How to set up flat-rate shipping

This topic builds on the concepts covered in the topic How to set up free shipping (seller pays).

In this example, the buyer pays for a flat-rate shipping service and the seller offers just a single shipping service. To see how to set up multiple shipping services, allowing the buyer to choose their preferred service, see How to set up calculated shipping.

To create a buyer-pays for a domestic flat-rate shipping option:

1. Use createFulfillmentPolicy to create the fulfillment policy that will include your shipping policy.
2. In the shippingOptions field, create a ShippingOption element with the following settings:
   • Set optionType to DOMESTIC.
   • Set costType to FLAT_RATE.

3. Populate the shippingServices container with your variation on what's shown in the following snippet of a fulfillment policy:

   {
     "categoryTypes": [
       {
         "name": "ALL_EXCLUDING_MOTORS_VEHICLES"
       }
     ],
     "marketplaceId": "EBAY_US",
     "name": "Domestic buyer-pays flat-rate shipping",
     "shippingOptions": [
       {
         "costType": "FLAT_RATE",
         "optionType": "DOMESTIC",
         "shippingServices": [
           {
             "buyerResponsibleForShipping": "true",
             "freeShipping": "false",
             "shippingCarrierCode": "USPS",
             "shippingServiceCode": "USPSPriorityFlatRateBox",
             "shippingCost": {
               "currency": "USD",
               "value": "7.15"
             }
           }
         ]
       }
     ]
   }					
   

Some notes about the settings in this policy:

• When you indicate the buyer pays for a flat-rate shipping service, you must specify an amount in the shippingCost field (whereas if the seller pays for a flat-rate shipping service, shippingCost is automatically set to "0.0").

  The shippingCost value indicates the base amount the buyer will be charged to ship the item, excluding any additional fees. The amount you specify should be based on the true cost of the associated shipping service.

  In this example, shippingCost is set to "7.15" in US dollars, which is the cost (at the time of this writing) to ship a "small flat rate box" weighing up to 70 lbs using the selected shipping service ("USPS Priority Flat Rate Box").