eBay is accelerating its efforts to lower shipping costs and improve efficiency across its marketplace, especially on the fashion resale site Depop that it bought in July for $1.4 billion. The company has already lowered shipping costs for Depop sellers by offering its negotiated carrier rates, and also rolled out new delivery services and artificial intelligence-powered features.

On last week’s earnings call, eBay President and CEO Jamie Iannone highlighted the benefits of bringing Depop into the company’s existing shipping network. He did not specify how much they will be cut but said access to eBay's carrier contracts had already helped to reduce shipping and parcel costs.

eBay has negotiated discounted shipping rates with major U.S. carriers, including the United States Postal Service (USPS), FedEx and UPS. “Taking these arrangements to Depop is making the shipping investments more efficient, although Iannone indicated that there are still planned improvements.

“We’ve already reduced shipping and parcel rates for Depop by leveraging eBay’s carrier rates, making shipping investments more efficient and there’s a lot more work for us to do there,” he said.

The move comes amid ongoing pressure on online retail deals from the cost of deliveries. Shipping costs have risen this year, partly due to higher surcharges linked to fuel, meaning transport costs are becoming a more important factor for lower-priced fashion products.

In August, eBay CFO Peggy Alford, on an earnings call, pointed out that for cheap clothes and accessories, shipping costs can be a big part of what customers actually pay. This could mean more products that buyers like and more trades on Depop.

Improved affordability across a wider range of price points is already helping to boost conversion rates, driving stronger customer acquisition and building a more engaged buyer community, Alford said.

In addition to the changes at Depop, eBay is also revamping its larger delivery infrastructure and rolling out new tools designed to make shipping easier for sellers.

One of the latest developments is an improved artificial intelligence-based delivery date prediction model, recently launched in six major export markets: the United States, China, the United Kingdom, France, Canada and Poland. “The new system gives eBay the ability to make fast delivery commitments on more products, while still ensuring the reliability of our estimated arrival dates,” Iannone said. An eBay spokesman confirmed the list of markets in an email to Supply Chain Dive.

The marketplace also employs artificial intelligence for its listing and shipping operations. eBay has a tool called “Magical Listing” that will estimate the size and weight of a parcel, create a prepaid shipping label, and give you tracking information.

“The technology is designed to remove a lot of manual processes that sellers had to do themselves. The platform can now automate a lot of the work rather than requiring users to figure out shipping specs and buy a label separately.

At a Goldman Sachs conference in September, Iannone illustrated the approach with an example of selling two speakers. In the past, sellers would have had to buy a shipping label and do the related steps themselves. With the new AI capabilities, eBay can figure out the shipping cost and do the work for them.

These developments underscore the increasing role of artificial intelligence in online marketplaces, where automation is increasingly being used to optimize product listings, calculate shipping costs and streamline fulfilment operations.

eBay is also boosting its international shipping services in Europe. The company launched eBay International Shipping in the United Kingdom and Germany in the third quarter.

In this model, eBay is responsible for a number of steps in the cross-border transaction, including shipping, customs, returns, and post-purchase customer service. The service is designed to make international sales easier for sellers and to provide a more integrated delivery experience for buyers.

For the UK market, eBay believes the new scheme could save as much as 30 per cent in costs compared with its previous global shipping scheme.

Together the measures are part of eBay's overall strategy to lower the cost and complexity of doing business online. The company is seeking to enhance the experience for sellers and buyers, while supporting further growth across its marketplace, with access to more competitive carrier rates, AI-assisted shipping tools and expanded international services.