About Labels for Return Shipping

[sylviebee]

It's been a while since I've had to send a label for return shipping.  Have there been any new developments which allow us to buy USPS labels or do we still send cash for the return?

[tyler@ebay · Accepted solution]

Hi @sylviebee! If you use Shippo you should be able to issue a USPS return label direct from your account. 

For me, that's their main selling feature above other postage vendors right now. Makes it much simpler.

[sylviebee]

Thank You.  I haven't been using Shippo but knowing that I think I'll go back to them knowing that.

[sylviebee]

If I didn't use Shippo to ship can I still use them to issue a return label?

[tyler@ebay]

You know, I'm actually not certain. 

I think that because you can purchase USPS postage directly, you don't have to tie it to a transaction.  I'll see what I can find out. Hoping that someone can come by and answer that for the both of us! *Fingers crossed*

[sylviebee]

I think I answered my own question.

It is possible to buy a USPS label even if you didn't use Shippo for shipping, and so simple to do.

I'm back on board with Shippo knowing this and other info from momcqueen earlier.  I should never have left Shippo.  

So much more convenient than PP and the CPO sites.

(Of course the one time I didn't use Tracked Packet with insurance they smashed the item up.)

[tyler@ebay]

Oh No!! Isn't that how it always goes?

[heartovermind]

Remember... if you buy a label for return from the US to Canada, be certain to write on the custom label description:   RETURNED CANADIAN GOODS TO SELLER IN CANADA

[travis7s]

How are you guys actually creating return labels with Shippo? I just get error messages like:

"Unfortunately, no rates have been found. CanadaPost: Scan based return labels are not supported for this service."

[pjcdn2005]

Is this for a return from within Canada or from the US?

[intimewithmusic]

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tyler@ebay wrote:

Hi @sylviebee! If you use Shippo you should be able to issue a USPS return label direct from your account. 

For me, that's their main selling feature above other postage vendors right now. Makes it much simpler.

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NOT QUITE RIGHT
Yes, you can buy USPS labels from SHIPPO but be careful. According to Shippo they do not sell "Automatic Return Labels" for USPS shipments to Canada. You CAN however buy a USPS label from Shippo to get the job done. What you must know is that the label will EXPIRE quickly unless you manually change the shipping date on the label BEFORE PRINTING.  The following instruction is from Alyssa at SHIPPO.  Note she says "set the label date a week in the future".  You can't actually do this! People in the US can but Canadians can only set the shipping date on the label 3 DAYS IN THE FUTURE. If you buy the label on October 1 you must  advise your customer  the label will expire on October 4. If you forget to change the shipping date (like I did) you may have to void the label and print another (like I did). then you may find yourself in a lengthy process of trying to obtain a refund from Shippo in Canadian dollars for the voided label you paid for in US dollars (like I did).  Here's Ayssa at Shippo Sept 2020P:

"Thanks for getting in touch! Happy to help you out with this.

Unfortunately we aren't able to offer automated return labels for international shipments, however you are able to create a "return-like" label by creating a new manual label, and entering the California address as the sender / return address, and entering your BC address in the recipient area. So you’re essentially creating a regular label, just with the addresses reversed.

Since this is not an actual “return” label, it will expire more quickly, so be sure to set the “shipment date” a week in the future (which is the farthest in the future you can set it). You can then email this label your customer to put on the return package.

I hope that helps, but please let us know if you need anything else! We'd be happy to assist further :)"

[femmefan1946]

ZOMBIE THREAD FROM 2018

The problem with zombie threads is that the advice is likely to be out of date and no longer correct.

If you have a current problem it is better to start a new thread and get current advice on it than to tag onto a zombie.

BTW t he three day expiry is not a problem since you would be sending the label as a PDF to the buyer and he will have to use it promptly and not mess about.

[intimewithmusic]

Hi Travis,

 See instruction for return label below... 

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@travis7s wrote:

How are you guys actually creating return labels with Shippo? I just get error messages like:

"Unfortunately, no rates have been found. CanadaPost: Scan based return labels are not supported for this service."

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[kh-leslie]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.