Yes, yes, YES!  Please consider adding some sort of option for integrating with a shipping program.  I use Endicia  but I'd gladly switch to something else if I could eliminate all the tedious copy/pasting of the shipping data back and forth. 

Customers these days EXPECT to be emailed when their order is shipped and that is just another tedious task they way things are now.

I came to the forums to add shipping integration to the Suggestions Forum -- and someone has already posted.

I use Endicia and would be very happy to have Highwire integrate with that service. But reading the posting about Shipworks leads me to say -- don't forget the Mac users. Shipworks appears to be limited to Windows users.

So I think what's needed is a multi-platform, multi-shipping provider solution. I hope one exists!

Susan

Austiners

www.austiners.com

I agree.  For "proffesional sellers", we need easy integration to Shipworks, which imports and exports info to/from the selling account.  

I do not currently use Shipworks, but, I know it can be used with Amazon.com Marketplace accounts.... it brings in the order info to print the postage (through Endicia) AND exports  info BACK to the Amazon account to enter the tracking info and mark the order as shipped (Amazon sends a customer email when order is marked as shipped).

Shipworks requires the 35$ a month Endicia account (plus, a monthly fee for Shipworks).  Its not cheap.    So, its only useful (IMO) if the ability to do BOTH things is there.   As I understand it, the 35$ a month Endicia account WILL accept a csv file (which can currently be exported from BISI).     I currently do that regularly to put orders into Paypal Multi-order shipping.   

BUT, a seemless integration, which would not require requesting the export file and saving it as csv, is something I would find useful.     The current export/import to Paypal MOS (or, the same could be done with Endicia 35$ account) is nice... but, with higher volume sales, the automation of not having to do that would be useful to me.

To ME, it would only be useful if seemless integration to RECEIVE info INTO my BISI accounts were there too.   I wouldnt bother using it if it didnt allow for the data to come INTO my BISI accounts (and send the shipped emails and close the orders, without my clicking through all the steps.

Thank you for considering it.   I DEFINITLY want to see this here by November 1st!!!!!!!!!!!

Gayla, you wouldnt switch... Shipworks is an additional service, youd still need the Endicia account (the higher level one which allows for file imports.... according to the Amazon sellers I know, its about 35$ a month for the Endicia account youd need.  

I figure HighWire would want to be on this list

Supported Carts & Services

Depending on your volume, Shipworks is as little as $14.95 a month up to a max of $44.95 a month (unless you're so large you wouldn't be on HW). It works great with either Endicia or Stamps.com and with either service, Shipworks works seamlessly with their $15.95 a month subscription.

It does really depend on your volume, but we can definitely say that Shipworks has been the best $30 we spend in a month. For those doing enough volume, the time savings (let alone the accuracy on the addresses) is well worth their fees.

I am getting to the point where something like this would be very beneficial!

As slippersellers has already pointed out, we can already import csv files to Paypal Multi-order shipping.  I just wanted to also point out that the customers do not have to have PAID with Paypal in order for this to work.  We can add a list of any addresses there and use for shipping.  The only trouble with this method that I have found is that then it does not export the DC numbers to anyplace (unless the customer paid with Paypal), so I still need to keep track of those, and also this obviously does not work with FedEx.

The paypal MOS is probably a good solution for a lot of vendors, but it will not print International First Class. (unless something has changed since I last used it)   I liked using it when I was selling on ebay but the majority of my international sales now are first class. 

...and this is a picky thing, but I don't like the Paypal logo on my shipping labels when the buyer didn't pay with paypal.

Paypal MOS is nice, but the suggestion here is for MORE.... which is what Shipworks would do for me (I think)..... automate sending shiping confirmations, closing orders, not needing to export/upload each day, etc.

Im going to ask some other Endicia quesitons in a new thread in general.   (btw, I cut off the ebay & paypal ads.... which isnt the best... but Encidia doesnt seem to do some things I want.... see other thread!)

Printing shipping labels from here from Paypal would be great. Then having the tracking number added to their order info here.

http://insidetherockposter.highwire.com/

http://insidetherockposterframe.blogspot.com/

Something like this would be extremely useful as I get bigger may have to change to a ecommerce solution that has a shipping management software integrated.

Bump!

BUMP!

What Id want is.... NO NEED to come into my HighWire accountS  to create the export file every day.    Id want ability to be IN SHIPWORKS and click on something from THERE, which would just bring the order info in.....     Exporting the files and then uploading them (which I do every day into Paypal MOS) is tedious.   Its certainly doble - but this would be BETTER. 

AND - data feeding BACK from shipworks INTO my HighWire AccountS.... to TRIGGER the "item shipped" email to be sent to the customer (with the DC number inserted into it I supose.... but definitly my customized email)

------ An UMBRELLA ACCOUNT for both of my stores would be SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO helpful for that.  And I suspect it could be a BIG DRAW for new users  if it were available.

With the (latest) revamp on the forums, they've added a Vote For feature. Apparently the person starting the thread can't vote--so, for those interested in or supporting a suggestion, please find the threads you're interested in and add your votes. We'll then have to wait and see if any action is then forthcoming.

This applies to this thread as well as to any others!

Order fulfillment seriously needs improvement in Highwire.  Even something as simple as being able to upload a file with tracking numbers and then automate the "order shipped" emails would be a huge help. 

As it is, there's so much copy/paste and clicking around just to send a customer a tracking number that it's hardly worth the time.  ... until you start getting those emails saying "has my order shipped yet?"  :-)

Time is money.

Is there any updates to this thread?

Professional sellers need this type of integration.

How are you exisiting seller dealing with this? Copy paste?

Burak

I switched from Dazzle/Endicia to Stamps.com a few months ago because it was integrated with another store that I have.  I learned to my surprise that I was able to adapt the Highwire Order Export file to import into Stamps.com.  It's a bit challenging to get it set up and I still have to tweak the Highwire file some but it's a huge time saver when you have a lot of orders.  If I only have two or three, I usually just wind up doing the copy/paste thing.

One negative to this method is that Highwire does not accept an import file to update the orders with the shipped status and tracking numbers.  Since Stamps.com sends an "order shipped" email automatically, I just don't put any shipping info into Highwire and I still have to manually close all the orders.

Stamps.com and/or Shipworks integration would be wonderful but we've been asking for that for a couple years now.  Although Highwire has some great features and is user friendly, I just don't think Highwire is intended for the serious, professional online store.

Yeah!!!

Im using Stamps.com now too.  I LOVE IT!   Id been importing into Paypal MOS, which was good... but Stamps is even better!

I do not find a need to tweek the Highwire Export file though... well, ok, I DO have to do a save as to save it as an excel spreadsheet, but I dont have to fix the data.      (For paypal MOS, I DID have to... Id have to add the leading 0s to the northeastern zipcodes)

OH... Stamps.com does not recognize CA as Canada.... thats annoying, but I dont fix it... I handle it on the Stamps side.

anyway... I am enjoying Stamps.com... It automatically (well, after I click a button) "fetches" my ebay and amazon orders, and gets the info from the file I export from HW.      (yes, if I only had a couple, I would manually copy an dpaste them in)

Stamps.com doesn't recognize any international codes for me.  That's one of the tweaks... when I open the file, I change all international codes to the full country name.  I also add "packages" to one of the columns so that I don't have to manually do that in stamps.com.  And then save as a csv file which Stamps likes. 

 Wouldn't it be nice if we could click a button and it would fetch the Highwire orders AND post back to Highwire?  *sigh*

Yes!   Thats exactly what Id like!!!!  

Ive been fixing the countries as they import... it pops up a window asking me to fix the address.    Switching it in the file would work also  (wasnt it YOU who wanted it to be abbreviations in the file?  LOL)

As far as "packages" - you can set that in your profile.    Click on manage at the top of the Batch Screen, then choose ODBC Highwire (or whteaver you called it) then click done and you get another screen to choose stuff like package.

OR... maybe its in the way I mapped it... I think I have mailpiece set to map to Payment method -- and then set that credit card = package, and Paypal = package)     (YES, i am THAT smart!  LOL)

Oh, right, that was it!   I did mention it to one of the guys at Stamps.com about the country abbreviations... he agreed that they should translate them... I guess its "on their list".

Thanks for all the great information!

Thanks for all the great information!

Bump.  I seriously doubt that anyone from Highwire is reading this but if they are...  The new mobile versions and aps are nice but if they do what they are designed to do and generate more sales, more efficient shipping integration is absolutely essential.  Automated data export and post back are needed.

I would love shipping software intergration

If not software integration; At least more shipping flexibilities for sure.  I did an analysis by carrier and found different pros and cons for each carrier (UPS/ Fed Ex/ USPS) at different destinations and order weights; even negotiated awesome rates by fed ex/ ups that worth against each other at different zones and weights.. to find out that Highwire is very limiting and only offers 2 carrier choices on only 1 weight range for each. 

If any of you have any suggestions on how you are shipping international and US orders by carrier/service, I would love to hear your feedback.

E-mail: hello@organicallynaturalstore.com

ON, I highly recommend NOT shipping internationally by services other than the Post Office.   They will end up charging your customer an additional fee for brokering the package through customs.

----

Otherwise, I use flat rates for my stuff, and choose the carrier myself.   I feel like customers want to know up front what they will be charged, rather than have a calculation done later.  So, ya, Im overcharging people who happen to live close to me and undercharging people who happen to live on the opposite coast.  But, it all works out.  

Thanks GirlsHorseClothes.  I guess that's next for me then - playing around with flat rate shipping.  When you do flat rate shipping no particular carrier appears when the customer chooses this option and checks out right?  

Thanks. 

When you do flat rate shipping no particular carrier appears when the customer chooses this option and checks out right? 

Correct.   It is called "Standard Shipping"

Then, I did set up some Flat Rate Add-Ons, which then show in a drop down list on the 2nd page of check-out.   It displays "Standard Shipping (with cost) as the default, but then I have it set so people could choose Priority-USA (for which I add 2.95 I think), Priority-Intl (I cannot remember what I add for that).   I also have "Standard Shipping with Gift Receipt" (which adds on 0.00$)

Oh, I just looked at your store.. I can certainly see why you would want to do calculated!  I really do not know how I would choose to do shipping in your situation.

First thought, though, woudl be to categorize things into, say, 4 groups.   Maybe call them red, blue, yellow, green.     Red group items ship for 3$, or 0$ when shipped with something else.   Blue ship for 5$, or 1$ along with anything else, Yellow ship for 8$ or 2 along with something else, etc.

I mostly sell clothing, so I have most things shipping for 3$.   Then I have a tiny icon I add to the description boxes of items that need an up-charge (additional 2.95 shipping) ... Thats maybe only 10% of my items.   

Calculated might be best for you though.  I wonder if people really care or notice if you had said it would be UPS but it actually came FedEx (for example).    one issue is people with PO boxes do need to know if its coming USPS or by something else. 

"I wonder if people really care or notice if you had said it would be UPS but it actually came FedEx (for example).    one issue is people with PO boxes do need to know if its coming USPS or by something else. "

It's funny what you mentioned (above), i ordered a thermal label printer from amazon and was expecting it via USPS but came in today via FED EX.  I thought about it for a second then moved on to setting up the printer.  The only bad thing i can remember thinking was when would i receive my order as Amazon gave me a range of Nov 7 - Nov 21 via USPS.  

Thanks for all of your feedback- really appreciate it. For now i'm dong USPS for all orders.  Once i develop patterns i will re analyze things - flat rate shipping etc.