Stamps.com Software Has Major Bugs! A Listing and Discussion of Solutions / Fixes
About a year ago I started using the stamps.com software in order to print USPS shipping labels for orders from various sources like Amazon and eBay. Unfortunately I quickly found that the stamps.com software is filled with major bugs that can cause some serious headaches. I’ve contacted the stamps.com support several times about these over the year, but each time I only receive a vague response that generally amounts to “we work on the highest priority things first, thank you for contacting us”. Often times they also mention that they are aware of the issue already. Yet a year has passed and these bugs are still present. Most likely they have been present in the software for long before I started using it as well.
Here’s a list of the bugs in the software that I have run across. If you have experienced any bugs, please post details about them in the comments section below. Maybe we can get some attention to get these bugs fixed.
1. Batch printing packing slip image problem:
If you have a custom packing slip image set, then you delete or move that file on your computer, the software will not print packing slips or shipping labels for any orders in that batch source (for example an eBay account). It will give you an error that explains the image cannot be found. The biggest issue is that even when you edit the batch source / settings to set a new image, the issue remains because it is apparently still looking at the old file location instead of the new one you have set! This caused me a major headache until I was luckily able to find the old file in my Recycle Bin and restore it.
2. Constant stamps.com software crashes when importing bulk / batch orders:
On a regular basis when importing or sorting in the batch section of the software, it will freeze up then force close. Even worse is that the software will then “forget” some of the most recent actions you’ve done, for example if you marked something as cancelled or printed manually, then the software crashes, when you re-open it, that will have been forgotten. This can wreak hell on your organization method when you are dealing with a large amount of orders. I’ve taken to closing the software and reopening it on a regular basis. This way in case a crash happens, I won’t lose as much.
3. Can’t print full page (8.5 x 11) packing slips if the order has a long product / item name:
I believe “long” amounts to anything more than 1 line on the packing slip, but I’m not sure exactly how long the product name needs to be for this error to occur. For example on Amazon you can have items with pretty long product titles. If the product title is too long, 8.5 x 11″ packing slips simply won’t print — they’ll give you a vague error instead. You can print half page packing slips for these thankfully.
4. Packing slip “notes” / “message” section cuts off text:
After about 35 characters on the half page packing slip printouts your message will be cut off, even though the software specifically allows you to enter a much longer message. Not only that, but the box for the message on the packing slip has PLENTY of room for more text in the empty space below, but it only prints out one line and then cuts everything else off. Basically you only have enough room to type in your email address and 1 or 2 more words. We really need to be able to enter some sort of actual helpful customer service or thank you message here, with enough text to advertise to return customers and provide an email address for support etc.
5. Different shipping address / billing address / user ids etc:
This one isn’t technically a bug, but it is a big annoyance that could easily be fixed. When you import orders into the stamps.com software from eBay, there is nowhere to find the user ID name for that customer. It makes it difficult to match up the entry in the stamps.com software with your eBay account or with any eBay messages you may have received from a certain customer. This makes it a hassle to take care of any special requests or incidental issues (for example maybe the customer requests you write something specific on the outside of the box). Exacerbating this issue is that sometimes the billing name and shipping name for a customer is different and stamps.com only shows the shipping name in the software.
6. Scan form prints out too small / shrinks
At the end of the day of printing orders, you can print out a SCAN form which makes it easier for your post office to scan in all of your packages at one time. However I have found that the stamps.com software always prints it off too small the first 2 or 3 times I try to print it out. It seems to be still trying to print it out as a 4×6 size output when it should be full page (8.5 x 11). To fix this I generally print it out on a few different printers and also use the “apply” button a few times and eventually the software figures out that it should print it out as a full page.
7. Stamps.com software doesn’t recognize cancelled orders, leading to shipping items in orders that were refunded!
If you have to cancel an order, for example a buyer requests a cancellation on Amazon, the stamps.com software does not recognize or acknowledge this. I have cancelled an order normally through the Seller Central interface on Amazon’s website, then over 24 hours later gone to import my batch / bulk orders into the stamps.com software, but the cancelled order still imports normally. There is nothing to show that it was cancelled! This can easily lead to accidentally shipping the product to a customer when their order was already cancelled and refunded! This is a huge issue. The only solution is to make external notes and be sure to manually re-cancel the orders in the stamps.com software after importing them.
Conclusion
As a final note, the software in general is extremely outdated and slow and I hope the stamps.com developers are working on updating the entire software. However from what I have researched and heard from the customer support, this does not seem to be the case at all! For example searching and sorting any reasonable amount of orders takes a few seconds even on the fastest modern computers. It takes many times longer to search through 20 orders where the data is saved locally on my computer in the stamps.com software than it does to use any internet search. There are also many places where usability and interface could be improved. A simple example is you should be able to right click on an order to bring up a quick menu of things to do with it, rather than having to select each order then go up to a toolbar. However personally I would just settle for them to work out the bugs for now!
Submit your bugs in the comments section below!
I will continue to update this article when I run across any further bugs. If you’ve experienced any bugs with the stamps.com software, please post in the comments below!
Hi,
Im having a problem for the last couple of days a few hundred orders are being imported again and again when I hit the import orders function,
Please get back to me asap as this is extremely important , we have tons of time sensitive orders.
Thank you.
Hi DayDull,
We’re writing an article on Stamps.com, and your findings are pretty interesting to us. Would you be willing to speak with us about them?
everytime I try and print a scan form at the end of the day, it crashes stampes.com software, everytime. I have even tried to print from another computer with stampes.com on it and same issue. The people at the post office hate me as they have to scan each of 50+ packages a day. Seriously there is no fix for this?
@Wayne:
Sounds like the norm for the stamps.com software. Have you tried logging into your account on the website and trying to print the SCAN form there? (Not sure if they have SCAN form functionality there, but its worth a shot). Also try submitting a bug report. May or may not help – generally when I did that they responded but nothing really improved.
To me it seems clear stamps.com is focusing on letting other companies with better software use their API for USPS postage. I ended up switching to shipstation, which still uses your Stamps.com account but can also do Fedex etc. Actually when you have a Shipstation subscription the stamps.com subscription is included for free. The shipstation software is 1000 times better, also can do automated confirmation emails, custom packing slips etc. Shipstation has a 1 month trial here if you want to try it.
Definitely recommend it over using the stamps.com software and it should easily be worth it when shipping 50 packages a day.
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