Shipstation and USPS First class labels have no barcode

MooCow

MooCow

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Has anyone here had problems with Shipstation and USPS First Class shipping labels having NO BARCODE?
I spent a couple of bucks for a First Class label that cannot be accepted by USPS cause... they obviously can't scan it into the system.
I tried Shipstation support forums and ... no response.
Is shipstation... Sh!tstation?

Is there a hassle free alternative where you can buy USPS First Class shipping labels and pay via Paypal ?

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Pirateship. They don't have a direct option for first class via the packaging selection. But if you choose envelope, and put in the dimensions/weight, it pops up with a "First Class Package" option. Not sure if that's exactly what you are looking for...But they also offer UPS options, although more expensive. I'd say give it a check and see if it fits your fancy.
 
MooCow said:
I thought Paypal used to offer this service, then they redirect you to Shipstation for "paypal itself shipping labels". I believe PayPal no longer allows you to buy shipping labels directly off them anymore.
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Can you get a Paypal Mastercard Debit Card on personal accounts? If you can, you can use that to buy labels anywhere that takes Mastercard. It's not a credit card, it's debit that just pulls from your Paypal balance and or linked credit card or bank account.
I have one but it's a business debit card.
 
MooCow said:
I thought Paypal used to offer this service, then they redirect you to Shipstation for "paypal itself shipping labels". I believe PayPal no longer allows you to buy shipping labels directly off them anymore.
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Ah, my bad. I hadn't tried using them in awhile, just knew it (I guess used to) existed.
 
I print labels from Shipstation all the time, first class and priority. Never had this problem. Do you have a pop up blocker running? Have you tried in a new tab/window? Different browser (edge vs chrome etc, but I use chrome and ublock origin, no problems) ?

Also once you pay for a label you can go back and try to reprint it? And have you tried printing to pdf/save as pdf and see what it looks like?

And yeah, Paypal shipping is gone. Shipstation is the replacement.
 
I don't have this problem.

The question is, how are you getting $2.64 when it's $4.55 for me? 7 oz FCM from NJ to WA.

Edit: Looks like you picked first class envelope. Those do not have tracking.
 
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GoldenTiger said:
Ah, my bad. I hadn't tried using them in awhile, just knew it (I guess used to) existed.
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I really miss the days when PayPal had the secret shipping website service going on. It seems like everything was so much smoother back then (no 1099-K, shipping rates were dirt cheap compared to... NOW).

kyang357 said:
Edit: Looks like you picked first class envelope. Those do not have tracking.
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I tried printing out the First Class shipping label and taking it to my USPS location and they said they couldn't accept it because it had no barcode. I don't know what to tell you. I tried to explain the no tracking thing to the guy and he said there was nothing he could do if it didn't have a scannable barcode (yet if I hand wrote an address on a stamped letter envelope they would accept it??? )
 
Burticus said:
I print labels from Shipstation all the time, first class and priority. Never had this problem. Do you have a pop up blocker running? Have you tried in a new tab/window? Different browser (edge vs chrome etc, but I use chrome and ublock origin, no problems) ?

Also once you pay for a label you can go back and try to reprint it? And have you tried printing to pdf/save as pdf and see what it looks like?
Click to expand...
Firefox and Chrome, yes I tried reprinting the label, downloading it, etc and the label is completely fucked and has no barcode.
On Shipstation's "support" forums, this seems to be an issue since mid 2021. Its amazing how its still not fixed.
 
Is it a box, bubble mailer, or manilla envelope?

If it's a box or bubble mailer, they won't accept it. That kind of postage is more for mailing documents or "flat" items. If it's a manilla envelope, I don't think they can add tracking manually to it.
 
Back in the day when Amazon Marketplace used to allow small time sellers to latch onto company product listings, I could print USPS First Class labels for a small box under 13 ounces and the labels had a barcode and scanned every time. From what I was told, First Class used to be the same speed as Priority as long as it weighed under 13 ounces.
I understand the rules changed and First Class no longer allows tracking and has a "slower priority" than Priority now.

I really miss the good ole days when shit wasn't so complicated.
 
Here is a recent label for a first class package. It was a bubble mailer, 7x5 inches and 3 oz.

My label says First Class Package instead of First Class Mail. I believe your label is meant for manilla or any large flat envelope. That's why they wouldn't accept it.

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No, they wouldn't accept it because there was no barcode, not because of the pack. The postal worker behind the counter said "no barcode, I can't accept it".
 
Perhaps USPS made a change and said they didn't require barcodes anymore and then the CSR behind the desk didn't get the memo. I guess I won't be selling low value items anymore since shipping costs in general are fucking atrocious.
 
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Yeah it seems like the issue is with the Postal worker. Fucking idiot god damnit.
 
MooCow said:
Is there a hassle free alternative where you can buy USPS First Class shipping labels and pay via Paypal ?
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I just use the USPS website, click and ship. Print it on my laser printer thats filled with 2-label sticky papers. Easy peasy. I even got myself a little $12 scale to make my life easier. I was shipping hundreds of boxes a year at one point so that was the easiest for me.
 
Wait, do you have a box? Sounds like you're using letter rates for packages.

Get a refund on the label and buy the proper label.
 
I put the dimensions in Shipstation (thickness is over .75" ) and they still give me a First Class "Mail label" when they should give me a First Class package label. Then the postal service worker should have told me to get a First class package label instead of telling me everything absolutely has a barcode. I dunno I'm just gonna ship using Priority Envelope for $7.50 and not sell anything of low value anymore. I appreciate the responses.
 
LigTasm said:
I just use the USPS website, click and ship. Print it on my laser printer thats filled with 2-label sticky papers. Easy peasy. I even got myself a little $12 scale to make my life easier. I was shipping hundreds of boxes a year at one point so that was the easiest for me.
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I use Avery 8126 labels and they are really convenient. And yes a Walmart flat kitchen scale has been used to calculate shipping for many thousands of $$$ of sold items.
 
MooCow said:
I use Avery 8126 labels and they are really convenient. And yes a Walmart flat kitchen scale has been used to calculate shipping for many thousands of $$$ of sold items.
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I just looked, mine are Avery 5126. I dunno what the difference is, but they work great. I bought a small black-only samsung laser printer at staples for $49 about 4 years ago, I had to get a new toner after about 3000 pages. So glad I got it, its way better than any inkjet ever was.
 
I had to start over quoting the weight on my packages with USPS. I got several over weight charges in 2021, despite using a UPS certified scale, at a business which ships a lot of stuff. And those over weight charges are not simply covering the extra postage...
 
chameleoneel said:
I had to start over quoting the weight on my packages with USPS. I got several over weight charges in 2021, despite using a UPS certified scale, at a business which ships a lot of stuff. And those over weight charges are not simply covering the extra postage...
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The revenue protection scales used in USPS machinery are very, very accurate to the point where it can be a pain in the ass to validate them daily because a desk fan 20ft away will throw it off too much for it to pass. I do these things every day and god do I hate them. The tolerance is .05 lb (~20g) on anything classed as a package.

The problem is if they are really busy they do not stop for the scales to get checked, so it can get pretty out of whack since its not actually critical to get the package to the destination.
 
LigTasm said:
I just use the USPS website, click and ship. Print it on my laser printer thats filled with 2-label sticky papers. Easy peasy. I even got myself a little $12 scale to make my life easier. I was shipping hundreds of boxes a year at one point so that was the easiest for me.
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Which 2-label sticky papers do you recommend? And which scale?
 
LFaWolf said:
Which 2-label sticky papers do you recommend? And which scale?
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I just got a small scale, it was listed as a "mailing scale". Think I got that at staples too. I use Avery labels as the print quality seems to be better than some of the other ones I've tried and the tape is very strong.
 
LFaWolf said:
Which 2-label sticky papers do you recommend? And which scale?
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I'm guessing something like this for the labels. Sign up for UPS, I think they still give a limited amount out free but it'll have UPS logo.

Any cheap scale would work.

If you ship a lot, do yourself a favor and get a thermal printer. I run a zebra 2844 and use the free UPS 4x6 thermal roll.
 
oh jeez I just print on my laser and use packing tape. but I'm cheap and don't ship on a massive scale :) I also reuse my amazon envelopes and boxes, just make sure to black out all the visible barcodes etc
 
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