New version layout (May 2022) - issues

[info301]

When I heard there was going to be a new version released, I cringed a bit, but figured I'd give it the benefit of the doubt (as we often don't get a choice or a say in such things anyway). However, upon trying it today for the first time, there are a lot of things I don't like about it at all, and it has definitely increased the time to process orders, and not just because it's new, but because it is clunky. Can we opt to switch back to the old layout?

Also, why is it that in the "shipments" list, the order is now really random? I switched to a sort by date but even that didn't really make sense as compared to the old way of them being listed by date and by order of processing, which worked for me.

Why is it that something that wasn't broken always has to be changed? Some employee just wanting to add "value" to justify their position? Not much about this new version is an improvement enough to justify the changes and the increased processing time, for me anyway.

Anyway, there are a LOT of things I don't really like about the new layout (address verification changes, customs input changes, the way shipping is paid for without seeing your balance, etc) and wish to switch if possible.

[sales180]

Above all the layout design is very confusing. The label text in the order window and actual data is the same font the same color. It takes more time to navigate. The shipping rate is way too little and barely visible. The washed out look is very difficult to navigate. It might look modern but definitely not helpful. Please relay these comments to the team working on it so they can make changes. It has to be functional first. Thank you

[marc8]

New layout is awful.  Slow, poor density on smaller screens, some links simply do nothing, get spinning wheel as often as not: I have no idea of orders were sent to FBA or not.

This is all a poor use of your customers' time.  PLEASE BRING BACK WHAT WORKED.

[DynF]

When they talked about this new version forever ago I remember trying it, realizing it was full of bugs and went back to the old one. I figured by now they would have fixed some of the bugs but is just seems there are more. I'm not even going to list them because it would take too long.

[marc8]

Shipstation doesn't seem interested in addressing the issues with the downgraded layout as they've been raised repeatedly over the past couple of years here as well as in Capterra reviews:

https://www.capterra.com/p/155621/ShipStation/reviews/3348487/
https://www.capterra.com/p/155621/ShipStation/reviews/3303819/

https://www.capterra.com/p/155621/ShipStation/reviews/3151710/

https://www.capterra.com/p/155621/ShipStation/reviews/3107367/

https://www.capterra.com/p/155621/ShipStation/reviews/2822777/

https://www.capterra.com/p/155621/ShipStation/reviews/2798626/

It sounds like if you need to spend the time dealing with the quirks of a new interface there are better and less expensive options.

[DynF]

It seems the more I use it the more issue I find, I'll give them a little more time to fix it but I'm already considering alternatives. Does anybody have any recommendations?

[dallowayplace]

Ordero, Orderhive, Shippo - depending on your size/needs/integrations. We moved most of our business away from shipstation after years of them failing to fix the amazon notification problem and getting the same excuse - that amazon throttles the API and prevents shipstation from sending notifications. We now ship 3x the volume we did back then and NEVER get the same amazon problems as we had with shipstation.

[sales436]

I'm looking into Readycloud CRM + ReadyShipper X but have not had a chance to try it yet. They have a free trial, and so do a lot of other shipping programs.

[service10]

@info301 @sales180 @marc8  There is a current thread located here from 4/7 that we are trying to document as many issues with the new layout as possible. Multiple tickets on the matter have been reported and we do know that at least one of them has been escalated to a developer. 

Unfortunately, we still do not have an ETA on when a fix might be implemented, however, the forced migration appears to only affect a small subset of users and Shipstation is outright lying when they say everyone has migrated. 

Any bugs or issues you all may have noticed in the new layout, PLEASE chime in and let us know. 

https://community.shipstation.com/t5/ShipStation-Features/Advanced-Hotkey-Support-and-New-Layout/m-p...

[d-a-v-i-s]

I spoke with ShipStation support this morning and was told that they're planning to have everyone migrated to the new version by end of the month. We haven't received the notice yet, so I'm hopeful that's going to get pushed.

[brendan1]

I couldn't agree more. I tried the new layout a year or so ago when it was first introduced and immediately switched back.

I received an email yesterday stating that we'd be forced into using the new design/layout as of June 8 so I tried it again today. AWFUL user experience. Slow. Laggy. For some reason labels take for ever to calculate and print. The design is just far less intuitive. It's a real shame. 

We're looking into leaving shipstation and using our accounting/order system for label generation now. 

[d-a-v-i-s]

I can tell you I spoke with our rep last week. Not particularly helpful, but he did let me know that my company's switchover date will be 6/29. They're apparently trying to get everything switched by the end of June, so I assume I'm in the last wave. I did get confirmation that the issues I noted on this ticket are bugs they're aware of and that they're being worked on. I'm giving it 3 weeks and then I'll test again. If no progress, we'll likely be jumping ship too.

[service10]

Appreciate the info @d-a-v-i-s. I can say that the speed has improved slightly, but a majority of the advanced hotkeys are STILL not working. There was an issue with the packing slips last week that seems to have been resolved. The scan interface has seen a few updates and the "view" switching seems to have improved. In the order details view, this is still broken. 

Overall, they are working on it. But it's still really broken. We have been exploring options and had several conversations with a few competitors. It's been about a week since I last heard from a developer, but I too am being told they are aware of these issues. Here's me being hopeful that things will get worked out. 

[d-a-v-i-s]

edited

[Manager-Erin]

Hello all, 

I wanted to reach out to clear up some confusion here. At this time there are no plans to pause migrations of V3. We will continue to keep all users in the loop as to when they might expect migration via direct emails and in app notifications. 

The email referenced above was in relation to a specific account whose migration has been delayed temporarily.  If you are experiencing any major issues or are unable to ship as a result of the new layout, please reach out to our support team directly, and they will work with you to make sure we can keep you shipping. 

For our users who have currently been migrated or are soon to be migrated, we are hosting some live webinar sessions about the new layout this week. 

June 15th @ 1:00 PM CST

June 16th @ 1:00 PM CST

Kind Regards,

Erin: your friendly neighborhood ShipStation Community Manager 

[sales180]

I have an issue where I cannot ship some of my orders. I was in contact with the support since 5/20/2022 and since it was escalated to senior support on 5/31/2022 I have not heard from anybody. 

This platform is nowhere near being ready to be utilized. 

[service10]

@Manager-Erin, Thanks for the clarification, yet other enterprise customers that I am in contact with also are stating similar things to @d-a-v-i-s. Their forced migration dates are being delayed. So while you're saying one thing, your customers are saying another. So which is it?  Why do enterprise customers get this level of support but Silver and Gold level customers do not?  

Now, I also want to address the elephant in the room here and that  is in this statement of yours: 

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@Manager-Erin wrote:

If you are experiencing any major issues or are unable to ship as a result of the new layout, please reach out to our support team directly, and they will work with you to make sure we can keep you shipping. 

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I HAVE DONE THIS. MULTIPLE TIMES MIND YOU. I talked online with customer service chat for 3 hours on the day the forced migration rolled out. I sent 3 emails to support regarding issues with the new layout a couple of weeks BEFORE the migration raising my concerns. I've contributed here to this thread, and I even started contacting shipstation employees via Linkedin just to get an audience.

ONLY AFTER ALL OF THAT did I get the chance to exchange a few emails with a customer support manager where I again detailed the issues at hand and proceeded to ask nicely to be rolled back only to be met with a statement "That is only available for select customers under exceedingly rare circumstances"...  

I have asked for an ETA on when broken items will be fixed, I've spent HOURS of debugging time as a CUSTOMER, not a Shipstation employee... And all for what? Non-answers and terrible transparency. 

Listen, I'm all for continuing to support shipstation if you guys get your act together, however, forcing migration when the software doesn't work or it adds significant changes to workflows is simply not the way to treat your customers. Furthermore, expecting your CUSTOMERS to debug and report issues that have been KNOWN for MONTHS before rolling out the update is just sad.

Finally, again, I come back to my initial recommendation that for anyone following this thread or anyone new here, I STRONGLY suggest looking into alternatives. Shipstation continues to show no respect for their customers, nor any urgency in making a bad situation right. @Manager-Erin I would love to have a more detailed discussion with a decision maker there at Shipstation and I would love it if you could make that happen. 
 

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[jason13]

Thank you for sharing your experience. I was forced over today and have done about 6 hours of research. "Shippingeasy" is a great alternative that stacks very close in terms of features. I believe  it offers even better inventory management options. I have used ship station for years and they never gave me a reason to compare. Sadly they have proven with responses that you are 100% correct and we should all look into alternatives. We are still the customer!