Printing Shipping Labels for Your Etsy Shop Orders with PostageMaker

Etsy is probably the most popular platform where people from all over the world can sell and buy handmade and vintage items. To make it easier for sellers to trade and make revenue, Etsy offers assistance in processing customers’ payments and printing shipping labels. However, built-in tools offered by Etsy aren’t always the most convenient option, so it may be helpful to learn about third-party alternatives.

To ship goods within the United States or from the United States to other countries, sellers on Etsy usually use the USPS (United States Postal Service) as well as FedEx and UPS, America’s leading multinational delivery services. Etsy enables American sellers to create and print shipping labels for orders right in their Shop Manager, with no additional fees, and even at a discount. Many sellers find this option very convenient, and it does have its fair share of benefits, but it also has some drawbacks.

Etsy Shipping Labels are only available to US sellers (with a corresponding bank account and/or billing address) who accept Etsy Payments or PayPal as payment methods. The cost of shipping labels is included in their monthly Etsy bill, along with listing fees, selling fees, and other payments.

In addition, there are certain limits on buying shipping labels on Etsy depending on your shop’s size. Once you’ve reached the limit, you’ll need to make a deposit into your Etsy account to be able to buy more labels. As your shop grows, the limit will grow too, but sellers who’ve just begun to sell on Etsy may experience problems with buying and printing labels at first.

So, there are several reasons why not all sellers on Etsy find Etsy Shipping Labels really convenient. Here are some of them.

Shipping from the US is required, but the store was opened in another country. Such a situation may arise when a seller uses fulfillment services, i.e. when an agent in the United States receives a batch of his products and ships them to American customers as they order them.

Seller doesn’t accept payments via Etsy Payments or PayPal. Etsy Payments and PayPal are really convenient as far as payment methods are concerned, but there’s an additional fee for using them. Combined with other fees, it can take a toll on the budget of a small, newly opened shop. Therefore, some sellers prefer receiving payments by mail or other payment methods without the mediation of Etsy. Unfortunately, if you use other payment methods, you won’t have access to Etsy Shipping Labels.

Customs declarations are required for international shipments. Etsy allows to create shipping labels for internal shipments within the United States, but not customs declarations describing the package contents, which are required for international shipping.

Etsy’s restrictions and limitations. In addition to the already mentioned limits, Etsy “reserves the right to remove your access to Etsy Shipping Labels at any time and for any reason”. This is a really vague wording that scares away some sellers.

Luckily, there are third-party alternatives to Etsy Shipping Labels that not only don’t require additional costs, but they also allow you to save on postage. PostageMaker is one of such alternatives. PostageMaker allows for quick and easy online generation of USPS, UPS and FedEx labels for domestic and international shipping.

Just like Etsy Shipping Labels, PostageMaker offers discounts on postal operators’ services. The service’s rates are up to 25% lower than the official rates, depending on the carrier, shipping methods, and parcel weight. Payment is made from your personal account in the PostageMaker system, which you can replenish in different ways. There is no required minimum payment, however, you need to make sure that you have enough funds in your account to pay for the label or labels you’ve generated. If you have no money in your account, the system won’t allow you to create a label.

When creating a label for an international shipment from the United States, PostageMaker will offer you to fill out a customs declaration, which you can print with the label. This means that you won’t need to download and fill out any additional forms for your international orders.

Besides, PostageMaker offers a convenient and easy-to-use postage calculator, which allows to calculate shipping rates depending on the destination, parcel weight and postage rates, as well as easy access to your account history, a shipment tracking tool, and an address book.

PostageMaker is a great alternative to Etsy Shipping Labels, available to all Etsy sellers regardless of the country they’re based in, the age and size of their shop, or the payment methods they prefer. The lack of additional fees, as well as discounts on postal services and the ability to simultaneously generate shipping labels and fill out customs forms make it even more attractive for those who want their Etsy shop to thrive.