It’s been about two months since I purchased my Rollo USB printer from Amazon and I’ve been quite impressed. Once everything was set up it made labeling my items a lot easier. The one thing I was missing was being able to print the shipping labels for my boxes. Not a huge deal, but swapping out labels wasn’t something I wanted to do all of the time. The opportunity came about to get a second Rollo printer for this purpose and I jumped on it. Let’s get into the story.
Why Rollo
I decided on a Rollo printer after discussing it with a few people in my Discord group and researching options on YouTube. It seemed like the best choice at the time, though that’s not to say other thermal printers aren’t just as good. Maybe it was the marketing, or maybe the timing just felt right. I ended up buying it on sale during Black Friday, saving over $30 off the regular price on Amazon. While a newer model could eventually lower the price of this one, I paid around $169 when the full retail price was $199.
The other decision I had to make was whether to get the USB-wired or wireless version. Since printers can already be a hassle, I opted for the wired version to avoid any potential wireless issues. I knew I’d be printing labels right at my desk, mainly for FBA shipments, so a wireless setup wasn’t necessary. I didn’t need to print from other locations, so a simple, reliable wired connection made the most sense.
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Growth of my Amazon and eBay Businesses
As my business grew and I needed to print more labels, the 30-up labels from my regular printer worked but weren’t the most efficient option. I’ve been using GoToLister for my Amazon listings, and while the API changes Amazon introduced have caused some headaches, it’s still much faster than listing directly through Seller Central. Previously, you could scan and print labels simultaneously, but now you have to scan everything first, upload the batch to Amazon, and then print either the entire batch or individual labels afterward. It’s not a huge issue, but it would be much more convenient if the old one-click scan-and-print method was still available.
Amazon FBA Labels
Amazon FBA labels are the small 2″ x 1″ stickers with barcodes that need to be applied to every item sent to Amazon. Previously, I was using 30-up label sheets, which meant selecting the correct labels, locating the corresponding items, and then applying them manually. With GoToLister, I can scan each item, find it instantly, and print labels on demand. This makes the process much more efficient. The Rollo thermal printer handles the job quickly, is easy to set up, and streamlines everything.
I picked up TWO Rollo Printers at an Estate Sale
For about two months, I had been using my Rollo printer exclusively for labeling media items. Then, while browsing an estate sale, I was surprised to find two Rollo printers available for $70 each. Since they hadn’t sold on Saturday, I returned on Sunday when everything was discounted and picked one up for $30. The following day, I went back and, thanks to my connection with the estate sale owner, was able to get the second unit for just $20.
That meant I went from owning one full-priced Rollo printer to having two more for less than half the price of one. While these units may have been older or heavily used, thermal printers tend to last a long time. I cleaned them up with alcohol, tested them, and set one up as my dedicated shipping label printer. I ended up selling the other one for a profit, which covered the cost of both and still gave the buyer a great deal.
Let’s Talk Support – The Story
Overall, I’ve been satisfied with the Rollo printer for FBA labels, but I ran into some frustrations when using it for shipping labels. Sizing issues within Adobe and Chrome would either shrink or enlarge the labels, making them print incorrectly. I had to adjust the settings multiple times to get them to fit properly. This isn’t unique to Rollo, it’s a common issue with shipping labels from various platforms, including Amazon, eBay, USPS, and others.
At one point, I was stuck with certain shipping labels and decided to email Rollo to see if they would respond. To my surprise, I received a reply within an hour, on a Sunday. I followed up with more details, and after exchanging emails for about an hour, I realized my issue wouldn’t be fully resolved unless they could see what was happening on my end. The support rep suggested a phone call and remote screen sharing, so I provided some available times, and we scheduled an appointment for the next day.
During the remote session, we went over a few things, but it became clear that the problem wasn’t with the Rollo printer itself, it was due to the varying label sizes used by different platforms. I had no issues printing Rollo’s sample labels, but labels from GoToLister, World of Books, and eBay all had slightly different dimensions. While they all worked in terms of tracking, some didn’t fully extend to the width and height of the label. It wasn’t a major problem as long as the barcodes remained scannable.
I was impressed with the support experience. It’s rare to get responsive, hands-on tech support these days, especially for printers. While the solution wasn’t perfect, it was good enough to keep things running smoothly. At the end of the day, it’s still a far better option than printing labels on an 8.5” x 11” sheet, cutting them out, and taping them to a box.
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Final Thoughts
If you’ve followed some of my posts on Afternoon Grind, you know that customer service is something I value highly. My experience with Rollo’s support was excellent, which puts them at the top for this type of equipment in my book. I’ve worked with companies like Stihl and Elgato, and I’d say Rollo’s customer service is right up there with them.
I’ll continue using the Rollo printer for my shipping labels and will keep you updated if anything changes. We’ll see how things go from here.
