Hi everyone,
I have been a long-time ShipStation user shipping from the UK to the US. I am writing to urgently request an upgrade to ShipStation’s customs data mapping and field limits.
Following the stricter US Customs regulations, international shipments now require exhaustive product data to clear customs smoothly. Unfortunately, ShipStation’s current platform limitations are making compliance nearly impossible without manual workarounds that risk customs delays. I have actually had to move my business away from ShipStation due to these feature limitations, but I would be very happy to move back if you can improve the platform.
I am asking the product team to address the following limitations:
• Character Limit on Product Descriptions: The current 50-character restriction is far too short to provide the detailed descriptions now mandated by US Customs. We need this field expanded to allow as many characters as possible. I can send a carrier commercial invoice template created from another platform if that helps show what is required.
• Net vs. Gross Weight Mapping: ShipStation only supports a single weight field. On carrier commercial invoices, this results in one weight showing accurately while the other defaults to zero. This discrepancy causes immediate confusion for customs officers. We need separate, clear fields for both Net and Gross product weights that map correctly to carrier invoices.
• Packaging and Pack Sizes: There are currently no dedicated fields to input packaging details, pack sizes, packaging materials, or packaging weight information for customs declarations.
• MID and Manufacturer Details: The Manufacturer Identification (MID) code field does not reliably transfer onto all carrier commercial invoices, and there is no structured space to provide full manufacturer names and addresses.
While customer support suggested uploading supplemental PDF/PNG documents, doing so creates massive data contradictions. If a supplemental document lists both weights, but the ShipStation-generated commercial invoice shows a "0" for one of them, it flags the shipment for inspection.
As international sellers, we need a basic, compliant data-mapping structure built into the platform—not temporary workarounds. Please lift the character limits and add proper net/gross weight and packaging fields so we can continue shipping to the US without friction.
If anyone else is facing these customs hold-ups, please upvote and comment to get the product team's attention!