What if you have a package you want to send that is NOT an [tag]eBay[/tag] item? Usually, when you sell an item on eBay, you may create a postage-paid label for that item through [tag]PayPal[/tag], and ship it. That's cool, but what if you didn't sell the item through eBay and you just want to send your Mom some new work boots?
UPDATE: Ok - thanks to some [tag]eBayers[/tag] on the [tag]discussion boards[/tag] I am asking that you ignore all the stuff I've struck out below. There is a much simpler way to use PayPal to create an original label. The good part is - you really do have a way to print postage-paid labels in service types not offered on the USPS.com site. You must be signed into PayPal and then you can use this link: https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_ship-now
There is some concern that my earlier method will send a confusing email to the original customer and we don't want that. Thank to eBay posters: [tag]balloonplace[/tag], [tag]poker-chips-on-line[/tag], [tag]no.1macgyver[/tag] for their correct and helpful information!
In order to make this work, you will have to have at least one sale on eBay in the past 90 days.
If you sell an item through eBay, you can print out a prepaid [tag]shipping label[/tag] through PayPal. Shipping through PayPal offers you options the United States Postal Service doesn't offer on their own site, such as creating a label to ship an item [tag]Media Mail[/tag] rate or "Book" rate, or [tag]First-class[/tag].
USPS Limits
Through the USPS.com site, you cannot print labels for every level of service. If you go there to print a pre-paid label, you will only find:
- [tag]Express Mail Service[/tag] (regular and Flat Rate)
- [tag]Priority Mail Service[/tag] (regular and Flat Rate)
You won't find the ability to print [tag]First-Class postage[/tag] labels or Media Rate labels through the [tag]Post Office[/tag]'s website. They want you to spend the big bucks on the other services.
Labels for anyone - Step by Step
To begin, login to PayPal, you don't have to do anything here right now, just stay logged in and move on to eBay.com. Open your My eBay page. Next, find your Sold Items
-
NOTE: it doesn't matter if the item has already been shipped.
- Once in [tag]My eBay[/tag] find any sold item
- Select that item and click "Print Shipping Labels"
- This will take you to PayPal
- You should be at the "Create Your Shipping Label" page showing your customer's name and address
- Under "Ship to:" click the link that says "Edit address"
- Enter the name and address you would like to ship to
- Now you can choose services not offered on USPS.com - Complete the rest of the form including Service Type and Package Size
- Click "Continue" at the bottom of the page
- Once everything looks like you want, click "Pay and Continue" and print your label
You now have a paid label for your package. As long as it's under 13 ounces, you can use First-class. There are other restrictions too, for example Media Rate can only be used for Media such as printed matter, CDs or DVDs and no advertising is allowed, etc. Basically - all Post Office rules still apply.
You can use the exact same sold item over and over and keep editing the address. If you have Selling Manager Pro, you will want to make sure you don't have automated shipping notifications turned on though, otherwise your customer will think you're sending the same package over and over.
This is really a great tool to use and is really quite simple once you do it a few times.
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8 comments ↓
This trick, while it will create a valid label, but you need to realize that it will create an email notification (to the original buyer) that a pkg was shipped.
Thank you for the article. I have
wanted to ship things and did not
know how. Very Helpful.
Hi David, thanks for that insight. I’ve revised the article to a simpler, and for the original customer, less confusing method. - Steve
Steve, respectfully, why have you left the original bad advice up there and “crossed out” but still fully readable? Why have you not deleted it entirely? People have posted on the eBay boards that this has caused them real headaches including having their PayPal accounts locked while trying to sort out something that looks like fraud but really isn’t. This feels like posting online the instructions on how to do something dangerous and then saying “kids don’t try this at home, really.”
Hi Frank, I appreciate your comment. I struggled with how to deal with my mistake, and considered deleting it, but rather than give the appearance of trying to hide my mistake, I thought it was more honest to admit it and correct it openly.
I believe the way I’ve handled it tells the full story. I’ve also put the correct information at the beginning of the article, and clearly struck through the bad advice. Leaving the entire post visible, but struck through, clearly shows any reasonable person who reads it that it’s the wrong course.
Frank:
As a full-time business blogging consultant and blogger with nearly 10 years of blogging under my belt (yes, there really is such a thing a blogging consultant), I feel quite strongly that Steve has managed this posting the correct way. Pointing out the err of one’s way in the Blogosphere is commonly managed with the strike-thru method used by Steve. If anyone is honestly confused by what the strike-thru signifies, (i.e., “DON’T READ ME”) especially after reading Steve’s update/clarification, then they may quite possibly have significantly larger issues in life to deal with (said nicely, of course).
Very Helpful. Stupid PayPal customer service was ignorant, and could not supply me with this link.
They kept referring to multi order, and auction, and printing labels through “after payment has been received.”
This link is awesome, but why couldn’t I find it from the Paypal website? It always refers me to multi order
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