Details on how ShipStation records information about your products and an overview of all the tabs within a product record.
ShipStation stores information about products from your selling channels in Product Records, which you can view in the Products tab.
The Products tab displays a list of your product records in the Product Grid. Each row in the Products Grid contains a single product record.
To view more or less information in the Products grid, you can choose which columns to show from the Columns menu in the top right of the Products screen. The Products grid also has search and filter functions, similar to the Orders and Shipments tabs.
Product records allow you to:
Track product sales across multiple selling channels
Set product defaults that apply to orders when the orders import (advanced feature)
Apply custom tags to products so orders containing those products also contain those tags
Set SKU aliases and determine product types (advanced feature)
Monitor and adjust ShipStation inventory levels (advanced feature)
Create more meaningful reports by categorizing products.
You can view details about each product record in each product's Details screen. The Product Details contains the SKU and Name of the product, as well as any defaults or other options set for that product.
Click the product SKU, or double-click the product line item in the grid, to open the Product Details window.
Review the Product Details section below for more information on what the Product Details contain.
ShipStation stores information about products in product records, which you can then use to automate your shipment configuration selections.
The tables below explain what options are available in each tab of the Product Details pop-up screens.
Field or Setting |
Description |
|---|---|
SKU |
The SKU identification for the product. Once saved or imported, it cannot be changed. |
Name |
The common name for the product that ShipStation will use for the SKU when creating new orders manually. This can be changed in ShipStation. If the Override the imported name product default is enabled, ShipStation will also use this name for imported orders. |
Override imported name |
Tick this box to override any imported names with the name entered in the name field. This setting will trigger ShipStation to use the Name product default instead of the product name imported from the order source. |
Product Type |
Set the product as a standalone, parent, or variant product. See Product Type to learn more. |
Active |
Set the product to active or inactive. Inactive products will not trigger any automation actions or inventory tracking. Controls whether or not Product Automation for this product record will apply to orders. If product record is not active, automation will not apply. |
Description |
A short description of the product often pulled from the selling channel. Not used for any automation in ShipStation, but can be used to provide information to your packers. |
Image URL |
A URL for an image to override the default image pulled from the selling channel. ShipStation will display in-app and on generated documents. |
Reporting Category |
Designate the Product Category. Used for product-based reports, organizing products, and better reporting. Not used for any automation in ShipStation. |
Order Tags |
Tags are applied to a product as a Product Default added to orders that include said product. These color-coded visual references designate special types of orders (such as Fragile items). They are often used in automation rules. |
UPC |
Universal Product Code (UPC) space exists if necessary. These can appear on generated packing slips, but are not used for any automation in ShipStation. |
Returnable |
When checked, sets whether or not a product is eligible for returns initiated by a customer when using the Branded Return Portal. |
Defaults set in the Product Details Shipping tab will apply to orders that contain only that product. This means, if other products are present on the order, the defaults will not apply (the Weight default is the notable exception to this rule... see the callout in the table below for details).
Additionally, the selections for carrier, service, confirmation, and dimensions will only apply to the order if the item has a quantity of 1.
Field or Setting |
Description |
|---|---|
Preset Group |
Preset Groups are pre-filled templates of product defaults that you apply any products that use the same defaults. Use this type of automation to assign default shipping methods to sets of products that all ship the same way. See our Preset Groups article for details on how to use this feature. |
Domestic |
Sets the default shipping service, package, and confirmation type for the product when the order destination is considered domestic. Only applies to single item orders. |
International |
Sets the default shipping service, package, and confirmation for the product when the order destination is considered international. Only applies to single item orders. |
Weight |
This field sets the weight for a single quantity of the product in kilograms. For multi-quantity or multi-item orders, ShipStation will calculate the weight for all items in the order and insert the total into the order's Weight field. |
Dimensions |
Default shipment length, width, and height of the product or product packaging. Only applies to single item orders. |
Warehouse Location |
Descriptor of the product's physical location in your warehouse. This information will appear on Pick Lists by default and can be added to customized packing slips. The product warehouse location is not the same as the Inventory Warehouse Location that appears on inventory reports. |
Fulfillment SKU |
The SKU sent to the fulfillment centre to identify the product when using the Send to Fulfillment feature. ShipStation uses this alternate product identifier value when pushing fulfillment requests to ShipWire or FBA. For more details, review the Shipwire and Fulfillment by Amazon articles. |
Automate Service Selection for Multi-Item Orders
Need to automate the shipping service for multi-item orders? You can do this using Service Mapping or Automation Rules.
Field or Setting |
Description |
|---|---|
Do not create customs |
Turns off customs declarations for orders using this product. If this option is checked, ShipStation will not create a customs declaration for the product. |
Description |
A short description that overrides the product description pulled from the selling channel. Useful if the product description is too long for a customs form. |
Declared Value |
The monetary value of the product for customs purposes. |
Harmonization Code |
Identification code for classification of product to help expedite the shipping process. Also known as a Tariff Schedule. Learn more about Harmonization Codes in our article about Customs Declarations. |
Origin Country |
Select a country of origin (country that the product was created in) from the drop-down. |
The customs defaults set here will only apply to orders if your account is set to create customs declarations based on items in an order. ShipStation is set to do this by default.
This option is available in Settings > Shipping > Internal Settings. The Custom Declaration option should be set to Create Declarations from order items.
Product aliases allow you to link a single product record in ShipStation to multiple different SKU values from different stores. As a special duty setting, an alias counts one SKU as another SKU for reporting and product setting purposes.
Field or Setting |
Description |
|---|---|
Add Alias |
Adds a SKU as an alias for this product. Orders with the alias SKU will inherit the primary SKU defaults when the order imports from the selling channel. |
Aliases are typically used by multi-channel sellers who sell the same products on different channels, but use different SKU values for each marketplace.
Alias SKU Example
Your prized product has sold on your personal Shopify site for years: a 16oz jar of Peter's Peppers & Pickles (SKU PPP001). Also, you have already set up product automation for it in ShipStation. You decide to sell the same product on Amazon, but find that SKU PPP001 is already in use by several companies. To avoid confusion with search engines, you opt to give the product a SKU of PPP-JAR16OZ so it stands out a little more.
Because of your historic Shopify orders, there's already a product record for SKU PPP001 in ShipStation. However, since Amazon is going to send us a different SKU, PPP-JAR16OZ, ShipStation won't recognize them as the same product.
To remedy this issue, add PPP-JAR16OZ as an alias in the product details window for SKU PPP001. This will tell ShipStation it is the same product and to use the product automation you have already set up for SKU PPP001.
An alias SKU will also be added to a product if you Combine product records to merge multiple products together.
The Inventory tab displays inventory stock levels for products if you use ShipStation's internal inventory feature. It also provides the ability to modify the stock levels for an individual product and add additional warehouse locations.
Field or Setting |
Description |
|---|---|
Do Not Track Inventory |
Check to turn off ShipStation's internal inventory tracking for an individual item. |
Reorder Threshold |
When stock levels reach this quantity, an alert will appear on the Orders Grid. |
Add to Alternative Location |
Add additional warehouse locations and stock levels to the product. |
Arrange the column headers by click-and-drag to sort grid information according to type (Name, SKU, Alias, Tags, Active, Warehouse Location, or other order information). Scroll the screen left or right to view all columns.
 |
Click the title text (e.g., Name, SKU, or Weight) in a column header to sort that column's contents in either ascending or descending order (alphabetical, chronological).
