Buy shipping labels in bulk in Shopify
Nine shirt orders came in overnight. Buying their labels one by one means nine trips through the same form; the bulk flow groups them, reviews them on one page, and buys all nine at once. Six orders are for one green shirt, and three are for a green shirt and a blue shirt.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 4 minutes read
The worked example
| Orders | 9 |
| Group 1 | 6 × one green shirt |
| Group 2 | 3 × one green shirt and one blue shirt |
| Label cost each | $8.40 |
| Group 1 total | $50.40 |
| Group 2 total | $25.20 |
| Total | $75.60 |
| Limit per bulk buy | 250 labels |
Download the record: bulk-labels-record.csv (260 bytes).
A bulk label record for the 9 orders: 6 labels at $8.40 and 3 labels at $8.40 add to the $75.60 total. It is a planning record, not a file Shopify imports.
1Open the Shipping labels page
From your Shopify admin, go to Orders > Shipping labels. This page is the starting point for buying labels in bulk.
2Select the labels to buy
Click Buy labels for [x] orders. Shopify selects the orders that are paid, need shipping, and are ready to fulfil. You can also select orders on the Orders page and click Create shipping labels.
3Pick the fulfilment location
If you fulfil from multiple locations, select the location and click Continue. Labels are bought per location, so a two-location morning needs two bulk runs.
4Group the fulfilments
On the Create shipping labels page, group by product name: click Group by, then select Same item name. The 6 one-shirt orders land in one group and the 3 two-shirt orders in another, so you can check a whole group at a glance.
5Review weights and services
Check the weight on each shipment; click the Items field to verify it, and select Save weight to product details if you want the corrected weight kept. Edit the shipping service on any label that needs a different one.
6Review the batch
Click Review [x] labels. If any label has a problem, Shopify marks it: a yellow warning icon will not stop the purchase, but a red critical-error icon will, until you fix the error or remove that label from the batch.
7Buy the labels
Click Buy shipping labels. You may be asked to verify your identity with your card's issuer. All 9 labels are bought at once, and each order is marked as fulfilled with its tracking number added.
8Print the labels
Print the labels from the same flow, or later from the Shipping labels page. You can print up to 100 shipping labels at the same time from the Shipping labels page.
The arithmetic
Nine labels at $8.40 each.
| Group | Orders | Label each | Group total |
|---|---|---|---|
| One green shirt | 6 | $8.40 | $50.40 |
| Green shirt + blue shirt | 3 | $8.40 | $25.20 |
| Total | 9 | $75.60 |
6 × $8.40 = $50.40, 3 × $8.40 = $25.20, and $50.40 + $25.20 = $75.60. The bulk limit is 250 labels at once, so 9 labels leave 241 of headroom.
Held at the counter
Some orders are left out of the bulk buy. Orders with no valid shipping address, orders already fulfilled, and orders with only items that do not need shipping are not included. A short count usually means one of those, not a missing order.
A red critical error blocks the whole purchase. A label with a red critical-error icon cannot be bought until you fix the error or remove the label from the batch. The Review button stays off until then.
The Suggested service comes from your history. Shopify may pick a Suggested service based on services you used for similar orders before. Check it is still the service you want for this batch.
Sources
- Buying shipping labels in bulk — Shopify's help pages: the bulk label steps, the 250-label limit, the grouping by product name, the warning and critical error icons, and the 100-label print limit.
- Buying shipping labels individually — Shopify's help pages: the per-label weight, package, and service fields the bulk flow reuses.