Shipping rate tables

Shipping rate tables allow sellers to easily define, tailor, and apply custom — and consistent — shipping costs based on:

• Shipping/geographic base regions
• Shipping speed or level of service (e.g., one-day, expedited, economy, etc.)
• Additional per-item fees
• Handling charges
• Shipping surcharges (e.g., based on weight)
• etc.

When a seller enters or modifies a rate in a given shipping service category for a base region, the update is automatically copied to all of its extended regions in the same category. The seller can then modify any of the extended region values in that category.

Two types of shipping rate tables are currently supported:

• Domestic

  Sellers specify dedicated shipping rates for each shipping service category in each of several domestic regions.

• International

  Sellers specify dedicated shipping rates for each shipping service category in the following top-level base regions:

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Central America and Caribbean
  • Europe
  • Middle East
  • North America
  • Oceania
  • Southeast Asia
  • South America

  Unlike in the domestic rate table, each base region is entirely comprised of its extended regions (i.e., countries).

  For example, the Southeast Asia base region consists of the following regions/countries:

  • Brunei Darussalam
  • Cambodia
  • Hong Kong
  • Indonesia
  • Laos
  • Macau
  • Malaysia
  • Philippines
  • Singapore
  • Taiwan
  • Thailand
  • Vietnam

The rates entered in a shipping rate table replace (if a flat amount) or increase (if a surcharge) the shipping costs that were specified for the respective categories in the listing to which the table is applied.

The alternative rates specified in the table for a given shipping service category take effect only if the seller has offered a shipping service in that category for the listing. If a buyer is located in a region for which an alternative shipping rate was entered, that rate will be shown to the buyer.

Rates specified in the shipping rate table for a given region take effect only if the seller has not excluded that region, and only to the extent that the region has a rate specified in the table for a shipping service category that is offered in the listing. If the seller configures and applies a rate table that has no rate entered in any offered shipping service category for a particular region, and does not exclude the region, buyers in that region will be instructed to contact the seller for shipping costs and services.

Marketplace support

Support for shipping rate tables varies based on type of table (i.e., domestic or international,) and marketplace:

• Domestic shipping rate tables are currently supported in the following marketplaces:

  • eBay.com (United States)
  • eBay.ca (Canada)
  • eBay.co.uk (United Kingdom)
  • eBay.com.au (Australia)
  • eBay.de (Germany)
  • eBay.at (Austria)
  • eBay.ch (Switzerland)
  • eBay.fr (France)
  • eBay.it (Italy)
  • eBay.nl (Netherlands)
  • eBay.be (Belgium)
  • eBay.ie (Ireland)

• International shipping rate tables are currently supported in the following marketplaces:

  • eBay.com (United States)
  • eBay.co.uk (United Kingdom)
  • eBay.de (Germany)
  • eBay.at (Austria)
  • eBay.ch (Switzerland)
  • eBay.fr (France)
  • eBay.it (Italy)

Create a shipping rate table

Shipping rate tables are created using the Shipping rate tables page as follows:

• Domestic

  Sellers select the rate basis for each table using the Set shipping rates by: drop down list to specify if the shipping rates are based on:

  • A flat amount per item
  • A flat surcharge
  • A surcharge by weight

  Note: The rate basis applies to the entire table — there is no mixing and matching by region or shipping category.

  The first row of the table's collapsible Domestic Regions section is the base region, which — by default — includes all domestic locations.

  Additional rows — if any — enumerate the extended regions of the country to which the seller might also want to ship. For example:

  • In the UK the extended regions include Northern Ireland, the Scottish Highlands, and several different islands and island groups.
  • In the US, the extended regions are Alaska and Hawaii, US Protectorates, and Army/Fleet Post Offices.

• International

  Sellers select the rate basis for each table using the Set shipping rates by: drop down list to specify if the shipping rates are based on:

  • A flat amount per item
  • A surcharge by weight

  Note: The rate basis applies to the entire table — there is no mixing and matching by region or shipping category.

All sellers can create:

• One domestic rate table, and
• One international rate table

However, depending on the marketplace, some sellers may be eligible to create multiple rate tables instead. For more information about using multiple rate tables, refer to Multiple shipping rate tables.

Apply a rate table to a listing

To apply shipping rate tables when adding/relisting/revising a listing:

1. Call the appropriate Trading API (e.g., AddItem,) and pass in:

   • Domestic rate table: Pass in the Item.ShippingDetails.RateTableDetails.DomesticRateTable field with its value set to default.
   • International rate table: Pass in the Item.ShippingDetails.RateTableDetails.InternationalRateTable field with its value set to default.

2. Specify flat rate shipping by setting Item.ShippingDetails.ShippingType to Flat.

   For more information, refer to Flat Rate Shipping.

3. When applying a shipping rate table that specifies a surcharge by weight, despite being a flat rate listing, the item's weight must be provided using:

   • Item.ShippingPackageDetails.WeightMajor

     This value should be specified as a whole number (i.e., no decimal places.) If necessary, round up to the nearest whole number.

   • Item.ShippingPackageDetails.WeightMinor

     This value should be specified as a whole number (i.e., no decimal places.) If necessary, round up to the nearest whole number.

   Currently there is no way using an API to ascertain if a rate table specifies a surcharge by weight. Therefore, it must be made clear to all sellers that an item's weight must be supplied if the seller has specified a surcharge by weight.

   Since Item.ShippingPackageDetails.WeightMajor and Item.ShippingPackageDetails.WeightMinor are to be rounded up to the next whole number when shipping costs are calculated, it is imperative that this information be appropriately conveyed to all users. One way to do this is by presenting sellers with a pull-down list of weight ranges. For example:

   • 0 lb to 1 lb [1 lb]
   • Over 1 lb to 2 lbs [2 lbs]
   • Over 2 lbs to 3 lbs [3 lbs]
   • etc.

   However, an application can request — and use — user-supplied values for Item.ShippingPackageDetails.WeightMajor and Item.ShippingPackageDetails.WeightMinor if desired.

   If required weight values are not provided in Item.ShippingPackageDetails.WeightMajor and Item.ShippingPackageDetails.WeightMinor, a default weight of 1 lb or 1 kg — depending on the marketplace — is used as the basis for the surcharge.

   Weight values currently used in this scenario are not returned by GetItem or GetItemShipping calls. However, these values can be seen by the seller in the eBay UI.

   For additional information, refer to Package Dimensions and Weight.

4. Occasionally a seller may choose not to ship an item to a specific country or region despite its having a service level and rate configured in the specified shipping rate table. When this happens, set the value of Item.ShippingDetails.ExcludeShipToLocation to the appropriate value.

   For example, a US seller might normally ship to Alaska and include Alaska shipping rates in their domestic rate table. However, if an item is too heavy and the shipping costs are too great, Alaska can be excluded for this item by setting the value of Item.ShippingDetails.ExcludeShipToLocation = Alaska.

Remove a rate table from a listing

To remove a rate table from a listing, call ReviseItem and pass in empty Item.ShippingDetails.RateTableDetails.DomesticRateTable and/or Item.ShippingDetails.RateTableDetails.InternationalRateTable field(s):

<DomesticRateTable> </DomesticRateTable>
<InternationalRateTable> </InternationalRateTable>

Multiple shipping rate tables

Rather than being limited to one domestic and one international rate table, sellers in marketplaces where multiple shipping tables are supported — and whose accounts have multiple rate tables enabled — may opt instead for the flexibility of creating multiple shipping rate tables. A combined maximum of 40 domestic and/or international shipping rate tables may be created.

Create multiple shipping rate tables

The process of creating domestic and/or international shipping rate tables for sellers whose accounts are authorized for multiple shipping rate tables is identical to that described above in Create a shipping rate table.

Apply a specific shipping rate table to a listing

The process of applying shipping rate tables to a listing for sellers whose accounts are authorized for multiple shipping rate tables is essentially the same as that described above in Apply a rate table to a listing with one very important exception.

Since there may now be multiple domestic and/or international rate tables available from which to choose, when creating, relisting, or modifying a listing, the unique rateTables.rateTableId associated with the desired rate table must be passed in during the call:

• Domestic rate table: Pass in the numeric Item.ShippingDetails.RateTableDetails.DomesticRateTableId for the domestic rate table that is to be applied to the listing.
• International rate table: Pass in the numeric Item.ShippingDetails.RateTableDetails.InternationalRateTableId for the international rate table that is to be applied to the listing.

rateTables.rateTableId values can be retrieved by calling the REST-based getRateTables method and including the associated country_code query parameter.

Update existing rate tables

Sellers can modify/update shipping rate information for their existing shipping rate tables by either:

• Navigating to the Shipping rate tables page and making the desired changes, or
• Calling the REST-based updateShippingCost method.