Overview of eBay Guaranteed Delivery options, which is supported by ShipStation, and how to manage those orders.
Yes! ShipStation supports eBay Guaranteed Delivery when using the Door-to-Door Guarantee option.
eBay has two options available for fulfilling eBay Guaranteed Delivery orders.
Door-to-Door Option (D2D)
Handling Time Option (HTO)
The Door-To-Door Option (D2D) is available to eBay sellers using ShipStation. The D2D option allows you to ship your eBay Guaranteed Delivery orders through ShipStation just as easily as you would any other order. Your company-specific label branding will even still show on your labels (which is something you would lose with the Handling Time option).
The Handling Time Option (HTO) is currently not available to eBay sellers using ShipStation, as eBay requires you use their branded labels, as well as a few other eBay-side automated options.
Once you have signed up for the D2D option in eBay, there are no changes you need to make in ShipStation. Your orders will import to ShipStation just as they always have!
eBay does have a few requirements though...
You will need to sell your items with Immediate Payment enabled, offer returns, deliver shipments within 4 days of purchase, and set up rate tables on the eBay side.
Although eBay Guaranteed Delivery orders are not yet being tagged within ShipStation, if you have your workflow established within ShipStation, you'll be ready to start! (Scroll to the bottom of this article for a few helpful hints on how to efficiently ship these orders in ShipStation!)
DTD and HTO Comparison
Use the Door-to-Door Option |
Use the Handling Time Option |
|
|---|---|---|
BUSINESS MODEL |
Best if you wish to guarantee your own delivery dates. |
Best if you can guarantee 0-1 day handling time, but do not wish to guarantee delivery dates. |
REQUIREMENTS |
|
|
DELIVERY DATE |
You guarantee the date based on regional rate tables. |
eBay figures this out for you and guarantees the delivery date. |
LATE ARRIVAL |
You cover the shipping cost refund or return label. |
eBay covers the shipping cost refund or free return label if you meet handling time. |
While eBay Guaranteed Delivery orders aren't currently tagged in ShipStation, one option you have is to tag the product records in ShipStation for your eBay items that use Guaranteed Delivery. You can use these tags to create Automation Rules and searchable order views to help you isolate these eBay orders.
One last thing...
We understand that these eBay Guaranteed Delivery Orders have a shorter window of time to be fulfilled than most of your other orders, so you definitely want to make sure they're importing correctly. Every year or so, eBay makes third-party connections to your eBay account (like ShipStation) re-authenticate. So, if you get an error saying Auth Token Has Expired, be sure to reconfigure your store connection!