SHIP WITH EBAY program is rolling out to more sellers
Summary: comics-scifi-collectibles explains the 'Ship with eBay' program for individual private sellers, highlighting the use of prepaid labels and the conditions for refunds. This program offers seller protections but lacks reimbursement for unused labels when free shipping is offered. tobaccocardyahoo and tenoem express relief and dissatisfaction respectively, citing incompatibility with their current selling practices or preferences for other systems like veeqo. valueaddedresource and monroe67 discuss eBay's fees on shipping and concerns over rate transparency. Participants acknowledge that this new program may benefit inexperienced sellers by simplifying the shipping process, although it raises questions about cost management and potential seller limitations.
If a seller asks about prepaid shipping labels that means they are in this program. Their listings will also say Standard Tracked Shipping like in the attached screen shot.
Please see the policy page for how it works. Ship with eBay
This program is for Individual Private sellers.
It does offer good seller protections.
If the seller doesn't use the prepaid label they are not canceled. The label cost is refunded to the buyer IF the listing has Buyer Pays Shipping.
The prepaid label is NOT refunded if the seller had FREE SHIPPING on the listing. ( not a fan of this)
The seller will not be able to add an offsite tracking number if a prepaid label was issued. ( this might cut down on false tracking scams, fingers crossed!)
ferncliff-39
·1 week ago · Edited@valueaddedresource
You seem to have a good grasp of this program - what is your understanding of the Opt out clause - does the seller see that when listing, or where is it shown to them, if at all?
The wiggle wording sounds more like opt-in than opt-out.
16. Opt out
For eligible listings, eBay shipping labels may be available as a delivery option at listing, and you may opt to use eBay shipping Services at the time of listing.
valueaddedresource
·1 week ago@ferncliff-39 when eBay introduced Simple Delivery for private sellers in the UK, they initially had the option to select that or to keep "custom postage" on the listing form.
Eventually eBay made Simple Delivery mandatory for all eligible items sold by private sellers, and on those items the option for custom postage simply went away at that point.
For the current US version, Ship with eBay, I haven't heard from any seller saying they have options like this when listing - if their item meets the criteria, the listing form only shows the option to offer free shipping to the buyer (seller will be charged for the label) but no ability to opt out and do the equivalent of "custom postage."
That being said, my sample size is pretty small so it's definitely possible there may be some US sellers/items where eBay is offering the option like they did for the UK.
Also, given the current eligibility criteria, I would imagine that if someone who only sees Ship with eBay wanted to opt out, they could:
Switch to Seller Hub if they don't already use it https://ebay.com/sellerhub
Use business policies
https://ebay.com/bp/policyoptin
Opt in to eBay International Shipping (obviously not helpful if you don't want to offer this, just listing at as it's one of the exceptions)
https://ebay.com/ship/pr
ferncliff-39
·5 days agoThank you @valueaddedresource - very helpful.
It doesn't appear sellers here have a choice, as you noted.
valueaddedresource
·2 weeks agoSellers should also check out how returns work with managed shipping.
eBay explicitly says you may be responsible for refunding the original shipping costs even though they were paid directly to the carrier, not the seller.
https://pages.ebay.com/managed-shipping-sellers/
Obviously that can happen sometimes under the current seller-managed shipping model too depending on the reason for return.
But under that model some return reasons do allow sellers to choose not to refund the original shipping amount and/or at least since sellers have more control over the rates, they can bake in handling fees or use the difference between retail and discounted rates as "cookie jar insurance" to offset those occasional costs as well as the FVF on the shipping amounts.
Being on the hook for refunding original shipping costs that weren't actually paid to you while also being limited in how you can offset or account for those costs is a double whammy imo.
The only real option left at that point is to bake a little extra into item pricing instead, but since this program is currently geared toward casual/consumer sellers....how many of them will even really know or think about that when setting item prices?
thriftyfiftyfifty
·2 weeks agoIt's still "yuck" even for them...
adamcartwright
·2 weeks agoWhen did they start this? A seller posted last week about not using eBay's prepaid label, and the post would only make sense if this is what he had received.
comics-scifi-collectibles
OP2 weeks ago@adamcartwright it's been going on for a few weeks at least because I had OPs ask about voiding prepaid labels not working. I sent them to CS.
valueaddedresource
·2 weeks agoDon't miss the part where eBay is still charging FVF on the full amount including shipping even though that amount gets paid by eBay directly to the carrier.
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/shipping-items/setting-shipping-options/ship-with-ebay?id=5575
monroe67
·2 weeks ago"Don't miss the part where eBay is still charging FVF on the full amount including shipping even though that amount gets paid by eBay directly to the carrier."
Of course, the process of eBay's Final Value Fee (FVF) has not been changed.
For something like 15 years, eBay's FVF percentage has been applied to
- - - The Total Amount Paid By The Buyer.
In one way of looking at this aspect of the Shipping With eBay program, perhaps,
eBay, Inc., is actually doing the work that is done by sellers who are not using this program.
Therefore, eBay may be even more deserving of their FVF on the shipping price.
valueaddedresource
·2 weeks ago@monroe67 eBay in fact does not charge FVF on the shipping amount in other scenarios where they manage shipping.
For example, for sneakers going through Authenticity Guarantee, eBay sets a mandated flat shipping rate for the buyer which is used to pay the carrier directly and the prepaid label is then provided to the seller - exactly like how this new program works.
For those transactions, eBay has explicitly excluded that shipping amount from the FVF calculation.
https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/selling-fees?id=4822
Similarly, if you use eBay International Shipping, you only pay FVF on the domestic shipping cost to the hub, even though eBay is charging more than that to the buyer to cover the international leg.
So eBay absolutely can and does choose to forgo FVF on some or all of the shipping costs in some situations where they manage shipping - and could absolutely do so with this new program as well.
Obviously I don't expect them to want to give up those fees if they don't have to, I'm just pointing out that it is a choice and that eBay has made a different choice in other similar situations.
bdmh-enterprises
·2 weeks agoEven more egregiously, they appear to be charging the buyer closer to retail rates which means they are pocketing the differential that the seller could otherwise use to offset said FVF on the shipping...
monroe67
·2 weeks ago · Edited"Even more egregiously, they appear to be charging the buyer closer to retail rates which means they are pocketing the differential that the seller could otherwise use to offset said FVF on the shipping..."
I have again read through the eBay text in the link that was included in the original post by "comics . . ."
I don't see anything there that backs up your statements.
It just says, as the first of the Benefits in this program,
"Competitive eBay shipping rates."
Can you show us where you see -- to quote you accurately -- that
"they appear to be charging the buyer closer to retail rates" ??
Or tell us where we can look to see that allegation for ourselves?
I'd also like to see anything that says that eBay "is pocketing the differential that the seller could otherwise use . . . ."
Any info from an eBay publication or notice on this new Selling With eBay program
would really be helpful.
valueaddedresource
·2 weeks ago@monroe67 in addition to the link in the OP, you can view the legalese/terms here:
https://pages.ebay.com/managed-shipping-sellers/
Of course eBay pockets the difference, that's obvious and inherent in how the program works.
eBay chooses the rate to display to the buyer, the buyer pays that amount to eBay which then provides a prepaid label to the seller.
It's clear that any overage is not paid to the seller or refunded to the buyer, so where else would it go?
As for the rates themselves, I wouldn't say it's specifically that eBay is charging retail rates rather that the rates are intentionally ambiguous to provide eBay optionality to maximize revenue.
You'll notice in the screenshot in the OP and the help page and terms that items with managed shipping do not specify a particular carrier or service - the buyer simply has the choice of standard or (possibly) expedited with corresponding costs.
So the rate being displayed likely comes from some proprietary algorithm that takes into account the various shipping carriers/services eBay has access to along with the details of the particular item, buyer and seller locations etc. not any publicly published rate chart.
It's probably not full retail (especially since eBay has spent a lot of time lately trying to pressure sellers into not using retail rates because the high shipping hurts buyer conversion) but it is definitely more than eBay expects to pay out to the carrier for the label.
Shipping has increasingly become a revenue source for the company with CFO Peggy Alford saying that revenue grew double digits year over year in Q2, and is expected to continue to contribute positively to take rate - so this is absolutely a money making move for eBay in the aggregate, even if the profit margin on shipping on individual transactions may vary.
monroe67
·2 weeks agoThank You for that hyperlink to eBay's Shipping Terms and Conditions (T&C) that apply to this new Ship With eBay program !! I am very glad to see this info.
I have actually printed it, and plan to read through it with my handy yellow highlighter in a few minutes.
I truly doubt these T&C contain anything, any words, any phrases, that state that eBay will charge -- again, a direct quote from you --
"definitely more than eBay expects to pay out to the carrier for the label."
As some regular readers of these forums and Ask A Mentor may know, I sell on eBay using a different user ID.
I would sure like to see some real-life examples of this new program.
I am thinking of listing one or two small-ish things for sale under my posting ID -- monroe67 -- to see if that ID is eligible for this new program, and I would agree to that program. ('Course there's no guarantee that anything would sell under that ID.)
Just to see if this shipping arrangement works and how it works.
valueaddedresource
·2 weeks ago@monroe67 I didn't say that was a direct quote from eBay's terms.
I very plainly and explicitly said it was obvious and inherent both from understanding how the program works and taking into context information from various other eBay sources including but not limited to executive statements during quarterly earnings calls and financial information disclosed in those reports to investors.
This slide from the Q2 2026 earnings presentation shows the success eBay has had with Managed Shipping in the UK.
This image is also from the Q2 2026 report, showing that eBay explicitly named higher shipping volume and favorable rates for their US net shipping program for an increase in net revenues.
Importantly, that wasn't just managed shipping (which was a very small test in the US during that quarter). The bulk of that revenue increase was actually just from the difference eBay already makes between what they charge sellers for labels purchased through the platform and what eBay actually pays to the carriers for those labels.
Spoiler alert: eBay doesn't pass its full discount on to sellers under the existing model any more than they will pass the full discounts on to buyers under the new model.
Again, per eBay's own financial disclosures, shipping is an important and growing source of revenue for the company. If you listen to the recording or read the transcript of the earnings call, CFO Peggy Alford explicitly calls out that shipping revenue grew double digits year over year and they expect that growth to continue.
As for real life examples, I'd suggest spending some time reading about Simple Delivery in the UK community. It's not 100% identical to how eBay is handling managed shipping in the US but close enough that I believe you will find those experiences interesting and enlightening at least.
Bottom line, the answers/information you seek are easily publicly findable and verifiable - if you don't want to take my word for it, all you have to do is start googling.
monroe67
·2 weeks ago · Edited". . . .The label cost is refunded to the buyer IF the listing has Buyer Pays Shipping.
The prepaid label is NOT refunded if the seller had FREE SHIPPING on the listing. (not a fan of this)."
Ms. Monroe no sabe matematicas -- but I think that underlined sentence above should be perfectly obvious.
If the seller's listing showed Free Shipping, then the buyer paid nothing specifically for shipping. Whether a seller is using the new Shipping With eBay program or not.
Therefore, there is nothing to be refunded to the buyer other than the item's price, which the buyer paid, and the sales taxes, which the buyer also he paid.
comics-scifi-collectibles
OP2 weeks ago · Edited@monroe67 Of course the buyer will not be refunded for a free shipping label. HOWEVER I am concerned about this line>>
"If you offered free shipping but didn't use the prepaid label provided, you will not be reimbursed for the costs of purchasing your own label or for the unused prepaid label."
This means that the seller is charged for the prepaid label but will not be reimbursed for it if they decide not to use it... at least that what it sounds like to me.
monroe67
·2 weeks agoI understand you now, and thank you for the clarification !
It seems to me that this new program (for lack of a better word) - - - - -
gives eBay total control of the purchase of the shipping label.
Another phrase that has occurred to me while thinking about it is - - - - -
a "dumbing down" of the shipping process on eBay.
At least eBay is starting this program with a small number of sellers and limited categories, sizes/weights of items, and limiting the prices of items involved.
It may be helpful for new, young, inexperienced eBay sellers -- but at the same time, it takes responsibility for shipping away from those sellers. At least some of the responsibility.
(After all, the seller still has to make sure the package/envelope is picked up by or taken to the USPS.)
Thus, that control may be part of eBay's "reasoning" when they state a seller who does not use eBay's prepaid label will not be reimbursed for any other label/shipping method or carrier.
yeswayrecords
·2 weeks ago@monroe67 It seems we have been seeing a number of questions and confusion about shipping lately.
Hopefully what you are getting at is true - that this will help new sellers learn the process and be a benefit to ebay.
rfmtm
·2 weeks agoSticking an unsuspecting seller, especially a new seller, with the prepaid label cost whether used or not is absurd. Sometimes you just can't print the label you need on ebay, or there are better discounts available elsewhere.
At least having a business account or using business policies excludes you, but in all fairness there should be an opt out option.
thriftyfiftyfifty
·2 weeks agoGood info, thanks.
Unavailable member
·2 weeks agoNo thanks, until Ebay allows me to pay for shipping with my credit card that gives me 3% back on shipping, I'll continue to use veeqo. If ebay tries to force this on me, and does not give me a way to pay for shipping with my credit card, I'll close my account and take the rest of my 1.5 million in inventory to the big W.
comics-scifi-collectibles
OP2 weeks ago · Edited@tenoem No worries for you. This is ONLY for new and occasional sellers.
I just mentioned here so others know how to answer questions about it.
You can use your credit card to buy eBay shipping labels if you use a credit card to fund your PayPal account.
But of course do whatever works best for you.
krazzykats
·2 weeks agoI also use a cashback credit card through PayPal, as I prefer using PayPal for an added layer of security.
Unavailable member
·2 weeks agoDoes not work.
Merchant Descriptor: The transaction almost always appears on your Chase statement as:
PAYPAL *EBAYorPAYPAL *EBAY INCMerchant Category Code (MCC): eBay processes these label payments under general e-Commerce / Online Marketplace or Retail Services MCCs, not under a dedicated Shipping & Courier MCC (such as
5111or4215).Will You Earn 3x Points?
No, you will most likely only earn 1x points per dollar.
comics-scifi-collectibles
OP2 weeks ago@tenoem That's great that you have a good system that works for you. This shipping method that I made this post about is ONLY for new and occasional sellers.
Unavailable member
·2 weeks agoI'm merely pointing out that using a credit card to pay with paypal is not a solution, it's only a solution for people who have consumer credit cards that give the same cashback bonus regardless of the MCC code a transaction is processed under. It is not a solution for people with credit cards that use the MCC to determine the cashback reward amount.
With the rising shipping costs that have gone up several times this year, any amount one can claw back via something like 3% cashback on shipping is going to prevent the slow death from 1,000 cuts that everyone in online retail will be facing in 2027 if something doesn't change soon.
Unavailable member
·2 weeks agoSure, instead of getting 3% cash back if i use veeqo, I can get 1% cash back doing what you suggested.
The transaction on your bank statement appears as PAYPAL EBAY or PAYPAL *EBAY INC when you do this, that means you get 1% cash back, in order to get 3% cash back it HAS to be obvious that you paid for shipping.
Why would I want to go from getting 3% cash back on every label, to 1% cash back, if there is no benefit?
stainlessenginecovers
·2 weeks ago@tenoem they've allowed that for YEARS; simply use 'paypal' to pay for your labels, then assign that credit card to the paypal payment. I've done it this way for years, and get my %back on shipping through that CC.
Unavailable member
·2 weeks agoDoesn't work that way. Chase business ink preferred has to see the credit card transaction classified as a shipping charge to get 3% back. Paypal does not classify the transaction as a shipping charge to the credit card when using paypal to pay for ebay labels.
redantranch
·2 weeks agoThis sounds like the shipping system on Depop (also owned by ebay).
I wonder how this is different from the current ebay prepaid label system or using clickNship 🤔
comics-scifi-collectibles
OP2 weeks ago@redantranch
eBay's regular shipping labels are not "prepaid" like these are. Sellers just purchase the labels on eBay at the discounted commerical rates. You can also of course get commercial rate shipping labels from other sources.
tobaccocardyahoo
·2 weeks agoIf your eBay account is registered as a business, or if you use business policies, Seller Hub or eBay International Shipping, you aren't eligible for this shipping experience. Auctions and Authenticity Guarantee listings are currently excluded. PSA grading and/or vaulting is not compatible at this time.
Glad to say that I will not qualify for this service, and will not have to drop off where Ebay says I would have to.
I drop off my shipments in a locked USPS pickup box in the lobby of my building.
yeswayrecords
·2 weeks agoThank you, @comics-scifi-collectibles for sharing this information.