Stamps.com is a USPS postage reseller that grants access to all standard services offered by USPS, as well as additional international shipping options through GlobalPost. Register for a Stamps.com account on their website.
US ShipEngine Accounts Include USPS from ShipEngine
US-based merchants can access discounted USPS services via ShipEngine Carriers without connecting a separate Stamps.com account.
To connect your Stamps.com account to ShipEngine:
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Click the United States Postal Service by Stamps.com tile.
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Choose the option "Connect to an existing Stamps.com account," then click Continue setup.
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Enter your Stamps.com username and password, then click Continue setup.
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Review the details on the Confirmation screen, then click Connect.
You’re now ready to start creating USPS labels with your Stamps.com account!
ShipEngine's integration with Stamps.com supports the following features:
Note
To meet USPS requirements, ShipEngine will always display postage for First Class Mail with the Large Envelope/Flat package type.
|
Feature |
Description |
|---|---|
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Paperless Label Support |
You can request a paperless label download link instead of a label PDF when creating a label. Add the |
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Scheduled Pickups |
After creating labels with Stamps.com services, you can schedule a carrier pickup in ShipEngine. |
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USPS SCAN Forms |
Use ShipEngine to generate USPS SCAN forms for your Stamps.com shipping labels. |
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Dangerous Goods |
If your shipment contains dangerous goods, be sure to include the Dangerous Goods advanced option in your Create Label call. Currently, shipments containing dangerous goods can only be shipped using USPS Ground Advantage as a service with ShipEngine. This carrier may have other requirements when shipping dangerous goods. Check with your account representative to understand what qualifies as dangerous goods and any requirements your carrier may have for these shipments. |
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Global Advantage Program |
The free Stamps.com account included with ShipEngine Carriers automatically includes Global Advantage Program (GAP) labels. See our Global Advantage Program help article for more details. |
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GlobalPost Services |
GlobalPost services are available for international shipping with your Stamps.com account. See our Ship Internationally with GlobalPost help article for details on using these services with ShipEngine. |
Configure ShipEngine to automatically purchase postage when your Stamps.com account balance dips below a certain amount. Funds will be added from the credit card you have on file with Stamps.com.
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Click the vertical ellipsis for your Stamps.com account listed under the My Carrier Accounts section, then select Add Funds.
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Go to the Auto-Funding tab and toggle auto-funding On. Set the minimum balance before more postage is automatically purchased.
For example, if you wanted to purchase $250 any time your account balance is below $25, set the When balance falls below amount to ‘25’ and set the Add the following amount to ‘250’. Then enter the maximum number of times ShipEngine can automatically purchase postage in a day.
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Click Save.
You can access your Stamps.com account settings, reports, transaction history, and more from the ShipEngine dashboard.
Click the action menu next to your connected Stamps.com account and select Edit to open the Edit Carrier window.
Here, you will find the following options:
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Account Settings: Manage your Stamps.com account contact information, payment methods, plan level, and more.
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Online Reports Page: View your postage expenses, transactions, and account balance for a specific date range.
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Online SCAN Form Page: View and print your USPS SCAN Forms from Stamps.com.
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Refresh Services: ShipEngine returns rates for services enabled in your Stamps.com account. If you have recently had services added or removed, click Refresh Services to update the available services returned by ShipEngine.
Reauthorize Stamps.com Account
To update the connection information for your Stamps.com account, follow the steps in the Update Carrier Accounts guide.
This section explains how to ship tubes via USPS First Class and Priority services. For each service, the same weight and size restrictions that apply to packages also apply to tubes.
While ‘Tube’ is not currently an available package type in ShipEngine, Stamps.com recommends using ‘Package’ as the package type for these shipments. Enter the tube’s correct dimensions to ensure that label charges reflect the proper rate, whether you are using your own custom packaging or the USPS-provided Dual-Use Priority and Priority Mail Express tubes.
Tip
Reference the USPS 201e Quick Service Guide to help determine the girth of a package.
For tubes, the height and width will be the same. USPS determines the rate by the weight of the package.
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Max Weight |
15.99 oz |
|
Max Dimensions |
(L) 22" x (H) 18" x (W) 15" |
Priority Mail is zone-based pricing. That means for certain zip codes you will have to enter the dimensions of your tube to obtain the correct rate.
Entering dimensions is always recommended to ensure your packages receive the correct rate from the postage provider. Incorrect dimensions can result in packages being returned, or rate adjustments applied to your postage provider account after shipping.
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USPS labels will no longer display the transit time for Priority Mail shipments in the label banner.
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USPS pickups can only be scheduled for one day in advance. For example, if you schedule a pickup on the 5th for the 7th, the pickup date scheduled by Stamps.com will be the 6th.
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USPS does not support Signature or Adult Signature confirmation for shipments to international addresses.
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USPS SCAN forms must be created before 9pm local time.
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Label Messages are not available for international shipments or domestic First-Class Mail shipments using the Letter package type.
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Due to the discounted rates you receive through ShipEngine, it's not possible to show the postage cost on Stamps.com shipping labels.
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Voiding labels and refunds: To receive a refund for unused postage, void the label within 28 days of creating it. The refund will be credited to your postage account within three to four weeks of the request.
Go to our Void Labels guide to see how to use the void label endpoint.
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Stamps.com has a postage-purchase minimum of $10 for a single transaction.
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Each Stamps.com account can hold up to a maximum of $10,000 in available funds.
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To report a lost USPS shipment created via ShipEngine, you must file a claim with USPS.
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Large Envelopes/Flats shipped via First-Class Mail are not eligible for tracking and will not include a barcode on the label.
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All international shipments using USPS First-Class Mail Int'l, Priority Mail Int'l, or Priority Express Int'l services will use Global Advantage Program labels by default.
Here are some common issues, potential causes, and troubleshooting tips.
|
Issue |
How to Troubleshoot or Resolve |
|---|---|
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Error when creating SCAN form: One or more of these packages have already been scanned by USPS OR Error: An unexpected error occurred while creating the SCAN form. The size necessary to buffer the XML content exceeded the buffer quota. |
SCAN forms (also called End of Day forms) can only be closed for orders that were created on that date, for that date. You will not be able to close a SCAN form for shipments that have a ship date in the past. In this case, the packages must be individually scanned by USPS. If you are trying to close your SCAN form for the current day: Log into your Stamps.com account and print the SCAN form from the Online SCAN Form Page. |
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Error when attempting to get rates or create labels: Authentication Failed |
This error message will occur if you've updated the password for your Stamps.com account. It means that ShipEngine no longer has the proper password for your account and is unable to communicate successfully with Stamps.com. To resolve this error, reauthorize your Stamps.com password in ShipEngine. |
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Error: Invalid SOAP message due to XML Schema validation failure.....The actual length is less than the MinLength value. |
This error may occur when attempting to get a rate for an international shipments to a country that does not use postal codes. Enter 00000 in the Ship To address Postal Code field to receive a rate and create the label successfully. |
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Error: First and Last Name, with two chars each or Full Name with two char First and Last Name or Company Name with two chars is required for both sender and recipient. |
For international shipments, USPS requires a first name and last name of two characters each, separated by a space for all Ship From addresses. |
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Error: Account is set to closed plan |
This means the connected account has been either closed or removed from the ShipStation Pro plan. To resolve, contact Stamps.com at 1 (855) 860-7867 and ask to have your Stamps.com account changed back to a ShipStation Pro plan. |
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Locked out of Stamps.com account |
If you are locked out of your Stamps.com account or unable to purchase postage on your account, you must contact the Stamps.com Trust and Safety team for assistance at (866) 634-4708. They will verify and release your account. |
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Refunds for late Priority Mail Express shipments |
You will need to contact Stamps.com directly to claim a refund for late delivery. Email shippersupport@stamps.com with the tracking number(s) and created date(s) for the shipment(s). Stamps.com will evaluate the claim and respond within 24 hours. |
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Customs Forms for First-Class Mail International shipments |
USPS requires all "Merchandise" shipped via First-Class Mail International to use the Package package type. The Large Envelope or Flat package type is only valid if the content type for the shipment is "Documents." |
