REMEMBER: If you're using USPS Flat Rate boxes, your customer most likely will know that it cost you $7.70 to ship the item. If you want to add a handling fee that is more than $2 or $3, you might want to consider sticking with the regular USPS Priority boxes.

Hi...I'm Leigh Goldstein, Senior Manager for eBay's Shipping Product Marketing. Bill Cobb has tasked me and my team with making shipping easier, faster and safer for both buyers and sellers. In response, we're working on a number of projects that we hope will benefit both buyers and sellers, such as making shipping costs more visible to buyers and integrating shipping features so that we can help sellers reduce the amount of time it takes them to fulfill their orders.

Today, I'm pleased to be able to tell you about a new feature that is launching soon. One of the most frequent requests we've heard from sellers over the last few months is for eBay's Online Postage to support the new flat rate boxes from the U.S. Postal Service. Starting in the next few weeks, eBay will offer the option to purchase and print USPS® Priority Mail Flat Rate Box labels. The postage for these flat rate boxes is $7.70 for delivery to all U.S. addresses, including PO boxes.

Here are some of the features included:

Purchase and print Priority Mail Flat Rate Box labels directly through eBay or PayPal.
Priority Mail delivery to buyers takes an average of 2-3 days to any U.S. destination.
Saturday and residential delivery is available at no additional charge.
Delivery Confirmation™ is available at no additional cost when printing a shipping label online.
eBay Sellers can order FREE eBay-USPS co-branded Priority Mail Flat Rate shipping boxes beginning in mid-May from http://ebaysupplies.usps.com. (Please allow 8 to 10 days for shipping.)
USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes are available in two convenient sizes, 11" x 8.5" x 5.5" and 13.625" x 11.875" x 3.375", and the maximum weight is 70 lbs.

Printing shipping labels for Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes is fast, easy and free with eBay's Online Postage. Simply pay for the postage with your PayPal account and print the shipping labels on your standard or label printer. You can eliminate trips to the Post Office™ by printing USPS shipping labels and scheduling a pickup! (Also eBay's Online Postage will support more label printers soon, so keep an eye on the General Announcements Board for this update.) For more information about eBay's Online Postage, please visit the USPS Shipping Zone on eBay.

Your input is important to us, and we invite you to leave us comments on the Packaging & Shipping discussion board. Again, eBay's shipping team is dedicated to making shipping a trusted and easy part of an eBay transaction for both buyers and sellers. Stay tuned for more shipping news in the coming weeks and months.

Regards,

Leigh Goldstein,
eBay Shipping Team