eBay shipping: how to ship items on eBay as a seller

How eBay shipping works

On eBay, you ship your own orders. You decide what the buyer pays for shipping when you create the listing, then you buy the label and send the package after the item sells. eBay gives you three options for the shipping charge, and the one you choose shows in the listing and sets what the buyer pays.

The table sets out the three shipping options as eBay's Seller Center describes them, and when each one fits.

Whichever option you choose, eBay's final value fee is charged on the order total, including shipping and sales tax. For a seller without an eBay Store, the shipping you charge the buyer pays the same 13.6% rate as the item price in most categories.

How to ship on eBay, step by step

These are the steps for one order shipped with a label bought on eBay. Tracking is uploaded automatically for you and your buyer.

1. Set shipping on the listing

   Choose free, calculated or flat rate shipping, enter the package weight and size, and pick a handling time you can meet every time. Add a faster paid service as an extra option if you want to offer one.

2. Pack the item and weigh it

   Pack the item once it sells, then weigh and measure the finished package. A label is charged on the package weight and dimensions you entered, so measure the box you will actually send.

3. Buy the label on eBay

   Open the order in My eBay or Seller Hub and select Print shipping label. Choose the carrier and service. The label is paid from your available funds, or from your on-file payment method, depending on the carrier.

4. Print it or use a QR code

   Print the label at home, or pick the QR code option where it is offered: scan the code at a participating drop-off location to print the label there.

5. Hand it to the carrier within your handling time

   Drop the package off or book a pickup before your handling time runs out. The carrier's first scan is what counts, and tracking appears on the order automatically.

Buying shipping labels on eBay

eBay Labels is eBay's own label service. It sells labels for FedEx, UPS, USPS, or eBay standard envelope, at rates eBay negotiated with UPS, USPS and FedEx. eBay's own comparison puts the discount at on average 33% off retail rates, and the service has no subscription fees.

With a label bought on eBay, tracking is uploaded automatically for you and your buyer, so you do not have to add it to the order yourself.

Two cases cannot be undone. A QR label that has been scanned at a drop-off point is considered used and can't be canceled. Labels assigned to a SCAN form that USPS has scanned won't receive a credit if canceled.

Calculated vs flat rate shipping on eBay

Calculated shipping lets eBay set the charge for each buyer. eBay works it out from their location, the details you provide about your package, and delivery service. You can choose which rates feed it: standard rates, eBay discounted rates, or your own custom discounted rates. A buyer near you pays less than a buyer across the country, and you do not have to guess an average.

Flat rate shipping charges every buyer the same shipping cost. It is simpler to set up and easier for a buyer to read, but you carry the risk: a far-away buyer can cost more to ship than you charged, and a nearby buyer pays more than the label costs.

Example: a seller lists a pair of boots that weighs several pounds in the box. Postage for a heavy box changes a lot with distance, so calculated shipping keeps the charge close to the real label cost. The same seller lists paperback books that each weigh under a pound. The label cost varies little, so one flat rate is easier to manage.

• Choose calculated shipping for heavy or bulky items, and for items where you do not know where buyers will be.
• Choose flat rate shipping for light items of a similar size, where the label cost barely changes with distance.
• Choose free shipping when you can build the cost into the price. Buyers see one number, and eBay still charges its fee on the full order total.
• Offer combined shipping if buyers often take several items: you can charge a higher shipping cost for the first item and add a lower cost for each additional item.

The eBay standard envelope for cheap, light items

The eBay standard envelope is a low-cost label for flat items up to 3 oz.. It works only in some categories: trading cards, currency and coins, postcards, stamps, patches, stickers, decals, greeting cards, and seeds. Eligible items have a maximum price of $20 (not including tax). eBay says it can up to 70% vs. USPS First Class Mail Service.

Each envelope comes with built-in tracking and a $20 shipping protection plan on a single order, and up to $50 on combined orders. It doesn't require an acceptance scan, so you can leave it at any of these: USPS locations, USPS Blue Box collection bins, or in your mailbox. It ships anywhere in the United States, including US territories such as Puerto Rico.

The envelope must meet eBay's size rules, or it may come back to you or reach the buyer with postage due. It must be no smaller than 3.5” x 5” and no larger than 6.125” x 11.5”, with a uniform thickness of less than 0.25” inches at all points. It must have NO clasps/strings/buttons or similar closure devices, and it must be NOT enclosed or made of any plastic material. Trading cards are limited to 24 raw cards per envelope.

If an envelope goes missing, you have to wait 30 days before you can file a claim with the shipping protection plan. eBay standard envelope labels can't be canceled once they have been printed.

eBay handling time rules

Handling time is the number of days between when you receive payment for an item and when your package is scanned by your shipping carrier. You set it on each listing, and eBay adds it to the delivery date the buyer sees at checkout. The clock stops at the carrier's first scan, not when you print the label.

With 1-day handling, the item has to be packed and scanned by the following day at 11:59:59 p.m. in your local time zone. Handling time counts business days only, unless you choose to include Saturdays and/or Sundays because you ship on those days.

eBay's advice is to choose the quickest handling time you can meet every time. A late scan can make the package arrive after the date the buyer was shown, and that can hurt your seller rating. Offering same-day handling or 1-day handling, along with at least a 30-day money-back return policy can help you qualify for eBay's Top Rated Plus badge and discount.

1. Open the listing in Seller Hub and choose Edit fields.
2. Pick Handling time from the menu.
3. Choose the new handling time and save.

What shipping costs you on eBay

A seller pays for the label, and pays eBay's fee on the shipping the buyer paid. For a seller without an eBay Store, eBay's final value fee is 13.6% in most categories, charged on the order total, including shipping and sales tax, plus $0.40 per order over $10 ($0.30 at $10 or less). If you charge a buyer for shipping, that charge is part of the order total the fee is worked out on.

Example: you sell a $20 item and charge $5 for shipping. The fee is worked out on the $25 order total, plus sales tax, not on the $20 item price alone. The label is a separate cost, paid when you buy it.

Where Nation fits

Questions about eBay shipping