Buying Postage on PayPal

Although I appreciate a buyer sending a PayPal Friend/Family payment for an item I have sold, in order to save me the fees, sometimes I wish they had sent a regular Goods/Services payment instead, especially when the total sale amount and fee are not a lot of money, because it seemed to me for a long time that there was no way to pay for shipping on PayPal unless it was for a business transaction.  So a F/F payment meant that I had to find one of the scarce parking spots at my local P.O. and then stand in a long line for the single clerk on duty, in order to buy postage.  At times I've even been disgruntled enough at the thought of that process that I refunded the buyer's money and asked them to re-submit it as a regular business payment, which probably was sort of a rude thing for me to do.

However, I learned today that it is possible to just buy postage on PayPal for any shipping, even for a Friend/Family transaction.  Some of you probably already knew this, but I didn't.  Anyway, all you need to do is sign in to your PayPal account, then go to:  https://www.paypal.com/shiplabel/create/
There you can enter your shipping address information, type of shipping, weight, etc., pay for the postage, and print your label.  Easy.

I use that link all the time, got a cheapie digital scale from WW and just weigh the package and print it out, it's actually 10% cheaper than taking it to local post, thanks for posting though for those that did not know.

Thanks for sharing this.  Like you I had no idea this was possible.

I've been using the USPS web site and paying through paypal. I see that there is a shipping calculator that needs to be set up. Is that how to get to paypals USPS shipping without a link?

I learned quick about shipping on the million items i have bought from John. actually proud i can remember to do it that way.

Top tip! When I was first shown that link, I immediately bookmarked it because it's so useful! It also lets you do USPS First class, which the last I checked the USPS website requires you do do that at the kiosk or in person.

I prefer to use http://www.paypal.com/shipnow. it redirects to the same spot, but it's easier to remember.

That is great info, thanks all.

I did the same thing Gig.

I use my kitchen scale more for weighing packages than actual food items!

(01-01-2018, 04:08 PM)phishsublime Wrote: I use my kitchen scale more for weighing packages than actual food items!

Likewise, I keep my wife's sewing/Tailor's measuring tape at my desk to measure packages, way more than inseams!

Sorry for the back-to-back posts, but I found out something important that makes this even better. The price from Paypal is cheaper than directly from the USPS!

I shipped two flat rate small boxes recently. I paid $7.15 at the kiosk, but that seemed high so I went back to my e-mail and found out that when I used the link above, I only paid $6.45. Same zip codes, same small box.

Good info' Gig! Thanks!