eBay International Shipping in 3 Easy Steps!
Many sellers fear jumping into the world of eBay international shipping. Fear of the unknown.
Fear of dealing with foreign buyers. We had the same fears and hesitation, but we do not have any regrets. It’s extremely easy to set up your eBay listings to accept international buyers. We did this about a year ago and have seen positive results.
At this time we do not use the eBay Global Shipping Program. We tried using it once and had problems with it, so we removed it from all our listings and went back to shipping internationally using the method described below.
We will share more about the eBay Global Shipping Program in another blog post.
For those sellers who want to take the leap and open up your listings to millions of more buyers, here is a step-by-step, visual guide to setting up your listings.
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Step 1: Add eBay International Shipping Options
The first thing you need to do is add eBay international shipping options for your buyers to choose from. When you are in your listing (whether revising or creating a new listing), scroll down to where you see “Add shipping details” as seen in the screen shot below. Here you will see the “U.S. shipping” that you normally fill out and below that you should see “International shipping”.
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If you do not see the “International shipping” options as seen in the image above, you will want to click on “Add or remove options” (circled in red below).
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Then click the check box next to “Show international services and options”. Click “Save” and you should now see the option to add international shipping rates as seen in the screen shot above.
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Step 2: Select eBay International Shipping Methods
Next it’s time to select your eBay international shipping methods for buyers to choose from. In the drop down box that says “No International Shipping” you will want to select either “Flat: same cost to all buyers” or “Calculated: cost varies by buyer location”. Our advice is to let the eBay shipping calculator do the work! We always select calculated so that we know we will get enough money from to buyer to ship to their location. No need to go figure out international shipping rates when eBay will do the work for you. Note: You can still offer free shipping to U.S. buyers even though you’re only offering calculated shipping to International buyers.
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Once you click on “Calculated” in the drop down box, you will see the below screen shot. You will now select which shipping methods you want to offer.
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In the first drop down box under the words “Ship to” you will want to select “Worldwide”. When you do this, the section underneath that says “Additional ship to locations – buyers contact for costs” will be removed because by selecting “Worldwide”, you will not limit any locations.
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In the second drop down box under the words “Services” you will want to select “USPS First Class Intl / First Class Package Intl Service”. Anything 4lb and under can be shipped 1st Class International and you won’t have to mess with a bunch of customs papers. This is the easiest way to ship internationally.
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Next, if you desire to offer an additional shipping option, click on “Offer additional Service”.
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Another set of drop down boxes will appear and you will then need to select “Worldwide” in the first drop down and your service in the second drop down. We always offer “USPS Priority Mail International” as the second option in case someone wants to pay to get it faster. You also have the option to charge an additional handling fee if you so choose. We do not usually charge anything extra, but the option is there if you need it for additional expenses of packing material, etc. You should now have a screen that looks like the image below.
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The Most Useful eBay Shipping Tips
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Step 3: eBay Global Shipping Countries
Lastly, you need to indicate your eBay global shipping countries. Next you will see a section called “Excluded shipping locations”. We have never excluded any locations because we have not had a problem with any of the countries we have shipped to (and we’ve shipping to a lot of countries). However, if you are worried about sending to any country, you have to option here to select the countries that you DO NOT want to ship to.
If you want to restrict certain countries, you will want to click on “Create/edit exclusion list” under the “Excluded shipping locations” section.
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You should then have a box pop up that looks like the image below. You can then either select an entire region by clicking the check boxes, or click on “show all countries” next to a certain region to only select specific countries that you do not want to ship to. Once you have selected your excluded shipping locations, click on “Apply”.
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Once you are back in your listing you will see “Package details” under the ‘Excluded shipping locations” section. This is where you will fill out your package dimensions and weight as usual.
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One thing to note about the package weight is with USPS First Class International, every ounce counts. When shipping priority in the U.S. we know that an item that weights 2lb 12oz is going to be charged at 3lbs so we would select 2-3lbs in our eBay package weight settings. However, with international, we would mark the package as 2lb 14oz knowing that the price goes up for every ounce.
We do not increase the package weight so that we make extra money on eBay shipping. We desire to charge the customer actual cost for shipping. In fact, there has been some times when we have accidentally over charged on shipping and refunded the customer the difference.
Printing eBay International Shipping Labels
When you go into eBay or PayPal to print your eBay international shipping label, you will come to the same page as you normally do for U.S. shipments. The only difference will be when you click “Purchase Postage” you will be directed to another page for the customs information. Here you will need to verify that the package weight is correct and enter as short description of the item and the quantity of items. You can then continue and print the label. You will only have one sheet to print with USPS First Class Int’l (USPS Priority Mail Int’l have multiple sheets). Once your label is printed you will need to sign and date the bottom of it and then tape it on your package just like any other label. Here is what your USPS First Class International label will look like:
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Cheapest Way to Ship Internationally
As a rule of thumb in our business, we have always chosen to ship international purchases via USPS First Class International mail. This is been the cheapest way for us to ship internationally. However it does come with a few stipulations. You can only ship items under 4-pounds. Also, there is no tracking for the package after it leaves the US border.
We’ve never had a problem with the downsides to First Class International shipping. We just make sure to only allow international shipping options on items that are 4-pounds or less (which is a majority of our items). You can use USPS Priority Mail international but the cost is significantly higher.
Cheapest International Shipping from USA
As we stated above, the cheapest international shipping from USA in our experience has been USPS First Class international. However that only applies if your package meets the weight requirements. If you have a heavier package, you will want to research the other shipping companies, such as FedEx, UPS, and DHL to see if they offer cheaper international shipping for the USA.
How to Calculate Shipping on eBay
eBay has this wonderful shipping calculator that is not very well known. It is very easy to use if you are wanting to know how to calculate shipping on eBay.
Simply follow the steps on the screen, input your package type, weight and dimensions, your zip code and tick the International box. Choose your buyer’s country and click Calculate Shipping.
You’ll be able to toggle between USPS, FedEx, and UPS. Additionally, you’ll see In-store rates or eBay rates.
This is by far the easiest way to calculate shipping for eBay.
eBay Global Shipping Program Review
eBay rolled out the global shipping program (GSP) in 2013 in an attempt to streamline the eBay international shipping process. The point was to give less risk for sellers.
Here is a eBay global shipping program review of how the process is intended to work.
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List your item as you normally would with pictures, title, description, and domestic shipping preferences.
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Someone from an eligible international country purchases your item.
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Next, you will ship the item to a US shipping center in Kentucky. You will pay domestic shipping costs to send it to the shipping center.
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The shipping center manages your shipment after they receive it. Then they take care of the customs process and send the item to the buyer.
However, there are a few disadvantages to using the global shipping program.
The only eBay international shipping option available through GSP is USPS Priority International mail. This means that something that would cost $15 to the buyer shipped USPS First Class International is going to cost them $35 because it must be send via Priority International mail.
While doing it this way is a benefit to eBay (streamlined shipping, insurance is included, tracking continues after it leaves the US boarder), it may results in less international sales because who wants to pay double for shipping.
This is one of the main reasons we recommend setting up your own eBay international shipping options as we described at the beginning of this post.
How eBay Global Shipping Tracking Works
Once you ship your item to the US shipping center (most likely in Kentucky), you will receive a tracking number going from you to Kentucky.
eBay then takes over the shipment and a new tracking number will be issued from Kentucky to the final destination. These eBay global shipping tracking numbers typically start with the prefix UPAAA however it might vary slightly depending on location.
Use can use this Pitney Bowes Parcel Tracker to check the status of your UPAAA shipments. Enter the parcel tracking number and press “track”. A new page opens and you can click on the link that says “Track in carrier’s website.” (upper right corner) This will show the carrier for your country along with the parcels new tracking number you can use to track it in your own country.
And that’s it! You’re done! In a few short steps, you have successfully opened up your item to millions of buyers across the world. We hope this step-by-step, visual guide helped you. If it did, please let us know in the comments below. Thank you.