Postage Rate Tables & Exclusions

Postage rate tables allow you to set up postage costs and services at a domestic region level and at a country level for international.

On this page:

From 31 October 2024, we've made improvements to rate table calculations.

What does this mean

  • Weight rate tables can now consider both dimensional weight and physical weight to determine accurate postage rates.
  • Currently, weight-based rate tables provide the postage cost to the buyer based on the total physical weight of a parcel. However, this can be different to its dimensional weight (calculated by multiplying length (L), width (W) and height (H) in metres, then multiplied by 250), which carriers including Australia Post consider as part of determining delivery costs.
  • With dimensional weight calculation enabled, the total postage cost provided to your buyers for each parcel will be calculated based on the chargeable weight (the greater of dimensional weight and physical weight).

For sellers who do not currently have weight-based rate tables:

Any new weight-based rate tables created will already be set up with chargeable weight.

For sellers who currently have a weight-based rate tables:

You will need to ‘opt-in’ to allow the new calculations to work via Account Settings > Shipping Preferences > 'Edit' - Use Postage Rate Tables. We'll automatically apply it to your existing weight-based rate tables and work out the chargeable weight for all future parcels.

Rate Tables

Postage rate tables allow you to set up postage costs and services on a per-region basis. You can:

  • Set postage costs and services for 115 domestic regions, with up to 60 unique tables per account.

  • Give buyers choice with costs for standard and express delivery with an additional economy delivery option for international buyers.

  • Choose your shipping service and cost per region.

You can set your postage rates based on three criteria. The best option for you will depend on your inventory:

Item

Set different rates and options for different locations. This option is best for parcels with the same or similar sizes and weights.

Weight

Fixed base cost + additional amount per kg. The rate will be based on the dimensional weight or physical weight of the package—whichever is greater.

Surcharge

Choose a base cost and add a surcharge by region. Many sellers select this option for remote areas that can be more expensive to post to.

 

Please note, surcharge is not available for international rate tables.



Top tips for building rate tables:

  • To reduce queries from buyers about estimated delivery dates, make sure you specify your chosen postage service. The “Standard Parcel Delivery” for domestic and generic international services such as “Standard International Flat Rate Postage” postage service option should only be selected if your chosen carrier is not listed or you’re using an aggregator to ship your items.
  • Specify all regions you ship to, otherwise we’ll revert to your postage policy.

Create postage rate tables within ‘Business Policies’, located under ‘Selling’ in your account settings.

Download the rate table region and postcode list here

Postage Exclusions

Postage exclusions enable you to specify regions you do not wish to ship to. Within postage exclusions, you can choose to exclude based on domestic, international as well as PO Boxes. 

  • Domestic postage exclusions are segmented into 15 exclusion zones with the majority of states split based on metro and regional zones.

  • International postage exclusions are segmented into continents and countries. You may wish to exclude an entire continent or specify specific countries you wish to exclude. 

  • PO Box exclusion means that if your postage carrier cannot deliver to PO Boxes, then enabling this exclusion will mean that we would block PO Box addresses at checkout.

Download the domestic postage exclusions postcode list here.

FAQs

Rate tables enable you to specify different costs to different regions of Australia. Therefore, providing flexibility rather than having to choose one cost to post your items all throughout Australia.

Currently, rate tables only support dead weight. 

From January 2024, we have added the ability for sellers to create postage rate tables for international countries.

No, if you have selected “No international postage” then you do not need to create an exclusion list for international countries.

At the moment, you need to create your rate table directly on eBay. Once you have created your rate table, then you should be able to edit your rate table via your 3PP portal.

When setting up a weight based rate table, you need to ensure weight is captured as an item specification in your listings. If you don’t share the weight of your item in your item’s listing then we don’t know how heavy your item is and we cannot calculate the specified cost for the buyer. If you use an integrated partner, please check with them to ensure weight is being shared with eBay.

No - in order to access the new rate table regions, you will need to create a new rate table. Once created, you can then link this new rate table to your existing postage policy or items.

If you are having difficulty accessing the new rate tables regions or need assistance to delete your existing rate tables, please email us at [email protected] or contact eBay customer service. 

No, once opted into dimensional weight, all current and future weight rate tables will be calculated off chargeable weight (the greater of dimensional and physical weight).

Yes, all listings must have the correct dimensions listed for the chargeable weight calculations to work.

Need help in setting up your rate tables?

Click here to view our how to guide.