USPS Shipping Manifest Not Registering/Updating on ShipStating

[friendsartlab]

My USPS mail carrier is scanning my end of the day USPS shipping manifest, but unfortunately it is not registering/updating on ShipStation or USPS. This has never happened before and I am not sure why this is not occurring. It used to be that the mail carrier would scan the USPS end of the day shipping manifest and it would then register on ShipStation as the item was picked up; however, while it is being scanned by the USPS mail carrier, it is not registering on ShipStation at all! 

Is anyone else having this problem???

[PLM]

Do you, by any chance, have daily pickups set up on USPS.com?

About a month ago, my mail carrier suggested that I request daily pickups on USPS.com, and we did so for the entire year. Every day, I received a notification from USPS about the daily pickup.

I'm considering the possibility that the daily pickup request on the USPS.com site may be causing or interfering with my end-of-day scan.

Please let me know if any of you do or do not have daily pickups set up on the USPS website to help determine if this could be a contributing factor.

[dell]

Same.  It has nothing to do with your Daily pickups.  We tried pickups, years ago, and it didn't work for us.  Sometimes, the pickup would never show up, other days, they would show up, but could only take 1/3rd of what we shipped.  So we just take it to the USPS office.  We drop at their back dock, and they know us very well, as we have been dropping there for 10+ years.  We have worked with the Postmaster for a few weeks, and we figured out that it is shipstations scan sheets that are the problem.  I reported it back to shipstation as soon as we figured it out, and all they keep saying is.... We are looking into it.  I guarantee this problem is affecting every person who uses shipstation to ship USPS and prints scan sheets.  Some users just may not notice, because they may be really close to a USPS Distribution center and are receiving scans at the sorting centers the same day they are dropping off, so they wouldn't notice, unless they looked close at the tracking.

[123qwe]

Hi all, 

I have managed to find a potential solution, I spoke with someone at shipstation today and they said to go to stamps.com to create the SCAN Form - USPS Form #5630. When I went to do that I noticed I COULDN'T! I didn't have the "appropriate plan. On stamps.com the  "Ship Confirmation Acceptance Notification (SCAN Form - USPS Form #5630)" is an added feature you HAVE TO BUY!  IT'S IN THEIR "PROFESSIONAL SHIPPER PLAN" FOR $39.99 

[friendsartlab]

This is absolutely ridiculous that ShipStation cannot figure out how to fix this problem IN THEIR SYSTEM!!! We already are paying ShipStation monthly for this service and it is a service they advertise is included in our plans, so we should not have to pay another company for this service, but instead it is the responsibility of ShipStation to get this fixed.

Interestingly enough I received an advertisement that Amazon is now creating a new shipping platform and their service is FREE! After the holidays are over, our company is going to take a look at Amazon's new system as not only free, but I am sure they will not give us the run around nonsense like ShipStation has done! Shame on ShipStation!  

[dell]

This is certainly not true either, and not a solution.  I can currently create the scan sheets on shipstation or stamps.com.  If you go to your Settings icon at the top, then click Shipping Carriers, then click the 3 dots next to USPS, and click it then click Carrier Settings, it will pull up the Stamps.com webpage, but a really dumbed down version.  On the address bar at the top of that stamps.com page, delete "?storeContext=integrator", then hit enter and load the new page.  Now you should have pull down menus at the top, you should see History, and under that pull down is where you can create scan forms.

Now that you know this, it doesn't matter, it will create and print out the same non working invalid scan form that shipstation prints out, because shipstation is getting it from the same place on stamps.com.

Everyone needs to understand, Stamps.com Owns Shipstation, so either of them should be able to get this problem fixed!

[PLM]

Do you have the Free or the Professional Shipper Plan at stamps.com?

[dell]

Free, you do not need the Professional Shipper Plan (I have enterprise Shipstation account).  Every shipstation subscription comes with a stamps.com account.  Again, it doesn't matter, it prints the same scan sheet, as that is where shipstation gets it from.  I have tried printing the scan sheet a thousand different ways.  But you MOST DEF do not need the Professional Shipper Plan.

[123qwe]

I thought so too, but go in and read what’s included in the stamps.com basic account and you will see that the USPS scan form isn’t included. 

[dell]

Well, that would not make any sense, because with the instructions I have given you, I can go on and create a scan form.  I believe it is through the shipstation/stamps account that it allows this.  If you were just using stamps.com with no shipstation, then yes, that would be the case.  All Scan Forms are Form 5630.  If you have printed one from somewhere else, Ebay, Pirate Ship, or any other place that prints on that works, you will notice they both show Scan Form 5630, but shipstations is an older version, and still shows First Class Mail, and not Ground Advantage.  I have used Shipstation for 10 plus years, and have printed scan sheets for 10 plus years.  I don't think its a coincidence that the scan form stopped working, when the post office dropped First Class mail, and started Ground Advantage.  No way that is a coincidence.

[PLM]

I just upgraded my stamps account to the professional plan, it shows the features and I hope this resolves the issue, thanks for the tip 123qwe :

Professional Shipper Plan

Key features of Professional Shipper Plan:

- Ship Confirmation Acceptance Notification (SCAN Form - USPS Form #5630)

I will let you know if this was in fact the problem.

[123qwe]

I did the same thing, trying it today by printing the end of day form via stamps.com. I will let you know if I have any success. 

[PLM]

I just upgraded my stamps account to the professional plan, it shows the features and I hope this resolves the issue, thanks for the tip 123qwe :

Professional Shipper Plan

Key features of Professional Shipper Plan:

- Ship Confirmation Acceptance Notification (SCAN Form - USPS Form #5630)

I will let you know if this was in fact the problem.

[dell]

You do not need the professional shipper plan, Sorry you signed up for it, but you will get the same scan sheet from stamps.  I have been using Shipstation for 10 plus years, and know all the ins and outs of it. You can also access printing the scan sheet from stamps.com also, without having to sign up for the professional shipper plan, I posted the instructions higher up, but will posted them here again;

"If you go to your Settings icon at the top, then click Shipping Carriers, then click the 3 dots next to USPS, and click it then click Carrier Settings, it will pull up the Stamps.com webpage, but a really dumbed down version.  On the address bar at the top of that stamps.com page, delete "?storeContext=integrator", then hit enter and load the new page.  Now you should have pull down menus at the top, you should see History, and under that pull down is where you can create scan forms.

Now that you know this, it doesn't matter, it will create and print out the same non working invalid scan form that shipstation prints out, because shipstation is getting it from the same place on stamps.com.

Everyone needs to understand, Stamps.com Owns Shipstation, so either of them should be able to get this problem fixed!"

[PLM]

I was able to print the scans using my free plan, so I decided to upgrade to see if this could make a difference.

It came to my surprise to see that -- Ship Confirmation Acceptance Notification (SCAN Form - USPS Form #5630) is only feature on the Professional Shipper Plan at Stamps.com

Please note that stamps do not have scan forms in the basic plan. 

We will see if this is the problem and I will let you know, my plan changes on Nov 22nd, I upgraded today.

I called stamps.com and they said the billing changes until Nov 22nd but features are activated immediately, will see.

[dell]

I would be astonished if it made a difference, but I do not believe it will.  Not sure what you are referring to by Basic Plan, as that is not even an option.  I show three options.  Pro Plan, Professional Shipper Plan, and Primer Plan.  Mine shows I have Pro Plan, at a $0.00 monthly cost, as it comes with a shipstation subscription.  Again, been printing scan sheets for a decade.  Also printed several scan sheets through stamps.com as well as through shipstation since this problem started.

[123qwe]

Just trying to provide some solutions, I don’t think doing this for a decade has anything to do with recent technology upgrades or changes…if we’re not getting answers from Shipstation just trying to troubleshoot on our own. So thank you for your opinion, however, shooting down ideas isn’t going to scan your packages. 

[dell]

Thank you for your candor, but yes, I do believe doing this for a decade does lead some credence to know what I am doing.  I was trying to save you the trouble of paying for a subscription, and offering my knowledge of how to use the stamps.com system.  If you think that someone telling you that they have already printed scan sheets through stamps.com and they do not work, is shooting down ideas.  Then me telling you anything is of no use.  I am trying to find a solution myself, and have been in constant contact with Shipstation every day.  Are you a Enterprise user?  Enterprise users do get priority tech support.  I am doing what I can.  But I will no longer offer you any suggestions if you are going to be so rude!  Have a good day friend. 

[PLM]

Sorry, yes Pro Plan:

Pro Plan - Key features of Pro Plan:

- Pint postage directly on Labels, Envelopes, Paper using your computer and printer

- Up to 10 Cost Codes to help you keep track of your spending

- Hidden Postage - Hide the shipping amount paid on your packages

- Friendly customer support to help you through the process

Professional Shipper Plan

Key features of Professional Shipper Plan:

- Direct ODBC integration with your existing customer or order management database

- Ship Confirmation Acceptance Notification (SCAN Form - USPS Form #5630)

- Automated USPS Customs forms for all International shipping

- Up to 1000 Cost Codes to help you account for your spending

- A Professional Shipper account that will accommodate up to $5000 balance

- Ability to print up to 22 labels or envelopes per minute in continuous batch print jobs

- Automatic address cleansing through the USPS Address Management System

- Compatible with most industrial shipping scales, printers and barcode scanners

- Allows up to 3 users (at the same address) to access your account at the same time with centralized billing and controls

- Provides you with the controls to track expenditures across an organization

- Allows you to set individual user access levels

[dell]

Yes, I have already seen what you are seeing, but scan sheets are included with your shipstation subscription, which is why you can already print them without a Professional Shipper Plan.  It would be very odd of them, to out of the blue not announce the need to pay for a stamps.com Pro Shipper plan in order to print scan sheets, but to continue to allow you to print broken scans sheets that don't work.  If that truly was the case, that is a horrible business practice.

Did you not say you already signed up, and printed your scan sheet?  If so, does it still have First Class Mail listed on the scan sheet?  Or does it Say Ground Advantage?

[PLM]

Still show First Class Mail 

[dell]

That would lead me to believe that scan sheet will not work, which is unfortunate.

[jason13]

I have tried the stamps.com scan sheet as well and it didn't work. They are owned by same company.

One thing of interest to everyone - I tried a competitor the past two days and when printing the 5630 form it says form revision date of July 2013. - It does not include first class option.

When printing from stamps.com or shipstation the 5630 form says last revision July 5th 2006. Right there is the issue they are using the wrong revision or version if you will of the form, I honestly think it is as simple as that sadly.

[jason13]

I should also say that my form from external sources have worked perfectly both days....

[dell]

Yes, in my contacts with shipstation tech support, I have also supplied them with scan sheets from other services that the scan sheets actually work.  They did admit to me through support that there is a difference.  I for the life of me can't figure out why this would take so long to fix.

[friendsartlab]

I reported this problem to ShipStation nearly 6 weeks ago and all any of us ever get is a nonsense response from ShipStation saying "Our senior team is working on it, blah, blah,blah," and never is there a fix. Once the holidays are over, we are jumping ship and going to another shipping platform as ShipStation has been absolutely TERRIBLE!!! 

[dell]

I feel the same way.  I just need to find a service that integrates with our orders and inventory management, that is our hurdle right now.

[mudsclassicpart]

Boy is my company in the same mess as everyone else,

We sell on ebay and are getting in trouble for the scan sheets not working, We have temporally stared using shiprush and have not had an issue with their scan forms, But they carghe .20 per ground shipment and a 2.75% fee on mailing purchases.

We have been going back and ground with stamps.com about this issue since 10/17. We first noticed this issue on 9/16 but it quickly fixed itself till 10/17.

I have gathered a few things along the way, Tier 2 support at Stamps.com located a ticket for me that has this issue, They told me a fix would deploy on 11/9, 11/9 came and went with not fix. I have since spoken to them and they let me know that another ticket has been opened as the fix does not seem to have worked. The Teir 2 rep also tried on their side and ran into the same issue with the scan sheet. What we did notice before the fix on 11/9, was about 12 hours later on stamps.com a scan id would pop up under the tracking numbers on stamps.com. This scan ID or EOD barcode was Completely different than the one printed off of shipstation, it was also still different if we printed it off stamps.com. After the fix on 11/9 I have noticed that no Scan ID ever pops up under the tracking number on stamps.com.

We have a USPS rep that has been helping us with this issue, I provided them with some scan sheets that working properly and not working properly.

On the ones that worked, The USPS rep showed me a photo of all of the tracking numbers that properly linked up to the EOD barecode that was printed when created on Shipstation. (This was for scan forms on our account created on 10/16 or before)

For Scan/EOD forms created after 10/17 my USPS rep showed me a photo of the barcode in there system and there wasnt a single tracking number attached to the EOD.

Where it gets really wild, I asked our USPS rep to check one of the scan ID that popped up 12 hours later on stamps.com. This showed 3100 tracking numbers attached to the Scan ID/EOD. But once again, this is not the same barcode number that was generated on Shipstation/Stamps.com When creating the EOD form.

So it seems Shipstation/Stamps.coms API has an issue where it is not linking the tracking numbers to the created EOD barcode. So no matter if its scanned or not, There are not any tracking numbers to USPS to update with the acceptance message.

Sorry for the giant wall of text.

[dell]

What blows my mind is that they haven’t fixed this.  Clearly it’s not a simple fix, but you would think this would be the highest priority item they are working on, and would not take months to fix.

[mudsclassicpart]

Its pretty crazy that it has left unfixed. Especially since I have been told by Stamps.com Reps & Shipstation Reps that this is affect a great deal of accounts. 

[dell]

I actually think it should be very embarassing to them, that ebay, and other smaller shipping options have working scan scheets, and theres has remained broken ever since the USPS dropped First Class Mail, and call it Ground Advantage now.

[mudsclassicpart]

Yup, I just got a reply from the rep trying to help me and the Senior dev told me to resend the tracking information to ebays and see if that fixes the issue. Totally negating the fact the the issue is with the EOD...

[LBS]

I have a manifest that was scanned for 341 packages on 11/10---all but 12 packages have updated tracking and have been delivered. The 12 packages in question don't even show USPS accepted the package and there's been no movement with USPS. I'm not sure if this is the same issue y'all are describing or not.    Either way this is very concerning as I have no way of tracking the package since it doesn't even show accepted. USPS says theres nothing they can do since it doesn't show they are in possession of them.

[dell]

If you gave them a scan sheet, and they scanned it, but the packages never showed the tracking update “shipment received, package acceptance pending” then yes that is the same issue.  It also happens everyday and will continue to happen everyday until they fix the system and update their scan sheets.

[LBS]

This is insanity! You would think the tracking would update the next time USPS scans it though as the majority of what I shipped did do that but the remaining 12 makes it look like I haven't shipped it and customers are NOT happy! 😞

[mudsclassicpart]

I think you may be experiencing something else, We are referencing a "shipment received, package acceptance pending" not showing up on the tracking numbers after the EOD/SCAN Sheet is scanned.

[PLM]

UPDATE: Last week I upgraded my account at Stamps.com, the upgrade would take effect on Nov 22nd

All the shipments I made on Nov 24th are not updating at the USPS website.

[dell]

Again, it was already stated this would make no difference.  When you say are not updating, you are just referring to the tracking update "Shipment Received, Package Acceptance Pending" that packages are supposed to receive when the scan sheet gets scanned, correct?

[PLM]

I apologize, I meant they are NOW UPDATING - All show "Shipment Received, Package Acceptance Pending"

We will scan all orders today and will provide updates tomorrow but it seems the issue was corrected after I upgraded my account at stamps.com

[dell]

So I am trying to understand this, as I know you had said you changed the plan over a week ago.  Even though changing your plan it states you get all new features immediately, your scan sheets still were not working until after the official plan/billing change on the 22nd?

[mudsclassicpart]

Just want to get you an update on my side, We started noticing the scan sheets started showing "Shipment Received, Package Acceptance Pending" again as of 11/23. I think Stamps.com/Shipstation may have pushed an update to fix the issue. 

I am still monitoring on my side, but let me know if yours fixes