UPS and eBay extended their multi-year relationship and introduced a new suite of shipping tools throughout the eBay marketplace. The two companies introduced the new services at eBay's conference in Orlando last week where UPS was exhibiting and was Title Sponsor of the event.

The new services calculate costs for various UPS and postal services, track UPS shipments, review transit times and print shipping labels, all at the point of transaction. Sellers no longer need to toggle from eBay to UPS' Web site to process or track shipments, nor do they have to email the information to their customers.

Part of the announcement focused around eBay's new optional shipping calculator for sellers, a free optional calculator that can be included in eBay listings. The calculator allows sellers to enter shipping information such as weight, package size, shipping service, and any handling fees when they list their items. eBay can then calculate USPS and UPS shipping rates based on the buyer's zip code and the service selected.

Rates will be displayed in a calculator on the listing page and in the payment process. Currently, the calculator will only support shipments within the United States. Turbo Lister and Seller's Assistant will support the shipping calculator in the near future.

FAQ: http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/shipping-faqs.html

Tutorial: http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/actual-rate-example.html

eBay and UPS began working together in December 2000 with the creation of a shipping information center on the eBay Web site. Last year, the two companies integrated UPS shipping tools into PayPal's payment process.