You can buy a USPS or UPS shipping label entirely from a phone: enter the two addresses, the weight and the box dimensions, pick a rate, pay, then print through your phone’s print dialog. With no printer, a USPS label can become a QR code that a Post Office counter scans and prints for you.
The rest of this post walks the I’d Ship That flow one screen at a time, using the wording that appears in the app, so you can tell where you are and what each screen needs from you.
Before you open the app: three numbers
Every label is priced from the same inputs, and guessing at them is how sellers end up with a postage adjustment later.
- Weight of the packed, sealed box. Weigh it after the tape goes on. The app takes pounds and ounces in separate fields.
- Length, width and height in inches. USPS rounds each measurement up to the next whole inch, and prices a Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail or USPS Ground Advantage parcel over 1 cubic foot (1,728 cubic inches) by dimensional weight when that is more than the scale weight (DMM 113.1.3, 123.1.3 and 133.1.4). The mechanics are in Dimensional Weight: 5 lb Bills as 18.
- The recipient’s full address, including the apartment or suite number.
A kitchen scale and a tape measure are enough to start.
The label flow, screen by screen
On a phone the app shows a progress line, “Step N of M”, above each screen. The count covers only the screens your shipment visits: six steps for a domestic label, seven when a customs form is needed. The protection screen shares its step with payment, and the finished label is not counted. The table lists the screens in the order they appear.
| Screen title | What you do |
|---|---|
| Select Return Address | Pick a saved return address or add a new one. You can set a default, and name a different ship-from origin if the box leaves from somewhere else. |
| Recipient Address | Type the address (the street field suggests matches as you type), tap “Paste Address” to drop in a block of text, or choose a saved or recent address. |
| Package Details | Choose “Custom Packaging” (your own box or envelope) or “Carrier Packaging” (flat rate boxes and similar), then enter weight and dimensions. Dimensions can be saved as a template. |
| Customs Info | Appears only when the destination needs a customs form. Each item needs a description, quantity, weight, value and country of origin. |
| Confirm Details | Review both addresses and the package, declare hazardous materials if the contents need it, then tap “Get Rates”. |
| Select a Rate | Pick from one list of USPS and UPS services. |
| Protect This Shipment (USPS rate) or Third-party shipping protection (UPS rate) | Add optional package protection or tap “Continue without protection”. On a UPS rate the screen adds that the protection is “Not provided by UPS and separate from UPS Declared Value.” |
| Select Payment Method | Pay from your balance or with a card. The button reads “Get Postage” or “Buy Postage”. |
| Your Label is Ready | Print, share, or save the label and copy the tracking number. |
A few of those screens deserve a closer look.
The address check on the recipient screen
When you tap “Continue” on the recipient screen, the app verifies the address with the carrier. If the carrier’s version differs from yours, a sheet titled “We suggest a correction” shows both, and you choose “Use suggested address” or “Keep what I entered”. Read the difference before you tap. A missing unit number is a common cause, and it is the one detail only the buyer can supply.
Reading the rate list
The rate screen is a single list with USPS and UPS services mixed together, so the comparison is already laid out for you. Sort buttons reorder the list by “Recommended”, “Cheapest” or “Fastest”. Each card shows the price and, when the carrier supplies one, a delivery estimate in days.
On the free plan each card says how much of its price is the platform fee (“Includes $X platform fee”); the optional Pro subscription waives that fee. The payment screen itemises the total again before you commit. The carrier can still adjust postage later if the weight or dimensions you entered were wrong, which is why the three numbers above matter.
If you are unsure which service suits the box, the main site keeps current guides: USPS Ground Advantage vs. Priority Mail, USPS vs. UPS, and price ranges by weight under How Much to Ship.
Try the flow without spending anything
The first row in the rate list is “Free Test Label”, marked “For testing only”. Selecting it asks you to confirm, then produces a label that cannot be shipped. Use it once to check that your printer, paper size and print settings produce a clean label before you pay for a real one.
Paying
A new account needs either funds on its balance or a saved payment method before the first purchase. You can pay for a single label by card, or load a balance ahead of time and pay from that. The first purchase shows a one-time confirmation dialog; later labels skip it.
Printing a label from a phone
Tapping “Print” on the label screen opens your phone’s own print dialog, so any printer your phone can already print to will work. Under “More options” you choose the layout:
| Print format | Use it when |
|---|---|
| Label Printer | You have a thermal label printer. One label per page at its natural size. |
| Half Sheet (8.5 x 11) | You have an ordinary inkjet or laser printer and plain paper or half-sheet labels. |
| #10 Envelope | An envelope-sized page (9.5" x 4.125"). A 4 by 6 inch label is scaled down to fit it, so do not use this layout for a package label. |
Two habits prevent most scanning problems. Choose a layout that prints the label at its natural size, print at 100 percent scale, never “fit to page”, and keep tape seams and folds off the barcodes. The reason both matter is explained in the glossary entry for shipping label. If you are choosing a printer, Do You Need a Thermal Label Printer? covers the trade-offs.
“Share” sends the label file to another app through the system share sheet, which is how you get it to a computer, a shared drive, or someone else who will print it.
Shipping with no printer at all
For a USPS label, the app asks once, before your first USPS purchase, “Where will you print?” Choosing “I print at the post office” makes the app generate a QR code in place of a printable label. At the counter the clerk scans the code and prints the label for you. USPS calls the underlying service Label Broker, prints the label free, and tells customers to confirm that the location supports it before going. USPS also says Label Broker does not support packages that need a customs form. Your box still has to arrive packed and sealed.
One limit to know: a label made for Post Office printing cannot be added to a SCAN form.
After the label prints
- Handing the package over. USPS will collect Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail and USPS Ground Advantage packages free during your regular mail delivery. The label screen has a “Schedule pickup” button for USPS labels. UPS charges for an on-call pickup, and the app says so before you book one.
- Tracking. “Share Tracking” and “Copy Tracking Number” are on the label screen. Until the carrier scans the box the tracking page reads “Waiting for the first carrier scan”. The main site explains each status, starting with Shipping Label Created.
- Several USPS packages at once. Select the labels in My Labels and create a SCAN form, so the carrier can accept the batch with one scan. Do I need a SCAN form? covers when it is worth doing.
- A label you will not use. Open it in My Labels and choose “Cancel Label”. The app’s help text says a request can be made for up to 30 days after purchase, that the label must not have been scanned, and that every request is reviewed by a person, so the refund is not automatic.
Four mistakes that cost money on a phone
Entering the weight of the item, not the box. Packaging adds ounces, and USPS checks parcels in its network. See Automated Package Verification for how a correction reaches you.
Rounding dimensions down. USPS rounds every measurement up to the next whole inch. A box that measures 12.25 inches is a 13 inch box.
Skipping the hazmat row. Used phones, perfume and other regulated items have to be declared on the “Confirm Details” screen. What declaring hazmat on a label actually does walks through it.
Printing scaled to fit. A shrunken barcode may not scan. Use the test label to confirm your settings once.
Sources
App screen names and button text were read from the I’d Ship That source code on October 12, 2026 and can change between releases. USPS facts were checked the same day against DMM 113, 123 and 133, the USPS Label Broker page and the USPS Schedule a Pickup page.