Shippo Review (2023): An Easy-To-Use Shipping Solution For SMB Merchants

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In todayโ€™s Shippo review, weโ€™re taking a behind-the-scenes look at a popular shipping and fulfillment service for todayโ€™s growing ecommerce market.

As an all-in-one shipping solution for management, partnerships, label printing, and insurance, Shippo aims to provide business owners with a convenient way to streamline order fulfillment, and deliver amazing customer service.

With Shippo, business leaders can not only manage all of their shipments more effectively, but also access a simpler returns process, cheaper deals from logistics partners, and convenient tools for tracking packages and pickups. Below, weโ€™ll cover all of the features and services Shippo has to offer, to help you decide if itโ€™s the right solution for you.

What is Shippo?

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Founded in 2013, and headquartered in San Francisco, Shippo (or GoShippo) is an all-in-one shipping management and fulfillment services company, specifically designed to support small businesses and ecommerce retailers. Created to give every merchant access to the tools and technologies they need to deliver amazing service, Shippo serves more than 100,000 customers worldwide.

Shippo offers international carrier coverage, convenient software, and label printing, all in one convenient place. The service even integrates with a number of popular ecommerce platforms and marketplaces, from Shopify and Etsy, so you can fast-track any order process.

The user-friendly platform benefits from great shipping costs, a streamlined user interface, and a range of valuable tools for the shipping needs of retailers.

How Does Shippo Work?

Shippo works by giving small business owners and entrepreneurs access to a variety of tools and services, built to enhance the fulfillment process. The companyโ€™s services are split into two segments: Shippo for Merchants, and Shippo for Platforms.

For merchants, Shippo offers a comprehensive web application, capable of integrating with ecommerce marketplaces and store builders, to provide users with tools for managing orders, setting up partnerships with logistics partners, and tracking shipments. All users need to do to get started is integrate the Shippo app with their chosen store, and theyโ€™ll be able to use the service to validate addresses, compare carrier rates, create labels, and even handle pickups and returns.

Shippoโ€™s comprehensive platform supports shipment personalization, with branded tracking page creation, labels, notification emails, and more. It has tools for managing custom forms, manifests, reporting and analytics resources, and even a solution for shipping insurance.

For platforms, Shippo offers its own API solution developers can use to integrate all of the features of the fulfillment platform into their existing websites or applications. The platform services allow companies to build websites fully integrated with Shippo technology, and leverage partnerships with shipping fulfilment brands around the world.

Both service options from Shippo come with relatively low monthly fees, and pay-as-you-go pricing options to choose from.

Shippo Features: The Shippo Fulfillment App

Shippo is an easy-to-use, convenient, and streamlined platform, ready to integrate with virtually any website or marketplace. At the heart of the companyโ€™s solution is its web app, an all-in-one tool companies can use to manage shipments and drive amazing customer experiences.

The app features include:

Shipping management and discounted rates

As any great shipping company should, Shippo provides access to a host of useful shipping services. With the web app, you can instantly access insights into real-time rates from a network of carriers in locations around the world, to find the best match for your needs.

Because Shippo works directly with some of the worldโ€™s biggest brands, youโ€™ll also be able to access discounts for shipments with companies like USPS, DHL, and UPS, exclusive to the platform. Plus, you can schedule pickups with the carrier of your choice using the same service.

Discounts on shipping rates can be as high as up to 90%, saving you some serious cash on shipping with companies such as:

  • The United States Postal Service (USPS)
  • FedEx and FedEx SmartPost
  • UPS and UPS Mail Innovations
  • Australia Post
  • Canada Post
  • CouriersPlease
  • Deutsche Post
  • DHL Ecommerce and DHL Germany
  • GLS Germany and GLS France
  • Fastway
  • Hermes
  • Parcel Force Worldwide

Shippo even partners with a number of carriers for international shipping, and tracking specific companies. If youโ€™re taking your ecommerce business global, you can access pre-filled custom forms to accelerate the label creation process. There are options for accessing paperless trade, so you can avoid printing out commercial invoices. Plus, Shippo has built-in address validation tools, so you can make sure to minimize any failed delivery attempts.

Label customization and branding

Alongside a host of shipping options for both international and local brands, Shippo also provides quick and simple tools you can use to produce and customize your labels. Business leaders can set up custom business rules to automate label printing, and generate labels from existing order files with CSV uploads. You can also personalize various aspects of the shipping experience.

Shippo gives retailers a variety of packing slips and label format templates to work with, the option to create branded tracking pages for customers, and a full shipping platform service where you can process orders based on pre-set preferences. Thereโ€™s even an email service available, so you can send branded emails to customers with updates on their orders.

Tracking and Analytics

To improve your business operations, and your customerโ€™s experience, Shippo offers both tracking features, and robust analytics. You can set up automated systems to monitor the movement of your products in real-time, and even view an โ€œestimated time of arrivalโ€ (ETA) for each parcel.

Tracking options are available regardless of what shipping provider you choose, and you can update the details on your tracking pages dynamically, to keep customers informed.

From an analytics perspective, youโ€™ll also be able to monitor your overall shipping spend, how quickly products arrive to customers, and more. You can track how much youโ€™ve spent on Shippo since you started using the service, or within a specific time period, as well as how many labels you purchase daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly.

Plus, youโ€™ll be able to access your full shipping history in the backend of your account, so you can sort through the data yourself to find trends, or follow up on issues.

Bonus Features

Alongside all of the core features mentioned above, Shippo also regularly releases new and improved solutions for its platforms, intended to enhance the fulfillment experience even further. Some of the other features youโ€™ll find on the web app include:

  • Returns management: Shippo allows merchants to create return labels instantly for any order, and purchase labels for any shipments created outside of the app. You only pay for your returns labels once a customer uses them.
  • Refunds: You can request refunds for unused labels within your Shippo account, to minimize fulfillment and logistics costs.
  • Partial fulfillment: Shippo ensures retailers can split orders into multiple shipments, ideal for inventory hosted in different warehouses or locations.
  • Batch label printing: If you need to produce a number of labels fast, you can print your labels for multiple packages all with a couple of clicks.
  • Manifests: Shippo has its own section for creating SCAN forms and daily manifests, to fulfill any specific carrier requirements for your business.
  • Shipping Insurance: Users can purchase shipping insurance for important parcels directly within the Shippo platform. The solution promises an easy claims process, fast reimbursements, and affordable premiums.

Essentially, Shippo offers everything most merchants need to handle the shipping process, whether youโ€™re looking for shipping labels, order tracking for your online store, or discounts on deliveries.

The Shippo API and Integrations

Shippo makes it easy for any company to access its services, regardless of whether they want to use the web app and integrate with a range of existing tools, or implement Shippo functionality into their existing platform. The โ€œShippo for Platformsโ€ section of the website provides access to simple Shipping API tools, API documentation, and support for developers.

Shippo even has its own โ€œShipping Elementsโ€, which are code-complete snippets companies can embed into their platform in an instant, without the need for programming knowledge.

If youโ€™re using the Shippo app and want to integrate it with your existing ecommerce store or marketplace, the options are practically endless. Shippoโ€™s most popular partners include Shopify, Weebly (Square Online), Wix, BigCommerce, Squarespace, and WooCommerce. However, you can also find integrations for:

  • Magento
  • Webflow
  • ChannelAdvisor
  • ePages
  • Spree Commerce
  • Amazon
  • Ebay

Users can also get in touch with the Shippo team to request a native integration. The company is currently working on expanding its number of integration options.

Shippo Support: Customer Service

One thing merchants and business leaders shouldnโ€™t have to worry about with Shippo, is customer service. In fact, there are plenty of different ways to find answers to your questions, regardless of whether you want to talk to a human agent, or access self-help options.

Although thereโ€™s no telephone number available for Shippo, you will be able to use the following:

  • Email and support forms: All users have access to personalized email support, and the option to fill out a support form to request insight from an agent.
  • Live chat: You can connect with customer service through the live chat service. Although the team might not be available at all times, they do respond relatively quickly.
  • Social media: Shippo has an active social media page if you want to reach out to the team that way. You can reach out on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.
  • Help center and knowledgebase: Shippo has a comprehensive knowledgebase and help center where you can access articles and FAQs tackling common questions.
  • Status page: If you want to check any technical faults with the Shippo service, thereโ€™s a status page available on the website.

Retailers can also take advantage of helpful tutorial videos on the Shippo YouTube page, guides on the Shippo blog, and resourceful webinars and case studies. Thereโ€™s also the โ€œShippopediaโ€ and a host of eBooks and downloadable guides for those who want to learn more.

If you upgrade to a premium service with Shippo, you can also access dedicated customer support from an advisor.

Shippo Pricing Packages

shippo review pricing

Now we come to the tricky part: how much does Shippo cost?

The good news is there are a few different options available for pricing, depending on your specific needs. If youโ€™re looking for something cheap and simple, you can start using the Shippo service for free. There are no monthly subscription fees on this plan, and you can still access the best rates from numerous shipping providers.

Plus, you get email and live chat support. The only thing you need to pay for is the labels you print for connected carrier accounts. These labels cost 5 cents each, while the Shippo default carrier labels are free to use. If you want to upgrade to a more advanced plan, options include:

  • Professional: Starting at $10 per month (with a 30 day free trial) for all the features of the free plan, no per-label fees, branded customer experience tools, options for creating automated workflows, and up to 5 user accounts.
  • Premier: Custom pricing for all the features of the Professional plan, plus technical implementation assistance, dedicated customer support, and up to 15 user accounts.

Notably, the price of the Professional and Premier accounts vary depending on how many labels you produce. For instance, itโ€™s $10 for the Professional account for less than 75 labels per month.

There are a few bonus costs to think about on each plan too. For instance, if you want insurance from Shippo, it will cost you 1.25% of the package value on the Starter account, or 1% on the Professional or Premier plan. Global address validation costs $0.09 per address on the Starter account, $0.08 on the Professional account, or $0.06 on the Premier account.

For order tracking via API access, youโ€™ll also pay $0.01 per order.

Is Shippo Legit?

Overall, Shippo is an easy-to-use and trustworthy software company, with excellent shipping services to offer. The company is compliant with the EU-US Privacy Shield guidelines, and it also uses HTTPS security to help keep your details safe. However, Shippo doesnโ€™t have some more advanced security features, such as the ability to implement different user permissions for each account, so youโ€™ll need to make sure youโ€™re monitoring your teams carefully.

On the plus side, Shippo has earned a lot of positive ratings on review sites worldwide. Users highlight that the software is easy to use, convenient, and ideal for saving money on shipping and deliveries. Plus, the product makes it easy to monitor shipments and deliver excellent customer service, without compromising on privacy and security.

Shippo User Reviews

As mentioned above, Shippo has generally good reviews for the most part.

On the Software Advice website, users have given Shippo an overall rating of 4.86 out of 5 stars. Currently, the company boasts mostly 5-star reviews, with only a handful of 1 or 2 star ratings.

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On G2, Shippo has a slightly lower score of 4 out of 5 star, but it was still ranked as a leader in its industry by the platform in Spring 2023. Reviewers often say Shippoโ€™s ecommerce integrations and label printing software perform above the average.

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On Capterra, Shippo has an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars, making it one of the highest-rated shipping platforms out there.

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On most review platforms, the positive reviews typically mention how easy to use the platform is, and how effectively it integrates with a range of platforms. Merchants also love the free plan, and the flexible pay-as-you-go pricing models available from the fulfillment provider.

While negative reviews of Shippo are less common, there are a handful out there. Some users have complained about unexpected charges on shipping labels and difficulties getting refunds within the shipping software. Some shippers have also complained about response times from the multi-carrier companyโ€™s support team, and mediocre discounts from different carriers.

Shippo Review: The Verdict

Promising a fantastic combination of ease of use and rich functionality, Shippo is an excellent fulfillment app for todayโ€™s ecommerce businesses. If youโ€™re looking for a tool that can help you print labels, find the ideal shipping carrier, and even streamline order management, this could be the perfect solution for you. With Shippo, business leaders can save money on the fulfillment process, without compromising on excellent customer service.

Of course, before you commit, you can always consider checking out some of Shippoโ€™s competitors too, such as EasyPost, Shipstation, and Stamps.com.

Rebekah Carter

Rebekah Carter is an experienced content creator, news reporter, and blogger specializing in marketing, business development, and technology. Her expertise covers everything from artificial intelligence to email marketing software and extended reality devices. When sheโ€™s not writing, Rebekah spends most of her time reading, exploring the great outdoors, and gaming.

Comments 3 Responses

  1. Levit says:

    Buen dรญa, tengo dรญas, sobre su se puede utilizar Shippo para una tienda en lรญnea mexicana.

    1. Bogdan Rancea says:

      Hello Levit, at this point Shippo isn’t available for businesses based in Mexico.

      1. Cesar Lozano says:

        It would be great to have Shippo in Mexico at least with the main shippers that are available DHL, FedEx and UPS beside the regional contenders Estafeta and Senda.

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