Hi Lucduf,
I’m not even sure where to begin, but I’ll try to summarize where things stand.
First, I’ve closed my ShipStation account and moved to a direct account with UPS. Based on my shipping volume, the pricing is actually better than what I had through ShipStation. More importantly, I now have an account representative and have already had face-to-face meetings with them on Teams. It’s honestly been a breath of fresh air to deal with a real person. I’d recommend this route to anyone, because you have full control over your account and someone you can actually speak to if there’s a problem.
After getting everything properly configured for cross-border shipping, I sent about 20 packages this week. My UPS rep had their team manually trace every one of them to verify USMCA compliance, brokerage handling, and related details. They did this simply to ensure everything was set up correctly going forward. It was genuinely white-glove service.
Now, on to ShipStation.
Support has essentially been nonexistent. I’ve asked multiple times to speak with someone directly, but instead I keep getting the same templated responses along the lines of “We understand how stressful this can be…” followed by generic assurances that they’ll work with me. Frankly, those responses feel patronizing at this point. Like it is a $20 problem ….
I’ve requested very detailed information on all 214 shipments involved. Because those shipments were processed under ShipStation’s UPS account, I have to go through them to obtain the data from UPS. So far, I’ve received nothing back, while roughly $30,000 remains as an open balance on my account.
What I’ve also learned is that what I believed was a proper USMCA setup in ShipStation was actually far from it. Their system provides no way to upload certification documents, Section 232 documentation, or similar compliance paperwork - either on file or attached to individual shipments. There’s also no way to add notes to the shipping label instructing UPS to reference documentation included with the package.
In other words, there is effectively no mechanism within ShipStation to maintain proper USMCA compliance.
That was something I only realized recently, and I take responsibility for assuming I had everything configured correctly simply by entering the proper HTS codes and declaring Canada as the country of origin. Unfortunately, that appears to have been insufficient.
My current understanding is that the shipments likely crossed the border without USMCA being recognized, which would have resulted in tariffs and taxes being applied. Given that I sell automotive parts, it’s also possible the shipments were incorrectly subjected to metal tariffs, even though my products are 100% 3D-printed plastic.
I’m still waiting for the detailed breakdown to confirm exactly what happened.
Based on my past experience disputing UPS charges through ShipStation, I don’t have much confidence that they will strongly advocate on behalf of their customers. In three separate disputes previously, the response I received was simply that the carrier had “denied” the claim with no detail as to why. That’s difficult to accept when my weights and dimensions are extremely precise, and dimensional weight doesn’t explain the discrepancies either in those cases.
The situation is also complicated by the outstanding $30k balance. If I pay it immediately, I effectively lose any leverage in resolving the issue. Given how prior disputes were handled, I’m not confident ShipStation would pursue the matter further once payment is made.
The one piece of good news is that it is possible to claim USMCA (CUSMA) preferential tariff treatment after the initial import from Canada to the U.S., even if the claim wasn’t properly applied at the time of entry. The challenge is that I’m entirely dependent on ShipStation to work with UPS and pursue that correction.
Given the size of the issue and the uncertainty around how it will be handled, I’ve hired a lawyer who is ready, if needed. I expect this will be a difficult process from here.
To be clear, I’m fully prepared to pay my fair share and accept that there are lessons here for me as well. But the level of support I need from ShipStation right now is something I unfortunately have very little confidence I’ll receive. The best I have gotten is a response form an “associate” manager in the ticket which helped nothing at all.
Fingers/Toes/Other things crossed ……
