Explains one type of product automation: product defaults. Includes how to set defaults individually and in bulk and explains what each default does.
Product Defaults are the details stored in your ShipStation product records. The product details configured in the product record indicate what the default settings will be for orders that contain only that product. You can also use the product defaults to do things like automatically set an order's shipment configuration or track the product's inventory levels.
Follow the steps in this article to set your Product Defaults using any of the three following methods:
-
Individually in Product Details: Edit an individual product's defaults directly in the Product Details screen.
-
By uploading in bulk with a CSV import: Add or edit multiple product records with a single CSV file upload.
The CSV upload for products can update product weight, dimensions, tags, and customs details, but does not include shipping service or package type.
-
When shipping an order: Select the Save as shipping defaults for this product option when you configure shipping for an order.
ShipStation University Automation Course
If learning by doing is more your style, take the ShipStation University Automation course. The lesson videos will show you how to use the three different types of automation in ShipStation: Product Automation, Service Mapping, and Automation Rules.
Configure individual product details on the product's Standalone Product Details screen. Setting individual product details is useful when you only have a few products that need to be configured.
Access the Standalone Product Details screen in one of two ways:
-
Click the Products tab.
-
Locate the product in the list of existing products.
Quick tip: Use the Search Products... field to search for a product by name or SKU.
-
Click the linked product SKU or double-click the product's row in the Products grid:
Configure the product's defaults in the Standalone Product Details screen. Be sure to click the Save button to save your changes.
The Standalone Product Details screen is divided into individual tabs containing specific details.
The four tabs in the table below contain the details related to this article.
Learn More About the Available Product Defaults
Want to learn more about what product details can be configured in ShipStation? See the Product Details Settings section of the ShipStation Products Overview article for a detailed list and description of the available product details.
|
Product Details Tabs |
Description |
Available Fields |
|---|---|---|
|
General |
Product Defaults related to general product identification information. |
|
|
Shipping |
Product Defaults related to product shipping details, like carrier and service. |
|
|
Customs |
Product Defaults related to international shipping, like declared value and harmonization code. |
|
|
Store Aliases |
Lists alternate SKU values for the product record. |
|
Any changes you make to the product defaults in Standalone Product Details will only affect new orders as they import, not orders that you imported previously.
Check the option to Apply changes to open orders before clicking the Save Changes button when you want the changes you made to product details to apply to already imported orders.
Checking this option will cause ShipStation to re-apply that specific product's default settings to orders in Awaiting Shipment that include the product.
Upload product defaults in bulk using a specially formatted CSV file when you have many products to which you need to apply defaults.
If you use a CSV import to create your products, you can include the default settings in the initial import. Or, if you already have product records created, you can update the existing product records as well.
Export and Edit Product List
-
Go to the Products tab and click the Export button.
-
Choose whether you want to export all products or only selected products, then click Export Now
Once the export is complete, you'll see the following pop-up message:
-
Click the link in the pop-up message to download the file.
-
Import the CSV file into whatever spreadsheet editor program you prefer and add the information you need.
You can also add new products if needed.
-
Save the file.
Be sure to preserve the CSV format!
Upload the CSV to ShipStation
-
Click the Import button and select Import Products.
-
Click Select File and choose the product CSV file you modified.
-
Select whether to identify products by SKU or Name.
This import setting should match how your store identifies products.
-
Choose whether you want ShipStation to update existing products with the information in the spreadsheet or only import new products.
-
Click Start Import when you're ready.
You’ll see a success message once your product import has finished!
Once you've configured a shipment in ShipStation, you can tell ShipStation to save the shipping details you're using as Product Defaults for future use. The next time an order for the same product imports, ShipStation will automatically apply the same shipping settings.
Available for Single Product Orders Only
This option is only available for single product orders where the product in the order is linked to a product record in ShipStation.
Click the link to Save as shipping defaults for this product located under the shipping details in the Configure Shipment Widget.
After you click the link, the shipping details will be saved to the product record and will be reused for future orders which contain the same product.
ShipStation Legacy Layout Only
In ShipStation's Legacy Layout, this option is a checkbox and the shipping defaults will only be saved after you create the label.
If you're using ShipStation's Advanced Product Types, Parent and Variant SKUs each have their own set of defaults.
When ShipStation applies defaults to an order that contains a variant SKU, ShipStation will apply the Parent SKU defaults first, and will then apply any variant SKU defaults that differ from the parent SKU.