ShipStation *Tripling* Fees starting May '25

[MININ]

Heads up: Gold Level subscriptions will be the new *minimum* for ShipStation API access beginning May '25. This disproportionate fee increase nearly triples our monthly costs, and zero the Gold level "benefits" are of use or of interest to us. Difficult to see this as more than a money grab by ShipStation. Super disappointed in ShipStation.

[TSRSM-John]

It's only a matter of time before another app overtakes Shipstation in this market. There are already decent alternatives and Shipstation just keeps giving users reasons to jump ship. SMDH

[shipping4fun]

Would you mind sharing the alternatives? 

[TSRSM-John]

No problem! The first three that come to mind are Shippo, Easyship, and Pirate Ship. I've been looking into making the switch from Shipstation since they introduced that $40 surcharge for using your own courier accounts in 2023. Unfortunately they're still the best option for our business, but I don't expect that to remain true forever. The competition is catching up. Even Shopify's built-in shipping tools are somewhat comparable, depending on your needs.

[MTR]

Tripling our bill is pretty crazy. I wasn't able to get in touch with anyone at Shipstation, because their customer support response time was 2 weeks. I don't think they would make an exception for us anyway, so we're migrating to Easypost. Shippo was our second choice.

Just FYI, Stamps.com, Endicia, ShipEngine, ShippingEasy, ShipWorks, GlobalPost, Shipsi, Shipbot, and Metapack are all owned by Shipstation. So any of their prices could easily triple overnight as well.

[jade687]

Is this just for the companion API?  It doesn't mention the openAPI in the email I got.

[MTR]

https://help.shipstation.com/hc/en-us/articles/360025856212-ShipStation-API

V1 API will be limited to only those accounts on Gold, Accelerate, or higher plans. V1 API will not be available via the add-on or on lower plans.

For ShipStaton accounts on a Gold plan, Accelerate plan, or higher, you will have access to the V2 API and V1 API endpoints.

Accounts on any plan lower than Gold, please know that:

• You will no longer be able to generate V1 API (Shipstation openAPI) keys.

• V1 API (Shipstation openAPI) will not be available via the add-on. Instead, we encourage you to upgrade and try V2 API.

[jade687]

Seems a bit crazy to me, they should at least offer grabbing orders from sites, that's all I use it for is to grab orders.  I don't actually ship anything from there.  So 9.99 becomes 99.99.  Seems wild.

[SandwichTech]

Thank you - that article is the only straight answers I have been able to get.  This change really is the worst case scenario.  Switching to Shippo

[Multus]

WE are furious as well.  WE only using the api because we have to use commerce hub for lowe's online orders.  I had to built a semi automatic solution with google sheets and drive to upload the commercehub file and then use the api to pull the data to shipstation as well as the shipping data to be pulled back to the google sheet file for our team to upload to commercehub.   WE do not do many lowes orders a month so making us jump from 49.99 (already charging us 20 a month to use fedex)  to now 119.99 a month is insanity.  We use shiprush for my other business and it is looking like I will need to see if i can use their api to work in a similiar way.  WE are so dissapointed with shipstation!  

[MININ]

We reached out to ShipStation directly after their announcement email regarding this thinly veiled money grab and explained that none of the gold-level features are of interest or of use to us and that tripling monthly fees just for API access is a completely disproportionate fee increase. We received no reply whatsoever...until 7 days later when we got an automated reply saying they received our email and are hoping to get in touch soon.

As if we need even more evidence of ShipStation's money grab as they triple our monthly fees just for API access: they can't even reply to support inquires for over a week...and when they finely do, it's just an auto-reply that says "nope, still can't help you yet, but hopefully one day soon maybe."

Anybody from ShipStation out there listening? Anybody from ShipStation care that your customers are exchanging info on how to jump ship from ShipStation because of this wildly out-of-touch and unreasonable fee increase? Anybody from ShipStation notice that this thread and this topic rank #2 (and counting) in the last 30 days' most popular here on your own community? (let alone what your customers are saying about this outside your own community...) Anybody? Anybody? @CaraAdmin? Anybody at ShipStation wanna work with your customers instead of drive them away?

[CaraAdmin]

Hello @MININ!

Thank you for your feedback regarding the upcoming changes effective 5/1/25. As an active community member, you know we receive a high volume of feature requests, and we truly value every one of them. Our commitment remains focused on making meaningful improvements and prioritizing the features and enhancements that matter most to our users.

We continuously invest in our products and services to ensure they evolve alongside your business needs. From launching new features and expanding carrier and order source integrations to enhancing customer support, we’re dedicated to delivering even greater value and an improved experience.

Some changes have become necessary to support these ongoing advancements. We’re confident that these updates will allow us to continue providing the tools and support you need to succeed, now and in the future.

We appreciate everyone's feedback!

-Cara

[MININ]

Sorry, @CaraAdmin -- we find your reply as tone deaf as the tripling of fees for zero additional benefits. 

You don't address any of the points many of us have brought up here. It's just another sign that ShipStation is just grabbing money and doesn't care that y'all are out of touch with your customer's needs or the reality of doing business in this day and age.

[SandwichTech]

The notification email said that the change goes into effect May 22nd, not May 1st.  Which is it?