Amazon Shipping Guide

Amazon Shipping offers reliable and on-time ground shipping for Amazon selling partners. With competitive rates designed to facilitate increased shipping efficiency and reduce concerns, more focus can be directed toward growing the business and maintaining a strong competitive edge.

This guide includes detailed information on utilizing Amazon Shipping with the EasyPost API, focusing on account setup, rates, label creation, manifests, tracking, and more.


Prerequisites

Account Registration

Sign up for an EasyPost account to obtain a Test and Production API key. See Authentication and Key Management for more information.

Note: Negotiated rates are only available in Production mode.

Carrier Setup

Upon sign-up with EasyPost, users gain immediate access to Default Carrier Accounts, which can be enabled directly from the Dashboard. For additional carriers, EasyPost supports a Bring Your Own Account (BYOA) option. This requires users to register directly with the respective carrier.

Amazon Shipping Account Registration

  1. Contact Amazon Shipping to request a shipper account. A representative will be in touch for additional details regarding the account.
  2. Inform Amazon Shipping about using EasyPost’s API for label purchases.
  3. Acquire rates and align any additional shipping needs.

Account Authorization

  1. Log in to EasyPost and navigate to Account Settings.
  2. Select the Carriers tab.
  3. Search and select Amazon Shipping.
  4. Add a description for the Amazon Shipping account and Save and Connect.
  5. Users will be redirected ship.amazon.com to for OAuth authorization.
  6. Log in to the Amazon Shipping account and authorize EasyPost.
  7. Once authorized, details such as account_number, refresh_token, and partner_oauth_url will be automatically populated in the user’s account settings.
  8. Users are now ready to ship with Amazon Shipping!

Software Requirements

Download an EasyPost Client Library or utilize the REST API with cURL.

Documentation Review

Examine the EasyPost Objects section to understand the API's structure, which is critical for constructing requests and interpreting responses.


Rates

Amazon Shipping is a Live Rating integration, enabling real-time rate retrieval for shipments created via EasyPost. Rates are guaranteed valid for a minimum of five minutes.

  • When creating a shipment, EasyPost requests Amazon Shipping for shipment rates specific to the user's Amazon Shipping account.
  • The rates provided are directly from Amazon Shipping and tailored to the user's specific account details.
  • In cases of discrepancies or incorrect rates, users are advised to contact their Amazon Shipping account representative.
  • The representative can then update the rates to ensure user account accuracy.

Service Levels

Amazon Shipping offers the following service levels:

Service
Transit Time
Max Dimensions (inches)
Max Weight (ounces)
Amazon Shipping Ground

Predefined Packages

There are no predefined packages for Amazon Shipping.


Generating Shipping Labels

Amazon Shipments vs External Shipments

Amazon Shipping categorizes shipments into two types:

Amazon Shipments

These originate from an AMAZON order and require specific order details:

  • A to_address is not required for AMAZON orders. The to_address will be populated from the Amazon Shipping API. Any to_address that is provided will be discarded.
  • The information must be included in the fulfiller_order_items field of the shipment.options.
  • The shipment is classified as AMAZON if the fulfiller_order_items field is populated.
  • The weight of each item in AMAZON shipments must not exceed the total package weight; otherwise, the shipment request will be rejected.

Example

{
  "fulfiller_order_items": [
    {
      "amazon_order_id": "order_123",
      "items": [
        {
          "item_identifier": "item_123",
          "quantity": 1,
          "item_weight": {
            "unit": "OUNCE",
            "value": 4.0
          },
          "item_value": {
            "unit": "USD",
            "value": 20.0
          },
          "serial_numbers": ["000123", "000456"]
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

External Shipments

External shipments are shipments that do not originate from the Amazon Marketplace. These shipments do not require the fulfiller_order_items field.

1-Call Buys

1-call buys enable streamlined label purchasing through the EasyPost API by consolidating multiple operations into a single API request. This feature is designed to simplify and accelerate the shipping process by combining the creation of a shipment, retrieval of rates, and purchasing the shipping label into one efficient step.

See Reducing API Response Times for more information.

Manifests

Manifesting is not supported or required for Amazon Shipping.

Supported Options

Refunding and Voiding Labels

Voiding Amazon Shipping labels through EasyPost is supported.

Label Formats

EasyPost offers native Amazon Shipping labels in ZPL, PNG, and PDF formats.


Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT)

The Amazon Shipping policy on hazardous materials is not explicitly detailed in this guide. Shippers are advised to contact Amazon Shipping directly for specific hazmat inquiries.

Coming Soon: In early 2025, the EasyPost API will support hazmat options for Amazon Shipping.


Pickups

Amazon Shipping accommodates pickups based on individual agreements with customers. While regular pickups can be arranged directly with Amazon Shipping during the account registration process, they cannot be scheduled via the EasyPost API.


Tracking

EasyPost simplifies package tracking by offering two methods:

  • Tracking with an existing number and carrier.
  • Using a Tracker included with an EasyPost-purchased shipping label.

The service integrates webhooks for timely shipment updates. For detailed information on tracking methods, visit the Tracking Guide.


Additional Resources

Carrier Metadata

The Carrier Metadata endpoint can programmatically return information about service levels, predefined packages, supported features, and shipment options.

Use this information to quickly integrate and make educated decisions about the mix of carriers for shipping needs. Additionally, the Carrier Metadata endpoint is available to retrieve comprehensive information about all carriers on the EasyPost platform, enhancing decision-making for carrier services.

Support and Troubleshooting

In addition to the guidance provided in our Carrier Guides, EasyPost offers support to assist with FAQs, troubleshooting issues, and inquiries related to the EasyPost platform.

Please visit the Help Center for more information.


Talk to a Shipping Expert

For questions about getting started with the EasyPost API please talk to a Shipping Expert or contact our Support team.