Understanding QR Codes

Norwich Copies Plus can scan some QR codes to generate a shipping label, but not all QR codes are the same. This article is your reference point to know what you can expect when coming to our shipping store. We’ll do our best to keep the most important information up front, and for those that are curious, we’ll provide more details in the “Common Questions” below.

• United Parcel Service (UPS): We cannot scan any UPS QR codes to produce a shipping label (examples: Amazon, Temu, Macys, Frontier, Spectrum, T-Mobile)

• Federal Express (FedEx): We can scan some QR codes to produce a shipping label (examples: Walmart, eBay, Wayfair).

• United States Postal Service (USPS): We are (supposedly) able to scan all USPS QR codes to produce a label. As we currently do not ship postal service at our store, we do not always keep these settings up to date.

Many times, the company that sends you a QR code in your email or mobile app will also have a shipping label. When this happens, it is either as an attachment or a link we can click on to access the label and forward it to our store email. If you want to stay local, see if a shipping label is available or you can call the company to send you one. If you bring your device in with you, we can try to help.

Common Questions

• If you couldn't scan my code, why did the company say I could go to your store?

  Customer service employees at companies like Amazon, Spectrum, or Frontier typically do not realize the nearest UPS Store/FedEx Office is about 45-minutes away from Norwich. You may have to emphasize your Norwich location is a UPS/FedEx Drop Off.

  Amazon Customers: Be sure to pick “UPS Drop Off” and not “UPS Store Drop Off” if you want to bring your return to our location.

• Is this free?

  It is free to drop off ready to ship UPS/FedEx packages. We may charge $1-2 for preparing your package and making it ready to ship. This includes our staff printing your label and taping up your package.

  • Ready to ship means a parcel is labeled, secured, and all we need to do is scan it in and make sure it gets on the truck.

  Why? UPS, FedEx, and the company you are returning to do not compensate our store for helping you prepare your shipment.

• So why can you scan some codes and not others?

  For our store to scan a QR code and produce a label, two things need to happen:

  1. The carrier (UPS/FedEx/USPS) needs to authorize shipping stores like ours to scan their QR code.

  2. The company issuing the UPS/FedEx QR code needs to participate in a return program that includes stores like ours.

  Because UPS/FedEx are complex and have various return programs, it is possible a carrier lets us scan their code but the company you are returning to does not participate in a return program involving stores like ours.

• Will you ever become a UPS Store?

  No.