Do I need a subscription to ship a crowdfunding batch?

No. GoatLabels has no monthly fee on Free (up to 50 shipments a month): you fund a prepaid wallet, buy labels from the balance, and stop when the wave is done. That matters for a campaign specifically, because a subscription taken out for one fulfillment run keeps billing long after the last parcel ships unless someone remembers to cancel it.

Can I upload the backer list as a CSV?

Yes. Export the addresses from your campaign platform, upload the file, and every row is rate-shopped across USPS, UPS and FedEx, with DHL added on international rows, before you buy. Bulk purchase and bulk print then handle the batch in one pass rather than one parcel at a time. Each import takes up to 500 rows, so split larger waves. Errors name the row and field, and one bad row does not fail the batch.

What if reward tiers have different box sizes?

Set the parcel per row rather than per batch. Because every shipment is quoted individually, the tier that ships in a padded mailer and the tier that ships in a large box can land on different carriers, which is usually where the money is on a mixed-tier campaign.

How do I handle the address changes that arrive after the survey closes?

Edit the row before you buy, or paste the backer's message into Billy and let it redraft the label with the corrected address. If a label is already bought, void it and, after the carrier accepts the void, the amount credits back to the wallet balance rather than to a card statement weeks later.

Can I ship internationally to backers?

Yes. International parcels are quoted across USPS, UPS and FedEx, with DHL joining on international lanes, and duties handled up front where the service supports DDP, so the all-in number you see is the amount that leaves your balance.

What happens to the account after fulfillment?

If the wave took you onto Pro, cancel it once it is out (there is no minimum term); on Free nothing renews, so the account is still there, with your addresses and label history, whenever the next campaign or restock happens.

Is there an API if I built my own backer database?

Yes, free and unlimited on every plan. Create a shipment, rate-shop the carriers, buy the label, and receive signed webhooks for tracking, so a fulfillment script can run the whole wave without anyone opening the dashboard.

Built for one big fulfillment wave.

A ShipStation alternative for one-off crowdfunding batches

Ship the wave. Then stop paying.

For a single fulfillment wave, GoatLabels can cost less than a ShipStation subscription: upload a CSV, rate-shop every domestic parcel across USPS, UPS and FedEx (DHL on international lanes), pay from a wallet, add Pro ($40 a month) if the wave passes 50 shipments in a month, and cancel it afterwards, since there is no minimum term.

Create your account Log in

Every backer parcel quoted side by side

USPS, UPS and FedEx on each domestic row of the CSV, DHL on international rows. Mixed reward tiers land on different carriers.

DHL: international

Bulk CSV The whole backer list.

Live quotes Per parcel, not per batch.

Quote = debit No day-after invoice.

Top the wallet up once, spend it down

Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, ACH, or crypto — one prepaid balance, and no plan running after it.

Pre-funded Budget the whole wave.

No recurring fee on Free Quiet months cost nothing.

Accepted voids credited Back to the balance.

One wave, side by side

How should you ship a one-off crowdfunding wave?

Shipping software is priced for shops that ship every week. A campaign ships everything in a fortnight and then nothing for a year, which makes the interesting comparison not features but the shape of the bill either side of the wave.

	GoatLabels	ShipStation
Cost shape for one wave	Fund a wallet once, spend it on labels, stop; nothing recurs on Free.	A monthly subscription that keeps running after fulfillment ends unless you remember to cancel.
Getting the backer list in	Upload the CSV your campaign platform exported and rate-shop every row.	CSV import and store sync on every plan; custom-store import starts at Standard.
Address changes before shipping	Edit in the queue, or paste the backer's message and let Billy redraft the label.	Edit in the order record and re-run the automation rules.
Carriers per parcel	USPS, UPS and FedEx quoted together, DHL on international lanes: useful when a reward tier changes the box size.	Broad carrier list — see their site for current coverage.
International backers	Quoted with duties handled up front, so the number you see is the number that leaves the balance.	International supported; check their current terms.
What happens after the wave	Nothing on Free; Pro, if the wave needed it, cancels with no minimum term.	The plan keeps billing until cancelled.

ShipStation is a trademark of its owner and is not affiliated with GoatLabels. Their plans and carrier list change — compare against their current pricing page before you decide.

Updated 2026-10-17

Three reasons campaigns ship here.

One wave is the worst possible fit for a subscription

Crowdfunding volume is a spike with a year of silence on either side. A monthly plan prices the silence too: you sign up to ship the wave, then keep paying while nothing moves, or you cancel and the account is locked down to its billing settings until you resubscribe.

Pre-fund once, then spend down

A prepaid wallet matches how campaign money actually arrives — a lump sum you are budgeting against. Top it up before the wave, watch it draw down label by label, and know that whatever is left when the last parcel goes out is still yours.

Backer messages are not order records

Every campaign generates a pile of address corrections, split shipments, and replacement requests arriving as email and comments. Paste the message and Billy drafts the corrected label, rather than you re-keying it into a form between packing runs.

And when ShipStation is the right choice

You need a carrier GoatLabels does not rate-shop: our carriers are USPS, UPS and FedEx on domestic parcels and DHL on international lanes, and that is the honest list.
You are handing the wave to a fulfillment partner who already works inside ShipStation. Do not make them learn a new tool for your campaign.
The campaign is the start of an ongoing product with warehouse operations behind it — at that point you are choosing shipping software, not fulfilling one batch.

What ShipStation's own pages say, checked 2026-10-17

ShipStation sells three monthly plans priced by shipment volume, after a 30-day free trial: Starter starts at $14.99, Standard at $29.99 and Premium at $349.99 a month, each at 50 shipments a month. (ShipStation pricing page)
The price rises with the shipment tier inside each plan, for example Starter is $79.99 and Standard is $149.99 a month at 1,000 shipments a month. (ShipStation pricing page)
Its pricing FAQ says it charges nothing beyond the subscription unless you add users or certain add-ons, and that postage and insurance are paid separately. (ShipStation pricing page)
Bringing your existing carrier accounts is listed as a Standard plan feature, while Starter lists only Worldwide Express or Unishippers LTL accounts. (ShipStation pricing page)
The plan comparison marks API access as not included on Starter and included on Standard and Premium. (ShipStation pricing page)
The separate ShipStation API product has a Free plan that uses its own discounted carrier rates, and its Advanced plan, from $75 a month for 1,000 labels, adds your own carrier accounts and complete API access. (ShipStation API pricing page)
Refunds for voided labels are issued by the postage provider you bought the label from, under that provider's void and refund policy, and voided labels still count toward your plan's shipment limit. (ShipStation Help: Void Labels)
A subscription can be cancelled at any time and stays active until the end of the current billing cycle, after which access is limited to the Payment and Subscription settings and reports can no longer be run. (ShipStation Help: Cancel Subscription)
For US accounts, a remaining ShipStation Balance is refunded automatically within 14 business days once the subscription has been closed for 30 days. (ShipStation Help: Cancel Subscription)
The copyright line on ShipStation's pricing page reads ShipStation Global, 2026 Auctane Inc. (ShipStation pricing page)

Checked on 2026-10-17 from ShipStation's own pages. Plans, fees and policies change, so confirm on the vendor's current page before you decide. ShipStation is a trademark of its owner and is not affiliated with GoatLabels.

From backer survey to printed stack

Upload the list. Rate-shop every row. Print the whole wave.

Fulfillment day is one long batch, so the tool should behave like a batch. Export the backer addresses from your campaign platform, upload the CSV, and every row is quoted against USPS, UPS and FedEx at the all-in price, with DHL on international rows, so mixed reward tiers end up on whichever carrier is cheapest for that box rather than whichever one the tool defaults to. Buy from a wallet you funded once, print the stack, and let the corrections that arrive afterwards go through Billy instead of back through a spreadsheet. When the last parcel is out, cancel Pro if the wave needed it, and nothing recurs on Free.

The backer list in

CSV export, API, or a pasted correction

backer_4182

Hi! I moved since the survey — please ship to: J. Okafor, Portland, OR 97209

Shopify

Post-campaign pre-orders

Etsy

Synced into To Ship

CSV row

Backer: #4182
Tier: Deluxe box
Items: 1x Kit + 2x Pin
Address: Portland, OR

Drop the backer CSV or paste the correction

One queue for the batch and for the messages that arrive after it — no second import mapping.

Billy AI

Address corrections without reopening the spreadsheet.

Reads a pasted backer email, comment, or screenshot
Fills the corrected address and the package details
Rate-shops USPS, UPS and FedEx at the all-in price, DHL on international lanes
Hands the drafted label back for you to confirm

Drafted. Checked. Yours to confirm.

Clean label out

Bought from the wallet

Paid from your prepaid balance

Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, ACH, or crypto

$12.47

Label purchased

USPS Priority Mail — all-in rate

$12.47

Bulk print the stack, and void a mistake: after the carrier accepts the void, the credit posts back to the balance you funded.

After the campaign, if there is an after.

Connectors for the storefronts, AI for everything else.

Plenty of campaigns turn into a small shop, so store connectors, Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, eBay and Wix, sync into the same To Ship queue and push tracking back when you print. But nothing requires it, a CSV of backers and a pile of correction emails is a complete workflow on its own.

Shopify

Etsy

WooCommerce

eBay

Wix

Connect a store Or use the API

What a fulfillment wave actually needs.

Bulk labels, four carriers, one funded balance.
And nothing recurring.

A campaign does not need inventory forecasting or a warehouse role model. It needs to turn several hundred rows into several hundred labels at the best price each, absorb the corrections, and then stop costing money. That is the list below.

One prepaid wallet,
funded from the campaign

Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, ACH bank transfer, and crypto all top up the same balance, which is convenient when campaign funds arrive as one payout you are budgeting against. Void a shipment and, after the carrier accepts the void, the credit lands back in the wallet.

Wallet balance

$1,247.36 USD

AI drafting for the
post-survey corrections

Every campaign has a second wave made of address changes, missed tiers, and replacements, and none of it arrives as a clean record. Paste the message and Billy drafts the corrected label — the part of fulfillment that usually eats an evening.

Billy LIVE

Where's the package to Maya?

It's in transit via UPS. Expected Friday, Aug 7.

1Z8923A6B05G4123456

In transit

Austin, TX → Dallas, TX

Ask Billy anything...

No annual plan
after the last parcel

Pay for the labels the wave actually buys, plus Pro's flat $40 for a month that passes 50 shipments. Pro has no minimum term, so when the wave is done you cancel it, the account drops back to Free and costs nothing, and there is no year of fees for a fortnight of shipping.

Shipment summary

UPS Ground $12.49

Insurance $0.75

Fuel surcharge $0.32

Total $13.56

USPS, UPS and FedEx
per domestic parcel, not per batch

Every row is quoted individually, so the small reward tier and the heavy one can take different carriers — on a mixed-tier campaign that difference compounds across hundreds of parcels. That is the honest carrier list; if you need one outside it, ShipStation's broader network is a real reason to stay. Store connectors exist for the shop that comes after the campaign, but nothing requires one.

Compare rates

UPS $12.48

FedEx $13.22

DHL $14.10

USPS $11.79

Duties inside the quote where DDP applies

An API for the
backer database you built

REST and JSON, one Bearer header, idempotency keys so a retried batch cannot double-buy a label — which matters more on a several-hundred-row run than anywhere else — and signed webhooks for tracking. Free and unlimited on every plan.

POST /v1/shipments

{

"to": { "name": "Maya" },

"from": { "name": "Alex" },

"service": "ups_ground",

"label_format": "pdf"

}

Webhook delivered

GoatLabels mobile shipments queue with all-in carrier prices

Billy drafting a label from a pasted backer message on mobile

Label ready

CL-1038 · Portland, OR

Fulfillment happens on a folding table

The packing room is rarely an office.

Campaign fulfillment tends to happen in a garage, a studio, or a rented unit with a laptop balanced on a box. A desktop-shaped shipping suite assumes otherwise. Everything below works from the phone in your hand while the boxes are still open.

Upload the backer CSV once, then work the queue from the phone at the table.

Paste a correction email or drop the screenshot — Billy redrafts the label from it.

USPS, UPS and FedEx come back as all-in prices on one screen, DHL on international lanes.

Buy from the prepaid balance and one-tap print to a share sheet or a thermal printer over Wi-Fi.

Hold the mic and say the address for the replacement someone just asked for.

For the questions backers ask afterwards

Ask Billy where it is instead of searching the batch.

The week after a wave ships is made of one question repeated: where is mine? Ask by name and Billy pulls the parcel out of a batch of hundreds and reads its status back. Drafting works the same way — say who the replacement is going to and the label is queued against your prepaid balance. This is the real product, not a render.

Billy reading back a parcel's tracking history over the purchased labels list

Listening

"Where's Maya's package?"

Out for delivery

CL-1039 · Austin, TX · by 6 PM

Plain English in — names, addresses, weights, carriers, services · nothing to import and nothing to map · reads the all-in rate back before a cent leaves the wallet · phone, browser, or Telegram on Pro.

All-in quotes

The quote is the debit.

Several carriers on the same parcel, each an all-in number that is the exact amount leaving your prepaid balance. On a campaign that is a budgeting property as much as a pricing one: the wallet draws down by exactly what you were quoted, so the shipping line in your backer spreadsheet stays true to the end of the wave.

CA → NY 2.6 lbs 12×8×4 in

USPS

Ground Advantage

2 to 5 days

$11.40

all-in · no surprises

Cheapest

UPS

Ground

1 to 5 days

$9.85

all-in · no surprises

FedEx

Ground

1 to 5 days

$11.20

all-in · no surprises

No carrier invoice the day after Accepted void → credit back to the wallet you funded Multi-currency display

Public API v1

Script the wave if you'd rather.

Plenty of creators already have the backer data in a database or a spreadsheet script. REST, JSON, one Bearer header, idempotency keys so a retried batch cannot double-buy a label, and signed webhooks for tracking instead of polling. Free and unlimited on every plan, which matters when one run makes several hundred calls in an afternoon.

Create, rate-shop, and buy — the same three calls you already write

Signed webhooks for tracking and label events instead of polling

Real idempotency keys — a retried request never buys two labels

OpenAPI 3.1 spec, no SDK lock-in, unlimited calls on every plan

Read the API docs Get an API key $0 on every plan

curl https://api.goatlabels.io/api/v1/shipments

201 Created · 187ms

request response

POST /api/v1/shipments
Authorization: Bearer sk_live_…
Idempotency-Key: ord_8421

{
  "to": { "name": "Joyce", "city": "Berlin", "country": "DE" },
  "parcel": { "weight": 2.6, "weight_unit": "lb" },
  "service": "fedex_intl_priority"
}

← 201 Created // buy it with POST /api/v1/shipments/{id}/purchase
{
  "id": "shp_44819",
  "status": "draft",
  "amount": { "subtotal": 72.25, "duty_and_tax": 14.20, "total": 86.45 }
}

Pay for the wave, not the year

Pro for the wave, Free after it.

Free covers 50 shipments a month with the public API, the store connectors, and Billy all unlimited underneath it. Pro is a flat monthly fee for unlimited shipments — the sensible choice for the month a several-hundred-parcel wave goes out, and equally sensible to drop the month after. Neither one is a minimum you have to hit before a label prints.

Pro

Free

$0 / forever

Enough for a small campaign, and the starting point for a large one.

50 shipments a month, no monthly fee

USPS, UPS and FedEx on every domestic parcel; DHL on international lanes

The full REST API with unlimited calls and signed webhooks

Billy AI in the web app, unlimited — paste, screenshot, or speak

Store connectors included: Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, eBay and Wix

Start free

Billy is not a paid tier

The assistant that reads a DM, a screenshot, or a voice note into a drafted label runs unlimited in the web app on Free. Pro adds Billy on Telegram.

Web, every plan

Telegram, Pro

API free on every plan

GET /api/v1/shipments

200 OK · plan: free

Unlimited calls on Free — still unlimited on Pro.

Compare on your own invoice

Quote last month's parcels here and compare them line by line against the invoice you pay today on

ShippoPirate ShipShipStation

No contracts No monthly fee Free to sign up

Label prices are quoted live from USPS, UPS and FedEx (plus DHL on international lanes) and shown as one all-in number, the same number that leaves your wallet. ShipStation's plans change, so check the dated source block above against their current pricing page. Full pricing details

Who ships this way

Bursty volume is the whole argument.

Campaign creators are the clearest case, but they are not the only people whose year is one spike and eleven quiet months — and the operations that should stay on a subscription are named on this page too.

Campaign creators fulfilling in-house

Kickstarter & Indiegogo waves

Prepaid

Several hundred parcels over a fortnight, then nothing. Fund the wallet from the payout, bulk-buy the labels, and let the account go quiet when the last box goes out.

4 carriers in one account bulk CSV labels no recurring fee

GoatLabels shipments queue with purchased labels

Creators with mixed reward tiers

Different boxes, different carriers

Because each row is quoted individually, the pin-badge tier and the heavy-box tier do not have to travel with the same carrier — which is where the savings on a mixed campaign actually come from.

One queue, connector or not

Backer #4182 · corrected from an email

Creators drowning in post-survey messages

Corrections that are not order records

I moved! new address is Portland OR

Label redrafted · CL-1024

Technical creators scripting fulfillment

REST and the UI, one balance

wallet behind the API and the dashboard

Real sellers, real words

Shippers whose volume arrives all at once.

A video took off and I had 80 TikTok Shop orders by morning. I printed every label from my phone on the bus to the post office.

Early customer · TikTok

TikTok Shop seller

TikTok Shop

I run my Etsy shop from the kitchen. The AI reads the order, picks the carrier, the label prints. That's the whole workflow now.

Early customer · Etsy

Etsy maker

Etsy

The API is what every shipping API pretends to be. Idempotency that actually works.

Sasha R.

Staff engineer, marketplace

API user

Crowdfunding fulfillment FAQ

Do I need a subscription to ship a crowdfunding batch?: No. GoatLabels has no monthly fee on Free (up to 50 shipments a month): you fund a prepaid wallet, buy labels from the balance, and stop when the wave is done. That matters for a campaign specifically, because a subscription taken out for one fulfillment run keeps billing long after the last parcel ships unless someone remembers to cancel it.
Can I upload the backer list as a CSV?: Yes. Export the addresses from your campaign platform, upload the file, and every row is rate-shopped across USPS, UPS and FedEx, with DHL added on international rows, before you buy. Bulk purchase and bulk print then handle the batch in one pass rather than one parcel at a time. Each import takes up to 500 rows, so split larger waves. Errors name the row and field, and one bad row does not fail the batch.
What if reward tiers have different box sizes?: Set the parcel per row rather than per batch. Because every shipment is quoted individually, the tier that ships in a padded mailer and the tier that ships in a large box can land on different carriers, which is usually where the money is on a mixed-tier campaign.
How do I handle the address changes that arrive after the survey closes?: Edit the row before you buy, or paste the backer's message into Billy and let it redraft the label with the corrected address. If a label is already bought, void it and, after the carrier accepts the void, the amount credits back to the wallet balance rather than to a card statement weeks later.
Can I ship internationally to backers?: Yes. International parcels are quoted across USPS, UPS and FedEx, with DHL joining on international lanes, and duties handled up front where the service supports DDP, so the all-in number you see is the amount that leaves your balance.
What happens to the account after fulfillment?: If the wave took you onto Pro, cancel it once it is out (there is no minimum term); on Free nothing renews, so the account is still there, with your addresses and label history, whenever the next campaign or restock happens.
Is there an API if I built my own backer database?: Yes, free and unlimited on every plan. Create a shipment, rate-shop the carriers, buy the label, and receive signed webhooks for tracking, so a fulfillment script can run the whole wave without anyone opening the dashboard.

Want the full head-to-head? Read GoatLabels vs ShipStation or ShipStation vs free shipping software. Scripting the wave? The API alternative page covers the endpoints, and label pricing works like this.

Price one backer parcel before you commit to anything.

Fund it once. Ship the wave.
Walk away clean.

Top up a wallet with card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, ACH, or crypto, upload a slice of your backer CSV, and compare the all-in USPS, UPS and FedEx rates (DHL on international lanes) against the quote you were about to buy.

Create your account Talk to us

No contract. No card required. No monthly fee on Free, up to 50 shipments a month.

A ShipStation alternative for one-off crowdfunding batches

Every backer parcel quoted side by side

Top the wallet up once, spend it down

How should you ship a one-off crowdfunding wave?

Three reasons campaigns ship here.

One wave is the worst possible fit for a subscription

Pre-fund once, then spend down

Backer messages are not order records

And when ShipStation is the right choice

What ShipStation's own pages say, checked 2026-10-17

Upload the list. Rate-shop every row. Print the whole wave.

Address corrections without reopening the spreadsheet.

Connectors for the storefronts, AI for everything else.

Bulk labels, four carriers, one funded balance. And nothing recurring.

One prepaid wallet, funded from the campaign

AI drafting for the post-survey corrections

No annual plan after the last parcel

USPS, UPS and FedEx per domestic parcel, not per batch

An API for the backer database you built

The packing room is rarely an office.

Ask Billy where it is instead of searching the batch.

The quote is the debit.

USPS

UPS

FedEx

Script the wave if you'd rather.

Pro for the wave, Free after it.

Pro

Free

Billy is not a paid tier

API free on every plan

Compare on your own invoice

Bursty volume is the whole argument.

Campaign creators fulfilling in-house

Creators with mixed reward tiers

Creators drowning in post-survey messages

Technical creators scripting fulfillment

Shippers whose volume arrives all at once.

Crowdfunding fulfillment FAQ

Fund it once. Ship the wave. Walk away clean.

Bulk labels, four carriers, one funded balance.
And nothing recurring.

One prepaid wallet,
funded from the campaign

AI drafting for the
post-survey corrections

No annual plan
after the last parcel

USPS, UPS and FedEx
per domestic parcel, not per batch

An API for the
backer database you built

Fund it once. Ship the wave.
Walk away clean.