Abstract: An exemplary item return shipping system is configured to: receive a request to return an item to a retailer; provide the user with a unique identifier associated with the request; and receive an indication that the user has presented the parcel and the unique identifier at an access point. The system may then facilitate placement of a pre-printed machine-readable indicia (e.g., a barcode) on the parcel at the access point and associate it with the retailer information. The system then facilitates delivery of the parcel from the access point to a handling facility and facilitates placement of a shipping label (that includes the address of a returns processing facility that is determined using the retailer information) on the parcel at the handling facility. In various embodiments, the system then facilitates shipment of the parcel to the returns processing facility.

Abstract: A shipping system, according to various embodiments, is configured for: (1) receiving a request to ship a parcel, the request including shipping information; (2) providing the user with a unique identifier for use in shipping the parcel; (3) receiving an indication that the user has presented the parcel and the unique identifier at an access point; (4) in response to receiving the indication, facilitating placement of a pre-printed bar code (or other indicia) on the parcel at the access point and associating it with the shipping information; (5) facilitating delivery of the parcel from the access point to a handling facility and (6) facilitating placement of a shipping label on parcel at the handling facility. The system may then use the shipping label to facilitate shipment of the parcel from the handling facility to the parcel's final destination.