Buying labels through Shipmate

Shipmate is a UK shipping platform for UK and Ireland carriers. Connect it to Scanpacker and you can fetch rates and buy labels from the carriers on your Shipmate account, right on the ship page.

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

Shipmate 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

You need three things from Shipmate: an API key, and the username and password of a Shipmate user.

1. In Shipmate, set up the carriers and services you ship with.
2. In Scanpacker, go to Settings → Shipping Labels and choose Shipmate.
3. Enter your Shipmate API key, username, and password.
4. Click Save Changes.

[Screenshot: The Shipping Labels settings page with Shipmate chosen, showing the API key, username, and password fields]

Scanpacker uses the password once, to sign in to Shipmate. It keeps the access token Shipmate gives back, not your password. If Shipmate ever stops accepting that token, for example after the password is changed, enter the password again and save.

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.

Each label creates a shipment in Shipmate. Its order reference is the Shopify order number, such as #1001, and its shipment reference adds a short code, such as 1001-X7K2QP, so a second label for the same order never clashes with the first. If something goes wrong after Shipmate has made the label, Scanpacker cancels that shipment again.

Labels and printing

Shipmate labels are PDFs. They print with the 4x6 Shipping Label (PDF) print type, so make sure that print type has a label printer on each station.

International shipments

For labels outside the UK, Scanpacker sends each item’s description, SKU, HS code, country of origin, quantity, weight, and value, and declares the goods as a sale. Make sure your products have an HS code and Country/Region of origin in Shopify.

Scanpacker receives only the label from Shipmate. If your carrier needs separate customs paperwork, print it from Shipmate.

Things to watch out for

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

Test labels. Labels you buy are real. Cancel any you buy while trying things out.

Troubleshooting