Express 1, a provider of discounted USPS shipping postage, has expanded their services to include even more ways to save money on shipping via USPS.

USPS is, in many cases, the cheapest way to ship your goods from your warehouse or storeroom (perhaps your garage) to your buyer, whether they’re domestic or overseas. You probably started out doing the “I’ll pack these at home and then go to the post office and stand in line to purchase my labels and get my packages on their way.” The flat rate packages were an awesome addition to the postal lineup when they were added, but like so many others, you soon got tired of standing in line day after day. So, you found ShipStation, and started doing things online. Oh, how nice it is to not have to go through that long and laborious process anymore.

Maybe that was your progression in shipping out your own products as you grew. Maybe not. The fact of the matter is, you ship via USPS. And with ShipStation, you don’t have to do all that standing in line and waiting. You get your rates, and print your labels using your own printer.

For those of you who signed up for, and began taking advantage of ShipStation’s free Express 1 account, you saw how awesome their rates were. Well, we’re very pleased to let you—and all of our sellers—know that Express 1 has expanded their offering to include discounted USPS rates on even more products. You can now get deep discounts on all your domestic flat rate priority packages (small, medium, or large boxes, envelope, padded envelope, it doesn’t matter), and awesome Priority and Express Mail rates on anything else, 1 – 70 lbs! If you shipped with Express 1 previously, you know that Express 1’s discounts only extended to a couple of flat rate box types, and only a few of the lower weights, so you know what a huge opportunity this is!

If you ship via Express Mail, you get discounts on those, too. Anything in a flat rate box gets discounted, and if it’s in your own packaging, you get discounts on anything from a half-pound to 10 lbs. If you’re wondering, yes, this has also been expanded (weight limit upped from 2-10 lbs. & expansion in package types), and signifies another way for you to save some cash when shipping your orders out.

But what about international? Those discounted rates are still in place, just like they always were. Which means you have a very well-rounded offering, and tons of options for shipping your orders cheaply when choosing to ship via USPS with Express 1, through ShipStation. Want some details? Here’s a full table of their new, expanded offerings:

* You may use either your own packaging or USPS’s free shipping boxes

At the end of the day, the new expanded product offerings from Express 1 are awesome. Now that you’ve done yourself that huge favor by using ShipStation to avoid those long post office lines and streamline your entire shipping and fulfillment process, do yourself another favor and check out Express 1. Trust me, it’s something you won’t regret.

I’m Erika, the social media & content manager for ShipStation. You’ll find me on Twitter, Facebook, our Community Forums and the other areas of the ShipStation world. In my free time, I’m a lover of video games, my cats, and other generally nerdy things. :)

So, this Thursday is Thanksgiving. A time for family (whether you’re looking forward to it, or not), some kind of main dish, whether it’s turkey, ham, or tofurky, and then about 30 gajillion side dishes. Even with all the hassle and fuss over the dinner, most of you reading this probably will have a little voice in the back of your head all day going on and on about Black Friday and/or Cyber Monday.

Well, stop it. No, really, there’s no reason to worry about what’s going to happen on Friday and Monday. If anything does happen, your worrying is not going to fix it or prevent it. That isn’t to say that you shouldn’t be prepared. Your site will probably get more traffic. You will probably get more sales than you have in these two days than in the past two weeks. These are all good things, so let’s make sure that you’re ready for them.

1.) Display a banner with your promotion’s information

First and foremost, make sure that you have some kind of banner ready to display on your site that details your promotion. Make sure you include all pertinent information, including coupon codes, restrictions, and timing. Also, for the love of all that is design, don’t use WordArt. With a quick Google search, you can find free online banner makers that will create the picture for you after you design it on their website.

2.) Change your home page title to include holiday keywords

If you can and know how to, a good idea to show up in “Black Friday” or “Cyber Monday” search results is to change your home page title to include these keywords. You might even want to put whatever promotion you’re running along with your store’s name. Above all, though, make sure that you stick to fewer than 60 characters. Anything longer won’t even show up in the search results page. Also, it’s going to take a few days for search engines to display the change, so make sure to re-submit your sitemap and plan in advance.

3.) Announce your discounts on social media

If you have a social media presence at all, use it. You can bet the hashtags #BlackFriday and #CyberMonday will be trending on Twitter on their respective days, so to get in front of people following those, use them in your tweets. For Facebook, pictures always do better in getting engagement from fans over a regular status update, so use your design skills to come up with something descriptive and shareable to display. If nothing else, use a really good, interesting picture of one of your most popular items.

4.) Get your shipping boxes now (& get extra)

Trying to get boxes after your sales happen is never fun, and after two of the most popular shopping days of the year, it’ll be even worse. Remember that individuals as well as businesses are shipping things everywhere because of the holidays, so the demand is much higher. Trends on purchases from year to year are great to look at how many boxes you’ll need and of what size and whatnot, but you should always get extra. Even if you don’t use them now,  you’ll surely use them over the next month or so.

5.) Know the hours your carrier is open (and what they’ll pick up)

USPS, UPS, & FedEx are all having special things going on this year with limited hours and closing, so know your hours of the retail spaces if you drop off there. If you have your packages picked up, there’s special stuff happening as well, so make sure you know what’s going on with your chosen carrier. If you haven’t already, take a peek at our holiday shipping infographic; it’ll fill you in on what days are special and it’s even got the ship by deadlines that are oh-so-important for stuff arriving on time.

As I said in a previous blog post, my best advice is to write down everything you do over the next few weeks. What works, what doesn’t, your sales, traffic, everything. Then, next year, you can go back and compare to make the season flow more smoothly and have things go even better than they did this year.

Do you have any tips to offer for making this week go well? Let us know in the comments!

I’m Erika, the social media & content manager for ShipStation. You’ll find me on Twitter, Facebook, and the other areas of the ShipStation world (especially the forums!). In my free time, I’m a lover of video games, my cats, and other generally nerdy things. :)

Surprise! It’s November, and we’re now in the busy season. Because we know that you’re a likewise busy person, we created this handy infographic to help you know of important dates coming up in the next couple months. FedEx, UPS, and USPS all have some special closures and rules for shipping over the next few weeks. At the bottom, you’ll also find that incredibly important “ship by” calendar so that all your packages get there on time. So, now you know that even if you’re running a little late, USPS Express can get that package there on Christmas from just the Saturday before.

Click on the graphic below to see a larger (x2) version of it, and then feel free to , tweet, like, e-mail, or even print it out and post it up somewhere for easy reference.  ;)

Click for the full-size image

 
As with everything, here’s a word of caution: most of the carriers have special rules about their “guaranteed delivery” dates, so make sure that you read the fine print. Shipping earlier rather than later is always a good idea. Clearly labeling your last “ship by” dates for the holidays on your website can help to alleviate customer questions and potential frustration. Above all, expect something to go wrong. Then, if it does, you’re prepared. If not, you’re happily surprised (and probably a bit relieved).

 
Remember, we’re here to help. If you have any tips or questions, drop us a line in the comments. And good luck! :)

ShipStation is a web-based shipping application that is fully compatible with Mac OSX and Safari. Whether you want to print single or multiple labels, domestic or international, via USPS, UPS or FedEx, ShipStation does it all on your Mac without the need for external software. Our commitment to intuitive and intelligent shipping software was built with Mac users in mind!

ShipStation brings a rich set of features to Mac users who have traditionally been neglected by desktop shipping software. Importing orders from multiple marketplaces and shipping them using USPS, UPS or FedEx is a seamless experience in Safari or any other web browser you choose. Customizable automation rules help you build a shipping process that’s fast, consistent, and tailored specifically to your business needs. Best of all, ShipStation can be accessed from anywhere!

ShipStation Feature Highlights:

• Integrates with over 25 ecommerce platforms, including eBay, Amazon, Sears, and Etsy
• Generates USPS, UPS, and FedEx domestic and international labels, including all supporting international documentation
• Free Endicia subscription with every account
• Discounted shipping rates
• Time-saving features like batch printing and automation rules

At ShipStation, we care about the details too. By offering tools like a multi-carrier rate calculator, address validation checker, and product pick list generator, we help you to make quick and easy shipping decisions from within our platform.

If you’re looking for a powerful shipping application that runs effortlessly on a Mac, check out our 30-day free trial. Jennifer, an Apple user and founder of Gracefully Girly, gave us a shot and said, “I tried ShipStation and I’m in love. Pure love.“ We love hearing from our customers and discovering how we can continue providing top of the line shipping software for online retailers.

ShipStation is constantly adding new features to make your shipping process easier. Today, we’re sharing one of ShipStation’s latest features:  Bulk Tracking.

This feature allows you to select a list of orders from the Shipments page, click the “Track Shipments” button and track multiple shipments for USPS, UPS and FedEx all in once place!

Now, each shipment will be updated with an icon indicating its current status. Hovering over the tracking status icon allows you to view detailed information:

You can also filter your shipments by tracking status. This will help you to identify any problems in shipping before the customer reaches out to you.

One additional benefit of Bulk Tracking is to be able to identify Express Overnight shipments that have not been delivered by the guaranteed date and time. You are entitled to a full refund of the postage cost when this happens.

Your free 30 day trial of ShipStation will give you full access to all our features. Simplify your shipping process today!

We’re excited to announce that ShipStation now supports Google Cloud Print! This technology allows you to print your shipping labels, packing slips, and reports to any compatible printer in the world! As an eCommerce store owner, we know you are always on the go. Now with ShipStation and Google Cloud Print, you can print shipping labels wherever you are!

This feature is now available on all ShipStation plans. The only requirement is that you have Google Chrome installed on the computer that is connected to your printer. You may continue to use ShipStation with any browser once Google Cloud Print has been set up.

Once Chrome is installed, follow these simple steps to get started with Google Cloud Print:

Step 1) Using Google Chrome on the computer that is attached to the printer, log in to ShipStation.

Step 2) Go to Settings > General Settings

Step 3) On the left, click the “Google Cloud Print” item

Step 4) Click the Get Started button and follow Google’s instructions for connecting your printers.

Another great feature is that you can print directly to “Google Docs”, so you can send labels or packing slips to your free Google “cloud storage” for archive purposes.

Free yourself from your desktop shipping program by using ShipStation and Google Cloud Print!

Look for more announcements and buzz in the coming months as we roll out new features and functionality to enhance ShipStation. In the meantime, check out the pricing section of our website to get started with your 30 day free trial today!

Here’s another great reason to process your UPS shipments with ShipStation – UPS Paperless Invoices. Once this feature is enabled on your UPS account, ShipStation will communicate your customs information electronically – eliminating the need for paper commercial invoices!
 

The UPS Paperless Invoice has several benefits:

• Electronic transmission allows customs processing to begin earlier, reducing customs holds by up to 56%!
• Streamline your shipping process – you no longer have to send documents to a separate laser printer.
• Reduce costs on ink and paper.
• Help the environment by reducing paper use.

 
To enroll in the Paperless Invoice program, follow this link:
 
http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/resources/ship/paperless.html
 
If you aren’t using ShipStation to process your UPS shipments, get started today!