eBay International Shipping Program Expands To Include Alaska, Hawaii & Puerto Rico
eBay will soon allow US sellers to leverage eBay International Shipping hubs to help reduce friction and risk of shipping to domestic locations in Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.
The expansion of EIS services was announced in this week's Summer Seller Check In, with Program Manager Kristen Pincus explaining that while they are technically domestic to the US, the longer distance can make shipping challenging and expensive, leading sellers to block sales to these locations.
I know Puerto Rico is a US territory and Alaska and Hawaii are non-contiguous US states, so this may sound a little silly given that they aren't international, but eBay International Shipping found a cost-effective solution that allows sellers to reach buyers in these locations by adding them to the EIS program.
If you're already shipping to these locations, no changes are needed and you'll still benefit from having us move these into the program.
But, if you're somebody who has them excluded, we think this is the solution for you. The long distance of shipping to Puerto Rico, Alaska, and Hawaii has made it difficult and ultimately costly for some sellers to include these locations. We're seeing them excluded despite the large buyer pool that exists in these areas.
So by including these faraway locations in EIS, the seller only has to ship to the domestic hub. You can continue offering free shipping and only pay the rates to our hub...
..You'll also enjoy all the other protections EIS has to offer, like eBay handling returns and refund at no cost to you and VeRO complaints. If your account is in good standing and you're already enrolled in EIS, we will automatically display your listings to the expanded locations when they're available.
Kristen said the expansion is expected to rollout in Q3 and was quick to reassure sellers in the Q&A segment that self-shipping options will still be available for sellers who wish to continue to offer shipping directly to those locations instead of using EIS.
This expansion could be useful in some situations, but both buyers and sellers may be concerned about whether the EIS hubs can handle the additional volume.
Delays, missorting and lost packages have been an ongoing problem since EIS launched in 2022.
Liz Morton
In theory, there should be less issues with shipments going to AK, HI, and PR since there will not be additional customs or regulatory issues to consider, but even domestic shipments can experience delays if the hub is flooded with many orders to process - as we've seen with eBay's authentication centers.
Liz Morton
If you currently block shipping to AK, HI, and PR, would you consider using the eBay International Shipping to offer service to those locations? Let us know in the comments below!
