by Lori Boyer
You're a business owner who’s just made a sale—congratulations! But your job isn’t over yet. Now it’s time to actually get the item to your customer. You’ll need packaging supplies, shipping labels, and a carrier to deliver the package. Shipping logistics can feel overwhelming, especially as your business grows, but with the right plan in place, you’ll have a successful shipping operation in no time.
First, you’ll need a way to get shipping labels for your packages. This is arguably the most important part, as this is what provides the carrier with all of the necessary shipping information:
- Recipient’s name and address
- Sender’s name and address
- Shipping method
- Package weight and dimensions
Accurate shipping labels will help you get packages where they need to go and maintain customer satisfaction. This article will show you how to quickly print labels for free with carriers like USPS, UPS, FedEx, and more.
Free shipping labels help lower shipping costs
Now that you understand the importance of shipping label printing, you’re probably wondering what the cost looks like.
Luckily, most carriers offer shipping labels to business owners for free. For example, USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL all provide free shipping labels to their customers. This means that while you still have to pay shipping rates, there’s no extra charge for creating labels.
Using free shipping labels provided by the carrier can save time and money for businesses and individuals who ship frequently. It can also help ensure that the package is properly identified and delivered to the intended recipient, which reduces the risk of lost or misdirected shipments.
When you’re not spending money printing and designing shipping labels, it frees up the rest of your shipping budget to focus on branded packaging and ensuring your customers have a great delivery experience.
How do I get shipping labels?
Free shipping labels from UPS, USPS, FedEx, etc. can be ordered online or picked up at local carrier locations. Free shipping labels typically come in various sizes and formats to accommodate different types of shipments, from small packages to larger boxes.
Creating shipping labels online is straightforward and convenient. You have a few different options:
- Use your carrier’s online portal to upload shipment details and create labels.
- Use a shipping platform to automatically collect shipment information and create compliant labels.
As you can imagine, manually entering shipping information into a carrier’s label creation portal can be time-consuming and tedious. And small mistakes like typos can lead to costly consequences! On the other hand, shipping platforms make the label printing process faster and more accurate.
For example, the EasyPost Shipping API can automatically pull in order information to create labels—no manual data entry required! For businesses that prefer to manually create labels (individually or in bulk), the EasyPost user interface provides that option. Simply enter the shipping details, including the recipient's address and package weight, and select your preferred carrier, and EasyPost will generate a shipping label that you can download and print.
The EasyPost shipping API is free to use for any business shipping fewer than 10,000 packages per month.
Where can I print shipping labels?
You can print shipping labels at various locations, and the best option will probably depend on how many packages you ship each day.
If you run your small business from home and only ship a few packages per day, you can use your own printer to print the labels after creating them online. While it’s totally acceptable to print labels on normal printer paper, most businesses upgrade to a label printer, which eliminates the need to tape labels to packages.
Alternatively, you can visit office supply stores, shipping centers like UPS or FedEx locations, or local libraries that offer printing services. These places typically have the equipment and resources to help you print your shipping labels efficiently.
Once you move your logistics operations to a dedicated fulfillment center, you’ll print shipping labels there as part of the order fulfillment process.
Where can I get other shipping supplies?
Now that you’ve covered shipping labels, what about your other supplies—boxes, tape, poly mailers, infill, and more?
Well, buying materials online is always a good bet. Just remember to factor in the cost of shipping the supplies to your location. Check out online sellers like Uline, Staples, Office Depot, eBay, and Amazon.
Carriers like USPS, UPS, and FedEx offer a wide range of supplies, including boxes, envelopes, packing tape, and labels, which can often be ordered online or picked up at their local offices. Many of these carriers also provide specialized supplies for fragile or heavy items.
Here’s a list of mail carriers in the United States that offer free shipping supplies to business owners:
USPS
USPS offers a variety of free priority mail envelopes, boxes, and shipping kits to users. Take a look at their store hereopen_in_new.
UPS
UPS offers free shipping labels, stickers, boxes and other packaging, and express envelopes to customers. Take a look at their store hereopen_in_new.
FedEx
FedEx offers free envelopes, boxes, tubes, and other shipping necessities. Take a look at their store hereopen_in_new.
How do I create return labels?
While return labels can be created using a carrier’s online portal, the fastest way to make them is to use an online shipping platform like EasyPost.
Simply enter the necessary details, including the return address (typically your business address). Then choose the appropriate carrier and service level based on urgency and cost considerations. Finally, make sure to incorporate tracking features on return labels so both you and your customers can monitor shipments.
Businesses with high return rates often include return labels in original shipments, making it easy for customers to send items back if needed. Alternatively, you can email the return label directly to the customer, providing a hassle-free solution for any return requests.
By offering prepaid, easy-to-use return labels, you not only simplify the returns process for your customers but also enhance their trust and loyalty towards your brand.
Print shipping labels the easy way
With EasyPost’s SmartRate API, businesses can optimize their shipping process and save up to 70% per shipment.
By utilizing our Create Label interface, businesses can spend less time and money on shipping, while still receiving high-quality service from our carriers. Sign up free with EasyPost today to revolutionize your business’ shipping process.
