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It was almost exactly two years ago that I wrote about the free USPS service, Click n Ship. At the time, I concluded that it could be useful to a seller who only shipped a few packages a week. Someone with a higher volume would be better served by a product such as Endicia. Since then, the Post Office has released a full and robust application called Shipping Assistant (SA). Though still free, it offers many of the features of the paid services. For some sellers, this might be all they need, despite its shortcomings and a few feature implementations that are just plain silly. Keep in mind, however, if you want full functionality, you must rent a Pitney Bowes Mailstation 2 for $19.99/month.
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USPS Shipping Assistant
(features available without Mailstation 2 postage meter) |
Endicia |
| Validates addresses |
yes |
yes |
| Calculates postage |
yes |
yes |
| Free delivery
confirmation |
yes |
yes |
| Prints postage |
no |
yes |
| Corrective postage |
no |
yes |
| Stealth postage |
no |
yes |
| Online discount |
no |
yes |
| Print mailing labels |
standard 1 per page |
customized labels in numerous
sizes many templates |
| Prints foreign labels and
customs forms |
yes |
yes |
| Insurance available |
no |
yes |
| Emails customers with
tracking information |
name and date only |
name, date, full address |
| Maintains address books |
yes if you remember to save |
yes automatically |
| Maintains database of
shipments and shows delivery |
yes, but only on local machine |
yes, web-based and accessed from
any computer |
| Works on multiple
computers |
only the addresses can be synched
with import/export |
yes, with web-based interface,
all shipments can be seen |
| Interfaces to other
programs |
none that I can find |
works with many auction tools |
| Customer support |
useless, computer-generated
replies |
yes. quick responses just about
24/7 |
| Price |
free |
$9.95 a month |
Without the Mailstation 2 postage meter, Shipping Assistant lets you build mailing lists, import and export addresses, validate addresses, calculate postage, print customs forms, domestic and foreign shipping labels with delivery confirmation (free for priority packages), return merchandise labels you can send to customers, and track your packages.
Adding Addresses
When you begin to enter an address for a label, the program looks for a match and displays a drop-down list, much like the way web addresses are displayed as you type them into a browser. It does this by first name, since that is the way you enter them. You can also search your address books by last name and choose an address to print.
If you enter a new address, you can save it in one or more address books, but only if you click the Save Address button. If you forget to do so, once you print the label, the address disappears. It would be nice if it automatically saved every new address or at least warned you to save before clearing it. A more annoying problem is that when you click Save Address, no message pops up to tell you it's been saved, and if you click it twice, it duplicates the address in your active book - even though it already has the capability to check for duplicates.
Printing Labels
The program compares different shipping options and calculates the postage. It validates the address before printing the label. It builds a database of your shipments and shows you the delivery status. There are links to order shipping supplies or schedule carrier pickup.
You can't custom-design labels. It only produces the full-page labels where half is attached to the package and the other half is your receipt. According to the documentation on the USPS site, it can print two labels per page, but I have been unable to find any instructions for this. Their help pages ridiculously lumps Shipping Assistant, Click N Ship, and Stamps.com together so you can't tell which tips apply to which program. Shipping Assistant interfaces with several types of scales, but doesn't appear to interface with any third-party software.
You can set your defaults to save time. For example, if you generally ship 1-pound priority packages, save that as the default and you won't have to select the package-type unless it is different.
Storing Information
Though it claims to work on multiple computers in the same organization, SA is installed independently on each computer. Each installation builds its own database. There is an import and export feature for the addresses, so you can keep the address books in sync. It is even smart enough to recognize when an address being imported already exists on file so it does not duplicate, which makes me wonder why it can't do that when you click the Save Address button.
However, there is no import/export for the package history, so if you look up your shipments, you will only see the ones you processed on that specific computer. This is a bit of a problem because if a customer calls to inquire about their shipment, you may have to run the program and look it up on several machines. I work out of two locations, and if a customer inquires about a package shipped from the other office, I can't look it up in SA. Endicia's history is maintained online, so you can look it up from any computer connected to the Internet.
Email Notification
If you choose, SA will automatically send an email to your customer (and a copy to you) with the package tracking number. However, the way it does this is silly for a number of reasons. First, it does not include the address - not even the zip code - just the name, date, and tracking number.
I once mistyped an address. The package showed up as delivered. The customer emailed to say he never got it. I sent him the tracking information and told him to question his household members and his mailman.
I then shipped a replacement, (using the same address stored in SA) which also never arrived. A few days later his neighbor brought it over. The first package seems to have disappeared. This problem could have been avoided if the email from SA included the shipping address. The customer would have known immediately that it was mis-addressed and would have stopped me from sending out a second one to the wrong address.
As for the email itself, it has the not-very helpful subject line of "delivery confirmation number." When a customer calls about their shipment, I have to either fire up SA and hope I shipped it from the computer I am sitting at, or I have to hunt through emails, opening each and looking for the right name. It would have been more helpful if the subject was "delivery confirmation for Joe Jones."
No Stealth Postage Feature
It will only calculate postage for the specific package type and weight shown. It does not let you choose the postage amount or print corrective postage if you accidentally chose a 1-lb package instead of 2. You can not print stealth postage (where the actual postage amount is hidden). Some sellers charge a bit more for postage than the actual amount to cover added expenses such as packaging or using a service like Endicia. They get tired of customers complaining, "You charged me $10 when you only paid $9.80." So stealth postage is a good way to keep complainers quiet.
Mailstation2 Required
Astoundingly, Shipping Assistant does not let you print postage AT ALL unless you are attached to a Mailstation 2 device (http://www.pitneyworks.com/postagemeter). After printing the label, you have to attach postage. Again, this is silly. Even their somewhat clumsy, web-based Click N Ship allowed you to print postage with the label. Perhaps because of this missing ability, Shipping Assistant does not give you the discount to which you are entitled for printing postage online. A 1-pound priority box is $4.75 instead of $4.80. A flat rate box is $9.30 instead of $9.80 and a large flat-rate box is $12.50 instead of $12.95. There are also intermediate discounts on many priority shipments, (i.e. 7.96 instead of 8.25) but SA calculates the full price. Maybe with a Mailstation 2 attached it would give the discount.
Incidentally, I always pay $4.80 for the small priority packages because, knowing the Post Office, if I put only $4.75 they would return the package for insufficient postage. I have had some flat rate boxes returned to me because a clerk weighed them and decided I hadn't put enough postage on. Somehow he either failed to read or comprehend what "flat rate" means. I did bring a flat rate box to my local post office with $9.30 in Endicia postage on it and a clerk argued with me that it required $9.80.
Fortunately, another clerk knew about the online discount and explained it to her.
Customer Support
Finally, we come to the issue of support. It's a free program, so there is none, but USPS doesn't say that. They give you an email address to which you can direct questions. Something named Jordan answers them. I say "something" because I am convinced that Jordan is not a human being but an automated program. I sent an email with some suggestions to improve the program. Jordan responded that he was sorry I was so frustrated. He assured me that my comments were being forwarded to the development team. I replied back to say I wasn't frustrated, I was merely suggesting an enhancement. He replied with a message assuring me that he valued my privacy and my email ID would not be used for any marketing purpose. Several days later I emailed with another suggestion. Jordan replied that he was sorry I was so frustrated. He assured me that my comments were being forwarded to the development team. I replied to ask if he were a human being or a computer. He responded with a message assuring me that he valued my privacy and my email ID would not be used for any marketing purpose. Deja vu. Again, this is silly. If you are going to use an auto-reponder and try to pretend it's a live human being, at least build a list of several replies and vary them.
Conclusion
Shipping Assistant can be a useful tool for a seller who doesn't feel a need to pay for a shipping service such as Endicia, only uses one computer, and is willing to put up with some minor annoyances in exchange for the monthly saving of $9.95. Unless you have a Mailstation 2, you will have to add postage separately. If you ship priority, you won't have to take your packages to the Post Office, since you can request carrier pickup.
However, you can't drop your shipments in a mailbox since there is a rule that mail heavier than 13 ounces which bears stamps must be taken to the Post Office. This rule does not include mail processed via Endicia or Stamps.com.
If you ship mostly small boxes, you will only pay an extra nickel per box with SA. However, if you ship larger boxes, you will be paying as much as fifty cents extra on each and that can add up to more than the cost of an Endicia account.
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