and another for location. But there is some features missing from the Gold Package such as;

Print Label
Print Postage
Batch Label Printing
Data Analysis

Granted I haven't reviewed your software but Print Label, Print Postage, and Batch Label Printing sounds critical to me why would you leave them out of the Gold package? Also when a new version is released how are you going to pick and choose what features go in the Gold version and stays in the Platinum? Granted if I was using the Gold package, and paying an annual licence fee, I think I would be in a position to be entitled to any new features.

One last question: How many software packages do you personally own that uses an annual licensing model (Other than ShipRush)? I thought long and hard on this and the only one I use is the Quickbooks Payroll Package to update tax tables. Tax tables change all the time so I more forgiving to Intuit, but for a shipping program to use an annual licensing model it's rather hard for me to digest, but I am sure you can educate me why you went in that direction.

[compunerdy]

Ok..so to do USPS and UPS I need the following?

Shipper 3.0 gold $395
Shiprush basic $195
Endicia for usps $39.95/month

$1069.40 for the first year.

Good ol copy and paste doesnt seem so bad after all.

[afm]

But there is some features missing from the Gold Package such as;

Print Label
Print Postage
Batch Label Printing
Data Analysis

I'll have to rewrite that section to make it clearer. The Gold Edition can print labels and postage. But it cannot print them automatically when a new order arrives. You would need to click a button. The Platinum Edition can print them automatically and it can print several labels at one time.

[Shipper Gold + ShipRush Basic + Endicia =] $1069.40 for the first year.

The renewal price for the Shipper Gold Edition package is less, but I get your point. This is an expense and in this tough economy it is especially important to scrutinize every expenditure. Assuming the all-in cost of an employee is $18/hour (wages+benefits+payroll taxes+rental for space), Shipper would need to save your employee about 10 minutes/day for the first year to break even. For most merchants, Shipper does much, much more. And if you do save 10 minutes/day, then the rest (no address typos, customizable reports, customizable emails, etc.) is free!

For merchants that do not need USPS postage, the payback point is even less...about 5 1/2 minutes/day. In practice though, it is usually not about saving a few minutes...but saving a full head count. I have customers that no longer need an employee to just copy and paste shipping addresses all day.

There is a free trial period. Give it a try and let me know what you think. I'm serious....I will do whatever I can to make sure this package helps you run your store more effectively. You can write to me directly at amiller at structured-solutions.net.

Update: If you have a UPS daily pickup account just so that you can use UPS WorldShip, you can stop paying that fee. ShipRush for UPS Basic does not require a UPS daily pickup account.

[Jaz]

I was wondering if anyone had any feedback on Shipper 3 vs Stoneedge. I have been looking at both solutions. Stoneedge appears to have a lot more features and integrates with QuickBooks. However features don't always mean you will save more time. Also, which is easier to use. I also assume that if you have a solution that integrates better into Able, you may not need as many features.

Just trying to get an overview.

Thanks,

[Robbie@FireFold]

Stone Edge was never able to get me a working demo. It seem'd overly complicated from what I could see.

We managed to ship 3000 orders yesterday with only 2 computers running Shipper 3. So you can imagine I am highly impressed. 3.1 brought every single feature I needed.

[calvis]

Robbie,

How are you verifying addresses? Does Shipper do that for you? Are you a Gold of Platinum user?

To Jaz: We looked at Stone Edge several years ago and our biggest problem with them was their Quick Books import. They did not import as Sales Receipts which was a deal breaker for us. That might have changed by now.

-Charles

[compunerdy]

The shiprush portion will verify the address.

[Robbie@FireFold]

Our warehouse labels the outside of the package with -

Order Number
First three letters of last name
Shipping Method
Weight

That's how we double verify.

FireFold is Platinum.

[jdarby]

Unless you have firewall or other problems, you should be able to set up an ODBC connection in Worldship to pull the data from Able and map the fields you need. I'm not familiar with Dazzle.

Are there any detailed instructions anywhere on how to setup the ODBC connection from Able's database to Worldship? I can't seem to get it right.

[jmestep]

An ODBC connection is a pretty standard thing, so you should be able to find info by googling. Your hoster might not allow direct database access though- more and more hosters are not allowing that for security reasons.