International shipping for Etsy and eBay sellers
What the platform covers, what it leaves to you, and the gaps in between.
Selling on a marketplace changes what you have to do about shipping, but less than people expect. The platform handles the commercial side well and the physical side barely at all.
What the marketplace does handle
Collecting tax at checkout. Both Etsy and eBay collect import VAT on many routes at the point of sale, under schemes designed so the buyer is not charged again at the door. When it works, the customer pays once and the parcel clears without a bill.
Selling postage. Both offer discounted labels for many origin countries. If you buy postage through the platform, the label is a real carrier label with a real tracking number.
Prompting for customs data. When you buy an international label through the platform, it asks for contents, value and category, and prints the customs declaration as part of the label.
That last point matters: if you buy your label through the marketplace, your customs form is handled. Much of the advice below applies to the other case.
What it does not handle
Anything if you buy postage elsewhere. Plenty of sellers take the parcel to a post office counter, or use a carrier account, or ship from a country the platform does not support. Then the customs form is entirely yours.
Handling marks. No platform prints a fragile or this-way-up sticker. If the contents need one, that is you and a printer.
Correct addressing for the destination. The platform prints the address the buyer typed, in the order the buyer typed it. If a German buyer entered their house number before the street, or a US buyer omitted their state, the label carries the mistake through.
A second label. Some sellers want their own label with their own order reference for warehouse or workflow reasons. The platform will not print that.
Where sellers actually get caught
Describing contents too vaguely
The customs description field is free text, and “gift”, “goods” and “clothing” all pass validation. They also invite inspection. Write what the item is: “cotton scarf, hand woven”, not “apparel”.
Declaring a sale as a gift
The buyer asks, or you think you are being kind. Customs sees a business address, three identical items and a gift declaration, and holds the parcel. See the category guide for what each box means.
Assuming tax was collected when it was not
The schemes have conditions: order value thresholds, particular destinations, particular seller setups. Outside those conditions the buyer is charged at delivery, plus a handling fee, and they will contact you rather than the carrier. Know which of your routes are covered.
Shipping restricted items without checking
Marketplace policy and carrier policy are different lists, and neither is the destination country’s list. An item can be perfectly legal to sell, accepted by the platform, and refused by the carrier or the destination. Batteries, cosmetics, liquids and anything plant-derived are the usual ones.
Not saying anything about import charges
The single cheapest fix. A line in the listing saying buyers outside your country may pay import charges prevents most of the negative feedback that follows a surprise bill.
Practical setup for a small seller
- Keep HS codes for your own products somewhere you can copy them. You sell the same few things repeatedly; look the codes up once.
- Save your sender address rather than retyping it. Retyping is where typos come from.
- Weigh accurately. Under-declared weight causes surcharges; over-declared costs postage.
- Photograph the packed parcel with the label visible before you drop it off. It settles disputes quickly.
- Print handling marks separately when contents are fragile. Marketplace labels have no room for them.
What this site does
Labelbench prints an address and handling label, formats the address the way the destination country expects, and adds the customs block the route needs. It is useful when you are not buying postage through the platform, when you want your own order reference on the box, or when you need handling stickers.
It does not buy postage and cannot issue a tracking number. Only a carrier can do that, against an account held with them. If you need a tracked carrier label, buy it through the marketplace or the carrier and add this one alongside if you want your own reference on the parcel.