The Problem

ShipStation users have long used automation rules to select a shipping carrier and service. The problem with automation rules is that they only select a shipping service based on rules you pre-defined. They do not check shipping rates in real time to determine the cheapest option. This causes users to overspend on shipping because they don’t always select the cheapest service. To solve this, ShipStation recently introduced Rate Shopper, previously known as Shipping Strategies.

What is Rate Shopper?

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ShipStation users can add the Rate Shopper feature to their account for $149/mo.  But many users admit Rate Shopper doesn’t quite check all the boxes.

Rate Shopper is designed to automatically find and apply the lowest cost shipping rate for each shipment in ShipStation. To do that, users pre-select a set of service options to compare in real-time for each shipment. Rate Shopper will then compare rates and apply the cheapest option to shipments.

This is better than automation rules because rates are checked in real-time. Here is a link to more details about how Rate Shopper works:

https://help.shipstation.com/hc/en-us/articles/4415714484123-Rate-Shopper-Automate-Selecting-the-Lowest-Rate#UUID-e076d7aa-d265-cca7-29b9-c58f61b814c6_UUID-4ca4749b-10ad-2a50-da83-9376fbbc0294

Does Rate Shopper work well?

In theory, it sounds like the perfect solution. In practice, there are gaps to be filled. Rate Shopper fails to solve some of the most pressing needs for ShipStation customers:

Limited Carrier and Service Selection: Not all carriers or services are included in the Rate Shopper feature, so users may miss out on potential savings. For example, UPS Mail Innovations and Amazon Buy Shipping cannot be rate shopped. Also, flat rate options from USPS and FedEx cannot be rate shopped.

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Lack of Time in Transit: Rate Shopper can only choose from services you pre-selected. For example, if you have a Rate Shopper rule for express shipping, you probably chose services which are guaranteed to arrive in something like 2 days. But if an economy option will arrive in time for an order, you might want to use that option. Rate Shopper will not select the economy option unless you pre-set it as an option in your rule.
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Automation Challenges: Some users report that Rate Shopper doesn't always work as expected. This could lead to manual intervention because the wrong shipping service was selected.
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Inconsistent Results: There can be discrepancies between the rates displayed and the rates actually applied. It can be slow to adapt to changing rates and carrier conditions.

These issues suggest that while the tool can save money, it requires hands-on management to ensure it works properly in every scenario.

Is there a better option than ShipStation Rate Shopper?

Enter… String (meetstring.com).

String is an automated rate shopping tool that integrates directly into ShipStation. String saves ShipStation users far more money than Rate Shopper can.

This is possible because String can apply the best size package for each shipment to save ShipStation users money by minimizing dimensional weight. String can also compare the rates of services that Rate Shopper doesn’t, like UPS Mail Innovation, Amazon Buy, and flat rate options from FedEx and USPS.

ShipStation, as a shipping software, is the BEST in the business. Combining it with String can make it even better.

Customers save an average of $1.07 per shipment with String’s automated rate shopping.

Click here if you’d like to learn more about optimizing your shipping with String.

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