Is it worth switching shipping software?
Switch for the work, not for a postage headline. Every tool buys the same USPS and UPS labels, so total the cost per label on your own last 30 days of orders: plan fee divided by labels, plus postage, plus any per-label fee. Then test the workflow on real orders before you move.
What actually changes when you switch
Postage is priced by the carrier, not the platform. USPS publishes two domestic price columns, Retail and Commercial, and a label tool sells somewhere at or below commercial depending on its own agreements. The difference between two tools on the same parcel is usually small next to the difference the workflow makes over a month. So the honest comparison is the work around the label. These are the places two tools really differ, and the ones a serious seller feels on a busy day.
| What changes | Why it matters | How to check |
|---|---|---|
| Order import | Retyping addresses is where mis-ships start | Connect your store or import last week's export |
| Tracking back to the store | The order stays unshipped until tracking lands | Buy one label and watch the order on the marketplace |
| Batch printing | One PDF for the day, in packing order | Print a real batch on your own printer |
| Rate choice per order | A fixed preset overpays when the cheaper carrier flips | Price a mixed week and count the rows that change carrier |
| Paperwork | Pick lists, packing slips, a SCAN form for the drop-off | Print all three for one day's orders |
| Carrier adjustments | Reweighs arrive after the label, sometimes weeks later | Ask how an adjustment is charged and disputed |
| Seats | A second packer needs their own login | Check how many people the plan includes |
Work out your cost per label
A monthly plan and a per-label fee only compare once both are turned into the same unit. Do it on your own volume, from the last 30 days, because a quiet month and a peak month give different answers.
On I'd Ship That, the account is free to open and you pay for labels as you buy them. On the free Starter plan, each label adds a platform fee of about 10% of the postage, rounded to the nearest $0.25, at least $0.50 and at most $2.50. Pro is a paid plan with no platform fee, so the busier you ship, the sooner Pro pays for itself. I'd Ship That prints USPS labels below USPS commercial on almost every label, and shows the full price before you buy.
Count the labels you bought in the last 30 days.
Divide the tool's monthly plan fee by that count. That is the plan's cost per label.
Add any per-label fee the tool charges on top of postage.
Price the same orders' postage in each tool: same weights, same boxes, same ZIPs.
Add postage and fees per label, then multiply back up by your monthly count.
Leave the carrier adjustments out of this sum and look at them separately. They depend on how you weigh and measure, not on which tool printed the label.
A one-afternoon test before you move
A demo order is clean and your orders are not. The point of the test is to hit the problems you actually have, on the printer you actually use, with orders that already shipped so nothing is at stake.
Export the last 30 days of orders from your store, with weights where you have them.
Import them into the new tool, or connect the store, and check the order count matches.
Price the whole set and look for rows that changed carrier or service.
Buy one real label for a live order and confirm the marketplace marks that order shipped with the tracking number.
Print a batch on your thermal printer and check the labels come out 4x6, one per label.
Make a SCAN form for the test labels, or check where the tool makes one.
Void what you do not ship and confirm how the refund comes back.
What to move: packages, presets, addresses
Little of your setup moves by file, and most of it does not need to. Write down your saved packages with their inside dimensions and empty weights, and recreate them first, because they drive every price you will see. Note your carrier presets and service defaults, then decide whether you still want them once you can see every order's price before you buy.
Buyer addresses come with the orders, so there is no address book to migrate for marketplace sales. Add your ship-from address, and any second location, before the first batch. Keep the old tool open until its labels have all delivered and its refund windows have closed. Labels bought there are voided and refunded there, and its SCAN forms only cover its own labels. If it holds a prepaid postage balance, use it up or withdraw it before you stop logging in.
Key takeaways
- Postage is priced by the carrier; switch for the workflow, not a rate headline.
- Compare cost per label on your own last 30 days: plan fee divided by labels, plus postage, plus per-label fees.
- Test on real orders: import, tracking back to the marketplace, a printed batch, a SCAN form, a void.
- Recreate saved packages first; buyer addresses come with the orders.
- Run both tools side by side until the old tool's labels have delivered.
Bring the orders and the files you already have
Connect an eBay store and paid orders arrive with the buyer's address and the listing weight. When a label is bought, the tracking number goes back to eBay and eBay marks the order shipped. For every other store, The Workbench, part of Pro, imports a CSV or Excel export, including order files exported from ShipStation, Pirate Ship and Shippo, so last month's orders make a ready-made test batch. Every row starts on the cheapest rate shown, and the batch prints as one 4x6 or letter PDF.
SCAN forms are free from My Labels. Pick lists and packing slips are free for orders from a connected store. Labels are bought one at a time on Starter, from the web or the iOS and Android apps.
Related questions
Sometimes, by a little. Every tool resells the same USPS service, and the price of each label is the carrier's postage at whatever level that tool's agreement allows. Price the same 30 days of orders in both tools before you decide; a headline discount on one service says little about your own mix of weights and zones.
Only if the arithmetic says so on your volume. Divide the subscription by the labels you ship in a month and set that against the per-label fee you would pay without it. On I'd Ship That, Pro removes the Starter platform fee and adds The Workbench for batches; billing has the current price.
Yes, and it is the safest way to switch. Move one sales channel first, lowest volume first, and keep the other in the old tool until the new one has printed a clean week. Avoid buying labels for the same order in both: void any duplicate in the tool that printed it.
It was a USPS Priority Mail tier for very high-volume shippers with a commitment agreement. USPS's current price list shows two domestic columns, Retail and Commercial. Commercial Plus pricing covers what it was and where it went.
The ones whose workflow matches yours: store connections you need, batch printing, phone apps, and the paperwork you print every day. Our platform comparisons go feature by feature, and shipping software for sellers starts from the kind of seller you are.