Merchant FAQs¶

On this page

How do I differentiate merchants when generating labels?
How do I indicate the carrier when generating labels?
How do I retrieve a Shipper-Carrier Account ID (shipperCarrierAccountId)?
Must a merchant’s email address refer to an actual email account?
What is a TIN?
How does a merchant access the Merchant Portal?
How does a merchant unlock a locked Merchant Portal account?
Why can’t the merchant log into Merchant Portal after changing email addresses on pitneybowes.com?

See also:

How do I get transaction history for a developer or merchant? in the Transaction Reports FAQs

How do I differentiate merchants when generating labels?¶

Every merchant has a unique Shipper ID, which is the value found in the postalReportingNumber field retrieved through the Get Merchants API. When you Create or Rate a shipment, specify this value in the shipmentOptions:

"shipmentOptions": [ {
    "name": "SHIPPER_ID",
    "value": "<postalReportingNumber_value>"
}, ... ]

How do I indicate the carrier when generating labels?¶

When you call the Create Shipment API, you indicate the carrier in the rates array’s carrier field. For example:

"rates": [ { "carrier": "UPS", ... } ]

If the merchant has multiple accounts with the carrier, you must also specify which account to use. Each account with the carrier has a unique ID created when the merchant registered the account with Pitney Bowes. Specify the ID in the X-PB-Shipper-Carrier-AccountId header when invoking the Create Shipment API. To retrieve the ID, see How do I retrieve a Shipper-Carrier Account ID (shipperCarrierAccountId)?

How do I retrieve a Shipper-Carrier Account ID (shipperCarrierAccountId)?¶

When a merchant registers an existing commercial carrier account for use with the Global Ecommerce APIs, Pitney Bowes creates a shipperCarrierAccountId to identify the account within the APIs. Pass the ID in the X-PB-Shipper-Carrier-AccountId request header when the merchant performs an operation that uses the account.

To retrieve the ID:

Issue the Get Merchant Accounts API.
In the content array, locate the object that identifies the merchant.
In the object, locate the merchantCarrierAccounts array. Then locate the object with accountNumber set to the account you are looking for.
The shipper-carrier ID is found in the shipperCarrierAccountId field.

Must a merchant’s email address refer to an actual email account?¶

In the Production environment, yes. You must use a real email address for the new merchant.

For both Sandbox and Production, Pitney Bowes uses the email address as the unique identifier for the merchant. In Sandbox, you can use a fake email address as long as it is unique. However, if you use a fake email address for a merchant in Sandbox, the merchant will not be able to receive password-reset emails. If the merchant uses the Merchant Portal and forgets the password, the merchant will have no way to reset the password.

What is a TIN?¶

The TIN is the Taxpayer Identification Number a merchant enters when choosing PB Line of Credit as the payment method when creating a Merchant Account.

How does a merchant access the Merchant Portal?¶

Merchants who enroll under the Individual Postage Account enrollment model access their accounts through the Merchant Portal. Pitney Bowes provides separate Merchant Portals for the Sandbox and Production environments:

Environment	Merchant Portal Link
Production	https://www.pbshippingmerchant.pitneybowes.com
Sandbox	https://developer.pbshippingmerchant.pitneybowes.com

How does a merchant unlock a locked Merchant Portal account?¶

The Merchant Portal will lock an account for 30 minutes if a merchant makes too many attempts to log in with an incorrect password. After 30 minutes the Merchant Portal automatically unlocks the account, and the merchant can log in if using the correct password.

Merchants who want to reset their passwords can do so either by clicking Forgot your password? on the Merchant Portal Sign In page or by contacting Client Support at ClientSupportTechServices@pb.com.

Why can’t the merchant log into Merchant Portal after changing email addresses on pitneybowes.com?¶

As of this writing, if you change your email address directly on pitneybowes.com, you will not be able to log into the Merchant Portal. If you run into this issue, log into pitneybowes.com and change your email address back. This will allow you to log back into the Merchant Portal.

To change your email on pitneybowes.com, do not so directly but instead contact Client Support at ClientSupportTechServices@pb.com.