How to create and print your Shopify shipping labels

Ever wished that printing shipping labels was easier in your eCommerce business? Wish granted!

Creating Shopify shipping labels doesn’t have to be expensive or confusing. With a few simple set up tips and some clever shipping integration tech, you can fulfil orders like a pro. This guide will show you everything from how to easily create and print shipping labels, to setting up Shopify shipping to getting the best shipping rates.

What is Shopify Shipping?

Shopify shipping gets products from you to your customer. It is an integral part of the order fulfilment chain, and plays a big part in positive customer experiences.

It includes everything from creating shipping labels, to track parcels, to organising returns or refunds.

As you can see, consumers have very high expectations for ecommerce delivery!

Your Shopify shipping process needs to be clear, fast, and keep customers updated every step of the way if you want to build loyal, raving fans.

Setting up Shopify Shipping

Setting up your ecommerce store is one thing. However, you still need to have a process for shipping! You can edit this in your “Shipping and Delivery” settings.

Shopify shipping rates are automatically added to your store. This will look different depending on where you are located.

In the US and Canada, USPS rates are added automatically. If you are in the UK or Australia, flat rates are added by default. You can also set up “shipping profiles” for different products.

You will also have the option to activate Shopify shipping integrations. For example, Australian businesses can opt in to Sendle. However, using the default settings won’t necessarily give your customers the best price or be easy to use.

Without a shipping integration, you will need to “buy” a shipping label from Shopify fulfilment dashboard and manually arrange a courier pick up.

A third party Shopify shipping app will make order fulfilment a lot faster and cost efficient.

If you are setting up Shopify shipping with a third party software, look for features such as:

• Integrating directly into your Shopify dashboard
• Simple set up
• Giving your customers different price points at the checkout
• Printing shipping labels for parcels
• Automatically updating customers on their order
• Choosing the right courier based on your customer’s location and allocating it directly on your behalf

If you don’t have a shipping integration, here are the basic steps for printing Shopify labels:

1. Go to your Shopify fulfilment dashboard for the individual order
2. Buy a shipping label from Shopify
3. Download and print the label (using your ordinary printer is fine, but we also wrote a list for the best printers for Shopify shipping labels)
4. Attach label to the package
5. Arrange for a courier pickup (or drop off at your local post office)

How to print labels for Shopify parcels:

Top tip! When you are setting up Shopify shipping, you can print out a free test label to make sure your printer is working properly. Just go to Settings>Shipping and delivery>Shipping labels>Print test label.

This is how most Shopify stores start out with shipping. However there are a couple of issues with doing this manually.

Firstly, it takes time! Doing this for each individual order can add up when you start to get a lot of daily orders. Next, you might not be getting the best shipping prices by using the default. Another issue is that if someone has put their address in wrong, you could be charged penalties when it gets sent back.

Using a shipping integration means creating and printing Shopify labels means that it is simple and cost effective for both you and your customer.

Shopify Shipping Label Charges

So how much does it cost to create a shipping label in Shopify?

Well, that depends on how you want to charge for shipping. Ultimately, the price of your shipping labels is determined by your carrier. When and how you pay for shipping will also depend on your carrier. For example, DHL will send you a monthly statement for all your international orders combined.

To see what your current label charges are, go to your shipping label charges in the “Bills” section of your Billing page in your Shopify admin.

You can change how much your customers pay for shipping under your “shipping and settings”. This will either be a flat rate or a calculated rate which we will go into more detail below.

Flat Rate Shopify Shipping Charges 📦

A flat rate means that you charge the same amount for every parcel. This might be a good option if you

• Sell basically the same volume/product in every order
• Most customers are in the same country/location
• You want to make shipping simple for your customers

You may lose more money over time with a flat rate, but it makes it super simple for your customers. This format could also mean you lose customers at the checkout if they think it is too expensive and they don’t have a variety of options.

Calculated Rate For Shopify Shipping Charges 🛒

A calculated rate means that shipping is calculated at checkout. This gives customers a bit more freedom to choose the price that suits them.

Calculated shipping rates are good for

• Ecommerce stores with varied orders
• If you are sending to lots of locations
• Want more exact shipping prices so you’re not losing money

You can also set up free shipping by calculating a spend threshold. Keep in mind that 24% of consumers would spend more to meet a free shipping threshold.

Using a shipping integration will make this process easier and make sure customers get the right price every time.

Taxes on Shopify shipping labels 🧾

Shopify shipping label taxes will depend on where you are shipping products from.

For example, if you are in Australia and sending products within Australia, you will need to include taxes in your shipping charges. However, if you send it to someone in another country the shipping will not include taxes.

The price of Shopify shipping labels will depend on

• Whether you charge flat or calculated fees
• Where you are shipping to and your country’s tax rules
• What courier integrations and services you use
• Whether you use Shopify’s default settings for buying shipping labels or negotiate your own courier prices

Before you start shipping, you will need to research what the tax rules are in your own country/state. Unfortunately there is no simple answer for the price of Shopify shipping labels!

Using a Shopify shipping integration app to create and print labels will mean all of these factors are calculated automatically.

Simple Shopify Shipping Labels Process

If you’re looking for a simple way to create and print Shopify labels (for the right price!) Starshipit has got you covered. From processing orders, to printing labels, to uploading customs documents, Starshipit makes ecommerce shipping labels as easy as possible.