Sometimes we have cases where the customers send us their own shipping labels for fulfilling orders. This is generally when they want the product delivered sooner than the shipping options we offer.
We are wondering if we can formalizing this by adding a new shipping option specifically for customers that want to use their own labels. It could be an option with free shipping and titled “Use My Own Label” (my = customer’s), with the option description having instructions on how to send the merchant the label and a reminder that the order would go out by standard shipping if a valid label is not sent.
We are informally having this with our existing shipping option settings, where using the customer’s label would override the expectations of the selected shipping option (since its timeframe is moot when there’s a faster label), but we would like thoughts on making this arrangement a separate shipping option.
Yes, this can be formalized, and creating a separate shipping option like “Use My Own Label“ is a reasonable and clean approach, but with a few considerations.
What works well about a separate option:
It sets clear expectations at checkout that the customer is responsible for providing the label.
It avoids confusion around delivery timelines tied to your standard shipping rates.
It keeps these orders easy to identify in the admin (via shipping methos, tags, or flow automation).
Here is my recommended Implementation that you can follow.
Create a Shipping rate titled Use My Own Label with $0 cost.
Clearly state in the shipping description that how and where the label must be sent, tell them the deadline and tell them the fallback plicy.
In short that a dedicated Use my Own Label shipping option is valid and often cleaner, but only if the process is clearly documented, there is a defined fallback and internal handling is standardized.
If you need help to create the shipping label, then simply reach me out. If I am able to solve it, the like it
We dealt with the same situation and ended up doing exactly what you described: a separate option called Use My Own Label. It was clearer for customers and saved us from repeating the same explanations. Just include steps in the description and a reminder that if they don’t send the label, the order ships normally.
Yes, you can formalize this. Create a separate shipping option called “Use My Own Label” with $0 cost and clearly include instructions in the description for how and when the customer should send the label. Add a fallback note that if no label is received, the order will ship via standard shipping. This keeps the process clear for customers and easy to manage in Shopify.
Yeah, you can totally formalize it. A lot of small stores do this when customers need rush shipping they’re willing to arrange themselves.
Easiest way is add a $0 shipping method called something like “Use My Own Shipping Label” and put the instructions right in the description. Shopify doesn’t care if the customer never pays for a label, as long as there’s some shipping method selected at checkout.
A few tips so it doesn’t create headaches later:
Add a note like “Order ships standard if no label is received within X hours/days”
Tag those orders with something like own_label using Shopify Flow so they’re easy to spot.
Make sure customers know where to send the label (email, upload link,…)
Operationally, you’re just making it clearer for everyone and preventing customers from choosing Priority/Express when they don’t intend to pay for it.
And once you fulfill it, you can still use something like ParcelPanel to show tracking cleanly, even if the customer provided the label.
Hope this helps a bit! If it does, feel free to mark it as a solution so others can find it too
