By opting in to the Global Shipping Programme (GSP), a seller can create listings for qualified items in which the international shipping option is Global Shipping (presented to buyers as "International Priority Shipping").

Important! The Global Shipping Programme is available only on the United Kingdom (EBAY_GB) marketplace.

When a buyer in another country purchases a Global Shipping-enabled item, the buyer pays a single amount that covers the sum of the total item price, total shipping and handling for the item, and total import charges (i.e. customs duty and taxes) to transport the package into the buyer's country.

  • With the Global Shipping Program, the seller can use any domestic shipping category and service for the domestic leg of the shipment. The name of the selected domestic service does not have to be specified in an API call, and it does not appear to the buyer. Its cost is incorporated into the overall shipping cost for Global Shipping.

    For the domestic leg of a Global Shipping Programme shipment, sellers can list an item using a Item.ShippingDetails.ShippingType of either Calculated or Flat. Sellers do not control the shipping type used for the international leg, and they do not control the total shipping cost, as the international shipping provider is responsible for all aspects of the international leg of the shipment.

  • For the international leg of the shipment, Global Shipping has no equivalent to the domestic shipping categories; the level of service is determined by the international shipping provider which specifies an international shipping service to complement the domestic shipping service chosen by the seller.

After creating a listing with Global Shipping Programme as the default international shipping option, the following calls (or related calls) will return the indicated parameter values:

Buyers see the total cost of the domestic and international shipping components as a single amount, not displayed separately. Although sellers cannot predict what the total shipping cost will be, they can control their cost structure for the domestic leg using Item.ShippingDetails.ShippingType.

The seller ships the package to the domestic address of the international shipping provider, which then takes complete responsibility for transporting the package to the buyer, including selecting a delivery carrier, generating customs paperwork, and handling other details involved in an international shipment.

Note: The domestic warehouse address of the international shipping provider is returned by the Get family of Trading API calls. For more information, refer to Address Shipments.

The seller's responsibility for shipping remains the same as for any domestic shipment, and ends when the international shipping provider takes charge of the shipment.

Sellers can handle international shipping themselves, or by using eBay's Global Shipping Program. Global Shipping is a feature available only to sellers who list items on the eBay UK marketplace — however, sellers can be registered anywhere. It enables a seller to sell an item to anyone, then use eBay to easily ship it from a UK location to the buyer's country (subject to restrictions on certain product categories, countries of manufacture, and destination countries). The Global Shipping Programme promotes international trade by providing express shipping with end-to-end tracking at significantly low shipping cost.

Note: Information within this topic that discuss international shipping features does not apply to the Global Shipping Programme except where noted as such. However, sections that discuss domestic shipping features do apply to the domestic portion of the Global Shipping Program, except as noted.

The Global Shipping Programme is intended to achieve two primary goals:

  • Sellers should be able to sell to buyers in other countries as easily as they can sell to domestic buyers, without any additional concern for the complexities of international shipping.
  • Buyers should be able to choose from the largest possible selection of products available for purchase on eBay, regardless of either the buyers' or the sellers' countries.

Comparing traditional international shipping with GSP

  International Shipping Global Shipping Program
Benefits A seller can ship virtually any item to any destination, subject to governmental rules about shipping certain types of products and shipping to certain countries. The seller can choose from a variety of available international shipping services, price levels, and associated features. The seller is free to deal with just the domestic portion of the shipment without concern about the international portion. An international shipping provider (i.e., a company contracted by eBay,) is completely responsible for the international portion of the shipment, which includes assessing costs, handling customs issues, providing insurance, and completing delivery to the buyer. The buyer pays all costs associated with the shipment at checkout, and will see no unexpected charges after that point.
Limitations The seller is responsible for managing the logistics of the entire shipment, for insuring the shipment in a manner appropriate to the country and the carrier, and for ensuring delivery to the destination. Some item categories, shipping methods, and destination countries might not be supported by the international shipping provider for logistical, regulatory, or cost reasons.

All costs associated with the domestic leg of Global Shipping can be handled by the seller in the same way as regular domestic shipping. The costs associated with the international leg are determined by the international shipping provider, and are automatically included by eBay in the buyer's checkout process.

Note: The shipping and handling charges for the domestic and international legs are combined and presented to buyers as a single shipping charge in each listing, so the buyers have no direct exposure to the concept of an international shipping provider. Different eBay marketplaces might contract with different providers, but the identity of the provider for a given marketplace is not required to implement the Global Shipping Program.