Postage discounts let you offer buyers savings on postage when they purchase multiple items from you. Offering a postage discount may encourage buyers to buy additional items from you.

Listings with postage discounts appear to buyers with the message: "Save on postage" When buyers pay for more than one item and your postage discounts are set up and activated, eBay will automatically calculate the postage discount and deduct it from the total postage cost. The postage discount will be shown to your buyers when they complete payment.

Note: To offer postage discounts, you must offer combined payments. For more information on combined payments, see Using Combined Payments. You set your postage discounts in My eBay Preferences.

You can offer postage discounts whether you sell many similar items or a wide variety of items. If you want to expand a rule to fit your needs better, you can create profile names. Profile names are a way for you to manage your postage discount rules. See more information on Managing Profiles.

You can specify the following for postage discounts on combined purchases:

• Flat postage rules

• Calculated postage rules

• Promotional postage rules

• Insurance rules

Set Postage Discounts

To set up postage discounts:

Note: To exclude an item from postage discounts, clear the "Apply a postage discount if the buyer purchases multiple items from me" check box on the Sell Your Item form. A buyer may still send a combined payment to you, but a postage discount will not be applied.

Flat Postage Rules

You can choose from four options to create a flat postage rule. This rule will apply to all listings for which you specify flat postage costs and combined postage discounts. Select one rule, and then apply profiles to the rule.

• Charge the buyers the postage price for the item with the highest postage cost, and then add an additional cost for each item they purchase from you.
  
  Example: A buyer purchases 3 items with a postage cost of $5.00 plus $2.00 for each additional item. The combined postage cost for these items would be $9.00 ($5.00 + $2.00 + $2.00).
  
  

• Charge the buyers the postage price for the item with the highest postage cost, and then despatch any additional items they purchase from you for free.
  
  Example: A buyer purchases 3 items with a postage cost of $5.00 plus $0.00 for each additional item. The combined postage cost for these items would be $5.00.
   
  

• Charge the buyers the postage price for the item with the highest postage cost, and then subtract a postage cost for each additional item they purchase from you.
  
  Example: A buyer purchases 3 items with a postage cost of $5.00 minus $2.00 for each additional item. The combined postage costs for these items would be $11.00 ($5.00 + $3.00 + $3.00).
   
  

• Charge the buyers the postage price for the item with the highest postage cost, and then subtract a percentage for each additional item they purchase from you.
  
  Example: A buyer purchases 3 items. One item has a postage cost of $7.00, another has a postage cost of $5.00, and another has a postage cost of $3.00. You specified that the buyer be charged the highest postage cost and receive 50% off postage for each additional item. The combined postage costs for these 3 items would be $11.00 ($7.00 + $2.50 + $1.50).

Calculated Postage Rules

You can choose from three options to create a calculated postage rule. This rule will apply to all listings for which you specify calculated postage and combined postage discounts.

• Calculate the postage price by the individual weight of each item. This rule assumes you are postage all items separately.

• Calculate the postage price by the combined weight of each item. This rule assumes you are despatching the items in a single package.

• Calculate the postage price by the weight of each item, and then subtract a specified number of ounces for each additional item a buyer purchases from you
  .
  Example: You have listed 3 items and each item weighs 1 pound. You have specified US Postal Service Priority Mail as your postage service. The postage cost for each individual item is $4.05. A buyer purchases 3 items and you have specified that 8 ounces be subtracted from each additional item purchased. The total weight for the items would be 2 pounds (1 pound + 8 oz. + 8 oz) and so the total postage cost would be $4.20.

Handling Costs

If you specify a handling cost, it is added to the calculated postage cost. The handling cost is not displayed to buyers separately – it is included in the postage cost.

The options for handling costs are:

• Charge a handling cost for entire order. This will add one handling cost for a package of combined items.

• Change the full handling cost for each item. This adds a handling cost to each item in a package.

Promotional Postage Rules

You can choose from three options to create a promotional postage rule. This rule applies to all listings that have combined postage discounts (for both flat and calculated shipping costs). When buyers qualify for your promotional postage rule, the promotion takes priority

• Spend a specified amount on 2 or more items and postage is free or discounted.
  
  Example: You can specify that if a buyer purchases 2 items for a total of $25.00, the buyer receives free postage. Or you can specify that if a buyer purchases 2 or more items for a total cost of $25.00, the buyer pays only $2.00 for postage.
  
  

• Buy a specified number of items and postage is free or discounted.
  
  Example: You can specify that if a buyer purchases 4 or more items from you, the items will be despatched for free. Or you can specify that if buyer purchases 4 or more items from you, the total postage cost will be $2.00.
   

• Charge a maximum postage amount for a single order.
  
  Example: You can specify that a buyer be charged no more than $5.00 for postage if the buyer purchases more than one item from you.

Insurance Rules

The insurance rules apply to all packages in which you combine items for postage. If you select Required, then even if the other items purchased do not require insurance, the combined package will require insurance.

The insurance cost table applies to packages with flat postage only. The table determines the amount that appears to the buyers and is based on the final cost of the item. The final cost of the item does not include postage. If you offer flat postage, you must complete the cost table.

If you have multiple listings, some with calculated postage costs and some with flat postage costs, eBay will use the cost table for all insurance rates.

Note: We’ll soon be discontinuing the postage insurance option on the "Sell Your Item" form.

Managing Profiles

Profiles are a way for you to manage your combined postage discount rules. When you select a rule for your postage discounts, you can specify the amount you want additional items to cost for postage. One way to manage postage discounts is to name your profile something easy for you to identify and remember.

Example 1: You use flat postage and name one profile “Light items” and specify $1.00 as the additional cost per item. You name another profile “Heavy items” and specify $3.00 as the additional cost per item.

Example 2: You use calculated postage and name one profile “Light items” and specify 3 ounces as the weight for each additional item. You name another profile “Heavy items” and specify 5 ounces as the weight for each additional item.

You select the profile name in the Sell Your Item form when you add postage discounts to your listing.

Note: When you delete profile names, listings with that profile name will no longer have combined postage discounts. However, if the listing has any activity, such as a bid, then the combined postage discount profile will still apply.