ShipStation is a shipping platform where you buy carrier shipping labels for your orders. Connecting it to Qoblex lets you push orders straight from your Sales list into ShipStation as shipments, so you can prepare and buy their labels in ShipStation without re-entering the order details by hand.
After reading this article you will understand what the connection does, which way information flows, and the steps involved from connecting your account to sending orders across. The other articles in this section walk through each step in detail.
How Qoblex and ShipStation work together
The connection moves information one way: from Qoblex to ShipStation. You keep working with your orders in Qoblex, and ShipStation is where you buy shipping labels and ship.
- Qoblex pushes orders to ShipStation. When you select orders and send them, Qoblex pushes each one into your ShipStation account as a shipment, ready for you to work with there.
- Labels are bought in ShipStation. Buying and printing the carrier shipping label happens in ShipStation, not in Qoblex.
- Re-sending an order updates the same shipment. Each order is keyed to one shipment in ShipStation, so sending an order again updates that existing shipment instead of creating a duplicate.
Sending an order to ShipStation does not create, dispatch, or change anything in Qoblex. Nothing about the order changes locally; the send only creates or updates the matching shipment on the ShipStation side.
The end-to-end lifecycle
Here is the path from setup to shipping:
- Connect your account. In Integrations > ShipStation, enter your ShipStation V2 API Production Key, test the connection, and save. See Connect and configure ShipStation.
- Set your default shipping settings. Once connected, choose a default Carrier, Service, Package type, and Confirmation. These defaults prefill the send dialog so you do not have to pick them each time.
- Select orders and send them. In Sales > Orders, select one or more orders, open Actions, and choose Send to Shipstation. A dialog lets you review or adjust the Carrier, Service, Package, and Confirmation for this batch only, prefilled from your saved defaults. See Send orders to ShipStation.
- Qoblex sends the orders in the background. The orders are queued and pushed into your ShipStation account behind the scenes. Progress is tracked for you, and the results appear in the activity feed once the operation finishes.
- Buy the labels and ship in ShipStation. Open your ShipStation account to review the new shipments, buy their carrier shipping labels, and ship.
On sending, Qoblex shows a message that the selected orders are being sent to Shipstation in the background, and notes that the results will appear in the activity feed as soon as the operation is complete. You do not have to wait on the page.
What the integration does not do
To set expectations correctly:
- It does not import orders from ShipStation into Qoblex. Orders originate in Qoblex and are sent out to ShipStation, not the other way around.
- It does not buy shipping labels for you. Qoblex pushes each order across as a shipment; you buy the label in ShipStation.
- It does not replace your ShipStation account. You still need an active ShipStation account with your carriers and services set up on ShipStation’s side.
Before you start
You will need:
- An active ShipStation account with a V2 API Production Key (found in your ShipStation account under API Settings).
- The ShipStation integration permission in Qoblex, so you can open the integration settings and use the Send to Shipstation action.