eBay International Shipping for US sellers: what changed from the Global Shipping Program

What is eBay International Shipping for US sellers?

eBay International Shipping for US sellers is eBay's own programme for selling to buyers abroad without shipping abroad yourself. When an international buyer buys your item, you send it to a domestic eBay hub in the US with tracking. eBay then takes care of the international journey, the customs paperwork and the import charges.

The buyer sees the international shipping cost and the import charges at checkout and pays them there. You see a US address on the order. From your side, the sale looks much like a domestic one, with one difference: the parcel goes to the hub, not to the buyer's door.

eBay decides which sellers, listings and items are eligible. Some items cannot go through the programme, for example because of restrictions on the item or in the destination country. The current eligibility rules, enrolment settings and terms are in your account and in eBay Seller Center, and those are the pages to trust over any third-party guide.

How is eBay International Shipping different from the Global Shipping Program?

The Global Shipping Program (GSP) was eBay's earlier hub-based service for US sellers. eBay International Shipping (often shortened to eIS) replaced it on eBay.com. The core idea carried over: you ship to an address in the US, and the international leg is handled for you.

What changed is mainly whose terms apply and how the programme is set up in your account. Old guides, forum threads and screenshots that mention GSP describe the earlier service, so treat them as history, not instructions. If a detail matters to you, such as which claims are covered or how international returns work, read the current eIS terms on eBay.

The practical change for most sellers is small. The habits that kept GSP orders on track (accurate listings, quick dispatch, valid tracking to the hub) are the same habits that keep eIS orders on track.

What does the seller still control?

The hub takes over the international journey, but everything before the hub is yours. If something goes wrong in that first part, it is your problem to fix, not eBay's.

• The listing. Title, photos, item specifics, condition and description must match the item. A buyer abroad who receives something different can still say it is not as described.
• Your handling time. This is the number of business days you promise between payment and dispatch. For an eIS order, dispatch means getting the parcel moving to the hub.
• Tracking to the hub. You upload the tracking number for the domestic leg, the same way you would for a US buyer.
• Packaging. The parcel makes two journeys and passes through a processing centre, so pack it for a longer trip than a domestic order.
• Buyer messages. International buyers can still message you with questions about the item or the order, and a quick, polite reply helps.
• The cost of the domestic leg. The label from your door, or your supplier's, to the hub is part of your costs.

Handling time is the setting most likely to cause trouble. If your source is slow, a short handling time on an international order is just as hard to meet as on a domestic one. Our guide to choosing an eBay handling time you can always meet covers how to set it.

US sellers also sit under the FTC's Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule. If you state a shipping time, you must be able to meet it. If you state none, you need a reasonable basis to expect to ship within 30 days of a properly completed order. If you cannot ship on time, you must ask the customer to agree to the delay or cancel for a prompt refund. There is more in our article on the FTC 30 day shipping rule for eBay sellers.

How does an eBay International Shipping order work, step by step?

1. Read the order carefully

Open the order in Seller Hub and confirm it is an eIS order. The shipping address shown will be the hub, not the buyer's home. Check the item, the quantity and any variation before you do anything else.

2. Pack for two journeys

Use a sturdy box, enough padding and a secure seal. Remove old labels or barcodes from reused boxes so they do not confuse the hub's scanners.

3. Ship to the address exactly as eBay shows it

Copy the hub address exactly as it appears on the order, including any reference line. That reference is how the hub matches your parcel to the right buyer. A missing or wrong reference can delay the parcel or stop it from being processed.

4. Upload tracking within your handling time

Add the tracking number for the domestic leg to the order on eBay. Use the correct carrier name so eBay can read the scans. Late or invalid tracking makes a later problem harder to resolve.

5. Watch the order until it shows delivered

Check that the hub has received the parcel. After that, eBay's tracking shows the international leg. If a buyer contacts you about a delay, reply promptly and point them to the tracking on the order.

What does eBay International Shipping mean if you source from Amazon?

eIS is a shipping programme. It does not change how eBay treats where your items come from. 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 the source, you are responsible for the safe delivery of the item within the time frame stated in the listing, and for the buyer's overall satisfaction. eBay may remove a listing, issue a warning, restrict activity or suspend an account. An international buyer waits longer than a domestic one, so a sourcing delay or a cancelled supplier order hurts more on an eIS sale.

Two things go wrong most often with international orders: the price you listed no longer covers your cost, or the item is no longer in stock when the order arrives. Keeping your eBay prices and quantities in line with your source cost before the sale is the practical fix. Dropizon reads the live Amazon price and stock in your own browser, reprices with your formula and a minimum profit floor, and sets the eBay quantity to 0 when the item is out of stock. It does not change what eBay's policy allows.

How should you price for international buyers?

With eIS, the buyer pays the international shipping and import charges. You pay eBay's selling fees and the cost of getting the item to the hub. eBay's fees vary by category and by account, so check the current figures on eBay's selling fees page rather than assuming a rate.

Example (hypothetical numbers): suppose an item sells for $50 to a buyer in Canada. Your cost for the item is $32 and the domestic label to the hub costs $6. For the arithmetic only, use a hypothetical fee rate of 13% on the $50 sale, which is $6.50. This is not eBay's actual rate.

In this example, the margin looks the same as a US sale with the same label cost. The difference is risk: if the item goes out of stock or the order is cancelled, you have an unhappy buyer abroad and a longer chain to unwind. Thin margins leave less room for that.

Run the same sum on your own numbers before you leave international sales switched on for a listing. If the profit line is close to zero, either raise the price or exclude that listing from international buyers.

What happens with returns and claims on international orders?

International buyers can still report an item that does not arrive or does not match the listing through eBay. The programme terms set out which international claims eBay handles and how returns from abroad work, and eBay can update those terms. Read that section in eBay Seller Center before you rely on it.

The protection you control is simple:

• An accurate listing, so the item matches what the buyer expected.
• Valid tracking that shows the parcel reached the hub within your handling time.
• Prompt replies when a buyer or eBay contacts you.

If a case does open, respond quickly and with evidence. Our guide to handling an eBay item not received case walks through each situation.

Should you keep eBay International Shipping turned on?

For many sellers, eIS is the simplest way to reach buyers abroad. You avoid customs forms and international labels, and the buyer pays import charges up front. Whether it suits every listing depends on your source, your margins and your items.

Reasons to keep it on

• You reach buyers outside the US with no extra paperwork.
• The domestic leg works like a normal US order.
• Import charges are paid at checkout, so the buyer is less likely to face a surprise bill on delivery.

Reasons to exclude some listings

• Your source often takes longer than your handling time.
• The item is fragile or bulky and risky over two journeys.
• The margin is too thin to absorb a cancellation or a problem.
• The item is often restricted for international shipping.

Check your shipping settings and business policies for the options eBay currently gives you to opt in, opt out or exclude listings.

A quick checklist for your next international sale

1. Open Seller Hub and confirm whether eIS is active on your account.
2. Read the current eIS terms in eBay Seller Center, especially claims and returns.
3. Review your handling time on listings that are open to international buyers.
4. Run the profit sum on your five best sellers with your real fees and label cost.
5. Exclude listings where the margin or the source makes a long trip risky.
6. On each eIS order, copy the hub address exactly, including the reference line.
7. Upload valid tracking for the domestic leg within your handling time.
8. Check the order again once the hub has received the parcel.