How To Put A Shipping Label On A Package

What Is a Shipping Label and How Does It Piece of work?

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Shipping labels may seem like a tiny piece of the ecommerce puzzle, but they are critical to both inbound and outbound logistics and are vital to your online store's success and client satisfaction. Shipping labels share important data with your supply concatenation, helping applied science and people alike understand the origins and destination of your package.

Without clear shipping labels, your customers' orders could be lost or mishandled, creating a bad customer experience, dissentious brand loyalty, and ultimately losing sales.

This article will cover the information included on a shipping label, how to create aircraft labels for cocky-fulfilled orders, and how a third-party logistics (3PL) provider tin can assist take the hassle out of the aircraft process.

What is a shipping label?

Shipping labels are a type of identification characterization that helps describe and specify what'south inside a bundle. Shipping labels differ depending on the carrier you employ, but they all consist of things like addresses, names, weight, and a tracking barcode.

Understanding shipping labels

Most UPS and USPS shipping labels look like this:

Note: These are non ShipBob-specific shipping labels.

Equally seen to a higher place, shipping labels generally include the following data:

Origin/render accost
Destination address
Bundle weight
Shipping class (Next Day Air and Priority Postal service, respectively, in the examples above)
Electronic tracking number and shipping barcode (automatically generated by the carrier)

The to a higher place information is disquisitional for getting your customers' orders where they need to get as quickly as they're supposed to become there. This is especially important if your online store offers more than i shipping choice, such as expedited shipping which is significantly more expensive; you want to brand sure that customers get what they pay for and expect.

That said, the chief information you or your aircraft provider will need to provide is the customer's address and return address — a good shipping software or ecommerce fulfillment provider will automatically generate the residue.

The shipping label will too evidence whether or not postage stamp has been paid; if y'all are pre-paying and press aircraft labels online, or if you work with an order fulfillment provider, the shipping characterization will be marked every bit paid, such as the "U.s.a. Postage and Fees Paid" note at the top of the sample USPS label higher up.

[Related Article: Fulfillment Basics: What is a SKU?]

How to create a aircraft label

Now that you know the "what" of shipping labels, information technology's fourth dimension to acquire the "how." If yous're already working with a 3PL, you can go alee and skip to the next section.

If y'all are self-fulfilling orders for your ecommerce store, there are a diversity of websites and apps that can help you lot purchase and create shipping labels for your orders. These options range from paying for and printing labels on USPS and UPS's websites to more than robust shipping automation platforms like ShipStation. Your ecommerce platform and/or market may offer shipping label generation as well.

Aircraft label FAQs

Where do you get a shipping characterization?

If you're cocky-fulfilling orders, at that place are several options for generating shipping labels. Y'all tin simply impress and pay for labels directly from carrier websites, or if you're looking for a more than robust solution, ShipStation makes it easy to generate shipping labels online and connects with all major shipping carriers.

If y'all partner with a 3PL like ShipBob, all you'd have to do is pay for shipping and your 3PL will buy and generate aircraft labels on your behalf. Your online store platform may too offering a service to generate labels every bit well.

Are shipping labels free?

Generating a aircraft characterization is complimentary, just you lot won't exist able to transport the parcel until postage has been paid for.

Can I print out a aircraft characterization at home?

Yes. Major shipping carriers offer online services that arrive easy to generate shipping labels from dwelling. Here are some of the online tools major aircraft carriers offer online:

USPS: Click-N-Ship
FedEx: FedEx Ship Manager Lite
UPS: Create a Shipment
DHL: My DHL Express (US but)

You tin can hands insert package weight and dimensions, destination address, and shipping class, and the carrier volition automatically generate a barcode.

Can I handwrite a shipping label?

You can handwrite the aircraft accost (every bit long as its eligible), merely yous will however need a carrier barcode, which needs to be generated by the carrier. Depending on the book of orders you're fulfilling, handwriting shipping addresses can become time-consuming. You're improve off using the diverseness of online tools that makes the process easy and more time efficient.

Where can I print USPS shipping labels?

Y'all can easily generate and impress a USPS shipping label by using the Click-Northward-Ship online tool.

How much are UPS shipping labels?

Generating a shipping label through UPS is free, simply yous will nevertheless need to pay for postage, and whatsoever additional services, like tracking and shipping insurance options.

Can yous tape over a shipping label?

Yep, every bit long as information technology'due south clear tape, and the shipping address and barcode are 100% visible.

Aircraft with a 3PL

Outsourcing to a third-party logistics visitor that purchases and generates shipping labels for you can accept the hassle and stress out of label creation. All you lot demand to do is pay for aircraft, and then the 3PL volition brand sure your customers' orders are labeled and shipped properly.

Many 3PLs, including ShipBob, have likewise negotiated volume discounts with major carriers such every bit DHL, USPS, and UPS, significant that the everyman shipping prices possible are passed on to you and your customers.

If yous're looking to partner with a 3PL, request pricing below to get in touch with a retail fulfillment expert.

Learn more

Utilize 2-day aircraft for your brand using ShipBob'due south 2-Solar day Express program. Download this guide to learn more and get started.

Source: https://www.shipbob.com/blog/fulfillment-basics-how-do-shipping-labels-work/