i had the pleasure of being a guest blogger on the “indie free spirits” etsy team blog to help walk them through the basics of how to use paypal shipping. so many people seemed to find it helpful, so i thought i’d post here as well! especially if you’re an etsian hesitant to jump into online shipping, this can be very helpful. i promise you, it is really not scary! while i don’t use paypal for my international shipping, it makes domestic shipping from home a breeze. i do it in my pj’s 99% of the time. not to mention i don’t have to deal with the hassle of post office lines, grumpy workers, or just flat out incompetence. just drop it in my mailbox, coffee in hand, and go about my day! so here it goes, i hope it’s helpful.
single order shipping:
1. first, log in to your paypal. 
you will then, of course, happen upon your account summary. hopefully you will have tons of orders to ship! there are two ways to use paypal for shipping your items. the first way i’ll show you is how to ship through your summary page. the second way will be the multi-order shipping option (which can also be used for personal items, not sold on etsy/ebay/artfire/etc. but just a package of cookies to grandma or something!)
2. if you only have one order, i find it easiest to ship via the summary screen. here’s how: when you are looking at your transaction in your summary, you will see a button that says “print shipping label.” click on it. you will then find yourself on a page upon which you need to do the following: verify that their paypal and etsy shipping address match (if not, contact them), select your service type (your options include parcel, media, first class, priority, and express if you use usps), add in the weight (i purchased an oz. scale at wal-mart ages ago for like $15 – totally worth it!) and add insurance if you like. you should also be able to change your mail carrier service if you need to, though i only use usps. another tip – delivery confirmation comes standard with EVERY package, big or small…so that’s an additional $.19 per package. just something to keep in mind – i did email paypal and ask them when i first started and they said it’s not an option – it’s simply required. and a word to the wise…if your package is a partial oz weight, such as 2.3 oz, always round up to the next whole number – not down! once you finish filling in all of that information, hit continue.
3. on this screen, make sure you verify all of the information – that you selected the proper carrier, service type and weight of your shipment and that the address you’re shipping to and the return address are also correct. this will also show you the rate of your postage. once you are sure everything is right, click “pay and continue” at the bottom. a screen will pop up with your label. you will want to hit “print label” and let it print, tape it to your package, and voila! you are finished. if you do the shipments this way, paypal will automatically email your customer with a tracking number for their package. it’s often nice to send it to them again if you like, just for their own ease. another tip: paypal says not to tape over the barcode, but i always do. if you don’t, it’s much easier for it to rip, smudge, or receive some other sort of damage that therefore makes it unreadable and, unfortunately, undeliverable! so as long as it’s not crinkled or smudged under the tape, and the tape is clear, you’ll be fine.
now…the other way to use paypal for shipping, which i do with multiple orders, trades or personal packages, is the “multi-order shipping” option. here’s how you do it …
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multi-order shipping
1. log in to your paypal, and go to your account summary screen again. on that screen will be your list of orders as before, but instead of clicking on the “print shipping label” button next to your transaction, there is a link on the side bar to the right of your list of transactions that says “multi-order shipping.” click on that! and make sure your pop-up blocker is turned OFF.
a new window will pop up and you will then find yourself on this screen. if you have multiple un-shipped domestic orders they will show up on a list there and ready to go.
2. on this screen you can verify the item and it’s recipient, choose the service you want to use, the package type, weight and size (if it asks for size.) it’s very similar to the last page, just laid out in less detail. so you can fill in all the information you need. on the far left column, there is a check mark. underneath that, a green box will appear when the label is ready to ship and needs no more information. if you have orders to ship that did not show up on that list, maybe personal packages, trades, or perhaps your customer asked you to ship to a different address than what is on their paypal account…basically anything you want to manually enter, click on file and then “create new orders.”
3. a new screen will pop up again, and you will do the same thing as before – select your service, package type, weight, etc. then below, you will need to manually input the recipient’s address. also make sure that the return address is correct. you also have the option of inputting additional order details and a personal message to the recipient. all your choice!
you can then hit “create another” or “save and close.” “create another” will take you to this same form again, blank and ready to input another label. “save and close” will take you back to the multi-order shipping screen. back at the multi-order shipping screen when you think you are finished, verify that all of the information is correct and that the green boxes have appeared to the left of all the ready-to-ship orders. tip: once that’s done, you can also see the postage cost of each individual package by clicking on that line. when everything is verified and ready to go, click “print” on the top left hand corner of the screen.
4. you will then be taken to the “pay and print” screen. make sure all the labels are there and, when ready, click “pay and print.” tip: you can also see the total cost of ALL your labels combined in the bottom right-hand corner. now the label will pop up again, and you’ll print the same way you did last time. easy!
when you are all finished, just so you can keep track of shipments, it will show up in your account summary as the customer being “US Postal Service” and there will be a link to where you can track the package. it sounds like a lot of work, but i promise you will get the hang of it after your first go!
good luck, and enjoy shipping in those heart covered pajama pants that you would never be seen in out in public! :)
(click for video)
