If you'd like to support international returns with labels for your customers, you can connect various shipping providers via EasyPost or Shippo in your ReturnLogic integration settings.

This article will answer frequently asked questions about creating international shipping labels when you have integrated Shippo or EasyPost and you have already connected at least one international shipping provider within your account.

TIPS:

Share this article with anyone who processes RMAs or works on providing shipping labels to customers.
If you have not yet integrated a Shippo or EasyPost account and would like to, please reach out to chat support for guidance and set-up instructions. This is a required step before adding shipping providers.
If you are not sure if you currently use Shippo or EasyPost, check out what has been added to your integration settings. If either Shippo or EasyPost has already been added to your integrations, it will appear on the integrations page.
If you are not familiar with how Shipping Providers relate to your Shipping Integration settings, you can check out this article about how they can be connected and managed. It may also be helpful to familiarize yourself with some of the related shipping topics listed below.

Options for Supporting International Returns

What are the different ways I can provide my customer with an international Shipping label?

This answer depends on where you are in the process of the return:

If the RMA is not yet created, you can use Manual RMA Creation and at the final steps, select the shipping method you would like to use. When you get to this point, only the shipping providers that can support the international return will appear as selectable options. If you have selected only one shipping provider, you may see fewer options whereas if you have selected multiple shipping providers, you may see several options for labels. After you select your preferred option, you will be asked to create the customs forms for the package.
If the RMA was already created and Customer Shipping was already automatically selected, you can still send a label outside of the ReturnLogic workflow. To do this, simply login to your account with EasyPost, Shippo, or your shipping provider account to manually create a shipping label and email it to your customer. You may consider adding the externally generated shipping label's tracking information to the notes section of the RMA for future reference. Since this method is manual, the data for the international label would not appear within your Reports in ReturnLogic.

Can I use the ReturnLogic Shipping Solution to support international returns?

This is not yet something that the ReturnLogic Shipping Solution can support but that may change in the future. If you would like the ReturnLogic Shipping Solution to support international returns, please feel free to share that feedback with support.
Since this is not supported yet, you will need to use the shipping integration in ReturnLogic settings in order to support international returns.

International Returns and Shipping providers

How can I determine if a specific shipping provider can support my international return needs?

Shipping providers are connected via the shipping integration which is made possible with EasyPost or Shippo. This means that any optional shipping providers would be partners of either EasyPost, Shippo, or both. If they are not partnered with either, they are not currently an option to use within your ReturnLogic workflows.
If you have any questions that are not answered by what is available online, it is best to contact Shippo or EasyPost, or the shipping provider's support team directly. To contact support for Shippo, EasyPost, or some of the most popular shipping providers, please refer to our Shipping Resource for helpful links.

Which shipping providers already support retailers that use ReturnLogic?

To read about which shipping providers our customers already use check out the Advanced Shipping and International Returns help article.

How can I test if a shipping provider can provide a label for an international return?

After you have completed your research on shipping providers and you have set up your shipping integration in settings, you can test out an international return situation with a test RMA.
You can start with a test order in Shopify with an international address and then create a Manual RMA in ReturnLogic to go with that test. During this process you will be prompted to fill out customs forms for the package. When creating test orders and RMAs, be sure to clearly label all tests so they are not accidentally fulfilled or mishandled by your warehouse or return processing team.
Once the test RMA is made and accepted/authorized, the shipping label and customs forms should be automatically generated and sent to the customer email address in the RMA Success email. Once that is done, you can open the Shipping section of the RMA page located on the right-hand side menu. In this section, you can see what shipping type was selected as well as the related shipping label that was generated. To open the label in another tab, click on the view label link at the bottom.

Note: Review the label to ensure all is working as expected. If the label generation does not work as expected, please reach out to support for assistance.

Shipping Labels, Settings and International Return Workflows

How are labels created (or not created) based on my ReturnLogic settings?

You can generate labels for customers based on your return shipping location address and the capabilities of the shipping providers you currently utilize. This means your options for creating labels are determined by the capabilities of your added shipping providers.
After adding EasyPost or Shippo to your shipping integration settings in ReturnLogic, you may have added shipping providers to those accounts such as UPS, USPS, FedEx, Royal Mail, CanadaPost, etc. It is entirely up to you which you'd like to use or how many you'd like to connect within your EasyPost or Shippo account.

TIP:

We recommend adding more than one shipping provider to your account(s) because shipping providers can sometimes run into a temporary outage.

If I enable International Exchanges in my ReturnLogic settings, does this mean I can provide international labels?

No, not necessarily. If you decided to allow international exchanges in your ReturnLogic settings, this does not mean you have the capability (based on your shipping provider(s)) to provide your customers with an international shipping label.
You will need to ensure that you have added at least one shipping provider (in your Shippo or EasyPost settings) that can handle the international returns you are looking to support. Without completing this step, you will not have a way to create those international labels.
International labels (and customs forms) will still need to be generated in Manual RMA creation, also known as god mode.

Defaulting to the Customer Shipping type for International Returns

When it comes to international returns, why would Customer Shipping be selected as the shipping type?

If your customer is going through the Returns Portal, ReturnLogic will automatically default the shipping type to Customer Shipping. This means the customer will be responsible for obtaining and paying for the correct label. This outcome is clearly communicated to customers and should not cause confusion. You can only create an international label in god mode, due to the creation of customs forms.
Requiring internationally based customers to create their own labels for international returns can be both time and cost-saving for retailers.

Shipping Labels and Tracking packages

If customer shipping was automatically selected for an RMA (and the customer created their own label), how can I track that customer's package?

If your customer has created their own label and you would like to track the customer's package, you can ask them for the tracking info they were given when they dropped the package off. If desired, you can save that tracking information in the Internal Notes section of the RMA page.

Manually Created Shipping Labels and ReturnLogic Email Notifications

Can I generate international labels outside of an international return workflow?

Yes, If you already have an account with a capable shipping provider, you have the option to manually generate the label outside of ReturnLogic and email it to the customer separately. If you do this, the shipping details and the shipping label will not be included in the RMA Success Email.
In instances like this, the RMA Success Email notification would only include the RMA Authorization Slip. This RMA Authorization Slip will still be needed for the customer to properly complete their return, so make sure this notification is sent to the customer.