Freight shipping is the shipping of items that are heavier than can be shipped with standard flat or calculated rate services.

Freight shipping solutions are available only for domestic shipping in the following marketplaces:

  • US
  • UK
  • Australia
  • Canada
  • Canada (French

Sellers can select one of the following freight shipping solutions for each listing:

  • FreightQuote.com

    The freight carrier affiliated with eBay, available on the US marketplace only. FreightQuote.com calculates the shipping cost automatically during checkout. The only way to choose FreightQuote.com is via the eBay US marketplace. There is no API equivalent.

  • Flat Rate Freight

    A method for sellers (on the US marketplace only) to offer free or flat rate shipping while using a freight carrier other than FreightQuote.com. The seller specifies free shipping or a single flat rate for all domestic buyers. The seller negotiates the actual shipping cost with the freight carrier separately from the checkout process, so the sale can be completed quickly.

  • (Negotiated) Freight

    This is the freight shipping service known as

    • Freight on the AU, CA, and CAFR marketplaces
    • Courier on the UK marketplace
    • Other freight service on the US marketplace

    The seller negotiates the shipping cost with the carrier (not FreightQuote.com) and the buyer before completing the sale.

Specify freight shipping

When using the Trading API's Add, Relist, Revise, or Verify calls to create a listing, the combination of ShippingDetails.ShippingType and ShippingDetails.ShippingServiceOptions.ShippingService fields is unique for each eBay marketplace and freight shipping option as indicated in the following table.

API field values for Freight shipping

Marketplace Freight Type ShippingType value ShippingService value
US FreightQuote.com n/a (Web only) n/a (Web only)
US Flat Rate Freight Flat FlatRateFreight
US Other freight service FreightFlat Freight
UK Courier FreightFlat Courier
AU Freight FreightFlat AU_Freight
CA/CAFR Freight FreightFlat CA_Freight

The following table outlines the events and actions needed to offer each type of freight shipping for a listing.

Specifying Freight shipping via marketplace and API

Freight option Web solution API solution
US marketplace: To choose FreightQuote.com as the freight shipping service…

What seller does: - selects dropdown option Freight (instead of Flat or Calculated or No Shipping) - selects FreightQuote.com.

What eBay does: - sets ShippingType to Freight - sets ShippingService to FreightShipping - sets shipping cost according to FreightQuote.com's calculation.

 (None)
US marketplace: To specify Flat Rate Freight shipping…

What seller does: - selects dropdown option Flat (instead of Freight or Calculated or No Shipping) - selects Flat Rate Freight from the Services dropdown - selects Free shipping or enters a shipping Cost greater than 0. The seller also selects other features related to flat rate shipping in the Web UI.

What eBay does: - sets ShippingType to Flat - sets ShippingService to FlatRateFreight, and implements the seller's other selections.

What your code does: - sets ShippingType to Flat - sets ShippingService to FlatRateFreight.

Your code also applies other flat rate shipping settings, such as shipping cost. For additional information, refer to Specify Flat Rate Shipping.
US marketplace: To specify "Other freight service"…

What seller does: - selects dropdown option Freight (instead of Flat or Calculated or No Shipping) - selects Other freight service.

What eBay does: - sets ShippingType to FreightFlat - sets ShippingService to Freight.

What your code does: - sets ShippingType to FreightFlat - submits an empty ShippingServiceOptions container - (optional and recommended) alters the item description to note that the seller and buyer will work out the shipping cost details outside of eBay.

What eBay does: - sets ShippingService to Freight - sets shipping cost to 0; it is up to the seller and buyer to work out the cost.
UK marketplace: To specify courier shipping…

What seller does: - selects dropdown option Courier (instead of Flat or No Shipping).

What eBay does: - sets ShippingType to FreightFlat - sets ShippingService to Courier.

(The details here are the same as for the US "Other freight service" above except for the name "Courier".)

What your code does: - sets ShippingType to FreightFlat - submits an empty ShippingServiceOptions container - (optional and recommended) alters the item description to note that the seller and buyer will work out the shipping cost details outside of eBay

What eBay does: - sets ShippingService to Courier - sets shipping cost to 0; it is up to the seller and buyer to work out the cost.
Australia marketplace: To specify freight shipping…

What seller does: - selects dropdown option Freight (instead of Flat or No Shipping).

What eBay does: - sets ShippingType to FreightFlat - sets ShippingService to AU_Freight.

(The details here are the same as for the US "Other freight service" above except for the name "AU_Freight".)

What your code does: - sets ShippingType to FreightFlat - submits an empty ShippingServiceOptions container - (optional and recommended) alters the item description to note that the seller and buyer will work out the shipping cost details outside of eBay.

What eBay does: - sets ShippingService to AU_Freight - sets shipping cost to 0; it is up to the seller and buyer to work out the cost.
Canada (English and French) marketplace: To specify freight shipping…

What seller does: - selects dropdown option Freight (instead of Flat or No Shipping).

What eBay does: - sets ShippingType to FreightFlat - sets ShippingService to CA_Freight.

(The details here are the same as for the US "Other freight service" above except for the name "CA_Freight".)

What your code does: - sets ShippingType to FreightFlat - submits an empty ShippingServiceOptions container - (optional and recommended) alters the item description to note that the seller and buyer will work out the shipping cost details outside of eBay.

What eBay does: - sets ShippingService to CA_Freight - sets shipping cost to 0; it is up to the seller and buyer to work out the cost.

Determine freight shipping cost

Freight shipping cost is found in ShippingDetails.ShippingServiceOptions.ShippingServiceCost.

It is non-zero for a listing only if the item is on the eBay US marketplace and FreightQuote.com was selected as the freight shipping service.