eBay International Shipping, I have a few questions for the eBay employees
Summary: mmstore74 has several questions about the upcoming eBay International Shipping program starting in September 2026. They are uncertain about the responsibilities and logistics involved, such as determining shipping costs, handling customs declarations, and the implications of return policies. voli-maus, cosmoretroshop, and perfect-sally share experiences and opinions, expressing skepticism about the system's reliability and the potential complications of repackaging by eBay. miriam@ebay confirms that sellers remain responsible for compliance with EU regulations even when using eBay's service, causing concerns about extra paperwork and costs. mmstore74 continues to seek clarity and expresses frustration about these challenges, questioning the necessity and benefits of the new shipping process.
Hello everyone,
From September 2026 through early 2027, eligible sellers will be gradually enabled for eBay International Shipping.
I don't know whether I'd be part of it now, but I had a few questions in advance and it would be great if someone or an eBay employee could answer them for me.
1. What would I need to specify as shipping costs, e.g. €47.99 for the USA or just the €7.99 shipping costs to the national eBay center?
2. Who handles the customs contents declaration, eBay too?
3.eBay writes the following:
Sold is sold ‒ even in the event of a return
As soon as your item has been scanned in at the shipping center, your payout is protected. We handle refunds at no cost to you and resolve claims in the event of loss or damage.
You are covered for all returns.
We protect you against claims for items that are lost, damaged, or delivered late. You keep your payout even in the event of returns.
If a buyer now opens a case because an item is not as described or says it was damaged, would I still be paid the full sales amount and would eBay cover that?
4.eBay writes the following:
eBay International Shipping for shipments within the EU coming soon
We are working on a solution that will also allow the sale of eligible listings within the EU through the program. Once your eBay account has been enabled for “eBay International Shipping,” you can choose to also sell to countries within the EU through the program. You can activate this in the shipping settings in your eBay account.
Would the new packaging regulation then be suspended for us small sellers?
Very happy to also please include and tag an eBay employee, thank you very much.
Wishing everyone a lovely weekend
Marc
mmstore74
OP1 month ago@petersmodellbahnstuebchen
Hi Peter, I 100% agree with you there: more time for wife, dogs, and the beach 😊👍.
But it would still be nice if at least one Ebay employee could explain to me/us exactly what benefit/advantage this elS program is supposed to have, because that doesn’t just make no sense, it makes absolutely no sense at all.
I have to fill out a customs declaration
I have to take care of PPWR
The customer pays a lot more for shipping, once for within DE and once for international; I wouldn’t buy anything from anyone anymore either if shipping is multiple times more expensive than the goods, possibly.
But Peter, let’s enjoy the weekend, if an Ebay employee wants to comment on this again then I’ll see, otherwise I’ll take other routes to stay in the game internationally 😁
Regards to your wife and dog and the beach too 🤣
mmstore74
OP1 month ago@petersmodellbahnstuebchen
Hello Peter,for you these are 2 different processes,for me personally rather not but it's always good that there are different opinions.
Still, I don't understand what advantage I have through elS? Why should I knock the ball around the cushion into the hole when I could just sink it directly?
The funny people at the EU Commission think that this will reduce packaging waste ( that's also true when the small traders can't afford it ) but then there could also be a shipping ban and that's that.
Let's assume 1000 traders ship 100 tons of cardboard, now the funny people from the EU come along and say it costs money because of this the piles of waste get smaller.
So, now all 1000 traders pay these fees and still ship 100 tons of cardboard, what has changed now ? Exactly, the mountain of waste stays the same and only the EU's coffers have filled up, because these are empty because the cash is flying out the window and for me it's just a money grab, because why only Europe and not worldwide or does this waste problem only exist in the EU ?
You know what I mean by that and I just want to understand who comes up with such absurd nonsense.
I'm just glad that Ebay has nothing to do with it and hope that it will change again.
Wishing you a nice weekend by the Baltic Sea 😊
Best regards
Marc
petersmodellbahnstuebchen
·1 month ago@mmstore74
Hi Marc,
you can debate the sense and nonsense of the EU measures forever, but in my opinion it’s not a topic you need to discuss with Ebay. Ebay is the wrong contact here.
Ebay and the sellers simply have to implement these measures now, or else handle sales differently accordingly.
I myself decided years ago to ship only within Germany. How the foreign customer then gets their goods is no longer my problem, nor is the handling of foreign import fees and customs duties. Of course the revenue has dropped accordingly, but so has my workload.
That leaves me a lot more time for my wife, dogs and the beach, or all of them together. 😉
Best regards from the Baltic Sea to the Ruhr area
Peter
mmstore74
OP1 month agoGood morning everyone,
Hello @miriam@ebay ,I have another question.How does it work if someone from abroad buys something from me and has it delivered to ( e.g. Mailboxde in Zittau ), does the PPWR apply or not, since I would have shipped it within Germany?
Kind regards
Marc
petersmodellbahnstuebchen
·1 month ago · Edited@mmstore74
Hi Marc,
legally speaking, no advice may be given here. But for me these are 2 different processes.
With the eIS you, as the seller, commission eBay to carry out the shipping to a foreign address.
With domestic shipping to Zittau the buyer commissions the forwarding or picks up the shipment there.
And as already written, it makes little sense to rack your brains over eggs that haven’t been laid.
Best regards from the Baltic Sea
Peter
mmstore74
OP1 month agoHello @miriam@ebay
sorry but this topic is not letting me rest and I absolutely don't understand what advantages it brings me as a seller to use this eIS service, I don't get it.
If all the responsibilities still remain on me, why should I send the package to eIS first and then have them forward it, possibly damaging it while repackaging, when I can just send it directly to Timbuktu myself, I don't understand the point behind it and who on earth comes up with things like this?
On top of that, the seller then has to pay much more postage.
Example: €7.69 from me to Duisburg and then again from Duisburg to Timbuktu and who knows what eIS charges for shipping costs.
Best regards
Marc
mmstore74
OP1 month ago · EditedGood morning everyone,
can someone give me some information on whether I’m understanding this correctly? @miriam@ebay
Today I did this free check at Lizenzero and got the following results for some countries....
....can I keep shipping there without worrying, or are EPR and PPWR two different things?
I’m slowly not getting this anymore😒
miriam@ebay
Hello @mmstore74 - EPR and PPWR are not two completely separate topics here. PPWR also includes requirements on extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging. However, we can’t legally assess which obligations apply to you in the individual countries. Please check the respective requirements or contact the relevant specialist office if needed.
Best regards
Miriam
mmstore74
OP1 month ago · EditedWell, now I’m curious
The proposed changes now have to go through the ordinary EU legislative procedure. Until a majority of the member states agrees, the strict legal situation for traders will remain in place for the time being.
Source: Google
https://www.bundesumweltministerium.de/meldung/kritik-an-der-eu-verpackungsverordnung-ppwr-bundesregierung-setzt-sich-fuer-entlastungen-ein
mmstore74
OP1 month agoHello @miriam@ebay once again, everything here is unclear.
you write that the sellers are responsible for this, but it says no there
You write that one is not exempt from the PPWR:
So the advantage of eIS lies in the simplified international shipping process - not in eBay automatically taking over the sellers' legal registration or packaging obligations.
According to the EU regulation, I am already considered the first placer on the market as soon as I even stick a shipping label on it, and then it says the following.
That means, as soon as someone else, whoever it may be, repacks my parcel and reseals it and relabels it, then they count as the first placer on the market and not me, and I’m not shipping it abroad anyway but within Germany ( Duisburg ) or am I misunderstanding this?
After all, I also pay the fuel prices that apply here in Germany and not the ones in Belgium, and that’s why I don’t understand why I need an EU authorization if I only ship my parcel within Germany.
Best regards
Marc
miriam@ebay
Hello @mmstore74 - Repacking in the shipping center is rather the exception and currently changes nothing about the sellers' PPWR obligations. These remain unchanged for now when using eIS. The underlying requirements come from EU law and were not set by eBay.
Best regards
Miriam
miriam@ebay
Hello @mmstore74 ! Yes, eBay International Shipping will also be offered for shipping within the EU in the future. Since September 8, eligible sellers can manually activate the option under Account settings > Shipping settings > eBay International Shipping. From November 15, 2026, eligible sellers will be automatically registered for EU shipping via eBay International Shipping (eIS).
If the option still isn’t being shown to you right now, it will be enabled at a later point in time or as soon as the participation requirements are met.
What’s important, though: Even when using eIS, commercial sellers remain responsible for complying with the respective legal and tax obligations when selling within the EU. Depending on the destination country, this may include requirements regarding packaging or EPR, among other things. So eIS does not automatically mean that you can skip the relevant registrations in the EU destination countries.
The visibility of other listings on European eBay sites also does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about which legal obligations apply to these sellers or whether they are meeting them.
You probably already know our section on compliance solutions? There you can select Germany as your location and the respective countries you want to sell to, and have shown to you which regulations may be relevant for your business.
Sorry as well that I’m only getting back to you about this now; your @ mention in August technically worked, but unfortunately it got away from me.
Kind regards
Miriam
perfect-sally
·1 month ago@miriam@ebay sorry but there are still too many unknowns in there.
the sellers who, according to ebay, are "authorized" for this don't get notified, but first have to check in the settings whether they're authorized or not?
the important point: why do these sellers have to fulfill the respective legal and tax obligations themselves if they're not actually the real sender abroad? What advantage would authorized sellers have if they use this? It doesn't make sense to me.
miriam@ebay
Hello @perfect-sally - happy to get more specific again 😊
Currently yes: Until November 15, 2026, a transitional arrangement applies; after that, eligible sellers will be automatically registered.
eIS changes the shipping route, but not who sells the item and places the packaging on the market. You continue to sell as a commercial seller to the buyer in the respective EU country. Even if you only send the package to the eBay shipping center in Germany and eBay handles the onward transport, packaging or EPR obligations may therefore still apply to you in the destination country.
So the advantage of eIS lies in the simplified international shipping process - not in eBay automatically taking over sellers' legal registration or packaging obligations.
Kind regards
Miriam
petersmodellbahnstuebchen
·1 month ago@miriam@ebay
Hi Miriam,
now I’m completely confused and no longer understand what the benefit of eIS is supposed to be and what the obligations of commercial sellers will then be:
From 15.11.26 onwards, eligible sellers will be automatically registered. Does that mean the eligible merchant has to use eIS?
If I send the item to a service provider and they ship it abroad, then in my opinion the service provider is also responsible for complying with the respective EU regulations, including reporting and payment.
Specific question: If I have so far excluded shipping to all countries outside Germany, will I eventually be forced to use this new "toy"???
Best wishes from the Baltic Sea
Peter
miriam@ebay
Hello @petersmodellbahnstuebchen ! Let me clear up a bit of confusion.
Does that mean eIS has to be used by the eligible seller?
No. Automatically activated does not mean that you are required to use eBay International Shipping. eIS can also be deactivated again at account level. For sales within the EU, however, this is important: If you have confirmed your registration for the OSS procedure in your eBay account and already ship within the EU, eIS will be activated for all 27 EU countries. If you want to continue excluding certain EU countries, you need to set the list of excluded shipping destinations accordingly in your eBay account.
Does eIS also take over the legal obligations in the destination country?
No. Here you have to distinguish between shipping processing and the obligations arising from the sale. But I see your wish in this regard and am happy to pass it on!
And to your specific question: If you have so far shipped exclusively within Germany and excluded all other countries, you will not be forced in future to sell abroad via eBay International Shipping . eIS can be deactivated and international shipping destinations can continue to be excluded.
Kind regards
Miriam
petersmodellbahnstuebchen
·1 month ago@miriam@ebay
Hi Miriam,
many thanks, especially the last paragraph of your reply is very important to me as well:
No obligation to use eIS. Especially if I’m not informed in good time beforehand about what costs I will incur for the future use of eIS.
Best wishes from the Baltic Sea
Peter
perfect-sally
·1 month ago · Edited@miriam@ebay
"And to your specific question: If you have so far shipped exclusively within Germany and excluded all other countries, you will not be forced in future to sell abroad via eBay International Shipping . eIS can be deactivated and international shipping destinations can continue to be excluded."
And what about sellers who still want to ship abroad? Will they be forced to use it? Unfortunately that doesn't come across from your answer?
Thanks
miriam@ebay
Hello @perfect-sally - then point 1 of my answer to @petersmodellbahnstuebchen applies.
No, eIS is not mandatory and can be deactivated. For sales within the EU, after activation you can decide for yourselves whether you want to enable eIS.
Best regards
Miriam
mmstore74
OP1 month agoHello @miriam@ebay
many thanks for your detailed answer and that’s exactly what I wanted to know
"So eIS does not automatically mean that you can save yourself the corresponding registrations in the EU target countries "
According to Lizenzero, I would pay almost €10,000 a year and I’d rather invest that in gold or bitcoins before I pour that into the EU coffers😊
I hope the EU doesn’t end up wrecking eBay too, because that money is missing from eBay as well or, in the end, the little guy has to step in again and pay the price in the form of even more fees.
Thanks again @miriam@ebay and I hope this madness will still change, because it’s like with the environmental sticker, just a money grab, because just by having the sticker, a car doesn’t emit any different CO2 / exhaust values either.
Kind regards
Marc
miriam@ebay
Gladly, @mmstore74 I'm glad that the key question could be clarified. We understand that the additional requirements and the associated costs are an important issue, especially for smaller merchants.
Best regards
Miriam
mmstore74
OP1 month agoGood morning everyone,
could someone from Ebay please comment on this so we can know what to expect or not?
What I’m also still wondering about: I’m watching a few shops that I’ve been following since 12.08.2026, and they’re as small as mine, some even smaller, and their listings show up everywhere on European Ebay pages, whether Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, etc. and I honestly can’t imagine that these small sellers have registered in all those countries.
Surely these listings should then not be visible at all, right?
Unfortunately it’s now the case that everything involving money has become a shark tank and everyone has to fight for themselves, but I’d just like to understand it all.
Could someone please tag an Ebay Ma for me, thanks
perfect-sally
·1 month agoGood morning @nina@ebay could you please add something to this as well? Thank you very much 🙂
mmstore74
OP1 month ago · Edited@petersmodellbahnstuebchen
Hello Peter, so far that's clear, but what matters to me above all is whether I'm understanding this correctly, because then one could save any registrations in the respective countries.
Kind regards
Marc
petersmodellbahnstuebchen
·1 month ago@mmstore74
Hi Marc,
I've gotten out of the habit of discussing hypothetical stuff here in the forum.
The fact is that there are now the licensing requirements already described, which vary from country to country, in the EU.
I think the costs for the licensing are included in the price for using the program. And each seller has to decide for themselves whether it pays off.
For shipping within Germany to the international shipping center, you'll also still need a LUCID registration. Unless German laws are adjusted accordingly.
Best regards to the Pott
Peter
fabrice-yassin
·1 month agoHello everyone,
I got a shipment back because the Registered International label purchased through the eBay shipping service was apparently incorrect. It can only be used to send documents. Unfortunately, that is not stated anywhere. Is this problem known? I contacted eBay and hope that the label will be reimbursed. I now had to buy a new one and send the shipment again. This also delays the delivery for the buyer. Why is there no notice there? Then I would have simply chosen a different shipping option. I complied with all the specifications regarding dimensions and weight and also sent it in a letter. Within Germany, that has never been a problem.
petersmodellbahnstuebchen
·1 month agoHey @fabrice-yassin
Take a look in the terms and conditions of Deutsche Post:
The following are excluded from carriage:
1. International letter items that contain goods, i.e. movable items (merchandise). Without prejudice to the following provisions (exclusions), only written, drawn, printed, or digital messages and information (documents) are permitted. Goods are permitted under the following restrictions, however, in Päckchen International and Warenpost International.
Best wishes from the Baltic Sea
Peter
fabrice-yassin
·1 month agoThanks! Yes, it’s more about the fact that this is such important information that eBay has to provide in the shipping service alongside the dimensions and the weight. Especially because domestic letter shipping allows such goods. But luckily I was able to resolve this satisfactorily with eBay support.
miriam@ebay
Thanks for describing the incident, @fabrice-yassin - I’m happy to have passed on to the responsible team that with Registered International on our shipping platform, in your opinion it should be made much clearer that this shipping method can only be used for documents and not for goods.
Best regards
Miriam
mmstore74
OP1 month ago@petersmodellbahnstuebchen
Good morning Peter, unfortunately nobody is replying, well, everything here in the new forum is a bit different unfortunately.
What I’ve noticed is that, whether small or bigger, everyone still offers shipping to EU countries as normal (can’t imagine that one person has all those licenses), but they all refuse returns across the board and that’s how it looks then.
...within Germany, though, like this
petersmodellbahnstuebchen
·1 month ago@mmstore74
Hi Marc,
The fact that nobody has gotten in touch yet tells me that the final implementation is still being worked on and will then probably be rolled out gradually.
Before that happens, nobody can or will write anything about it to you.
You know that topics like this aren’t discussed on Ebay before the announcement.
Best regards from the Baltic Sea
Peter
mmstore74
OP1 month agoHello Peter @petersmodellbahnstuebchen ,
many thanks for the info.That’s why I’d really like some information, since I sold quite well to other EU countries, but it still isn’t worth it to let the EU take money out of your pocket like that, and I’d like to sell internationally ( EU ) again.
@miriam@ebay or @steffi@ebay , could you maybe help me with this?
Kind regards and have a nice weekend
Marc
mmstore74
OP1 month agoGood morning @patrick@ebay
If you want to avoid the bureaucratic hurdles and registrations for each EU country, there are certain ways to do that.
Options for EU shipping without your own registration in the destination country
1. Use of “eBay International Shipping” (EIS program)
The principle: You send the sold item to a central eBay domestic depot. From there, eBay takes care of the international onward transport, customs formalities, and country-specific responsibility.
The catch: eBay is rolling out this official relief program step by step. For many German sellers, it primarily covers non-EU countries; full coverage for all EU countries is in the final implementation stage. Check in your eBay shipping settings whether the program has already been activated for EU destinations on your account.
Am I understanding this correctly, if this is finally implemented .......
"full coverage for all EU countries is in the final implementation stage".
.......would you no longer need to register in the EU countries?
How exactly do I check this in my shipping settings ?
Kind regards
Marc
petersmodellbahnstuebchen
·1 month ago@mmstore74
Hey Marc,
since Patrick will be away for the next while, you’d have to tag Miriam or Steffi if you’re hoping for a quick reply.
I won’t really give it much thought until it’s finally implemented and I know the actual costs for this "service".
Best wishes from the Baltic Sea to the Ruhr area
Peter
mmstore74
OP1 month agoHello @patrick@ebay and thank you very much, but I had already commented on this yesterday, and when I read it, I got goosebumps.
Third parties or other subcontractors and under certain circumstances they may open or repackage my packaged goods.
For international returns, your item will be sent back to or processed by an external service provider. You keep your full payout, regardless of what happens to the item. Unfortunately, we cannot return items to sellers.
When I think about it now, that limited models, for example, will then be scrapped because I wouldn't get them back, or models that have been lovingly modified, it breaks my heart, and for that reason I won't take part even if I could.
That's how I understand it and that's how I read it from this, happy to be corrected.
Best regards
mmstore74
OP1 month agoHello @perfect-sally and many thanks.
Today I had access to the following link.....
https://pages.ebay.de/internationalshippingprogram/seller/terms/?mkpid=2&emsid=e99011.m2.l1&mkcid=27&bu=43594155784&osub=f07db367bcee6e0fd3a2e13730d9c0bc%257E1785757393800MC_T_ALL_T&segname=1785757393800MC_T_ALL_T&crd=20260807020000&ch=osgood
...... when I read point 8 and THIRD-PARTY PROVIDER, that was the end of it for me straight away, but thanks anyway
patrick@ebay
Hello @mmstore74 actually everything is answered if you look at the bottom of the page under Questions & Answers > https://www.ebay.de/verkaeuferportal/versand/international/ebay-internationaler-versand the option will also come later to use it for EU shipping.
Best regards
Patrick
mmstore74
OP1 month agoHello everyone, could someone please tag an eBay MA who can write something about this?
Unfortunately I can't see who among them is online right now, thanks.
Best regards
perfect-sally
·1 month agoI'll tag @samantha@ebay for you, but I do think that this is explained relatively well for once in eBay's advance info.
I also don't think Samantha can say much more about it, but let's see.
mmstore74
OP2 months agoHello @voli-maus ,I hope you didn't take it the wrong way
"the way I wrote it, whether you even know what I meant"
International trade used to be one of my main businesses until Donald Duck raised the tariffs, and then America went completely down the drain and now Europe too, and if it were then easier, cheaper, and above all safer via Ebay again, that would be good for me personally, I have to say.
Kind regards
voli-maus
·2 months agoHey @mmstore74 ,
I didn't misunderstand anything. 😉
cosmoretroshop
·2 months agoYou send something to the Ebay shipping center abroad. They take care of international shipping and paperwork (if it involves third countries).
The shipping costs you have to bear are to the ebay shipping center. You remain the contractual partner. Ebay makes money from the international shipping (they have volume contracts) and from the packaging (it is usually/sometimes repackaged). The buyer bears export and shipping costs to abroad.
In England, this solution has existed for about 10 years. A bit slow, but it works.
My comments above only apply if it is set up like in the UK :)
perfect-sally
·2 months ago@cosmoretroshop I understood it to mean that the eBay shipping center is not abroad but in Germany, or did I misunderstand your post?
To be honest, I don’t really trust the whole thing all that much and will wait and see what experiences people report once the whole thing is actually "up and running". And the repackaging you mentioned doesn’t make things any better for me, because I trust my own packing skills and not those of others. And if it should work despite my concerns, there’s still the question of how and whether eBay will adjust the delivery times, because so far there’s already an urgent need for action even with domestic shipping.
cosmoretroshop
·2 months agothat goes to a shipping center in D.
mmstore74
OP2 months ago · EditedGood morning @voli-maus ,you do know what this is about, right ?
https://community.ebay.de/forum/ebay-news-44/topic/neu-erreichen-sie-k%C3%A4uferinnen-weltweit-au%C3%9Ferhalb-der-eu-mit-ebay-internationaler-versand-11869/
...more...
https://www.ebay.de/verkaeuferportal/versand/international/ebay-internationaler-versand
voli-maus
·2 months agoHello @mmstore74 ,
good that you “mentioned” me, whatever that’s supposed to be, and I don’t even know how you pronounce it.
About 4 months ago this was still called marked.
Anyway
I really hardly ever read the seller news, if at all.
Mea culpa
I sell something every now and then, well, rather rarely, just on a private basis.
I don’t trust the whole thing myself either.
At the shipping center, the shipment gets repackaged.
Hmm, so then the men’s underwear goes to Ms. xyz and the bras to Mr. 123 (just as an example)?
@perfect-sally mentioned good arguments against it.
voli-maus
·2 months agoUm, @mmstore74 ,
you're an experienced seller on ebay.
You can check how much the shipping costs abroad are with your shipping company and specify them accordingly.
You fill out the customs declaration form.
You can also find out more on the customs website.