May 4, 2020
Best Label Printers for Sellers Who Ship Themselves
This blog post was originally published by Deliverr, which is now Flexport. The content has been adjusted to fit the Flexport brand voice and tone, but all other information remains unchanged. With the merging of Deliverr’s services (DTC fulfillment, B2B distribution, and Last Mile delivery) into Flexport’s existing international freight and technology services, we’re now able to provide merchants with true end-to-end logistics solutions spanning from the factory floor to the customer’s door.
eCommerce shipping label printers can make all the difference when it comes to shipping speeds, costs, and hassle. To help you find the best solutions when shipping items yourself, we’ve analyzed the pros and cons of the top shipping label printers for sellers in 2020.
Note: The services we've analyzed below are shipping platforms that are particularly useful for being able to print your own labels.
The Importance of a Good Label Printer
Shipping label software is a savior for any seller shipping items themselves. With the right platform, you can benefit from sales channel and carrier integrations that power you to:
Bulk print shipping labels to increase order output and delivery speeds;
Eliminate manual entry errors to improve shipping quality; and
Automatically update orders with tracking details to reduce customer queries.
However, there’s a huge selection of eCommerce label printers to choose from, which is why we’ve done the hard work in narrowing down the best.
5 Best Label Printers for Merchants Shipping Themselves
We’ve analyzed the most popular shipping solutions for eCommerce sellers to come up with the 5 best label printers for your online store. Let’s take a look.
1. Easyship
The Easyship shipping platform is designed for businesses of all sizes to manage all aspects of the shipping process. Sellers can use the system to integrate multiple shipping carriers and sales channels to print shipping and custom labels, update tracking information, and compare shipping services.
Pros
Easyship is a feature-rich platform, with plenty of key features and advanced functionality. The standout benefits for eCommerce sellers include:
- Integration with 21 sales channels, including Amazon, eBay, WooCommerce, and Shopify, along with a real-time rate checkout plugin
- Integration with more than 250 global shipping solutions, including USPS, UPS, DHL Express, FedEx, and DPD, along with discount rates of up to 70%
- Automated shipping rules, including tracking number updates
- Calculation of tax and duties on international shipments
Cons
Easyship customers are reportedly pleased with the platform, with only a few considerations for potential users.
The real-time rates checkout plugin requires Shopify Advanced or Shopify Plus
The manual order delivery process can be complicated to set up and use
Pricing
You can begin using Eaship for free and without any setup or cancellation costs. Anyone shipping more than 100 items per month must sign up to one of three plans.
- Plus: $29/month for 500 shipments
- Premier: $49/month for 3,000 shipments
- Enterprise: custom price for unlimited shipments
2. ShippingEasy
ShippingEasy is another web-based shipping solution that’s great for sellers using domestic shipping services. Users can benefit from multi-channel and carrier integrations to access low shipping rates and print pre-paid shipping labels.
Pros
ShippingEasy is a straight-forward label printer, with benefits including:
- Integration with USPS, FedEx, UPS, DHL, and DHL Express, alongside a guarantee of the lowest shipping rates
- Compatibility with more than 100 eCommerce platforms, including Shopify, eBay, and Amazon
- Automated shipping rules that allow you to allocate orders to different carriers depending on customer preference, product weight, and package size
- Batch printing of shipping labels, including customization options
Cons
There’s very little negative to report about ShippingEasy’s platform, however, the following considerations should be kept in mind.
- Integration with only five carrier services can limit domestic shipping speeds and international delivery options
- Some of the features could be slightly improved, especially the customization tools
- The interface reportedly doesn’t adapt to the size of all browsers
Pricing
You can ship your first 50 monthly shipments for free. Following that, you can continue using ShippingEasy with one of the following packages.
- Basic: $29/month for 500 shipments
- Plus: $49/month for 1,500 shipments
- Select: $69/month for 3,000 shipments
- Premium: $99/month for 6,000 shipments
3. Stamps
Stamps is an on-demand postage solution that lets you import sales channel orders to then print pre-paid shipping labels.
Pros
Stamps is one of the more basic label printers for sellers shipping their own items, but that doesn’t mean it can’t meet and exceed your shipping needs. The main benefits of the platform include:
- Automatic order import from Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Magento, and other shopping carts
- Data import functionality using XML, CSV, SQL, Access, Excel, and other data file formats
- Automatic tracking number updates on sales channels
- Batch printing and reporting functionality
Cons
As mentioned, Stamps is a basic label printing solution. This means that the following disadvantages may make it unsuitable for larger brands and high-volume sellers.
- Integration with USPS only
- Limited sales channel integrations
- Limited customization options
Pricing
All Stamps users benefit from a free four-week trial, with a $5 USPS credit to use during that time. Following the free trial, users pay a $17.99 monthly subscription, regardless of shipment volume.
4. ShipStation
ShipStation is a popular name among eCommerce sellers who ship items themselves. This shipping software's main functionality is it lets merchats print labels for yourself to enhance shipping performance and maximize order processing.
Pros
ShipStation comes with a variety of key features and benefits for shipping label printing. These include:
- Integration with over 44 carriers, including USPS, FedEx, UPS, DHL, FBA, Hemes, and Canada Post
- Multi-channel integration with more than 40 sales channels, including Shopify, Amazon, and eBay
- Easy-to-use interface and custom API access available
- Automation rules and batch printing
- Scanning functionality and integration with warehouse, multi-channel management, and inventory tools
Cons
With such a wide range of features, it’s difficult to find many cons about the ShipStation platform, other than:
- At the time of writing, users report that ShipStation is unable to identify a customer who has made purchases on different sales channels - resulting in duplication
- Unlike the other platforms, ShipStation doesn’t offer a free package, although you can sign up for a free 30-day trial
Pricing
ShipStation comes in six packages, charged monthly.
- Starter: $9/month for 50 shipments
- Bronze: $29/month for 500 shipments
- Silver: $49/month for 1,500 shipments
- Gold: $69/month for 3,000 shipments
- Platinum: $99/month for 6,000 shipments
- Enterprise: $159/month for 10,000 shipments
5. ShipRush
ShipRush prides itself on offering deep label printing functionality at a low price, making it suitable for eCommerce sellers of all sizes and volumes.
Pros
ShipRush is a comprehensive shipping label solution, with a variety of tools and features designed to enhance your shipping functionality. Advantages of the platform include:
- Integration with more than 80 sales channels, ERP systems, and accounting solutions
- Access to more than 200 different parcel and freight options, allowing you to ship globally and compare services at a glance
- Shipping automation for commonly performed tasks
- Customization options for shipping labels and documents
- Discounts for USPS and FedEx shipping services
Cons
ShipRush is another label printer with limited cons, the main ones being:
- Phone and chat support is only available during the working week
- New orders can sometimes be slow to import
- Creating shipping rules for large inventories can be time-consuming
Pricing
ShipRush offers a free 60-day trial. Upon completion, users have a choice of three packages:
- Speedy: $29.95/month
- Turbo: $59.95/month
- Warehouse: $99.95/month
We hope that this guide has been helpful in your search for the best shipping label printer for your eCommerce business. Don’t forget that you can also use our fulfillment cost calculator to compare shipping rates against outsourced fulfillment costs.
The contents of this blog are made available for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon for any legal, business, or financial decisions. We do not guarantee, represent, or warrant the accuracy or reliability of any of the contents of this blog because they are based on Flexport’s current beliefs, expectations, and assumptions, about which there can be no assurance due to various anticipated and unanticipated events that may occur. This blog has been prepared to the best of Flexport’s knowledge and research; however, the information presented in this blog herein may not reflect the most current regulatory or industry developments. Neither Flexport nor its advisors or affiliates shall be liable for any losses that arise in any way due to the reliance on the contents contained in this blog.