---

Shipping plays a pivotal role in the success of any eCommerce business, and PayPal now handles it with its own Shipping Center. PayPal replaced the ShipStation-powered version with its own Shipping Center on September 18, 2025, so older tutorials that tell you to log in to ShipStation are out of date. In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through everything you need to know about PayPal shipping, how to make the most of its features, and which tools to add, like Easyship and Shippo, if you outgrow it.

(No more pulling out your hair as you move through countless instructional videos trying to figure out what you’re doing wrong. We’ve got you covered.)

What is PayPal Shipping? 

PayPal Shipping is a shipping solution built into your PayPal Business account that simplifies the shipping process for merchants. It allows you to create and print shipping labels, compare rates across carriers, and track shipments. 

PayPal says the Shipping Center is free with your account, and carrier charges for labels are processed through PayPal. With discounted rates, streamlined order management, and tracking tied to your orders, you can save time, reduce costs, and provide a seamless shipping experience for your customers.

The PayPal Shipping Center offers several benefits that enhance the shipping experience for merchants. 

Here are some of the key features:

• Built Into Your PayPal Account — PayPal’s own Shipping Center replaced the ShipStation-powered version on September 18, 2025. You manage labels, tracking, and orders without a separate shipping account.
• Convenient Label Creation — With PayPal Shipping, you can easily create and print shipping labels directly from your PayPal account. This eliminates the need for separate shipping software or platforms, streamlining the shipping process.
• Multiple Shipping Carrier Options — PayPal Shipping offers USPS, UPS, and DHL Express labels for domestic and international shipments. FedEx labels aren’t available, so if you need FedEx, a platform like Easyship or Shippo fills the gap.
• Discounted Shipping Rates — PayPal says you can get discounts of up to 88% on USPS and up to 82% on UPS without paying additional fees. Your actual savings depend on the service, package size, weight, and destination, so compare rates before you buy.
• Automatic Tracking — Tracking numbers are added to the original order automatically, so you don’t have to copy them over by hand.
• Custom Packing Slips — You can create and print custom packing slips from the Order Summary or transaction details page.
• International Customs Forms — For international shipments, you complete a customs form and PayPal submits it to the carrier.

These features are designed to simplify your shipping operations, reduce expenses, and deliver a smooth shipping experience for your valued customers. With PayPal Shipping at your disposal, you can optimize your shipping processes, cut down on costs, and ensure that every package reaches its destination seamlessly.

Recommended: The Best Shopify Shipping Apps: Automate the Mundane & Boost Your Sales

How to Get to the PayPal Shipping Center

To use the PayPal Shipping Center, log in to your PayPal business account and open the Buy a Label page. According to PayPal, you can reach it three ways:

• From the actions menu on an order.
• From the order’s detail page.
• From your Activities transaction list.

Starting from an order fills in the buyer’s address for you, which saves typing and prevents address mistakes. Pick whichever route matches how you already find your sales.

Set Up PayPal Shipping and Billing

You don’t need a separate shipping account to use PayPal Shipping. PayPal replaced the ShipStation-powered version with its own Shipping Center on September 18, 2025, so everything now runs from your PayPal Business account. If an older tutorial tells you to connect ShipStation under Selling Channels, you can skip it.

Here’s how to get set up:

1. Log in to your PayPal Business account and open the Shipping Center.
2. Buy your first label. PayPal asks you to agree to its terms the first time.
3. Set your default shipping location, which becomes your Ship From address.
4. Open your shipping preferences and choose your label size.

PayPal says the Shipping Center is free with your account, and carrier charges for labels are processed through your PayPal account, so there’s no separate shipping bill to manage. So what does that mean for you? Fewer logins and one place for both payments and shipping.

Recommended: 12 Signs of a PayPal Scam: Sellers Beware

How to Create and Print Shipping Labels in PayPal

Fortunately, creating and printing shipping labels with PayPal is a straightforward process.

Here are step-by-step instructions to create and print shipping labels in the PayPal Shipping Center:

1. Log in to access the PayPal Shipping Center.
2. Go to the Ready to Ship tab on the Orders page and click on the order number to access the Buy a Label page.
3. If you have multiple addresses, select the appropriate Ship From address to create a label — The Ship To address will be automatically filled based on the order details.
4. In the Package and Weight section, provide the necessary shipment information, including package type, dimensions, weight, delivery confirmation, and insured value (optional).
5. Click the “Calculate rates” button to view the available shipping service options.
6. Choose the desired shipping service that suits your needs.
7. Finally, click the “Purchase Label” button to buy the label.
8. Once you’ve purchased the label, you will be taken to the Order Summary page where you can review the shipment details — Click the “Print Label” button to open a preview of the label in your browser.
9. Use the print icon within your browser to print the label or, click the download icon on the browser’s print screen to download the shipping label as a PDF.

Need to take more actions? Here’s what you can do: 

• To handle more orders, return to the Ready to Ship screen.
• If you need to review order information, reprint labels, or void labels, go to the Shipped screen.
• If you have an order that requires multiple boxes, you can create additional labels from the Order Summary page.

By following these step-by-step instructions, you’ll be able to easily create and print shipping labels with PayPal.

Here are some important things to know about creating labels:

• The available shipping services shown on the Buy a Label page are based on the valid selections for your shipment, and the Shipping Center offers USPS, UPS, and DHL Express labels. 

• Labels can be either 8.5 x 11 inches or 4 x 6 inches, depending on your printer — You can adjust the default label size in your PayPal Shipping Center account settings.
• Labels are saved as PDF files and need to be opened in your browser for printing.
• Once a label is created, your PayPal account will be notified, and a shipment confirmation will be sent to your customer.
• You can also print the packing slip from the Order Summary or PayPal Transaction Details page.
• Various package types are available, including custom packages, envelopes, and USPS Flat Rate boxes.

For more details on package sizes and dimensions, refer to the carrier’s website.

Recommended: 7 Reasons PayPal Holds Funds +Preventative Steps Sellers Overlook

Can You Ship With PayPal Without an Order or Invoice?

Yes. PayPal says labels can be tied to a PayPal order, but you can also create a standalone label without one using the Shipping Center’s Buy Quick Label option. This helps when you sell somewhere else but still want to buy postage through PayPal, or when you’re sending a one-off package.

The catch: a label without an order won’t be linked to a PayPal transaction, so keep your own record of what shipped and where.

How to Buy Multiple PayPal Shipping Labels

You can buy labels in bulk by selecting several orders at once. For an order that ships in more than one box, you can add extra labels from the Order Summary page. If you ship more than a few packages a day, this saves a lot of clicking.

How to Print a PayPal Shipping Label

PayPal lets you choose between two label layouts in your shipping preferences:

• 8.5 x 11 inch, which fits two 4 x 6 labels on a standard printer page.
• 4 x 6 inch, for thermal label printers.

Set your layout before buying, because a label bought in the wrong layout has to be voided and purchased again. If you ship often, a thermal printer saves paper and avoids cutting sheets.

Available Shipping Options and Services

When you use the PayPal Shipping Center, you have access to a range of shipping options and services for both domestic and international shipments. You can create U.S. Postal Service (USPS), UPS, and DHL Express shipping labels for your shipments. FedEx labels aren’t available. 

USPS offers domestic services such as: 

• First Class Mail
• Priority Mail
• Priority Mail Express 

For international shipments, USPS provides services like: 

• First Class Mail International
• Priority Mail International
• Priority Mail Express International. 

UPS offers domestic and international shipping services with options like: 

• UPS Ground
• UPS Next Day Air
• UPS Worldwide Express

When creating a shipping label, you’ll have the option to select the appropriate packaging type for your shipment. Common packaging options include custom packages, envelopes or flats, and various sizes of USPS Flat Rate boxes. It’s important to choose the most suitable packaging option for your items, as it can impact the shipping costs. 

For example, USPS Flat Rate boxes have a fixed rate regardless of weight or destination, which can be cost-effective for certain items.

The package types available depend on the carrier and service you choose. 

PayPal Shipping Label Costs, Insurance, and Refunds

Here’s what PayPal says about paying for and managing labels:

• You pay for labels from your PayPal Wallet.
• USPS and UPS labels include up to $100 of coverage for certain services by default. Extra coverage costs an additional fee.
• You can void a label from the Shipped screen or the Labels tab.
• First-class mail international labels can’t be refunded and aren’t trackable.
• Carriers don’t refund postage on returned shipments.

The takeaway: double-check the weight, size, and address before you click Purchase Label. A mistake on a label that can’t be voided is a cost you can’t get back.

How to Ship Internationally With PayPal

For international shipments, you choose a Ship From address, get rates, pick a service, add a customs declaration for each unique item, and buy the label. Each declaration needs a description, quantity, value, and country of origin, and some destinations also require harmonization codes.

Be specific in your item descriptions. PayPal warns that a vague description can get the package returned, and the postage won’t be refunded. For UPS shipments, you also need to print three copies of the commercial invoice and attach them to the package. For the full rules, see PayPal’s shipping label help page.

Easyship and Shippo: PayPal Shipping Alternatives for Growing Sellers

PayPal Shipping works best when most of your orders come through PayPal. It starts from a PayPal order, or from a Quick Label for everything else, so it isn’t a full shipping platform for stores that sell across several channels.

If you’ve outgrown it, two dedicated platforms are worth a look:

• Easyship lets you compare couriers, then buy and print discounted labels for your online store orders.
• Shippo connects to your online store and advertises rates from 40+ global carriers.

The takeaway: stay with PayPal Shipping while PayPal is where most of your orders live, and compare these platforms once you sell in more than one place or need carriers PayPal doesn’t offer, such as FedEx.

Neither one plugs into PayPal Shipping itself. They’re separate platforms built around storefronts and marketplaces. If you want PayPal payments to trigger shipping steps, automation tools such as Zapier and Make list PayPal connectors for Shippo and Easyship. Check each platform’s current integration list before you build a workflow around it.

How to Protect PayPal Shipping Orders From Chargebacks With Chargeflow

A label with tracking is your best evidence when a buyer says an item never arrived, but gathering that evidence for every dispute eats up hours. This is where a dispute automation tool earns its keep. Here’s what Chargeflow says it does for PayPal sellers:

• Connects to your PayPal account with a one-click integration.
• Handles PayPal inquiries and chargebacks, and lets you choose which disputes it manages.
• Appeals lost PayPal disputes with supplemental evidence.
• Charges only for the chargebacks it recovers, according to its site.

So what does that mean for you? Less time building evidence packets and more time shipping. Confirm the current fees before you sign up, since Chargeflow doesn’t publish its percentage on that page.

To strengthen your dispute defenses, read our guides on how to prevent PayPal chargebacks and PayPal chargeback fees, plus our Chargeflow review.

How Does PayPal Shipping Help You Save Time and Money?

The PayPal Shipping Center helps you:

• Simplify order fulfillment
• Reduce costs
• Improve efficiency

Instead of copying addresses and tracking numbers by hand, PayPal fills in the order details and adds the tracking number to the order automatically.

With PayPal Shipping, you can compare rates across USPS, UPS, and DHL Express, create custom packing slips, and buy labels for one order or several at once, all within the PayPal Shipping Center.

If you ship a handful of PayPal orders a week, the built-in tool is usually all you need. Once you sell across several channels or want FedEx, the platforms below take over.

How to Calculate PayPal Shipping Before Sending

PayPal Shipping makes it easy to estimate shipping costs before sending a package. When creating a label, you’ll see available shipping options along with their prices.

Simply enter the package weight and dimensions, then choose a shipping service. PayPal will calculate the cost, helping you pick the most affordable option.

By comparing rates and understanding packaging choices, you can save money and ensure efficient shipping with PayPal Shipping.

You might also like: eCommerce Profit Calculator – Aurajinn

Conclusion

PayPal’s own Shipping Center, which replaced the ShipStation-powered version on September 18, 2025, offers a convenient and efficient way for merchants to manage their shipping needs. With a wide range of shipping options, discounted rates, and streamlined label creation, it covers most single-channel sellers. If you outgrow it, Easyship and Shippo add multi-channel shipping, and Chargeflow helps you recover disputes.

Now, you’re equipped to make the most of PayPal Shipping and optimize your eCommerce shipping operations—Remember, a seamless shipping experience is crucial for customer satisfaction and business growth. Explore all available features of PayPal Shipping to take your shipping process to the next level.

To get updates when we share new content, subscribe to the Aurajinn blog!

Frequently Asked Questions