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  2. Integrations Help Guide
  3. Carrier Integrations

Amazon Buy Shipping API

Details about ShipStation's Amazon Buy Shipping API integration: requirements, how to enable, features, and troubleshooting tips.

ShipStation’s integration with the Amazon Buy Shipping API allows you to use ShipStation to create labels for merchant-fulfilled Amazon orders. For US-based accounts, you can import these orders either from your directly connected Amazon Marketplace account or from ChannelAdvisor.

If you are shipping Merchant Fulfilled Prime orders through ShipStation, you are required to create your labels using the Amazon Buy Shipping API integration. ShipStation applies a special tag to Prime orders to help you identify them quickly. To learn how to ship your Merchant Fulfilled Prime orders using ShipStation, please review our Ship Merchant Fulfilled Prime Orders help article.

Automatic tagging does not apply to orders imported from ChannelAdvisor, but you can create an automation rule to do this for you. Review the ChannelAdvisor section of our Amazon Merchant Fulfilled Orders article for details.

All labels created in ShipStation using the Amazon Buy Shipping API include an additional $0.20 fee, which will be added to your monthly ShipStation invoice.

Limitations

  • You cannot connect more than one Amazon Buy Shipping API account to ShipStation.

  • You cannot edit the recipient address for shipments using Amazon Buy Shipping API services. All labels will use the Recipient address Amazon has on file for the order. If you must update the recipient address, you must log into Amazon Seller Central to make the change.

  • You cannot create multi-package shipments in ShipStation when using Amazon Buy Shipping API services. To create multi-package shipments, you must do so in Amazon Seller Central.

  • Delayed notifications are not available for shipments created with the Amazon Buy Shipping API. Since the label is created through Amazon's system, Amazon is aware of the shipment as soon as the label is generated.

  • End of Day forms (sometimes called manifests) are not currently supported in ShipStation for Amazon Buy Shipping API labels. These shipments will display in Shipments > End of Day, but cannot be closed or printed through ShipStation. However, you can print End of Day forms via Amazon's shipping portal, if needed.

  • If Amazon determines the selected service will not guarantee the shipment's arrival in the required time frame, Amazon will return the alert "Selected service is not compatible with other settings" and prevent you from creating the label for that order. In these cases, you will need to select a faster service.

    Important

    Give yourself enough time to pick, pack, and ship your orders!

    The last pick-up time for each shipping service will impact the availability of the shipping service when you purchase a shipping label using services from the Amazon Buy Shipping API. You may not see your preferred shipping services if the label purchase time is less than an hour from the last carrier pick-up time you defined.

  • To use your own carrier account rates for the Amazon Buy Shipping API, you must connect your carrier accounts within Amazon's shipping portal. Review Amazon’s Seller Central help to learn how to connect you own carrier accounts to use with the Amazon Buy Shipping API (requires you to log into Amazon Seller Central).

  • If using ChannelAdvisor to import your Amazon orders, the Amazon Buy Shipping API integration will only function for orders imported from the Amazon store you most recently connected to ShipStation.

    Review the ChannelAdvisor section of our Amazon Merchant Fulfilled Prime Orders article for more details.

Amazon Buy Shipping API Requirements

  • Your Amazon Marketplace store connected to ShipStation.

    If you need help connecting your Amazon store, please review our Amazon Marketplace help article.

  • Your Amazon Seller ID, MWS Auth Token, and Amazon Seller Central email address.

  • Amazon merchant fulfilled orders imported from either an Amazon Marketplace or ChannelAdvisor store.

  • You must log in to Amazon and agree to terms and conditions for any shipping carrier you intend to use.

Enable Amazon Buy Shipping API in ShipStation

To enable the Amazon Buy Shipping API in ShipStation:

  1. Connect your Amazon.com seller account to ShipStation, if you haven't already.

  2. Go to Settings > Shipping > Carriers and click Add a Carrier Account.

  3. Select the Amazon Buy Shipping tile.

    Amazon Buy Shipping tile

  4. Follow the steps provided in the connection pop-up window.

    SET_AmazonBuyShipping_US_MRK.png

  5. Enter your Amazon Seller ID, MWS Auth Token, and Amazon Seller Central email address.

  6. Review and agree to the terms and conditions by checking the Agree to Terms and Conditions checkbox.

    SET_AmazonBuy_Terms.png

  7. Click Connect to finish the process.

    SET_AmazonBuy_BTN_Connect.png

Once completed successfully, you will see Amazon Buy Shipping as a carrier in your Services drop-down menu, along with any services you've configured with Amazon.

Services drop-down, partial list of Amazon Buy Shipping services.

To hide services you do not plan to use:

  1. Go to your ShipStation Settings and choose Shipping > Carriers.

  2. Click the Services link for the Amazon carrier to show the available services.

  3. Deselect any services you do not wish to use.

  4. Click Update.

Your Services drop-down will now only show the selected services.

Amazon Orders Imported via ChannelAdvisor

If you'll be using your ChannelAdvisor account to import Amazon orders into ShipStation, you must still connect your Amazon store to ShipStation, but you can set it to Inactive so it doesn't appear in your Store list or attempt to import orders.

Available Features

Check the supported features table below to see which standard features are supported with ShipStation's Amazon Buy Shipping API integration:

Key: Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes. = Supported; Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No. = Not Supported; Grey dash icon. Not applicable. = Does Not Apply

Common ShipStation Features

Feature

Supported?

Domestic Shipping

Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

International Shipping

Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No.

Electronic Customs Submission

Grey dash icon. Not applicable.

Return Labels

Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No.

Estimated Rates

Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Carrier Insurance

Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Tracking

Green checkmark. Supported feature. Yes.

Automatic Tracking

Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No.

End of Day Forms

Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No.

Label Branding

Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No.

Label Messages

Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No.

Multi-package Shipping

Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No.

Multiple Accounts

Red X mark. Unsupported feature. No.

The carrier integration can be used to create domestic shipping labels.

The carrier integration can be used to create international shipping labels.

ShipStation will submit international customs information electronically to the carrier.

The carrier integration can be used to create domestic return labels.

ShipStation will display estimated shipping rates for the carrier based on the connected account information and shipment details.

Additional carrier insurance can be purchased through ShipStation.

Shipping labels created for this carrier will include a tracking number that can be used to view the shipment status on the carrier's tracking website. Tracking may not be available for all shipping services.

When tracking is available, ShipStation will automatically track the shipment status and update the tracking status on the Shipments tab. This feature allows for other advanced ShipStation features like delayed notifications and the Branded Tracking Page.

ShipStation can print the store's logo on shipping labels created for this carrier. Label branding may not be available for all shipping services.

ShipStation can include information that will be displayed on the label as a label message. Label messages may not be available for all shipping services.

The carrier integration can be used to create multi-package shipments, where multiple individual packages are linked together into a single shipment record with a master tracking number.

You can connect this carrier integration to ShipStation multiple times using different account information, and choose which account will be used to create each shipment.

The carrier integration can be used to create domestic shipping labels.

The carrier integration can be used to create international shipping labels.

ShipStation will submit international customs information electronically to the carrier.

The carrier integration can be used to create domestic return labels.

ShipStation will display estimated shipping rates for the carrier based on the connected account information and shipment details.

Additional carrier insurance can be purchased through ShipStation.

Shipping labels created for this carrier will include a tracking number that can be used to view the shipment status on the carrier's tracking website. Tracking may not be available for all shipping services.

When tracking is available, ShipStation will automatically track the shipment status and update the tracking status on the Shipments tab. This feature allows for other advanced ShipStation features like delayed notifications and the Branded Tracking Page.

ShipStation can print the store's logo on shipping labels created for this carrier. Label branding may not be available for all shipping services.

ShipStation can include information that will be displayed on the label as a label message. Label messages may not be available for all shipping services.

The carrier integration can be used to create multi-package shipments, where multiple individual packages are linked together into a single shipment record with a master tracking number.

You can connect this carrier integration to ShipStation multiple times using different account information, and choose which account will be used to create each shipment.

Amazon Buy Shipping API Troubleshooting Tips

Here are some common issues, potential causes, and troubleshooting tips.

Issue

How to troubleshoot or resolve

Error: Selected service is not compatible with other settings (package type, weight, size)

This error message may appear when getting rates or creating labels with Amazon Buy Shipping API. It can occur for a few different reasons, but the most common are:

  • The selected shipping service does not support the package type, weight, or dimensions you've entered for the shipment.

  • The selected shipping service would not get the package to the customer in time for the Prime guaranteed delivery date.

Error: Resource Not Found

This error message will occur if ShipStation is able to communicate with Amazon but Amazon isn't able to find the order in the Amazon account ShipStation is trying to access.

This error message is most commonly seen when using a ChannelAdvisor store connection that is importing orders from multiple Amazon accounts. ShipStation relies on an existing Amazon store connection that contains the Amazon credentials needed to communicate with the Amazon Buy Shipping API. ShipStation cannot determine which specific Amazon store a ChannelAdvisor order originated from, so it will always attempt to use the credentials from the most recently connected Amazon store. This error message will display if the order in question does not belong to that Amazon store.

To resolve this issue, you will need to create a new Amazon.com store connection in ShipStation that is linked to the Amazon account you will be shipping Merchant Fulfilled orders for. Then, make the store inactive so you can process the orders imported through ChannelAdvisor.

If shipping Merchant Fulfilled orders for multiple Amazon stores, we recommend you use ShipStation's direct Amazon integration to import those orders instead of ChannelAdvisor.

Error: Amazon Requires an email address to be specified on every label. Please specify an email address on your Amazon store in your ShipStation Account Settings > Selling Channels.

The email address must be a verified email address for Amazon to officially recognize it.

Go to Settings > Selling Channels > Store Setup and click Edit next to your Amazon store. Under the Branding Tab, you should see text underneath the email field to Verify this Email Address. Click the link and follow the instructions to verify the address.

A verified email address will display the text "This email address has been verified for your account" under the email field.

Prime orders stuck in Pending Fulfillment status.

If your Prime orders are still in Pending Fulfillment status, click the import button to refresh the store. If the orders do not move into the Awaiting Shipment status, contact our support team for further assistance.

The carrier integration can be used to create domestic shipping labels.

The carrier integration can be used to create international shipping labels.

ShipStation will submit international customs information electronically to the carrier.

The carrier integration can be used to create domestic return labels.

ShipStation will display estimated shipping rates for the carrier based on the connected account information and shipment details.

Additional carrier insurance can be purchased through ShipStation.

Shipping labels created for this carrier will include a tracking number that can be used to view the shipment status on the carrier's tracking website. Tracking may not be available for all shipping services.

When tracking is available, ShipStation will automatically track the shipment status and update the tracking status on the Shipments tab. This feature allows for other advanced ShipStation features like delayed notifications and the Branded Tracking Page.

ShipStation can print the store's logo on shipping labels created for this carrier. Label branding may not be available for all shipping services.

ShipStation can include information that will be displayed on the label as a label message. Label messages may not be available for all shipping services.

The carrier integration can be used to create multi-package shipments, where multiple individual packages are linked together into a single shipment record with a master tracking number.

You can connect this carrier integration to ShipStation multiple times using different account information, and choose which account will be used to create each shipment.

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