Just create a return from a fulfilled order and pick UPS as the carrier. The label reaches the customer by email or a shared link. You're only charged when the carrier scans the label. Available for US domestic orders.
Pick the order → create the return → select UPS as the carrier. No extra external tools needed.
Send by email, or share a link. Customers can pick whichever fits their printer setup and preferred channel.
You're charged only on scan. Labels that go unused expire after 6 months at no cost.
Buy labels at the discounted rates Shopify provides. No separate contract with UPS is required, so you can start right away.
Connect your own UPS account to Shopify and issue return labels atyour own contract rates. Go this route if you have already negotiated rates with UPS.
| Timing | Status | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| When the label is created | Label issued, unused | 0 |
| Sent to customer (email/link) | In the customer's hands, unused | 0 |
| Carrier scans the label | The return has actually started | Billed at this point |
| 6 months after issuance (unused) | Expires | 0 (free) |
The post explicitly covers only US domestic orders. Nothing is said about international returns.
It states that you can create a return from "any fulfilled order." How unfulfilled orders are handled is not mentioned.
There is no mention of which plans (Basic / Shopify / Advanced / Plus) this is available on.
Whether return labels can be issued via the Admin API, or whether there are notification events, is not addressed.
There are no details on how this relates to existing carriers that support return labels, or on rollout timing.
Open a fulfilled order in the admin.
Specify UPS as the carrier when creating the return.
Send it by email, or hand over a shareable link.
The cost isn't final at issuance. Cost calculations and return-cost reporting need to be based on the number of scans, not the number of labels issued. Design on the assumption that this won't line up with your accounting close.
Unused labels expire free of charge after 6 months. If your return policy accepts returns beyond 6 months, you'll need a re-issuance flow for expired labels built into your operations.
Shopify discounted rates and your own UPS account rates follow different billing paths. The former is billed by Shopify, the latter is tied to your contract with UPS, soconfirm which one you are actually using before running any cost analysis.
Because a shared link is available, support can hand it over through channels other than email — chat, SMS, or follow-up after a phone call. Adding a slot for the link in your support tool's templates makes day-to-day handling faster.
The announcement only describes this as an admin UI workflow, andsays nothing about whether labels can be created or retrieved via the Admin API / webhooks. If you are planning to connect this to an RMA system or a WMS, verify against the developer docs and a sandbox before you start building. The fact that it covers US domestic orders only is also a branching condition for stores selling in multiple countries.