If you are like me (an eBay PowerSeller) or someone who hates going to the post office to pay for postage, your life is about to get much easier. Assuming you have a PayPal account, you can print US Postal Service (USPS) and UPS shipping labels at home, from your own printer, and pay with your credit card or PayPal balance. Here is how. You must click this link (better yet, bookmark it too) and log into your PayPal Account.
By default, USPS shows up, but you can easily change that to UPS (scroll down a few pics). Enter the shipping address I want to ship to. You can enter the recipient’s email address, if you want. You will always get a confirmation email after you print/purchase a shipping label.
Now the important part. How fast do you want your package to be delivered?
If your package weighs less than 13 ounces, I would recommend USPS First Class Mail. If you are shipping any type of book or media item, select USPS Media Mail. If you are shipping a heavy item that does not need to be delivered quickly, I would select USPS Parcel Post (Parcel Select Nonpresort). Chose USPS Priority Mail if you want your item to be delivered quicker than USPS Parcel Post (costs more the heavier the package and the farther the trip). USPS Express Mail (Priority Mail Express) is the next day air or second day air equivalent and costs a lot of money.
Assuming you select USPS Priority Mail, you need to choose your package size. If you are using a US Postal Service provided box or envelope, make sure to select the correct package. Flat Rate Envelope is the cheapest if you can fit your item in the envelope. Small Flat Rate Box is the second cheapest. Medium Flat Rate box is probably the best deal since it is the size of a show box. If you are using your own packaging, select Package/Thick Envelope.
All USPS shipments come with free Delivery Confirmation (like a tracking number, but only tells you that the package was delivered). Signature Confirmation is recommended for all items that you want a signature to be delivered. It costs $2.20 extra. You can choose to display postage value. but I always select No. If you want to purchase insurance, click yes and enter the insurance amount. I would also recommend getting Signature Confirmation if you decide to purchase insurance.
On the next page, you can verify the shipping address and see the final cost of your package. You can change the payment source as well. By default, if you have a positive PayPal balance, that will be how you can pay for the postage.
If you want to change your payment method, click More Funding Options and you can select from the choices give. I am assuming you don’t have a PayPal Extras MasterCard, so you can choose between a PayPal Balance or a credit card.
Print UPS Labels Instead
If you want to ship via UPS instead of UPS, find the Chose a different shipping carrier link below Shipment Information on the first screen.
Select the box for UPS and click Continue. If you prefer UPS, you can select the box to make UPS your default shipping carrier. Sorry, no FedEx or DHL shipping through PayPal.
If you are shipping a package to a business (great for returning items to Amazon), make sure to select Business (will save you a few bucks). Enter the shipping address (sorry, no PO boxes).
Here you can choose the shipping option you want. The cheapest option is UPS Ground while the most expensive option is Next Day Air.
Assuming you select UPS Ground, enter the package weight (rounded up to the next whole pound) and enter the package dimensions. All UPS packages come with $100 of free insurance, which is great. If you want more insurance, enter the value in the Declared Value box. Signature Confirmation is recommended for expensive items. Select no Saturday Delivery, that costs extra.
Confirm the shipping address and all the shipping details. UPS Ground is great for heavy items, especially shipping short distances. A 10 pound box only costs $11.49 to ship. There is no option to change the payment method for me, so I have to use my PayPal balance.
Just click pay and continue to print your shipping label.
Which is cheaper: USPS or UPS?
This is another trick. You can use Ebay’s shipping calculator to compare all USPS and UPS shipping options. Go to this link (probably a good thing to bookmark as well), select the package’s weight and package type. The best package type is Package (or Thick Envelope). If you have a big box, enter the shipping dimensions.
Now you can enter your zip code and the recipient’s zip code. If you want a general shipping price, select Sample Rates and click Show Rates.
Here is a comparison of all the shipping options available from both USPS and UPS. Like I said earlier, UPS Ground is the cheapest and all UPS rates depend on distance. Since I am about 40 miles from Los Angeles, shipping a package there is cheap. If I was shipping to the east coast, like New York, shipping would cost more.
Over to the USPS side, all the Flat Rate options are the same price, regardless of distance (that’s what Flat Rate means). If you scroll down to the USPS Priority Mail box, you can see how much price changes. Ranging from $7.24 to Los Angeles all the way to $18.70 for New York.
So if I was shipping a package to Los Angeles, I would go with USPS Priority Mail. If I was shipping a package to New York, I would go with UPS Ground. This is why this calculator is awesome.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. Have a great day everyone!
Hey, great post. The blog is looking better in general, too. I first visited when you were giving away pennies via google wallet. Quite a difference since then. I’m going to have to come back and read through the rest of your eBay posts. I’m just starting to sell things on eBay and find it surprisingly confusing. Mostly because there are some services they are trying to sell you, so at times I have a hard time figuring out which ones are actually necessary. Now that I’ve found an expert…
Haha, yes, the site has changed (hopefully for the better) since I was sending out Google Wallet pennies. That was fun while it lasted.
If you want, send me your Ebay username or a link to a listing and I will let you know what I think.
One of the most important Ebay articles I wrote is how not to get scammed on Ebay, definitely check that post out.
Why is the “first class package” option blocked out on the above chart? Isn’t it usually the cheapest?
The chart on the bottom shows prices for 1 pound packages. USPS First Class Mail is only available for packages weighing up to 13 ounces.
Hi! Thanks for the post. Got a question….The UPS shipping label will print on a regular 8.5X11 paper, right? How do you attach it to the box you’re shipping? Is there a special envelop or plastic sleeve that you use?
Yes, ups has those sleeves. Otherwise you can print it on white paper and tape it on with clear packing tape.
Can you use multiple shipping tool on Paypal for UPS shipping
I believe so, but I haven’t done that before. Do you mean shipping multiple boxes to the same address? If so, you should be able to just purchase new shipping labels for each box. Unless you mean something else…
Trying to get Paypal and UPS to “talk” to each other is like trying to get a pig to mate with an elephant. Pig and Elephant DNA just don’t match.
Maybe I can help, did you already open a UPS account? Did you add the UPS account to your PayPal account?
I kept getting a no match error and to update my UPS account to match. Finally figured out that I had two never used UPS accounts. Just now I got an email saying my UPS account is already discounted via UPS.com and can’t be used with paypal. Saga continues. Now it’s just a joke I will laugh at later then sooner.
That’s a bummer, I’m sorry you are having such a hard time linking your UPS account.
Grant, have been using that link for years but suddenly last week all is well except nothing appeared in the preview shipping Label window and it wouldn’t let me print the label. No button. Has this option gone extinct do you know?
I printed a shipping label last Wednesday and it worked fine. I haven’t tried it since then. I would keep trying, use different browsers and seeing if that fixes the problem. Let me know what you find out :)
If you use this link will it let the person know that bought the item that their item has shipped?
You have to enter their email address below their address and they will get an email from PayPal with tracking information.
Hi thanks for the post. I started selling on eBay for 2 months already and I didn’t know about that. Just a tip. Use internet explorer. I had many problems trying to print with goggle chrome after expending 1 hour with Paypal costumer service she suggested that and voile.
I’ve always used Google Chrome and have never had any problems. Was your pop up blocker stopping the labels from printing? Glad you were able to use IE to successfully print your shipping labels.
After printed out my label and when it’s ready to ship out all I have to do is just put the package in mail box at the post office right, I don’t have to come inside anymore right?
Just tape the label to the package and drop it off. You don’t need to wait in line or talk to anyone at the post office.
What USPS shipment method do you reccomend for me to ship a knotted rosary in a small 4″ by 7″ Bubbler. They weigh at 1 oz, thats including the envelope. The thickness, Im sure yet, seemss like it will be okay at 1/4 thickness. Can I ship it 1st class letter. And. Can I use my own bubblers that Ive been storing up. Thanks for any help here. Blessings.
Anything that weights 13 ounces or below can be shipped via USPS First Class Mail, including packages and padded mailers. You can print out a shipping label online or you can go to your local post office and pay for postage there.
Thanks. I better also go to the ebay boards to ask if using my own bubblers is okay. Thanks. Blessings.
Any shipping and packaging goes. There really are no standards.
Hi. Do you have any idea if the credit card purchases for USPS/UPS labels created & printed via Paypal.com would be categorized as Shipping?
Amex Business Gold currently gives 3% bonus on Shipping so I am just wondering.
I think it is considered shipping, so you should earn 3x on the purchase.
Thanks! I will give it a try.
Good luck Meg, let me know if you have any questions.
how do i do label on line with cc
Create a PayPal account, add your credit card to your account, and follow the steps in the post.
How do I change my shipping method? I want to use usps not ups and it I accidentally clicked to always go with ups. How can i change this?
You should see a link near the UPS shipping service that says USPS shipping options.
You can also go to your PayPal settings, shipping options, and change your default shipping provider.
Hopefully one of those suggestions will work for you.
Why is printing labels through Paypal so much cheaper than through USPS and Etsy?
Below is a comparison of a USPS label between Paypal and Etsy.
4x4x4 box 10 oz
Georgia, USA to Canada
————-
Etsy:
$14.73
————-
Paypal:
$4.98
I don’t understand why Paypal is SO much cheaper. Am I getting something wrong here? Any information would be much appreciated!
The class of service might be different between both services. PayPal might be showing you USPS First Class International Mail, while Etsy might be showing you USPS Priority Mail International.
THANK YOU SO MUCH – IT WAS DRIVING ME CRAZY!
You’re welcome. Have a great weekend!
Grant,
I’m using a Mac. Any wisdom on what type of shipping labels I should buy? Just a sheet 8.5×11″ sheets of peel off labels?
Richard
You can get free UPS shipping labels that work great for PayPal shipping labels.
hi there, hope you are doing great.
i am an eBay seller from China, i used to apply for USPS shipping labels from my business partnership company who are working in NY, you know we have warehouse doing handsets business in NY and CA, i tried to purchase labels online through PayPal the way you taught, but seems that everything changed on the page, i couldn’t find an option to enter shipping label page, 36966836@qq.com, really appreciate it if there are anything you can help.
Did it say what size labels to use with the USPS option?
It uses half a sheet of regular paper, so the labels will be 8.5 inches tall x 5.5 inches wide.
Why can’t I find the link when I’m logged into my Paypal account? I can only find a shipping calculator. And I’ve used your link before… the shipping charge is listed but even clicking around the transaction details won’t bring me back to create a new label. Hope you didn’t already answer this question, I grabbed the link you provide and was off to print a bunch of labels… after the hassle of the USPS website that doesn’t offer First Class “click and ship”. Wasted so much time signing up and click click click.
If someone pays you via PayPal, there should be an option to print a shipping label for that transaction. Look toward the bottom of the transaction details.
Hello! I have been shipping through PayPal, eBay, and Etsy for quite awhile and have always used First Class Mail or Priority Mail. I have a large package (23″x23″x9″) that is about 10.5 pounds. Priority Mail is $45 and Parcel Select is $26 both through PayPal. I am worried that I am missing something and my customer will be charged the difference. Any insight on this before I run around to the PO, UPS, and FedEx for rates? Thanks!
Are you shipping to a commercial or residential address? You can usually get discounts with UPS and FedEx when you ship to commercial addresses.
It’s a residential address. I have been reading some Q&A on PayPal and it seems ok – the price difference is mainly the time frame the package will be delivered. Thanks for your quick response!
This shipping calculator will give you several USPS and UPS options: http://payments.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?EmitSellerShippingCalculator&guest=1
You can also get an estimate directly from FedEx but I would prefer to use USPS or UPS since you can purchase and print from PayPal.
Grant is there a way to print a batch of labels? I.e., I want to send 300 of the same exact package (an envelope with two books in it) to 300 different addresses via media mail. Do I have to do each one by one or can I do a batch?? Thanks!
Hmm, you might need to use endicia or stamps.com to speed up the process. It would take a long time using PayPal shipping labels.