Shipping costs

Shipping costs might include any or none of the following:

• The cost of shipping:

  • One item, or
  • The first item of a multiple-quantity listing.

  This cost is defined by the Item.ShippingDetails.ShippingServiceOptions.ShippingServiceCost parameter.

• For multiple-quantity listings, the is the cost of shipping each additional item.

  This cost is defined by the Item.ShippingDetails.ShippingServiceOptions.ShippingServiceAdditionalCost parameter.

  Refer to flat shipping details in Mixing shipping types for additional information.

• Packaging and handling
• Taxes
• Import charge: The total amount of customs duties, taxes, and related costs for shipping items across an international border as part of international shipping.

A key factor in determining applicable shipping costs is the shipping type.

Free shipping

Sellers can opt to offer their buyers free shipping by setting the value of Item.ShippingDetails.ShippingServiceOptions.FreeShipping to true.

Mixing shipping types

When offering multiple shipping services, sellers can mix different shipping types (e.g., Flat or Calculated) depending on the circumstances.

For most marketplaces, all domestic and international shipping services offered by the seller must be the same shipping type which is defined by Item.ShippingDetails.ShippingType.

However, for eBay US and Motors Parts and Accessories, sellers can select:

• One shipping type for all domestic shipping services, and
• A different shipping type for all international shipping services.

The following specific values for Item.ShippingDetails.ShippingType apply to in this situation:

• CalculatedDomesticFlatInternational
• FlatDomesticCalculatedInternational

For additional information, refer to:

• InternationalShippingServiceOptionsType
• ShippingServiceOptionsType

Which input properties are required and which tags are returned in the realm of shipping depends on whether the seller selected flat rate or calculated shipping, and whether domestic or international shipping services have been offered.

Search results and shipping costs

The pages that eBay displays upon search can include details about shipping cost.

The shipping cost text returned as a result of a search will be "Not specified" if all of the following are true:

• The seller did not specify an item-level Item.ShipToLocations value of None (i.e., pickup only).
• The seller did not specify shipping type (i.e. Item.ShippingDetails.ShippingType is not Flat, Calculated, or Freight).
• The seller set the value of Item.BuyerResponsibleForShipping — which is only applicable to Motors vehicles — to false. The default value for this field, if not passed, is true).