How to Add Tracking Numbers to Your Etsy Orders (Beginner’s Guide)
If you’ve just made your first sale on Etsy and are wondering how to upload a tracking number — don’t worry. It’s extremely simple once you know where to look.
Whether you fulfil your orders yourself or use PrintShrimp to print and ship your posters, adding tracking keeps customers informed and reduces “Where is my order?” messages.
📦 Why You Should Always Add Tracking on Etsy
Adding tracking:
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Gives customers peace of mind.
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Reduces customer service workload.
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Helps Etsy trust your shop.
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Protects you during disputes.
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Improves your on-time delivery score.
If you're using PrintShrimp, tracking is provided for every shipment — you just need to upload it.
🔎 Step 1: Go to Your Orders Page
On desktop:
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Log in to your account.
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Click Shop Manager.
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Go to Orders & Shipping.
This shows all of your unshipped, in-progress, and completed orders.
📤 Step 2: Select the Order
Find the order that is ready to be shipped and click on it to expand the details.
🚚 Step 3: Click “Mark as Shipped”
When you’re ready, click Mark as Shipped → Enter Tracking Info. You’ll see fields for the Courier and the Tracking number.
⭐ 💡 Pro Tip: You Don’t Have to Add Tracking Immediately
Etsy lets you add tracking after marking the order as complete. If you don’t have the tracking number yet — for example, if you’re waiting for PrintShrimp to dispatch — you can still safely mark the order as shipped without entering it.
Then later, once the tracking arrives:
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✔ Go back to the completed order.
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✔ Click “Add a package”.
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✔ Enter the courier + tracking number.
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✔ Save.
Etsy does NOT punish you for doing this. There is no penalty or ranking consequence for adding tracking later. Etsy fully supports this workflow for POD sellers.
🔢 Step 4: Add the Tracking Number
Once you have the number from PrintShrimp, copy it into Etsy:
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Select the courier (e.g., Royal Mail, USPS, DHL).
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Paste the tracking number.
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Hit Submit.
📧 Step 5: Automatic Customer Notification
Etsy will automatically send your customer a dispatch confirmation with their tracking number and a clickable tracking link. This keeps your business professional and automated.
📝 A Note About Tracking Accuracy
Some couriers, especially Royal Mail and USPS, often don’t scan parcels at pickup. Customers may see messages like “We’re expecting it” or “Label created.” This is normal; tracking will update once it reaches the next processing centre.
🚀 Grow Your Etsy Shop With PrintShrimp
We print posters domestically in the UK, USA, Canada, EU, and Australia. Fast dispatch, clean packaging, and tracking are included — everything you need to run a smooth Etsy business.
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