50% increase in price in 30 days?

[service10]

So, let me get this straight, since my company is performing well enough to start negotiating rates directly with carriers such as UPS and DHL to achieve better rates than what ShipStation by default provides, I am now going to be penalized for this through a newly assessed fee to access a service that has previously been FREE for 6 plus years? 

This is ridiculous... It is anti-competitive and I strongly suggest this imminent policy change is rolled back as I am fairly certain it would violate section 5 of the FTC since Shipstation is now requiring you to use their offered services (which they receive a commission for) or pay the fee to access the ability to leverage private carrier accounts...

We have already notified our attorneys but more importantly, our carrier accounts as they are the ones more affected.  I strongly suggest every company do the same. I have reached out to Shipstation support for a copy of their newly updated TOS and exact details on the new pricing structure, they have not made this information public as of yet. 

@Manager-Erin, please provide the newly updated Terms of Service and information regarding the implementation of the new fees. 

[APZ]

I agree, this is not acceptable. We are looking into Canadian retail  regulations about this. If someone has access to good lawyer in this field, please check if Class-action case can be opened. We will support it.

My prediction is that all large and medium customers with annual shipping volume more than 2500-3000 have to use their own carriers simply because shipping rate are better and if they switch to  ShipStation carriers, all volume discounts will be lost and next time they wish to switch because of another SS raise it will be too late. Likely these large/medium accounts  will look into alternatives and gradually move away. We are switching to Basic plan to have smooth transition to another service then we cancel. We have Canada Post level 7 discounts based on 3000 packages shipment per year, and our rates like 25% even cheaper than what ShipStation has to offer. Same for UPS. We have to switch to another service to keep our volume discounts with UPS and Canada Post. We don't wish to take the risk to loose our contract discounts.

[greenerpastures]

Agreed 100%. Shipstation is making me choose between them and FedEx. I'm sticking with fedEx. I refuse to pay $1/day penalty to retain my negotiated FedEx rates. If I went with the Shipstation plan, I'd pay more for shipping, AND have to pay for my own shipping supplies. No, thanks. 

The good news is there are alternatives to Shipstation. Check out ShipRush. I just found out about them (from my FedEx agent) today, so I'm not an expert or even a user yet. They charge less than Shipstation's old rates, with no hidden fees, no carrier penalties. The integration list seems robust -- amazon, ebay, reverb, shopify, etc. 

We never had a great experience with Shipstation anyway, and the support has been fairly poor, so we're not going to eat the rate hike without first confirming that there's no superior alternative. At first glance, there are several viable alternatives that are lower in cost.

[JakeM]

I didn't understand what the above posters were talking about prior to searching for it, so for those in the same boat as I was:

All pricing tiers now include the following note:

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@shipstation wrote:

**Subscription fees include access to ShipStation’s default discounted shipping rates. Accessing individual carrier accounts through ShipStation will incur an additional monthly fee.

---

which is elaborated on:

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@shipstation wrote:

Is there a fee to connect my own carrier accounts through ShipStation?

ShipStation offers competitive shipping rates through direct agreements with carriers like USPS, UPS, DHL, and GlobalPost. Accessing independently-negotiated carrier rates through ShipStation will incur an additional monthly fee that varies by plan level.

1. $5, Starter Plan
2. $20, Bronze Plan
3. $30, Silver Plan
4. $40, Gold Plan
5. $60, Platinum Plan
6. $95, Enterprise Plan

The monthly fee is charged if a merchant identifies itself as (i) having its own direct carrier account and (ii) deciding to use the rates available in its own direct carrier account. This type of merchant would receive access to the ‘connect with your carrier’ page via ShipStation.

---

[ggraham]

So, our outrageous increase was 80% !!!!  They've upped the Silver subscription from $49 to $59 add that to the fee to use our own carriers = 80%+ increase in 30 days.  This is absolutely ridiculous.  We're searching for an alternative that will work for our Magento storefront, we have many options.  

[emily1]

I got this from another thread on the community, please email the Federal Trade Commission regarding this issue!
antitrust@ftc.gov

- - - - 

Here's a boilerplate for anyone else who wants to let the FTC know:

Dear Federal Trade Commission,

I am writing to bring your attention to what appears to be a significant antitrust issue concerning Auctane, a shipping and logistics conglomerate.

Over the past year, Auctane has acquired numerous shipping companies, including but not limited to ShipStation, Stamps.com , Endicia, Shipengine, and Global Post (https://auctane.com/products/ ). These acquisitions, in themselves, may not pose a concern. However, the manner in which Auctane has manipulated its new market power is a cause for worry.

Auctane recently announced rate hikes of 100% across these platforms, a move that may cause substantial financial strain on the numerous businesses and consumers that rely on their services. More worryingly, they have also instituted a monthly fee for users to access outside carriers such as FedEx and DHL. This blatant discouragement of competition seems designed to force customers into using Auctane's own pre-negotiated rates with USPS and UPS.

The significant market consolidation and pricing practices Auctane has demonstrated are deeply concerning. Not only does this appear to lessen competition in the shipping and logistics industry, but it also seems to unfairly disadvantage tens of thousands of companies that depend on these services for their businesses. It is my belief that these actions amount to anti-competitive practices and are deserving of an antitrust investigation.

A healthy competitive market is crucial for both businesses and consumers. It fosters innovation, drives down prices, and ensures quality service delivery. Auctane's actions appear to be detrimental to these principles.

I urge the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Auctane's actions and intervene as necessary to protect consumers, businesses, and the overall health of the shipping and logistics industry.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I am available to provide any additional information that may assist in your investigation.

Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME, TITLE, and CONTACT INFO - Always include a physical address too]