We have been using Auctane shipping  Manager for six months now. It is the best shipping software we have tried so far and we have tried them all!  We have been in business since 2006 and this system is hands down the best it available for our business.
 
We started using it because one of our clients recommended it. She said that she was saving a bunch in shipping costs. We could not believe it, we thought PayPal and eBay shipping services was the lowest price for USPS Priority Mail. Then we tried i the program for free.
 
Medium Flat rate paid with eBay or PayPal costs $10.50 with Auctane and Express1 costs $9.70. There are countless other examples of USPS Priority Mail Flat Rates reduced costs.



We love the fact that have three options with shipping programs cost, we can use Stamps.com, Express 1 and UPS pricing comparison. You can choose the lowest price on the fly. We like comparing between Stamps.com for the new USPS Regional A and B  and Express 1 USPS Priority Mail. There are substantial price difference sometimes. For items larger that 5 pounds or bulky packages UPS has the best prices.

Auctane can generate any USPS label including, First class, Parcel Post, Media Mail and Priority Mail. We can even print USPS International First Class postage with the Zebra LP 2844 Thermal Printers. That was a first shipping program we could use our Zebra Thermal Printer with USPS International First Class. That makes it very convenient for international shipments under 4 pounds. UPS works just as well with the program.

We have Refurbished Zebra LP2844 printers with a 90 day warranty on our store here:

 Zebra LP 2844 Printers

We also carry the GoDex brand new thermal printers with a 3 year warranty. You can take a look at them here:

New GoDex Thermal Printers 



One of the features we like the most in Actane is the ability to print a packing slips with a personalized message right after the shipping label with our Zebra Thermal Printer. That way we know what label goes with each package. With that personalized message, you can ask to your customers to leave you a five star feedback and/or contact you before leaving you feedback.
There are countless options you can write on the Packing Slip. You can put a coupon code, your website store, etc.










Auctane automatically emails the shipping notice with the tracking number and if requested, a personalized message. That is very important so your valued customers know exactly when the items were shipping and a general idea on when they will be receiving their package.

The system is internet based, there is no programs to install, it works within eBay.  Because it is internet based, it works on Windows, Mac and Linux computers. It even works on smart phones like Android and iPhones. You can pull orders from eBay, PayPal and Amazon.

You can also copy an paste orders manually if you get orders over the phone. Do not need to paste line by line, just paste the whole address and the software will place the information in the right place. The software is very intuitive full of features and easy use.



After we pasted the complete address in to the box, the software automatically inserts the address in to the right spots.  You have full control of the packing slip information like, price, description, unit price, shipping paid, who gets the shipping notice via email, etc.






We had a very good experience with technical support. They answered right away any questions we had.


The shipping labels are created in PDFs. It prints Packing slips along with the shipping labels as an option. We always know which label goes with each product to be shipped. That is a huge time saver for us. No longer use our regular printer. Our Thermal Zebra printer and our GoDex Printers do all our labels and packing slips from Auctane. We are saving a ton in ink and toner costs.

The picture below is an example of a 4 x 6 Thermal label generated from Auctane.



All computers can open and print PDFs. The software even works on Mac computers!
We ship a lot Priority Mail packages and we are saving in average 20% over paypal shipping fees.

We can run several kinds of reports as well.

Watch a video of Auctane Shipping Manager Pro!



Key features

Now supports UPS as well as USPS!

Save up to 20% on USPS Priority and Express Mail!

• Completely web-based - print labels right from the eBay.com web site!
• Works with PCs or Macs
• Imports orders from eBay, Amazon, and PayPal!
• Print shipping labels for all UPS and USPS services including First Class Mail International
• Print labels in batch - reduce shipping time by 50% or more!
• Print packing slips - up to 2 per page
• Combine orders into a single shipment
• Leave automatic buyer feedback
• Purchase discount shipping insurance
• Customizable shipping notification email
• Memorizes item weights for future shipments
• Use multiple eBay accounts with a single subscription!

Please click here for new update USPS postal rate of 2012 on our postal scale rate chart.

We needed a toll free number for our business badly. Nothing works better than a toll free number to show your customers you mean business. We looked at several options but all were overpriced and lacked the features we needed.
Then we read a article in the New Your times about a new company that was offering a second line with great features with an affordable prince.

We have been using the Toktumi service for six months now, the service is unbelievable convenient and easy to use.  It has so many useful features. You can choose a local number, a toll free number or what is called a vanity number. Vanity number is where you choose a word to be included in your phone number. 1800GoFedEx is an example of a vanity number.

You have several options on how to set up your system. We set it up to ring our business phone and our cell phone every time a client calls.

We also have their software installed in our computers so we can receive and make calls from our computers. The software phone works with windows and mac computers.

Another very neat feature is that when someone calls and you are not able to get to the call on time and the client leaves a message. You will automatically receive an email message with the audio message attached to the email. That is very convenient. You can check your voicemail from everywhere there is internet connection.

You can set up an auto attendant with several extensions and options. You can make it look and sound very professional. Their support team actually answers your questions and help you with the set up process.

They also have smart phones applications that you can install on a Android and iPhone cell phones. With those applications you can take advantage of this phone system without using your cellphone minutes. You juts have to be connected to a Wireless network or have a strong 3G coverage for best results.

You can try the service free for a whole month.

Please visit the Company's Website here:

http://www.toktumi.com



You can read the NY Times article here:

New York Times Newspaper Article.

The USPS Increased their fees in January 2011. Please click on the links below to find out the new increases:

http://www.usps.com/prices/

You can easily calculate postage cost with the USPS Price Calculator here:

http://postcalc.usps.gov/

We use the calculator all the time for a quick price check. We used to use the USPS Fees Chart but now the USPS has two prices. The one you pay at the Post Office and the one you pay in the Internet or if you are a commercial customer.
They are trying to compete with UPS and FedEx. Those shipping companies depending on how much business you do, the price the will quote you and charge you.


The USPS is letting people know there will be another price increase in April 201. You can get more info here:

http://www.usps.com/prices/pricechanges.htm

There are three places where you can download the Zebra LP2844 and Zebra 450 thermal Driver for Windows. We have found out that the driver that works the best for most of our customers if you are using eBay or Paypal, Stamps.com, Endicia.com Dymo and many other shipping services as well as most POS systems.

If you have Windows XP, Vista, 7 or 8 Operating System or Windows .  Please click on the link below to download the driver that works best for the newer Operating Systems:

Zebra LP2844 and ZP 450 Best Generic Driver

Please dowload the driver and follow instructions on how to install the printer. Please make sure your printer has been connected and turned on before you install this driver. Make sure your printer has a green light on the feed button and that your green light is solid green. If you have a red, orange or flashing green light, push the feed button on the printer for it to tun in to a solid green light.

Zebra provides a basic Barcode and Label designer program. You can download it here:

Zebra Designer Program

The program includes the necesary driver to work with the program.

The generic driver will work with most programs. However if you want to try a differend driver, you can try the ZDesigner driver here:


64 Bit and 32 Bit Operating System Zebra Driver

In case the above link does not work, please click on the link below to visit the Zebra Website where you can download the driver directly:

Zebra LP 2844 Page.

Please download the link labeled ZDesigner Driver 32-64 bit.

When prompted, select the Printer Port you will be using in this case

USB1 Connection and click Next. You will be prompted to choose your printer model from a list. Your printer model is ZDesigner LP2844. Click Next after choosing your printer model and the driver will install.

The ZDesigner LP 2844 Driver works perfectly with both the LP 2844 and the ZP 450 thermal printers.


If you are using the LP 2844 or the ZP 450 with UPS.com software, you can download their own driver for this printer here:

UPS Original Driver Download



You can also go to the Printer's product page for additional information and free downloads.


Zebra LP2844 Product Page


Zebra ZP 450 Product Page


Users guide:

Zebra LP 2844 Users Guide PDF Format Download


Zebra ZP 450 Users Guide PDF Format Download




***IMPORTANT***


Please make sure to set up your driver to the right printer model name and number. In this case the LP 2844 or the ZP 450.  Also before printing go to the Thermal Printer Properties on the Printers and Faxes Folder. Click on the Printer Preferences. Make sure to set up the printer to use the 4" X 6" paper. If you do not do that the printer might print only a part of the label or print it wrong. Also for better results set up the printing speed to 2. The menu to change speed setting is under device options, speed settings. You can also try different levels of darkness under device options, head settings, print darkness. Try the 10 setting.

***If you are using your printer with eBay or Paypal shipping services, please go your printer preferences, click on the Graphics tab, on the Dithering option click on None. Then click Apply. This is very important so your labels print out correctly.
Also make sure you have Java working in your computer. You can check it out at java.com site. Just click on the link where it says Do I have java? link. If you do not have it, dowload and install the free program. If you have it but it is outdated it, update it please.***

Please try to play with the settings before assuming the printer is defective. Everyone uses a different shipping programs. Most of the programs we know are set up to take advantage of the thermal printers.

Please contact us by calling us  at 1.888.407.6757 if you have additional questions or if you believe you have gotten a defective unit from us. We are happy to help you. We offer free technical support via phone and remote computer connection.

If you did not get the printer from us but need help setting it up with your computer or shipping programs, please contact us at 1.888.407.6757. We can help, we have much experience with this awesome printers. We charge $35 hour, one hour minimum. You do not have to pay we are not able to get your printer to work for you. You do not have to pay in advance only after the job is done.

We also have the Refurbished Zebra LP 2844 and ZP 450 available in our Internet Store for a fraction of what a new one costs. Please click here to visit our store:

Refurbished Zebra Thermal Printers.

We include free technical phone and remote computer connection support with every printer.
 

Many of our customers have asked us a way to estimate shipping cost with our scales. Our Digiweigh Postal Shipping Scale includes an USPS Fees Chart under the platform's lid. The fees chart along with your USPS Zone Chart will help you estimate shipping cost with your Digital scale without a computer. In case you do not have the USPS Fees Chart and the USPS Zone Chart, you can downloaded here:

The USPS offers shipping boxes in several different sizes. They alsoprovide envelopes of different sizes and small shippinglabels. These are free of charge and the best part is that they aredelivered to your front door. That is what we call convenience! All youhave to do is sign up and they will happily ship you all the suppliesyou need.

Click Here for Free shipping boxes and envelopes

Anothernice thing about USPS is that they offer Flat Rate Boxes in severaldifferent sizes. For example, there are two kinds of Medium Size flat rate boxes called the OFRB1 and OFRB2 that for a fee $10.20 to 10.95, items can be shipped anywherein the U.S., including Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico. This fee evenincludes a Tracking number so your clients know their shipping progress. Youcan put as many things in the boxes as you can fit, weight does affectthe shipping cost like all of the other shipping companies. After your items are packed, you can call the USPSand have them pick up your boxes free of charge. That way, you do nothave to go to the post office and wait in those long lines. The shipping label can be printed at USPS.com Click N Ship program. You can even save up to 14% from prices posted at the Post Office if you print and pay for your shipping label on line. The program is very similar to PayPal shipping services but you have to input your address information manually.

Click here for more information on USPS Priority Mail Fees Information.

Availabilityupdate, the Flat Rate boxes are such a success that the USPS juststarted offering a new Bigger and Smaller sizes Flat Rate boxes. One of them measures 12" x 12"x 5.5" compared to 11" x 8.5" x 5.5" of the original Flat rate. 

Introducing a quick, easy, convenient and NOW 50% larger way for you to ship Priority Mail packages. The Priority Mail Large Flat Rate Box features predetermined rates regardless of weight (domestically) or destination, similar to our other Flat Rate products.

Some key benefits:

• Canbe used for Domestic Priority Mail ($12.95) and International PriorityMail ($29.95 to Canada and Mexico; $49.95 to all other countries, 20 lbweight limit applies)
• Only $10.95 when used to send to APO/FPO addresses
• Commercialprices are available for postage paid through Click-N-Ship service atusps.com, authorized PC Postage vendors, and other authorized postagepayment methods. The Domestic Commercial price is $14.50, APO/FPO is$12.50.
• Visit Click N Ship to purchase and print postage from your home or small business.
• TheU.S. Postal Service offers free Package Pickup from your home or officeat a time and place convenient for you. To schedule Package Pickup andfor other pickup options and availability, visit usps.com.