Most small Shopify stores don't have a packing station. They have the kitchen table, a tape gun that lives in a drawer, and a laptop balanced on a box. That's fine at five orders a day. Somewhere around twenty, the table becomes the bottleneck: you're hunting for the right mailer, re-typing tracking numbers and, now and then, putting the wrong thing in the box. A proper station costs a few hundred dollars and an afternoon. Here's how to set one up.
Start with the flow, not the furniture
A good station moves every order in one direction. Things come in on one side, go out the other, and never cross:
- In: the stock, or the picked items, within arm's reach on one side.
- Pack: a clear work surface in the middle, with the screen and scanner in front of you.
- Supplies: boxes, mailers, tape and filler above or below the work surface, never on it.
- Out: the label printer and scale at the far end, and a bin or shelf for sealed parcels waiting for pickup.
If you're right-handed, running it left to right usually feels natural. What matters is that a finished parcel never ends up next to an unpacked order, because that's how two orders end up in one box.
For the table itself: as wide as you can spare (a couple of metres or six feet is comfortable), at about elbow height if you stand to pack. A kitchen counter or a basic workbench both work. A small shelf above the surface for the printer and supplies frees up the space you actually pack on.
The five pieces of gear worth buying
| Gear | What to look for | Typical price |
|---|---|---|
| Barcode scanner | 2D, wireless or USB, works as a keyboard | $40–$135 |
| Thermal label printer | 4×6″ labels, USB or Wi-Fi | $80–$280 |
| Shipping scale | Reads to 0.1 oz, holds your heaviest parcel | $30–$80 |
| A regular printer | For packing slips; any laser printer is fine | Often already owned |
| Tape gun and supplies | A dispenser you can use one-handed; 3–5 box and mailer sizes | $20–$60 to start |
Prices are street prices from 2025–2026 roundups (scanners, label printers, scales). Check current prices before you buy. All in, most stores spend $150 to $500.
Barcode scanner
The cheapest thing on the list and the one that prevents the most mistakes. Get a 2D scanner: it reads ordinary barcodes and QR codes, and usually codes on a phone screen too. Nearly all of them work as a "keyboard": plug it in (or pair it), click into any text box, scan, and the code types itself in with an Enter at the end. That means it works with any software, with no drivers. Wireless is worth the extra few dollars if you scan items still sitting on a shelf.
Thermal label printer
Thermal printers use heat instead of ink, so there's nothing to refill, and they print the 4×6 inch labels carriers expect. A cheap USB model works as well as an expensive one for a single station. Wi-Fi is handy if the printer sits away from the computer, or if you print from a tablet. Buy labels in bulk; they're the real running cost.
Shipping scale
Guessing weight costs money in both directions: too low and the carrier bills you the difference, too high and you overpay on every parcel. A flat postal scale that reads to a tenth of an ounce (or a few grams) is all you need. Pick one that holds your heaviest parcel with room to spare.
A regular printer for slips
Packing slips print fine on plain paper from any printer you already own. Print them as orders come in, or in a stack at the start of the day, and keep them in order next to the bench.
Tape and supplies
Most stores need only three to five box and mailer sizes. Keep one stack of each within reach and stop there: every extra size is one more decision per order. If you buy labels from a carrier, larger boxes are often charged by size as well as weight, so a box that fits snugly saves money too.
What to skip at first
- A scale that talks to your computer. Nice to have, but typing a weight takes two seconds.
- A packing slip printer separate from your label printer. One label printer and one regular printer cover it.
- Custom-printed boxes. Lovely for unboxing, a big minimum order, and a storage problem. Branded tape or a sticker gets you most of the effect.
- A warehouse system. At one or two stations, a good routine and the right app do the job.
The routine that makes it work
Gear doesn't prevent mistakes. A routine does, and the station just makes it easy to follow:
- One order on the table at a time.
- Start from its packing slip, and read the notes first.
- Scan every item as it goes in the box.
- Anything that won't scan or doesn't match: set it aside, don't make it fit.
- Weigh, label, seal, and mark it fulfilled only after the check passes.
How to check every order before it ships covers each step, and what skipping them costs.
Putting the software on the station
The last piece is a screen that tells you what should go in the box and checks what you scan. Shopify's own batch fulfillment can scan-verify a batch, and it's free. If you pack orders as they come in rather than in batches, Pickadoodl's Quick pack is built for exactly this bench. Full disclosure: I build it.
- Every packing slip gets a barcode of its order number. Scan the slip on the bench and the order opens.
- Scan each item. Wrong items are refused; a line with several units can take a typed count after the first scan.
- Weigh it and pick the box (save your 3–5 sizes once), buy the label with your own EasyPost account on the Pro plan, and the tracking number goes to Shopify when you fulfill.
- Fulfill, then scan the next slip.
It's on the free plan, which covers 75 orders a month with every feature, so you can try it on a real afternoon of orders. How Quick pack works.
When one station isn't enough
You'll know: orders queue up after lunch, or two people are taking turns at one table. At that point add a second station rather than a bigger one, and split the work into picking and packing so one person pulls items for many orders while another packs. That's where batches come in. From pick to pack to fulfilled walks through it.
