Postage options for casual sellers

If you sell for free, you'll generally need to buy your labels through eBay for eligible orders. There are some exceptions. If your item falls into one of these categories, you may be able to use an alternative method. These include: 

• Items sold for less than $20
• Items sold for more than $5,000
• Items that can be sent in an envelope, such as trading cards, stamps, postcards, greeting cards and similar items
• Heavy or bulky items where an eBay Label isn't available
• Orders where the buyer selected local pickup

For most orders, tracking will be automatically uploaded when you generate your label on eBay, this means both you and the buyer can  track every step of the journey on eBay. That's why manual tracking uploads are no longer available. 

Important: If you purchase a tracked service at a post office or through another provider, you’ll no longer be able to manually upload tracking information, so you and your buyer will not see tracking activity on eBay. This means:

• Your item can't be marked as sent on eBay

• Your payment may be held for up to 14 days, even if your buyer has already received the parcel

• You won't be protected by eBay if there are any delivery issues for that order

Remember, it is against our Member-to-member contact policy to exchange any personal information (including addresses) over messages.  

We partner with Australia Post to offer discounted label rates compared to standard retail pricing, with savings of up to 35% on selected services. The cost of shipping will vary based on the item size, weight, destination and delivery service selected.

We are working on adding more carriers and differentiated delivery options to eBay so you can access convenient, tracked shipping at competitive rates.

Selecting 'calculated shipping' as your delivery option means that we will calculate the shipping cost based on your parcel's weight, dimensions and buyer's destination.

Shipping is calculated using weight bands so it's important to be exact with your measurements to avoid under or overpaying. We recommend choosing this option and correctly estimating your parcel size and weight so that the buyer pays the right price for shipping and you aren't left out of pocket. 

You can also choose flat rate shipping if you want to set a cost for any buyer e.g. $10. This option may be right for you if your item fits in an Australia Post Flat Rate satchel or box (Extra Small, Small, Medium, Large or Extra Large). 

Shipping labels generally need to be purchased through eBay. If you regularly use prepaid satchels, or have better rates through your own carrier, a Pro plan may be a better fit for you and offers more flexibility in how you manage shipping. Our Pro Starter plan has no monthly fee, you’ll be able to choose how to send your items, however final value fees will apply to your sales. Compare our Pro plans.

When you buy your labels on eBay and choose to send with Australia Post, you’ll have a choice of Flat Rate or Parcel Post. 

• With Flat Rate, you pay a fixed price based on the size of the Australia Post satchel or box you use, rather than the weight of your item (up to 5kg). You'll need to use official Australia Post Flat Rate packaging, which you can buy from Australia Post. 
• With Parcel Post, the shipping cost is based on your parcel's weight, dimensions and destination. Shipping is calculated using weight bands: Up to 250g, 250g to 500g, 500g to 1kg, 1kg to 3kg, 3kg to 5kg so it’s important to be exact with your measurements when using Parcel Post to avoid under or overpaying for shipping. While Parcel Post can cost more than Flat Rate, it gives you the flexibility to choose your own packaging.

Parcels are automatically covered up to $100. If your item is worth more than $100, you can add extra compensation to protect your parcel against loss or damage during transit.

On desktop:

1. Select Switch to advanced postage in the top right corner.
2. In the Services section, select Additional liability coverage (from AU $12.00).
3. Enter the declared value of your parcel.
4. If needed, you can also add Signature on delivery.

On the eBay app or mobile:

1. Go to the Postage service section.
2. Select Add additional options.
3. If you item sells for more than $100, you'll have the option to add Additional liability coverage. 
4. If needed, you can also add Signature on delivery.

Combined postage is available on desktop view only.

1. Select Switch to advanced postage.
2. In the top right corner, select Get labels in bulk.
3. Select the orders you want to combine.
4. Select Combine orders per buyer.
5. Review your label purchase and complete checkout.

Once you've purchased the label, the tracking number will automatically be uploaded to every order included in the combined shipment.