I am launching a print tomorrow that is too big to ship in a padded envelope, so I want to ship it in a mailing tube. Shopify doesn’t list this as an option. Would the rates be the same as they would be for a box of similar volume? I’ve heard mailing tubes are a class all their own and much more expensive.
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Hi @mollyannebishop ,
Thank you for getting in touch with your question. Are you referring to when you try and add carrier packaging in Settings > Shipping and delivery? Or is this when you try and purchase a shipping label through the order page? Can you also tell me what shipping courier (e.g. USPS/ UPS/ FedEx) you are planning on using, please?
Kind regards,
Victor | Shopify Social Care
Hi I have the same issue. To answer the question you asked the prior user, I’m in the order page in Shopify testing a shipment. So I clicked on Add package and see a list for UPS and USPS. Neither of those give me the option of a mailing TUBE.
Custom packaging also only lists box, envelope and soft package. I don’t see how to use tube.
I’m not sure who I’ll use yet, although most likely USPS, UPS or FedEX.
Ideas?
Steve
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Hi @SailorSteve ,
Thanks for reaching out. After checking this for you, it seems that mailing tubes would be deemed an “irregular package” and are therefore not a supportable package type available through Shopify Shipping. This means that you cannot buy shipping labels provided via Shopify’s integration with USPS and UPS for products shipped via mailing tube, and would likely be best served offering manual rates for these products at checkout.
If you use numerous shipping profiles, you will be able to set different rates for products with different package types. You could, for example, set live USPS/ UPS rates for products shipped via regular package types in one shipping profile, and set manual rates for those shipped via mailing tube in another.
I hope this explains things, but please let me know if you’ve further questions.
Kind regards,
Victor | Shopify Social Care
Victor, it seems like posters and poster tubes are an extremely common product on shopify. It turns out shopify’s backend shipping is actually great, honestly better than the third party shipping solutions, it just seems to be missing this ONE key form of standard shipping label… a tube. FWIW, I feel like Shopify could and should add this feature, there are so many artists and people selling prints online, especially via shopify. Throwing that out there in the universe, since this is the one thing thats been frustrating about shopify. The tubes
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Hi @Randomland ,
Thank you for reaching out with your feedback, and I can see why being able to purchase labels for mailing tubes via Shopify Shipping would be of use and convenience to you. I will be sure to pass your comments onto our development team.
Kind regards,
Victor | Shopify Social Care
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Hi @Victor_5 ,
I am wondering if there is some miscommunication here so I am hoping to gain some clarity. I also ship my items in “tubes”. USPS offers a priority mailing tube, but it is in fact, a box, it is available on their website with all the other free priority shipping supplies. Will this option be added to shopify’s shipping or is it still considered irregular?
Thanks,
Britt
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Hi @bcrowecollected ,
I double-checked this with our shipping team and they confirmed to me that USPS mailing tubes are still deemed an irregular package, and as such labels for these packages are not available for purchase via Shopify Shipping. However, I will be sure to log your feedback with our shipping development team and this may change in future.
You can also view a list of supported packages that you can buy labels for through Shopify Shipping here.
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Victor, thanks for your help with this. Just to echo and amplify. We really want to be able to ship via these USPS mailing “tubes” which are really just boxes in a triangular prism shape. I ship long pieces of wood for wood turners, and they fit perfectly into these boxes. I would dearly love to be able to ship them via shopify.
Any progress on this front?
Thank you!
Leslie
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Hi @Texas_Woods ,
Thank you for getting in touch, Leslie. Myself and other members of our support team will continue to pass on merchant feedback about this issue, and this feedback is regularly reviewed by our development team so it can be accounted for when considering improvements and changes to the platform.
At this time, I have no update to provide on whether or not shipping labels for these mailing tubes will become available through Shopify Shipping, or when this change may occur. I know that expanding Shopify Shipping to support more carriers and shipping options is a popular request and your feedback has been registered with our internal team.
Does that mean I have to create a shipping label outside Shopify each time I sell a print? OMG!
I’m usually buying my label directly on the plateform through Canada Post. What I am reading is that neither envelopes nor tubes are supported by the platform with Canada Post. Is that correct? What is the best way then (more efficient) to create my shipping label?
Does that mean I have to create a shipping label outside Shopify each time I sell a print? OMG!
I’m usually buying my label directly on the platform through Canada Post. What I am reading is that neither envelopes nor tubes are supported by the platform with Canada Post. Is that correct? What is the best way then (more efficient) to create my shipping label?
Hi @CybeleBP ,
Labels can only be purchased directly through Shopify for specific services provided by Canada Post. For example, you can only buy labels for the Expedited Parcel, Xpresspost and Priority shipping services when shipping an order domestically. More information on this can be found on our Help Center.
If you need to use a shipping service that isn’t listed as an available option through Shopify Shipping, then you won’t be able to purchase a shipping label directly through the admin. You can instead buy a label directly through the post office, or you can check out some of the many shipping apps available and see if they offer label purchases for shipping services that allow for mailing tubes.
Hi Victor, no. I can buy shippings labels directly through my Canada Post business account on Canada post website but the process is MUCH longer. However, I usually always buy the labels via Shopify. My question was: What do I do if I have to send a print if neither the envelope nor the tube are taken into account on Shopify?
I use boxes but end up paying more for postage than if I could use tubes. I
use a larger box then use those air-filled bags to fill extra space. I’m
shipping wood, so it’s heavy - and I did upgrade my account so that I could
get cubic pricing. Much better, but I still wish we could ship irregular
shapes like the tubes.
Hi @CybeleBP ,
If the item you are shipping requires you to use a shipping service that is not listed as one of the supported services as part of Canada Post’s integration with Shopify Shipping, then you cannot buy the label directly through Shopify. Your alternative options would be to buy a label directly from the post office, or from a third-party that allows for the purchase of labels for Canada Post shipping services that you can use for mailing tubes or envelopes. Boxes and soft packages are the only supported package types available through Shopify Shipping.
I appreciate that this is a longer process but only select services from Canada Post are offered through Shopify Shipping, as per the agreement between Shopify and Canada Post.
This is what we’ve been doing. It’s a pain in the ass. So time consuming.
Bumping this because I am having the same issue; and USPS has now added additional fees for cylindrical packages which cannot be managed in Shopify shipping. I use mailing tubes for several of my items, and again I’m sure there are many many artists doing the same.
Etsy was right on the ball to support the cylinder shapes and the new fees, why can’t Shopify?
Hey @brooke_39,
Could you please share your store url along with collab code in the p/m so that I can take a look and fix the concern about the shipping.
Waiting to hear back from you.
Thanks