USPS Return Label

Every eCommerce business wants to increase its sales. You certainly don’t want to lose potential customers if you’re a business owner. 

An excellent way to build a loyal customer base is to make it hassle-free for buyers to return packages. Fortunately, with a USPS return label, online store owners can use return shipping services to improve their logistics operations.

On the other hand, if you’re an eCommerce customer, you may sometimes receive damaged items or something that doesn’t meet your expectations. 

If so, you’d want to return the package you received to the sender. A USPS return label can help you do that easily. 

But suppose the concept of return labels is new to you. You may ask questions like:

• Where can I get USPS labels? Does USPS provide them? How do I use them, and how much do they cost?
• Can I print shipping labels at a USPS office? Can I print these labels at home?
• How do I make a return label for a package?

You can search online for the answers to the questions above. But you can also detail your concerns at the local post office.

FindPostOffice.org is a one-stop site that can provide essential information about the nearest USPS post office in your area.

In this article, you will learn about USPS return labels, including how to get them from USPS, how they are used, and how much they cost. This article also explains how to print return shipping labels at a USPS location.

Read on to learn how to create and use a return label for a package.

Introduction to USPS Return Label

The USPS, or the U.S. Postal Service, provides the USPS Return Label New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, Miami, Atlanta, and other cities in the United States.

With its globally recognized reliability as a shipping carrier, USPS Click-N-Ship offers various services related to packaging returns, including the use of USPS return labels.

This return item feature helps eCommerce businesses manage return merchandise, specifically in the electronic and apparel categories.

USPS return labels can also help online buyers ensure the value of their purchase, especially since people can’t exercise the “touch-try-buy” mode of buying when shopping online.

Some customers may even rely more on promises of free returns than product reviews when determining an online store’s reliability.

So, discussions about returns highlight that businesses should often bear the cost of return shipping if they don’t want to throw off customers’ expectations.

Fortunately, online businesses have access to various eCommerce return options under different shipping modes with USPS.

The USPS integrates well-considered services that are simple and convenient for the original shipper and the returner rather than a one-size-fits-all approach.

What Is a USPS Return Label?

A USPS Return Label contains information about returning a package, including:

• A trackable barcode
• Destination and returns address
• Contact details
• Any other information that the carrier would require to identify the drop-off point or warehouse 

How Does a USPS Return Label Work?

All industries experience eCommerce returns. In 2021, about a quarter of consumers returned between 5% and 15% of the items they purchased online.

It makes sense that businesses want to streamline their reverse logistics.

With USPS return labels, businesses can identify and categorize return shipments and plan the steps for restocking, repackaging, and discarding them.

Inaccurate data usually cause delayed and missed shipments. Return labels from USPS are the answer to this problem.

With accurate information, USPS return labels make reverse logistics and stock movement easier for businesses.

Using USPS return labels for logistics operations is convenient because both scanner machines and humans can read these stickers. With readable data, the handling and delivery process is just as easy as using barcodes in the shipping process.

As with inbound shipments, USPS Return Labels feature barcodes that enable package tracking during transit. With this option, you can track the return journey of a package via transit logs.

Businesses can offer partial or complete refunds before the shipment arrives.

How Is a Prepaid Shipping Label Different?

For customer returns, prepaid shipping labels help ensure that the product is returned quickly and correctly.

These labels look and work like traditional shipping labels. But with prepaid shipping labels, the customer is the sender, while the merchant is the recipient.  

Some merchants think the term “prepaid” is misleading because some shipping services will still charge for the postage when they create a prepaid shipping label.

You can add a prepaid shipping label to every shipment you send to a customer. Alternatively, you can send a customer a prepaid electronic shipping label (a printable PDF).

How Can You Use USPS Return Labels?

One of the easiest ways for a business to improve customer experience is to include a USPS return label with the package. 

E-commerce sellers can use return labels to keep track of their products after they’ve sold them. They can put these stickers on boxes of products that people buy online.

Businesses with product returns can use these return labels to notify customers about the status of their returned items.

USPS simplifies the production of return labels to help ensure that customers can return their purchases.

USPS Return Label Included

You can add a prepaid USPS return label to your original shipping box. The customer only needs to attach it to the package and schedule a return pickup with you.

Integrated Templates

Business owners can also integrate a USPS return label tool on their website to make it easy for customers to return items.

Generate With Printer Access

Using the USPS website, your customer can generate a return label that they can print at home or work.

Generate Without Printer Access

If your customer does not have access to a printer, you can generate and save a return label through the USPS Click-N-Ship website.  

 With USPS Label Broker, merchants and eCommerce businesses can provide their customers with a more convenient way to print labels for outbound and return shipments. 

Label providers give customers a QR code with the label broker ID, and USPS prints the labels.

How Do I Create USPS Prepaid Return Shipping Labels?

USPS Click-N-Ship is the preferred method of getting a USPS return shipping label. With this service, your customers can create an affordable and convenient return shipping label.

USPS offers several mail classes for return shipments. USPS can print and send return shipping labels to the customer quickly. The options for return shipping labels even include Priority Mail and First Class. 

Print Click-N-Ship Online Postage

You’ll need to sign in or create a free USPS.com account to use Click-N-Ship. Once you have entered the information about your package, you will be able to pay for the postage and print your shipping label. 

Ship Packages Easily From Home or Office

Here’s a step-by-step guide to using the USPS label broker:

• Pay: Purchase Priority Mail or Priority Mail Express postage for your package
• Print: Use the “label broker” service at the post office or print your labels yourself
• Ship: Pick up your packages online or drop them off at a USPS store
• Save: Companies receive USPS Loyalty Program credits for shipping online

What Services Facilitate the Need for USPS Return Labels?

USPS offers services to accommodate high-volume shippers and businesses with high-volume returns based on two broad objectives: speed and affordability.

Here’s a list of such services:

Priority Mail Return Service

Whether you’re shipping a time-sensitive or expensive item, this fast yet affordable premium service is ideal. Shippers with high-volume items should use this mode since it includes prepaid return labels.

First Class Package Return Service – Commercial

Shippers dealing with lightweight merchandise or high volumes of documents may benefit from this service. USPS developed this service to transport goods weighing less than 16 ounces on the ground.

Ground Return Service

The ground return service is ideal for high-volume shippers. This option is suitable for customers who prioritize low prices over speed, meaning businesses can opt to transport their merchandise returns when the shipping cost is low.

Bulk Parcel Return Service

This service is suitable for businesses with a high annual return volume of packages.

This solution is ideal whether the package is undeliverable, refused, or resealed and relabeled.

Parcel Return Service

Businesses with high-volume returns can also use this service to create preprinted return labels prepaid as per USPS guidelines.

With this option, the merchants can charge customers for returning goods.

How Much Is a Prepaid Return Label?

Customers can receive a prepaid return label for free. It is the merchant’s responsibility to procure the labels from their preferred courier and their ideal shipping rates. 

USPS Return Services Tips and Tools to Help Reduce Costs

Whether they value speed or affordability, customers can quickly return packages with USPS Priority Mail Return Service or Ground Return Service. You can improve sales, build customer loyalty, and control costs with flexible USPS options.

Ways To Provide Return Labels

Here are four ways to generate return labels:

• Put one in the original shipping box
• Take advantage of cloud computing
• Add a returns tool to your website
• Give customers the option to print their own

Compare Return Options

USPS offers several return pricing options for commercial customers. The following table shows the comparison of USPS return options:

	Delivery Time	Pricing	Required Return Volume per Year
Priority Mail Return Service	One to three days	Per piece and number of labels scanned	No minimum
First-Class Package Return Service	Two to four days	Per piece and number of labels scanned	No minimum
Ground Return Service	Two to nine days	Per piece and number of labels scanned	No minimum
Bulk Parcel Return Service	Two to nine days	Per piece and number of labels scanned	> 10,000
Parcel Return Service	Varies	By weight and distance	Determined by vendor

Do You Want To Track Your Package From Pickup to Final Delivery?

You can receive tracking alerts when your package is ready for delivery by texting the label number 2USPS (28777). The USPS system will then send a link to “Disclaimer #3” to your phone.

How Sending Prepaid Return Shipping Labels Helps You Grow Your Business

There’s a good chance that your customers will appreciate receiving a “prepaid return shipping label” with their purchase. This return feature shows that you care about their experience with your business. 

Customers will feel valued and trusted if you give them the option to return a product that did not meet their expectations.

Also, by making customers’ buying journeys convenient, you may get them to give you another chance or even turn them into advocates for your brand.

FAQs

1. Where can I print USPS return labels?

You can print USPS return labels at the local post office. Additionally, you can use the USPS return label tools on the USPS website under USPS Click-N-Ship to print the labels yourself.

Here’s a step-by-step guide for creating return labels on USPS:

1. Select a shipping carrier and a mail class. If you plan to create your return label, choose first which shipping carrier you want to use and what mail class it falls under.
2. Enter the address.
3. Pay for postage
4. Can I create a return label on USPS?

Even without a printer, you can print a shipping label and postage, then schedule package pickup. To get started, simply log in or create an account on USPS.com for free.

3. Can I print a return label at USPS?

Yes. Post office locations and USPS.com offer prepaid and “no postage necessary (e.g., returns)” shipping labels.

4. Are USPS return labels free?

USPS return labels are not free, but you have complete control over the return process since you can choose the most economical mode of shipping. You will only pay for a USPS return shipping label if you use it.

5. Do return labels expire?

It depends on the courier. UPS and FedEx labels do not expire. Generally, USPS mail will stay active, too, but you should check with the courier when in doubt.

6. How can you print a return shipping label at home?

Print the return shipping label using a regular printer on standard (8.5 inches x 11 inches) paper and attach it to the box. Alternatively, you can attach a thermal label printer with adhesive to the package.