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 these three methods:
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Individually in Product Details: Edit an individual product's defaults directly in the Product Details screen.
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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.
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When shipping an order: Select the Save as shipping defaults for this product option when you configure shipping for an order.
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Configure individual product details on the product's Standalone Product Details screen. Setting individual product details is useful when you only need to configure only a few products.
Access the Standalone Product Details screen in one of two ways:
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Go to the Products tab.
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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.
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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 Save to save your changes.
The Standalone Product Details screen is divided into individual tabs containing specific details. The General, Shipping, Customs, and Store Alias tabs include settings related to Product Defaults.
Learn More About Product Defaults
To learn more about what product details can be configured in ShipStation, review the Product Details Settings section of the ShipStation Products Overview article.
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Product Details Tabs |
Description |
Available Fields |
|---|---|---|
|
General |
Product Defaults related to general product identification information. |
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|
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. |
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Any changes you make to the product defaults will only affect new orders as they import, not orders that you imported previously.
Check the option to Apply changes to open orders before saving 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.
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Go to the Products tab and click the Export button.
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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:
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Click the link in the pop-up message to download the file.
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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.
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Save the file.
Be sure to preserve the CSV format!
To import your products:
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Go to the Products tab and click Import.
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Select Import Products from the dropdown. This will open the Import Products from CSV popup.
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Ensure that your CSV file has column headers before you upload it.
You may need to make edits in Excel (or an equivalent spreadsheet program) or import it into Google Sheets to edit. We improved the product import process so you no longer need to follow a CSV template. You can import your CSV directly from your selling channel's product export.
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Attach your desired CSV file (drag and drop or click to select) to the Import Products from CSV popup.
Optional: Check the box to Overwrite Existing values for all fields in the CSV. You can also Select an Import Template.
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Select Upload and Preview. Match the columns from your CSV document to the fields in ShipStation, if they're not already matched.
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Select Start Import.
You will receive a message that your import has been sent. Close that window, and you can continue to work in ShipStation while the import completes in the background.
When your import is complete, a notification message will appear to let you know. You can also see any import errors.
If your import fails, you will receive an import failure message that indicates the potential reason. See the Product Imports Troubleshooting article for steps to troubleshoot any errors you may encounter.
Updating products with a CSV file
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SKU is a required field.
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There is no longer an option for match-by-name.
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Shopify Merchants: Shopify manages product weights in grams, and we use ounces. Be sure to convert those numbers before importing your CSV into ShipStation.
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Leaving a cell blank in the CSV file will cause ShipStation to enter a null value for that field.
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Order Tags can be added, but not removed, with a CSV import.
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CSV Tag field 29-Character Limit: If you add an order tag to a product via CSV, the tag field has a 29-character limit. The tag will not add if it has 30 characters or more.
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Product Aliases and Product Preset Groups cannot be added or removed via the Import action
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 that contain the same product.
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 containing a variant SKU, ShipStation will apply the Parent SKU defaults first and then apply any variant SKU defaults that differ from the parent SKU.