Upfront shipping information with estimated delivery sets buyer expectations, reduces questions, helps DSRs
Questions about shipping—including confusion about the many different carrier services offered and time of delivery--are key reasons buyers contact sellers. That’s why starting in September, the shipping options you offer along with estimated delivery will be displayed more prominently using industry-standard terms on eBay US. Buyers will have a familiar, consistent experience, clear choice, and the right expectations for delivery by cross-border sellers who ship from outside US. For sellers this means reduced shipping-related questions and better shipping DSRs.

• Highlights
• Take Action
• Frequently Asked Questions

HIGHLIGHTS

Starting in September, the “Other services” shipping options that cross-border sellers offer (shipping from outside US) will be displayed along with estimated delivery more prominently throughout the buying process.

At the top of the item page and during checkout, four familiar industry-standard service level terms will be used , no matter whether you're using a US domestic shipping service, or a shipping service from outside US.

For cross-border sellers:

I f you use a shipping service from outside US, please choose “Other services” from the list, and your services will still be grouped under the following standard service level terms:

• Economy
• Standard
• Expedited

As always, the estimated delivery displayed to buyers will be the shipping time plus your handling time. For example, if you offer a service with 1-4 day carrier timeframe and you specify a 1-day handling time, buyers will see this option as “ Expedited shipping from outside US” (under “Other services”) with estimated delivery in 2-5 days.

Prominent display at all points of the buying process gives buyers choice, sets expectations, reduces questions

• Buyers will now see their options described with these new standard terms along with estimated delivery right at the top of the view item page. This will help inform their purchase decision and help reduce questions about shipping.
  
• As always, if you select one or more of the shipping services during the listing process, in the shipping details section of the item page buyers will see the exact services you offer.
  
• During checkout, buyers will now see their options described with these four new standard terms along with estimated delivery and the carrier shipping service offered, when applicable, to help with their choice.
  
• As always, after they purchase, buyers see the specific shipping service used along with estimated delivery on order details page.
  
• After the item arrives, when they leave Feedback buyers will continue to see the payment date, estimated delivery and, if you provide tracking, the date it was actually delivered—a strong reminder of your great service.

What this means for your listings:


When you list, you'll see shipping services grouped according to the four service level classifications along with the carrier's published delivery estimates.

Note: if you ship from outside US, please pay attention to the following:

• If you use a carrier other than USPS or UPS, simply choose the generic shipping service under the “Other services” category (see the above screenshot) that best represents your carrier's delivery estimates.
  
• If you specify shipping using one of the existing generic shipping service terms, these services will be automatically renamed with one of the new classifications for US domestic shipping services. For cross-border sellers , you will need to MANUALLY change your service to one of the shipping services under the “Other services” category,

Current service name	New service classification (automatically updated by the system)	Cross-border sellers need to MANUALLY move to options under “Other services”
Other (see description)	Economy shipping: 1-10 business days	Economy Shipping from outside U.S. (11 – 20 business days)
Standard Flat Rate Shipping Service	Standard shipping: 1-5 business days	Standard Shipping from outside U.S. (5 – 10 business days)
Expedited Flat Rate Shipping Service	Expedited shipping: 1-3 business days	Expedited Shipping from outside U.S. (1 – 4 business days)
Overnight Flat Rate Shipping Service	One-day shipping: 1 business day	Not applicable to cross-border sellers shipping from outside US

TAKE ACTION

• As a cross-border sellers shipping outside US , you will need to MANUALLY change your shipping services to one of the options under “Other services” to match your carrier's delivery estimate:

  • Economy Shipping from outside U.S. , (10-20 business days)
  • Standard Shipping from outside U.S. , (5-10 business days)
  • Expedited Shipping from outside U.S. ) (1-4 business days)
    
• If you sell internationally using the International Shipping section, continue to use international services as you do now.

  For example, if you ship internationally and you currently specify “Other (see description)” or “Standard Flat Rate Shipping” and show details in your listing description, you may need to change your listings to make sure the delivery estimates buyers will see at the top of the item page and in checkout are accurate.

• If you happen to ship from the US , and if you currently list with any of the UPS or USPS services or the “Overnight Flat Rate Shipping Service,” your listings won't require any changes.

• If you happen to ship from the US, and if you currently use “Standard Flat Rate Shipping”, “Expedited Flat Rate Shipping” or “Other (see description)”, make sure your carrier's published delivery estimates match the shipping times eBay will be using for estimated delivery. (See the table above). You may want to change your listings—and possibly your services or handling time to stay competitive and set the right expectations for your buyers.

  • If you ship to U.S. locations outside the continental U.S. , consider using the new rate table option . You can specify shipping services and charges so your buyers will see the right information for their specific location.
    
  • Give buyers a choice—offer more than one shipping service. This can help your holiday sales when many buyers are looking for faster delivery. The options you offer will be prominently displayed with estimated delivery at the top of the item page and in checkout.
    
  • If you want to make changes to your listings, update them as they renew—or you can edit shipping and handling fields now using Turbo Lister, Excel Plug-in, and File Exchange. Starting in September, you'll be able to use new functionality in eBay's bulk edit and relist flow to edit shipping fields. If you use a third party listing service, talk to your provider about your listing and editing options. See step-by-step instructions below for updating shipping fields in your listings.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

I am a cross-border seller and ship outside US. What are the changes which affect me?

We are adding three new services with longer estimated delivery dates for sellers who ship into the US from abroad. You will need to MANUALLY change these listings' shipping services to one of the options under “Other Services” to match your carrier's delivery estimate:

New service name	Shipping time
Economy Shipping from outside U.S.	11 – 20 business days
Standard Shipping from outside U.S.	5 – 10 business days
Expedited Shipping from outside U.S.	1 – 4 business days

What's changing with the way shipping services are displayed on eBay?

1. Starting in September, your shipping options with estimated delivery will be displayed more prominently on the top of the item page and during checkout.
   
2. In these two locations shipping will be displayed using four familiar, industry-standard classifications: Economy, Standard, Expedited, etc.
   
3. During checkout, buyers will be able to see easily see and select their preferred delivery service from all shipping options you offer.

Why is eBay making these changes?
Buyers often do not understand the many different shipping services offered. Seeing shipping options and delivery times prominently displayed in familiar terms will help them decide what to buy and how fast they want it shipped. This will help sellers set the right buyer expectations, reduce questions about shipping before and after the transaction, and encourage buyers to leave better shipping DSRs.

What are the new shipping service classifications for shipments delivered into the US from abroad?
Cross-border sellers shipping from outside US will need to use “Other services”, and the option under this classification is:

• Economy Shipping from outside U.S., (10-20 business days)
• Standard Shipping from outside U.S., (5-10 business days)
• Expedited Shipping from outside U.S.) (1-4 business days)

No matter if you ship from the US or outside US, the new shipping service classifications are:

• Economy
• Standard:
• Expedited
• One-day (Only applicable to shipping from US)

What's changing about how and where buyers will see the shipping options I offer?
Starting in September, buyers will see your shipping options along with delivery estimates

• At the top of the item page
• In checkout—buyers can easily see and choose from all your shipping options

Does the estimated delivery time displayed to buyers take my handling time into consideration?
Yes. As always, delivery estimates shown to buyers are a combination of the carrier shipping time for each service and your stated handling time.

How will estimated delivery be calculated for these shipping services ?
Estimated delivery will by your handling time plus the carrier's stated shipping time the specific service. For example if you specify a handling time of 2 days and you choose a shipping time of 2 to 5 business days, your buyer will see estimated delivery as 4 to 7 days.

If I happen to ship from US, can I still use services other than USPS or UPS?
Yes, you can use the shipping carrier of your choice. If you want to use a carrier service that's not included in the drop-down menu, simply choose the new generic service—Economy, Standard, Expedited or One-day—that best represents the stated shipping time of your preferred carrier service.

If I happen to ship from US, wh at are the shipping times associated with each of the new classifications:
Shipping times are:

• Economy: 1-10 business days
• Standard: 1-5 business days
• Expedited: 1-3 business days
• One-day: 1 business day

If I happen to ship from US, how do I communicate that I offer overnight delivery to holiday buyers? Since handling time and shipping time are added together, isn't the fastest estimated delivery time 2 days?

You can't specify same-day handling so the minimum estimated delivery time is always 2 days. But you can specify 1-day service and a 1-day handling time and tell buyers in your listing description that orders received by a certain time will be shipped the same day.

How will the shipping options be presented to me when I list?
The new shipping options will be displayed this way:

When you list, you'll see shipping services grouped according to the four service level classifications along with the carrier's published delivery estimates.

Are bulk editing tools available if I want to edit my listings?
Yes, you can edit your listings now with Mass Listing Editor, Turbo Lister and File Exchange.

In September you'll be able to bulk edit the shipping and handling time fields using eBay's enhanced bulk edit and relist flow but this functionality will not be available before the new shipping level classifications are in place.

This functionality will be available in time for you to add expedited and free shipping options for the holiday selling season.

Get step-by-step instructions   for using editing shipping information in your listings.

What impact will these changes have on my buyer expectations and shipping DSRs?
If you meet or exceed buyer expectations with your shipping service times now, you should see no drop in Feedback or DSRs in September as a result of these changes.

If I happen to ship from US, will I still be able to choose the same shipping services from USPS and UPS?
Yes. The same shipping services will be offered with the same carrier specified shipping times. They will be grouped under the four service level classifications.

Instructions for updating shipping information in your listings

Mass Listing Editor

Using Mass Listing Editor, you can edit up to 200 listings at one time.

1. Start in either Selling Manager or My eBay and select the listings you want to edit.
   
   
2. After you select the listings you want to have modified, click “Edit” to be taken into Mass Listing Editor.
   
3. In Mass Listing Editor, select “Flat Shipping Service and Cost.” At this point, you can elect to edit all listings at one time or apply changes to 200 listings individually. For this case, we are selecting “edit listings individually.” For most sellers, this is the right approach to take.
   
   
4. Click “Continue” and you will be presented with the shipping section for all the listings you selected. From here, you can change the shipping service for your listings. For example, you may wish to change from “Other” to “Standard Flat Rate Shipping Service.”
   
   
5. When you’ve made all your changes, click continue and Mass Listing Editor will verify your listings. There is a final confirmation page where you can review the changes. Click “Submit” when you want the changes to go into effect.
   
   

Turbo Lister

1. To get started, click the “Synchronize” button from the Turbo Lister menu bar.
   
   
2. You will then see a pop-up screen called “Synchronize” that asks what you want to synchronize on the site. To revise active listings, select “Active and Scheduled Listings ” and click “Synchronize Now.”
   
   
3. Turbo Lister will pull active and scheduled listings from the site. All listings will appear in either the “Active Listings” folder or the “Scheduled Listings” folder under “Listing Activity” at the left. Click on one of the folders to select the listings you wish to revise. For example, click “Active Listings” and select one or more listings for revision.
   
4. To revise your listings, select the listings you want to edit and click “Edit” from the Turbo Lister menu bar. This will bring up all selected listings and from here you can make changes to all your listings at one time.
   
   
5. In the Shipping Options section at the right in Turbo Lister, you can change the shipping services for all your listings. For example, you may wish to change from “Other” to “Standard Flat Rate Shipping Service.” When you’ve made the changes, click “Save” and the listings will be saved with “pending revisions.”
   
   
6. In the Active Listings view, the listings you change will be shown in the grid view as “pending revisions.”
   
   
7. From here, click the “Synchronize” button on the menu bar and synchronize these listings to the site. At this point the listings that are on the site will all be updated with the new shipping information that you have just specified in Turbo Lister.