bizzycrocheting
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posted on November 23, 2005 08:49:00 AM
I just received an e-mail from USPS.com stating that Shipping Assistant is going to be discontinued 1/5/06. 
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hwahwa
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posted on November 23, 2005 09:41:09 AM
why??
/ lets all stop whining !! /
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on November 23, 2005 09:46:36 AM
Why? Because they don't want to support or develop it any more.
This is not speculation. I talked to USPS reps at eBay Live. (Stop, you and all your multiple personalities should get out once in a while. Maybe you could decide on one and stick with it.)
They told me that what is now Shipping Assistant was a tool developed for a single mail-order client -- Nike. It was never intended to be widely disseminated or supported, even though they've been doing it. It seemed clear from our discussion that SA wouldn't be around much longer.
That is truly unfortunate.
I refuse to pay to make labels or use Click 'n Wait.
fLufF
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ebayvet
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posted on November 23, 2005 10:04:17 AM
Wow, this is BIG news...I know a lot of people use this software, and it is great. I used them for a couple of years, I changed to endicia about 18 months ago, so fortunately I won't be affected. However, it is pretty cruddy to give something like 6 weeks notice, right around the holidays too - like many shippers have so much spare time to find and integrate a new mailing system.
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hwahwa
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posted on November 23, 2005 10:31:59 AM
Fluff,
I dont even know what is shipping assistant and I ship all my packages thru USPS!!
/ lets all stop whining !! /
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on November 23, 2005 10:35:32 AM
If you don't know what it is, why did you ask?
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ewora
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posted on November 23, 2005 10:41:55 AM
Fluffy...I wish I had known you were at e-Bay live. We could have met for a quick coffee or something.
It was my first e-Bay live and I was exhausted at the end of it.
It's to bad that USPS is discontinuing their program. They did such a good job of promoting it at e-Bay live.
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hwahwa
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posted on November 23, 2005 11:28:52 AM
I am Russian,when we see a line forming in the street ,we always get in line right away before we find out what the line is all about.
See if there is a line formed,they must be passing out goodies.
/ lets all stop whining !! /
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bizzycrocheting
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posted on November 23, 2005 11:33:41 AM
I liked using shipping assistant. I've tried Endicia and couldn't understand the program. I guess I'll start to use Paypal to print my labels. If a customer pays by money order, how can you print a label through paypal?
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on November 23, 2005 11:37:56 AM
Stop: You ever hear of the Moscow Rule of Shopping?
fLufF
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on November 23, 2005 11:41:27 AM
A HUGE issue -- and one they didn't even begin to address in that "Sorry, Charlie" email -- is:
What do we do with the address records we already have?
I have over 8,400. I'm NOT retyping them all!
I know I can export my SA address book as a .CSV (comma separated values) file, but is Click 'n Wait going to be able to import that?
Guess I'd better find out...
fLufF
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on November 23, 2005 11:52:41 AM
This is very, very bad.
I think we should all write to our Congresscritters to protest this unfair and abrupt yanking of the rug from under us.
Click 'n Wait only allows you to store 1,000 addresses. That is JUST ABSURD. And I don't see any way to import data.
Friends, get this: This is supposed to be a BUSINESS tool!
What are those turkeys at USPS smoking?
fLufF
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mamachia
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posted on November 23, 2005 02:09:17 PM
Diane,
you can print your label through my ebay which will take you to Paypal. Sometimes the buyer's address will be there sometimes it won't be.
Rosanne
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kshoops
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posted on November 24, 2005 09:23:34 AM
Ok,
Probably a dumb question, but I just went to Click & Ship.com. I don't see any options for printing Media Mail shipping labels. All I sell are books. Anyone know where I can print Media Mail labels? Thanks.
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curtisj3
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posted on November 24, 2005 11:53:51 AM
stamps.com
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hwahwa
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posted on November 24, 2005 12:53:09 PM
some suggested pitney bowes for 4.95 a month,check it out-
https://myaccount.pitneyworks.com/cgi-bin/pw.dll/scripts/pw_cso_new_account_b_001.jsp
/ lets all stop whining !! /
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sanmar
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posted on November 24, 2005 02:29:55 PM
Does this mean I won't be able to print Postage etc through PayPal or is SA something different?
Life Is Too Short To Drink Bad Wine
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hwahwa
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posted on November 24, 2005 04:11:49 PM
someone did get a response from USPS-
Dear USPS Customer,
Customer demand was not strong enough to justify continued support of the application. We were faced with costs to maintain the application which we feel would not be retrievable through customer growth. In addition, the Shipping Assistant helped customers with their shipping transactions for years by offering electronic labels of all domestic service types and calculate shipping rates, but today there are many commercial products available to help customers with shipping needs previously satisfied by Shipping Assistant.
Diane
USPS Internet Customer Care Center
[email protected]
800-344-7779
7:00AM - 11:00PM EST
/ lets all stop whining !! /
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postcardman
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posted on November 25, 2005 04:45:38 PM
I USE SHIPPING ASISTANT AND IT IS A GOOD APP. IT IS NICE TO BE ABLE TO CONFIRM ADDRESSES AND LOOKUP RATES AND USE THE BEST RATE BE IT MEDIA MAIL, FC, PRIORITY ETC AND ELEC DEL CONF AT THE SAME TIME. I REGRET THAT THE PO IS CANCELLING THIS. IT IS TOO BAD. TOO MANY MBA'S I GUESS.
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mauibabbe
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posted on November 26, 2005 06:28:10 AM
I have been using Shipping Assistant for about 5 years and even was invited to a 2 hour survey for big users of the "asssistant" The people were there from the USPS and gave us a great dinner and $50 bucks for attending.
They promised more enhancements to the program. I don't understand why they are discontinuing this great program.
I tried to use Click and Ship, but the program only makes labels with bar codes for Express and Priority mail...
Does anyone know of a program that will offer all the USPS services and print bar codes also? We need the DC receipt for proof of shipping for people who complain to PayPal that we haven't shipped...
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hwahwa
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posted on November 26, 2005 07:37:47 AM
it is so obvious-USPS is discontinuing this service because it is losing money!
13 cents for DC instead of 55 cents/
There is a solution to your problem-RAISE YOUR SHIPPING FEE ON EBAY!!!!!!
/ lets all stop whining !! /
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