Carriers and labels
This screen controls prepaid return labels and the carriers you work with. It has two tabs:
- Return labels: connect a label provider and choose how labels are bought.
- Your own carriers: carriers you ship returns with, and their tracking links.
Open Settings → Carriers and labels. Changes on this screen save as soon as you make them. There's no save bar.
Return labels
Before you connect
Until a provider is connected, the tab shows Prepaid return labels and how it works:
- Connect your account. Paste one API key. Labels are bought on your account at your rates.
- Approve a return. The label is bought for the customer, following your rules.
- Customer prints it. The label appears on their return page and in the approval email, with tracking.
Below that is Pick your label provider. You pay the provider directly. Falcon adds no fee.
Shippo is the only provider available today. Click Connect to start. The steps are in Shippo labels. Other providers aren't available yet.
No provider?
You can still upload a label on each approved return, or let customers ship on their own and add tracking.
The provider bar
Once connected, a bar at the top shows:
- Shippo with a Connected badge, or Test mode if you used a test key.
- "Billed by Shippo", or "Sample labels, nothing is charged" in test mode.
- The last four characters of your key.
- Live tracking if Shippo accepted Falcon's tracking updates, otherwise Tracking on page view.
The … menu has three actions:
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Check connection | Checks your key with Shippo and reloads the carriers active on your account. |
| Replace key | Opens the connect form so you can paste a new key. Your label settings are kept. |
| Disconnect | New returns won't get a label until you connect again. Labels already sent keep working, and nothing changes in your Shippo account. |
Change provider opens the Label providers list. Shippo shows In use.
Add a return address first
If your return address is missing, or has no phone and email, you'll see a warning. Carriers print the address on the label and need both to create one. Click Open Return addresses to fix it.
Creating labels
What happens when you approve a return.
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| When | Automatically: bought when you approve, sent in the approval email. Manually: you create each label from the return page. | Automatically on Growth and above |
| Rate | Cheapest: lowest price wins. Fastest: fewest days in transit wins. | Cheapest |
| Spending limit | When on, no label is bought above the amount you set. The return is flagged instead. | Off |
Automatically is part of the Growth plan and above. On lower plans it shows the plan name, and you create each label from the return page.
When you turn on Spending limit, it starts at 15.00 in your store currency. You can set any amount from 0.01 to 10,000. If you type something outside that range, your saved limit stays the same.
Carriers
This group lists the carriers active on your Shippo account. Click a carrier to select it. Click again to clear it.
- With carriers selected, only those carriers are used.
- With none selected, any of them can be used.
- US labels from USPS, UPS and FedEx are only charged when the customer ships.
If you add a carrier in Shippo later, use Check connection to update this list.
The label
What the customer prints.
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 4 × 6 in: standard label, for a label printer or paper. Full page: letter sheet, easiest with a home printer. | 4 × 6 in |
| QR code | When the carrier offers one, the customer can show it at drop-off instead of printing. | On |
The Preview panel draws a sample label with your size, QR code and carrier choices. The real label is shown on the customer's return page and attached to the approval email.
Try a sample return
See what a one-item label would cost from a customer's ZIP to your return address. Nothing is bought.
- Enter a customer ZIP or postal code. The country is taken from your return address.
- Click Get rates.
Falcon shows up to eight rates from Shippo with carrier, service, delivery time and price. The rate Falcon would buy is marked This one is bought. Rates that won't be used say Carrier not picked or Above your limit.
Sample quotes need a return address with phone and email. They only work within the same country as your return address.
Your own carriers
Carriers you ship returns with. Customers can pick them when adding tracking, and the tracking URL turns tracking numbers into links.
To add a carrier:
- Enter the Carrier name, for example "Israel Post". Up to 64 characters.
- Enter the Tracking URL. Use
{tracking_number}where the number should go, for examplehttps://carrier.example/track?n={tracking_number}. - Click Add carrier.
| Field | Rules |
|---|---|
| Carrier name | Required. Each name can only be added once. |
| Tracking URL | Optional. Must start with https://. Up to 500 characters. |
Carriers without a URL show "No tracking URL". To remove a carrier, click its delete icon.