4 min article

Buying and printing postage labels

You can save time and money by printing postage labels for your sold items on eBay and further enhance the shopping experience for your buyers with customisable documents.

Buying and printing labels on eBay

Here's how to print or reprint your postage labels:

  1. Go to your Sold items - opens in new window or tab, and select Print postage label next to the item.
  2. Enter the weight of your item, including any packaging, and select the package size and service.
  3. When you've paid, you'll be prompted to print your label, which you can do from your laptop or desktop PC.
  4. Attach it to your parcel using clear sticky tape, ensuring the address and bar codes are clear.

Along with your label, depending on the delivery service you've purchased, you may also receive a scannable QR code. QR code options mean you don’t need a printer to drop off your item for delivery, just take your package & QR code to a drop off point, locker or the post office.

If you purchase an untracked service such as Royal Mail 2nd class, the reference number will be added to the tracking overlay. However, this does not mean that the service is tracked. If you have any issues with the label please contact Royal Mail - opens in new window or tab, Parcelforce - opens in new window or tab or Packlink - opens in new window or tab

eBay Delivery powered by Packlink

eBay Delivery powered by Packlink is a platform that allows UK sellers to purchase Delivery labels at competitive rates - opens in new window or tab.

With Packlink, you'll save money compared to what you'd pay at the post office, or to a carrier for most services. You'll also save time by not having to queue and you can pay for your labels as you go.

Simply take your sold items to their nearest drop-off location or have them collected. eBay Delivery with Packlink offers fully tracked services, protecting you if the item is not received, or damaged in transit.

Benefits of using Packlink

You can save time and money when you create postage labels with eBay Delivery powered by Packlink.

  • Your postage label is filled out automatically with your buyer's name and delivery address
  • You can use our bulk label tool to print all of your labels together. You can also choose to fit your labels on a single sheet of A4 size paper to lower your printing costs
  • You can print your labels on an ordinary printer, or use the print in store feature which gives you the opportunity to print a label in a drop off location
  • You can create and print a pre-filled packing slip, detailing what you're sending to your buyer
  • You can save time by having your parcel collected
  • All services are fully-tracked and tracking information appears automatically in My eBay and Seller Hub for both you and the buyer
  • You'll have access to better prices with Packlink labels compared to purchasing directly from the carrier
  • You can view your created, in transit, and delivered shipments on the label platform

Tip
You can print postage labels from Sold - opens in new window or tab in My eBay or on the eBay app. If you want to post internationally, eBay's Global Shipping Programme makes it easy.

International delivery through Packlink

When posting items internationally, you can pay for postage and print delivery labels through eBay delivery by Packlink - opens in new window or tab. In the UK, Packlink is supported by UPS.

You can also arrange delivery abroad - opens in new window or tab using a nearby drop-off location or requesting a collection.

For more information on delivering items internationally, see our article on International postage for sellers.

How to create and print a postage label on the Packlink platform

If you prefer to manage your Packlink labels on the eBay Delivery powered by Packlink platform, here's how:

  1. Go to Sold in My eBay or Seller Hub, select the item and then select Print postage label.
  2. Select eBay Delivery powered by Packlink, and login.
  3. Choose your preferred delivery service by selecting View all services.
  4. Select a package size and a dispatch method. You can choose to drop your item off at a participating outlet most convenient for you, or have it collected.
  5. If you'd like to have your item collected, select Collection, your preferred courier and the date you'd like the item to be picked up.
  6. Review the summary of the details you selected including preferred delivery service, total cost and terms and conditions (T&Cs) then select Confirm and pay.
  7. Select Print label.
  8. Package the item safely and make sure the label is clearly visible, then take it to the drop off outlet you selected earlier, or prepare it for collection.

Tip
If you don't have access to a printer, you can select Print in store for FREE under Additional services. You'll then receive a 6 digit code by email which you can use to print your label in Store.

How to create and print multiple labels

You can see all of your orders that are awaiting dispatch, and buy and print postage labels for them by going to the Bulk shipping tool - opens in new window or tab, or by visiting the Manage orders awaiting dispatch - opens in new window or tab tab in Seller Hub.

Posting an order in multiple packages

When posting an order in multiple packages, you can print a different label for each package. Simply select Buy labels in bulk at the top of the page and choose the order to add additional parcels.

How to print Invoice/Packing slips, Invoice for your own records and order details

Invoice/Packing slips

An Invoice/Packing slip is a document summarising the details of the sale. The template provided by eBay can be used to issue your buyers with a document showing the detailed count and cost breakdown for each item in a delivery order such as VAT rate, sub-total, postage, and VAT amount.

You can customise your Invoice/Packing slip by adding details such as address label, your name, address, eBay store logo, store QR code, store URL, seller rating, warranty information, a thank you note for your buyers, and more.

For UK & EU business sellers with VAT obligations

You can add your VAT ID and VAT details such as VAT percentage and VAT amount to your Invoice/Packing slips. Please note that only verified VAT IDs will be shown. If you have multiple VAT IDs, you will have the option to select the most appropriate one for your invoice. You also have the option to add in a custom invoice number which will auto-increment by 1 for every new order. You will no longer be able to edit the invoice number once you have printed or downloaded the Invoice/Packing slip.

For orders where eBay collects and remits VAT, you should not issue an invoice to the buyer since a separate tax invoice is issued to the buyer by eBay. As appropriate, a separate transaction document or self-billing invoice will also be issued to the seller by eBay. You can view and download these documents from the Order details page in My eBay, see the Paying tax on eBay purchases and Your VAT obligations in the UK & EU pages for more information.  For these orders, you can still print an order receipt or a packing slip, but an invoice number won't be included.

Invoice for your own records

Invoice for your own records is an internal document meant to help you keep track of accounting and contribute to a well-run operation overall. The invoice for your own records contains essential payment details and order information which can be used to maintain your inventory, taxation records and for bookkeeping purposes.

You can customise your invoice for your own records to include details such as listings photos, postage info, eBay store logo, and more.

Printing Invoice/Packing slips, Address label and Invoice for your own records

Here’s how you can print and customise your documents:

  1. Go to the Orders tab - opens in new window or tab in Seller Hub
  2. Select Print Invoices and more from the Postage drop-down menu or next to the order details
  3. Choose the document you want to create
  4. By clicking on customise, you can add and remove details (you have the option to add Address label to your Invoice/Packing slip so both can be printed together)
  5. You can see the preview on the right side
  6. Select print to create a PDF version of the document
  7. You can also click the download icon on the top right side of the preview to download your documents

You can also print a packing slip by choosing Print packing slip on the Manage postage labels - opens in new window or tab page.

Printing order details

You can also print out the full order details for the item. Here's how:

  1. Go to My eBay and then Sold - opens in new window or tab.
  2. Select More Actions and then View order details.
  3. On the Order details page, select the printer version option, and print the page.

Paying for your labels

Depending on which carrier you choose, the cost of your labels can be paid from your available funds, PayPal or your on-file payment method.

  • Royal Mail and Parcelforce postage label purchases will be paid with PayPal
  • For Packlink carriers EVRi, Yodel and DPD you can purchase single labels using your available funds. If you don’t have sufficient balance, label purchases will be paid from your preferred on-file payment option.
  • If you prefer to use one of Packlink’s other carriers, or purchase multiple labels, you'll be redirected to the Packlink website where you can pay for your labels by card

Important
When you print a label you'll be charged for it, whether it's used or not. However you can cancel unused labels purchased on the eBay labels platform within 14 days or void Packlink labels within 15 days.

How to cancel a postage label

Labels purchased on the eBay labels platform need to be used within 14 calendar days. If unused, make sure to void the label within 14 calendar days to get a refund.

If you printed a label with eBay Delivery Powered by Packlink, you can cancel it within 15 days by visiting Packlink help page on cancelling or modifying a shipment - opens in new window or tab.

Here's how to void a postage label in My eBay or Seller Hub:

  1. Select Selling in My eBay, or select Orders on the Seller Hub Overview page.
  2. Select Postage Labels on the left-hand side.
  3. Select Actions next to the label you'd like to void, and select Void Label.

Managing your postage labels on the eBay app

You can manage a range of actions from the eBay app, including:

  • Purchase and print or reprint one or multiple labels
  • View and void labels
  • Purchase an additional label

Here's how:

  1. Sign in to the eBay app.
  2. Tap Selling, then Sold.
  3. Tap the order.
  4. Tap the arrow to the right of Leave Feedabck, then tap Manage Shipping.
  5. Tap the 3 dots and select the action you wish to complete.

You can also find a drop-off location for your item, print off packing slips and view or save QR codes from the Manage Shipping section on the app.

Buying and printing a postage label on eBay is quick and easy, and other print documents can be customised to drive buyer engagement.

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