Details about the ShipStation Stamps.com integration: Requirements, how to connect, features, cubic pricing, the GAP program, notes, and troubleshooting.
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.
US-based ShipStation users can take advantage of a free Stamps.com account , which will allow you to create domestic and international USPS shipping labels at a discounted rate compared to USPS retail services.
Important
Updated January 19, 2022
As of January 14, 2022:
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The USPS has suspended all international services from the United States to Hong Kong due to recent outbreaks of COVID-19.
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The USPS has resumed some services from the United States to New Zealand.
For more details about USPS COVID-related service disruptions, please review our COVID USPS Delays and Outages article.
To avoid a disruption in service to affected countries, we recommend shipping packages via UPS or GlobalPost.
Unless otherwise noted, service suspensions to a particular country do not affect delivery of military and diplomatic mail.
Connection Requirements:
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ShipStation accounts come with a Stamps.com account so you can get rates right away. You'll be prompted to enter your billing information the first time you create a Stamps.com label.
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If you want to connect an additional Stamps.com account to ShipStation, you'll need your Stamps.com account username and password.
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If you have not yet added a Stamps.com account, you can create the account right in ShipStation. When signing up for a new Stamps.com account through ShipStation, the account requires verification before you can start creating labels. ShipStationsends the verification code via SMS to your phone during the sign up process.
If you currently have an active Stamps.com account you want to connect to ShipStation, or if you would like to create a new one, follow these steps:
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Select the Stamps.com tile and click Connect.
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Choose either Set up a new Stamps.com account or I already have a Stamps.com account depending on which applies.
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For existing accounts: Select the option I already have a Stamps.com account, then click Next to enter your Stamps.com Username and Password. Enter an Account Nickname to identify the carrier account in ShipStation. Click Connect.
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For new accounts: Select the option to set up a new account and click Next. Enter your Billing and Payment information and click Create Free Account. You will be prompted to enter a phone number for 2-Step Authentication. Enter your phone number and click Next. You should receive a verification code via SMS to the phone number you entered. Enter the code and click Verify.
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Once added successfully, you'll see your Stamps.com account appear in your Carriers & Fulfillments list. You can then add funds to your balance and begin creating labels.
Failed 2-step Authentication
You will not be able to add funds or create labels on new Stamps.com accounts that have not passed the 2-step authentication process.
If you experience issues with this authentication process, contact Stamps.com Security Support at 866-634-4708.
The ShipStation integration with Stamps.com supports the following standard features:
To learn more about USPS Shipping services, see USPS Domestic Services and USPS International Service pages.
The ShipStation integration to Stamps.com allows for the following additional features:
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Feature |
Description |
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Discounted Rates and cubic pricing |
The free Stamps.com account included with ShipStation comes pre-loaded with access to discounted rates, including cubic pricing! To receive cubic rates in ShipStation:
For more details about how cubic pricing works with your Stamps.com account, review our Cubic Pricing in ShipStation help article. NoteYou'll only have access to these rates when using the free Stamps.com account. If you connected a personal Stamps.com account, ShipStation will instead reflect whatever rates are loaded into that account. |
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GlobalPost Consolidation Service |
The free Stamps.com account included with ShipStation qualifies for GlobalPost consolidation services through Stamps.com. See our section on GlobalPost for more information. |
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Scheduled Pickups |
After creating Stamps.com shipping labels in ShipStation, you can schedule a pickup for the next day through the Shipments tab. |
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Manage funds through ShipStation |
Add funds to your Stamps.com account through ShipStation, using the credit card you have on file with Stamps.com. You can also set up auto-funding and always have funds available to create shipping labels. |
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USPS SCAN Forms |
Use ShipStation to generate USPS SCAN forms for your Stamps.com shipping labels. |
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Other Shipping Options available for Stamps.com shipments. |
The following options will be available to select in the Other Shipping Options panel in ShipStation when a USPS service is selected for the order:
For a full list of the Other Shipping Options and which carriers support them, review our Other Shipping Options by Carrier article. |
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PrePay Duties to Canada |
Pay a flat fee for each shipment you send to Canada using First Class International service. Use the Duties/Taxes drop-down menu in the Configure Shipment Widget to select the option to prepay.  |
ShipStation provides quick-link access to your connected Stamps.com account settings and reports pages.
You may want to access your Stamps.com account to ensure your account is set to the correct plan type, update your payment method, or change your account password. Or, you may want to view your Stamps account transaction reports to view any billing adjustments that have been applied.
To access your Stamps.com settings in ShipStation:
This will open the Stamps.com Settings pop-up in ShipStation. Clicking the Account Settings option will open your Stamps.com account settings in a new tab. Clicking the Reports option will open your Stamps.com account reports page in a new tab.
To see which Stamps.com plan your account is using, click the Account Settings link. This will open the Stamps account settings in a new tab in your browser.
Choose Change/Cancel Plan. If your current plan is the Pro Plan, then you currently have the correct plan type for the Stamps account connected to ShipStation. The Pro Plan has no monthly fee, but only one Stamps.com account per ShipStation account can be a Pro Plan.
The Global Advantage Program (GAP) is a Stamps.com program that makes international shipping much more economical. Your Stamps.com account is auto-enrolled in the GAP program, so you don’t need to take any action to enable it.
The important thing to note about GAP labels is that the ship to address on the label is a domestic address. This is because your shipment goes to a GlobalPost hub where it is then processed and forwarded to its final destination.
Benefits of the GAP program include discounted rates, free insurance coverage up to $100 for First Class International and $200 for Priority, and electronic customs submission.
Review the details on the Stamps.com Global Advantage Program page for more details about this program.
ShipStation automatically creates a GAP label for an international order under the following conditions:
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The destination address for the order is an international address.
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You've selected one of the following USPS services:
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First Class Mail International
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Priority Mail International
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Priority Mail Express International
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The GAP label should look similar to this:
Unlike normal labels, it is not addressed directly to the customer. The destination address on a GAP label will be Postal Processing Facility. This is the domestic sorting facility, where your packages will be relabeled with the customer's address and forwarded on to their final destination.
GAP SmartSaver Labels
If you ship 5 or more international shipments a day, the Global Advantage Program offers further discounts when you consolidate your daily individual packages into one large package. Stamps calls this their SmartSaver service.
To use this service, you must contact Stamps.com to see if you qualify and have them enable it for you.
To prepare a consolidated shipment:
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Create international USPS labels for each shipment and label them like you normally would.
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Put the individual packages into a single larger box.
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Log in to your Stamps.com account to print the label for the larger container (you will not be charged a fee for this label).
Follow the instructions in How to Prepare and Print Global Advantage Program Container Shipping Labels to create this label.
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Put the label on the larger container and ship via your local post office.
GAP vs SmartSaver Labels
GAP labels always have the domestic sorting facility address as the ship to address
Once you enable the SmartSaver service with Stamps, all international labels will be a part of this service. You will no longer be able to print GAP single labels.
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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 Stamps will return will be for 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 9 PM 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 ShipStation, it's not possible to show the postage cost on Stamps.com shipping labels.
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All Stamps.com shipping labels are prepaid. In order to receive a refund for unused postage, void the shipping label electronically within 28 days of creating the label.
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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 $10,000.00 in available funds.
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To report a USPS from ShipStation lost shipment, you must file a claim with USPS: https://www.usps.com/help/claims.htm
Here are some common issues, potential causes, and troubleshooting tips.
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Issue |
How to troubleshoot or resolve |
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Error when closing End of Day: One or more of these packages have already been scanned by USPS |
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 an End of Day form for shipments that have a ship date in the past. In this case, the packages must be individually scanned by USPS. You can change your shipping cut-off time in If this error message appears when you try to close your manifests, you can log into your Stamps.com account and and try to print the EOD from there directly. If this still does not work, please contact ShipStation support. |
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First Class Mail International (FCMI) tracking numbers not sent to customers or selling channel |
The tracking number provided for FCMI shipments is not always fully trackable, and will often not provide any additional tracking details beyond the shipment leaving the country. For this reason, FCMI are considered non-trackable and will not be include in marketplace notifications by default. To include FCMI tracking numbers in marketplace notifications, go to Despite the wording of the text, this setting also applies to email notifications sent to customers, as well. |
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Error: "Authentication Failed" when attempting to get rates or create shipping labels |
This error message will occur if you've updated the password for your Stamps.com account. It means that ShipStation no longer has the proper password for your account and is unable to communicate successfully with Stamps.com. To resolve this error:
If you are still unable to use your Stamps.com account, contact Stamps support at (888) 434-0055 for further assistance. |
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Credit Card Declined |
To update the credit card used for your Stamps.com account:
You can then go back to ShipStation, refresh your screen, and attempt to make your purchase again. If you are unable to access the Stamps.com account page, you must contact the Stamps.com Trust and Safety team for assistance at (866) 634-4708. |
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Locked out of Stamps.com account and need to reset account password or update billing details. |
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 you and be able to release your account, help you reset your Stamps.com account password, or update your billing details. |
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My Priority Mail Express shipment arrived late, how do I get a refund for the late delivery? |
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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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 international orders shipping 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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Domestic shipping label when using the First Class Mail International (FCMI) service and the Large Envelope or Flat package type. |
Starting in early 2018, USPS requires all "Merchandise" shipped using FCMI 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." Stamps.com allows their users to use the Large Envelope or Flat package type for any kind of FCMI shipment, but in order to do so the shipment must go through GlobalPost, an international consolidation service. The domestic shipping label you received is used to ship your package to the GlobalPost sorting facility. Once received, GlobalPost will relabel the shipment with the international label and any necessary customs information, and send the package on its way to its final destination. Please review our GlobalPost help article for more details. |
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Error: Account is set to a closed plan |
This means the connected account has been either closed or removed from the ShipStation Pro plan. To resolve, do one of the following:
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Error when closing End of Day: An unexpected error occurred while creating the SCAN form. The size necessary to buffer the XML content exceeded the buffer quota. |
This means there is an unknown error on the Stamps side when attempting to close the SCAN form in ShipStation. Solution: Close the SCAN form directly in your Stamps.com account. To access your SCAN form in your Stamps account:
Close the form and print from here. |
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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. Exception with code 0x00650109; module 101, category 1, item 9… |
For International Shipments, USPS requires a first name and last name separated by a space for all Ship From locations. Solution: For all International shipments from all Ship From locations, ensure that there is a first name and last name separated by a space in ShipStation's Name field. |