eBay combined postage: how to charge fairly for multi-item orders

What is eBay combined postage and how does it work?

eBay combined postage is how you charge a buyer less postage when they buy more than one item from you and you send them together. Instead of full postage on every item, the buyer pays one fair total that reflects a single parcel. On eBay.com the same idea is called combined shipping. This guide covers both eBay.co.uk and eBay.com.

There are two parts to it. A discount rule is a setting in your account that tells eBay how to reduce postage when a basket holds several of your items. A manual adjustment is when you correct the total yourself after checkout, for example by refunding postage the buyer overpaid.

Menu names and options on eBay change from time to time, so check the current steps in the help pages for eBay.co.uk or eBay.com before you change settings.

One rule sits underneath everything else: combined postage only makes sense when the items physically travel together. If they leave in separate parcels, you have no saving to pass on.

Why should you offer combined postage at all?

Because charging full postage on three items that go in one box is not fair, and buyers notice. They see postage added three times, then see one small parcel arrive. That is the kind of experience that leads to messages, poor feedback and sometimes a case.

It also affects how your listings read. eBay names listing terms, such as your returns policy and handling time, as one of the Best Match factors, along with price, listing quality and your track record. eBay does not say how much weight each factor carries, so do not expect postage terms alone to change your position in search.

The practical benefit is simpler. A buyer who sees a sensible multi-item postage price is more likely to add a second item than to buy it from someone else. That is a plausible effect, not a promise, and it depends on your products and prices.

How do you set up eBay combined postage discounts?

Follow these steps. The wording differs slightly between the two sites, and eBay may rename menus, so treat this as the order of work rather than a click-by-click guide.

1. Group the listings that can share a parcel. Items of similar size and weight that fit one box are the obvious candidates. Do not apply a discount to items that need their own packaging.
2. Open your postage settings. In Seller Hub, look for your postage policies (called shipping policies on eBay.com) and the postage discount or combined postage options.
3. Choose a discount style. Common choices are a reduced charge for each extra item, a percentage off the extra postage, or postage calculated from weight and size. The options you see depend on the site and your account.
4. Attach the policy to your listings. Apply the policy to the group of listings that can ship together, and leave out the rest.
5. Test with your own basket. Add two or three of your items to a basket and check the postage total the buyer sees. Fix anything that looks too high or too low.
6. Write down your rule. A one-line rule such as "extra items add a small fixed amount, up to a cap" makes it easy to be consistent and to explain to a buyer.

If you use calculated postage, you set the package details and eBay works out the cost from your carrier rates. If you use flat rates, the discount rule does the work. Neither is automatically better. Calculated postage follows real costs more closely. Flat rates are simpler to explain.

How do you work out a fair combined postage price?

Charge what the parcel genuinely costs to send, plus packaging if you normally build packaging into your postage charge. Look up your carrier's current rates yourself, from Royal Mail, USPS or whichever carrier you use. Do not copy figures from articles.

Here are the three usual approaches side by side.

Worked example

Example: suppose a buyer orders three small items from you. Each is listed with £3.50 postage, so full postage on every item would be £10.50. These are hypothetical numbers for the arithmetic, not real carrier prices.

You pack all three in one box. Suppose the box and label genuinely cost you £5.20 to send, including packaging. Suppose also that your discount rule charges the first item in full and £1.00 for each extra item. The buyer pays £3.50 + £1.00 + £1.00 = £5.50.

That is close to your real cost, and £5.00 less than the buyer would have paid without a rule. If the buyer instead paid the full £10.50 at checkout, you should refund the difference once you know the real parcel cost, rather than keep it.

Refunding part of the postage is a partial refund on the order. Our guide to the eBay partial refund covers when and how to send one.

What if the items ship separately or come from different suppliers?

Then do not combine the postage. Each parcel has its own cost, its own tracking number and its own delivery date, so each should carry its own postage charge. Tell the buyer in a short message that the items will arrive in separate parcels, so a second delivery does not look like a mistake.

This matters for sellers who source from retailers. eBay's drop shipping policy says dropshipping, where you fulfil orders directly from a wholesale supplier, is allowed. Listing an item on eBay and then buying it from another retailer or marketplace that ships directly to your customer is not allowed. Whatever your set-up, you remain responsible for the safe delivery of the item within the time stated in the listing and for the buyer's overall satisfaction. You can read the policy on eBay.co.uk or eBay.com. eBay may remove listings, warn, restrict activity or suspend an account for breaches.

Nothing in this article makes any sourcing method allowed. Combined postage is a fair-pricing tool for parcels that really travel together, for example items you hold yourself or buy in from a wholesale supplier and pack in one box.

If you do work with sourced orders, tools can handle the routine side. Dropizon, for instance, can fill the Amazon checkout in your own account with the eBay buyer's address and stops before Place Order so you confirm it. You can see how that fits together on the how Dropizon works page. It does not decide what postage to charge a buyer.

How do handling time, tracking and returns work on a combined order?

A combined order is still several items with their own promises, so check each one.

Handling time

Plan around the item with the longest handling time. If one item is ready today and another needs several days, the parcel goes when the slower one is ready, or you split the order and charge accordingly. Our guide to eBay handling time explains how to choose a dispatch time you can always meet.

Tracking

One parcel means one tracking number, and it needs to be attached to every item in the order. eBay UK counts an item as late, when it has tracking, if the delivery scan comes after the latest estimated delivery date and there was no carrier scan within the dispatch time. Late delivery counts towards the standards eBay UK uses for seller levels. See how to upload tracking to eBay for the timing and carrier details.

Missing or wrong items

If one item in a multi-item parcel is missing or not as described, the buyer can use the eBay Money Back Guarantee, which covers purchases paid through eBay checkout. In the UK, sellers must respond within 3 business days, and after that the buyer can ask eBay to step in. Details are on eBay's policy page.

Returns of one item

If a buyer returns only one item from a combined order, you will need to decide what share of the postage, if any, goes back to them. Check eBay's current returns help for the rule that applies to the reason for the return, and keep the arithmetic simple and consistent. In the UK, a buyer of goods from a business online can generally cancel up to 14 days after delivery without giving a reason. The official summary is on gov.uk. Check your own situation with the relevant authority or an adviser if you are unsure.

A quick checklist before you turn it on

• List which products can share a box and which cannot.
• Look up your carrier's current rates for the parcel sizes you actually use.
• Pick one discount style and write the rule in a single line.
• Apply it only to listings you pack together yourself.
• Test a two-item and a three-item basket and read the total the buyer sees.
• Decide in advance how you will refund any postage the buyer overpaid.
• Keep weights and package sizes accurate in every listing if you use calculated postage.
• Message buyers when items will arrive in separate parcels.

Review the rule after a few weeks. Compare what buyers paid with what the parcels cost you, and adjust. Selling fees and postage options differ between eBay.co.uk and eBay.com and can change, so check the current fee and postage pages for your site when you do.