---
title: "Shipping Kits"
description: "Mail a prepaid empty box first; the return label ships inside it or by email."
url: "https://docs.gytabuyback.com/features/shipping-kits/"
---
## Shipping Kits

Normally a trade-in customer gets a prepaid label at checkout and has to find a box, pack the device and print the label themselves. With shipping kits you send them the box instead: the order buys an **outbound** label from your store to the customer, you pack an empty kit and ship it, and the customer just puts the device in and sends it back.

This is worth turning on when your customers are not office workers with a printer, when you want every device to arrive in packaging you chose, or when you are competing with the big trade-in programs that all mail a kit. The trade-off is a second label and a hands-on packing step for every order.

![Shipping kit settings controlling the outbound box and how the return label is delivered](../../assets/images/gb-shipping-kits.png)

Shipping Kits is a **PRO feature**. On the free plan the kit settings appear locked and the kit flow never runs, even if the option looks set.

## Turning It On

The kit settings live in **Gyta Buyback → Settings → EasyPost**, in the **EasyPost Advanced** section:

*   **Shipping kits** — the on/off checkbox. Off by default.
*   **Kit: return label delivery** — choose **"Printed in the box — I print it and pack it with the kit"** (the default) or **"Emailed — the customer gets the label link when the kit ships"**.
*   **Kit weight (oz)** — the weight of your empty kit box, used to rate the outbound label. Defaults to 16 oz.

One more setting is optional: **Gyta Buyback → Settings → Email**, in the **Notifications** section, has **Kit reminder after (days)**, which controls how long after the kit is delivered a customer is nudged to actually send the device back. It defaults to 3 days.

## How It Works Day to Day

*   The customer checks out. Instead of the usual prepaid return label, the plugin buys an **outbound kit label** addressed from your store to the customer, and the order goes to **On hold**.
*   The label link arrives as an order note on the order — *"Trade-in kit label (store → customer) created via EasyPost"*, with a Download / Print Label link, the tracking code and the rate you paid.
*   The customer's order-received and My Account pages show a **"Your shipping kit"** box explaining that a box is on the way, plus a **Track your kit** button once tracking exists.
*   You print that label, pack an empty box, and hand it to the carrier.
*   On the order screen, pick **"Mark kit sent (buys the return label)"** from the Order actions box. The order moves to the **Kit sent** status and the prepaid **return** label is bought at that moment.
*   If you chose **Printed in the box**, an order note tells you to print the return label and put it in the kit box. If you chose **Emailed**, the customer gets the label link as a customer note email instead.
*   The customer also gets a customer note with a link to track the kit itself.
*   When the kit is delivered, a reminder is scheduled. If the device has not started moving after your reminder window, the **Trade-in kit reminder** email goes out.
*   The device comes back on the return label, and the order continues through your normal received / offer / payout flow.

## Good to Know

*   **Buyback and Dual modes only.** Kits do not run in **Net settlement** mode — the net flow keeps its own label logic. The kit settings still appear on the EasyPost tab in Net mode; they are simply inert.
*   **The return label does not exist until you mark the kit sent.** Nothing to print, no tracking number for the device, and no customer-facing return label before that step.
*   **"Mark kit sent" only appears while the return label is still unbought.** If a return label already exists on the order — for example because the order was picked up on the **Batch Labels** screen, which lists processing and on-hold orders that have no return label yet — the action disappears. You can still set the status by hand, but no second label is bought. Leave kit orders out of batch runs.
*   **Delivering the kit never completes the order.** Auto-complete on delivery applies only to the inbound device shipment; a delivered kit is just an empty box arriving at the customer.
*   **Kits are never insured**, whatever your insurance settings say — an empty box has no value. The kit is also rated at the fixed kit weight, not the cart weight.
*   **QR drop-off codes apply to the return label only**, not to the outbound kit label. That matches how the customer uses them: they are the one visiting the carrier counter.
*   **Local pickup orders never get a kit.** If the order is a local drop-off, no label of either kind is bought.
*   **Turning the setting off does not disturb orders already in flight.** The **Kit sent** status stays registered whether or not kits are enabled, so live kit orders keep their status and their **Mark kit sent** action; only new orders stop becoming kit orders.
*   **If EasyPost fails at checkout, the kit label is retried in the background** rather than lost. The retry knows it is a kit, checks with EasyPost before buying anything so you are never charged twice, and backs off across several attempts.
*   **The reminder email needs WooCommerce's scheduler and can be edited like any other email.** It is the **Trade-in kit reminder** template under **WooCommerce → Settings → Emails**. It is skipped if the device is already moving, or if the order has left On hold / Kit sent.
*   **Customers see the kit status by name.** In the My Trade-ins account area a kit order reads **"Kit on the way"**, and the order timeline switches its second step to **"Shipping kit sent"**.