Buying labels through Sendcloud

Sendcloud is a European shipping platform that connects carriers such as DHL, DPD, PostNL, GLS, bpost, Colissimo, and UPS. Connect it to Scanpacker and you can fetch rates and buy labels from the carriers you use in Sendcloud, with your own carrier contracts or Sendcloud’s rates.

This guide covers what’s specific to Sendcloud. For the shipping workflow itself, see Shipping label purchase.

Sendcloud support is in beta. If you’d like to use it, email support@scanpacker.com and we’ll help you get set up.

Setting up

1. In Sendcloud, turn on the carriers you ship with, and connect any contracts you have with them.
2. In Sendcloud, go to Settings → Integrations, add a Sendcloud API integration, and copy its public key and secret key.
3. In Scanpacker, go to Settings → Shipping Labels, choose Sendcloud, and paste both keys.
4. Choose a Label format: PDF, or ZPL if you print on a thermal label printer.
5. Click Save Changes.

[Screenshot: The Shipping Labels settings page with Sendcloud chosen, showing the public key, secret key, and label format fields]

Carriers and services appear in Settings → Carriers and Settings → Carrier Services the first time you fetch rates. So fetch rates for one domestic order and one international order, then choose your default services.

Buying a label

Buying works the same as with any other platform: set the parcel size and weight, fetch rates or pick a preferred service, and buy. A few things are specific to Sendcloud:

• The parcel needs a weight. Sendcloud won’t quote or buy for a parcel weighing nothing.
• No service point delivery. Shopify orders don’t tell Scanpacker which pickup point a customer chose, so shipping options that deliver to a service point aren’t offered.
• Every label is real. Sendcloud has no test mode, so any label you buy is charged. Cancel any you buy while trying things out.

Labels and printing

Sendcloud labels come in the format you chose in settings:

• PDF labels print with the 4x6 Shipping Label (PDF) print type.
• ZPL labels are made at 203 dpi and print with the 4x6 Shipping Label (ZPL) print type, straight to a thermal printer.

Make sure that print type has a printer on each station. Choose the format before you start: a carrier’s ZPL label can’t be downloaded as a PDF later.

International shipments

For international labels, Scanpacker sends the item details from your products (description, SKU, HS code, country of origin, quantity, weight, and value), with the order number as the invoice number and the goods declared as a commercial sale. For destinations outside the EU, such as the UK, Switzerland, or Norway, make sure your products have an HS code and Country/Region of origin in Shopify.

When Sendcloud makes a customs declaration, Scanpacker keeps it with the label and prints it with the Carrier Generated Forms print type.

Things to watch out for

Cancelling a label. Scanpacker doesn’t cancel labels. To cancel one, find the shipment in your Sendcloud panel.

Sendcloud’s own Shopify app. If you also use Sendcloud’s Shopify app, it imports your orders into Sendcloud separately. Buy each order’s label in one place or the other, not both.

Troubleshooting

Sendcloud’s messages come through word for word, so the table gives the part of the message to look for.