How many tracking numbers can one eBay order have?
Up to 6 tracking numbers per order. You add them in Seller Hub under Dispatch, or in My eBay from More actions, and each one you save emails the buyer the tracking details. Use several numbers when one order leaves in more than one box.
Adding the second number
Open Seller Hub and find the order under Paid and shipped.
Select the order, choose Dispatch, then Add tracking number.
Enter the new number, pick the carrier, and save.
Repeat for each further parcel, up to 6 numbers on the order.
Check the buyer received the tracking email for each one.
The same action is in My eBay: go to Orders, pick Add tracking number from More actions, then Submit. Editing and deleting a tracking number use the same route.
When one order needs more than one number
| Situation | What to upload |
|---|---|
| One order, two boxes | One tracking number per box, both on the same order |
| Several orders, one box | The same tracking number on each of those orders |
| Voided and rebought label | Delete the dead number, add the new one |
| Heavy item, own box | Its own number alongside the others |
| Replacement sent later | Add it to the order so the buyer can follow it |
What several numbers do to your metrics
eBay measures the transaction, not the parcel. One order with three tracking numbers is still one transaction for the late shipment rate and for the tracking uploaded percentage, so the question is only whether the record was there in time. Get the first number uploaded within handling time and the order is on the board. Numbers added later still help the buyer follow the rest of the shipment.
A late shipment is removed on review when the tracking uploaded before the latest estimated delivery date shows an acceptance scan within handling time or delivery by that date.
Splitting a shipment the buyer is watching
Two numbers and no explanation reads as a mistake, especially when one parcel moves and the other sits. Message the buyer as you upload the second number and say what is in each box. Also remember that orders totalling $750 or more require signature confirmation, and the threshold is the order total, not what any single box is worth.
Key takeaways
- The limit is 6 tracking numbers on one eBay order.
- Uploading a tracking number marks the order as shipped.
- You can add, edit or delete tracking details through the same screens.
- Handling time is judged on the first upload, so get box one on the record on time.
Two boxes, two labels, both numbers on the order
Line level fulfilment is supported on eBay, so an order that ships in two parcels can be bought as two labels here. Each label posts its own tracking number and carrier back to that eBay order with the line items it covers, and eBay emails the buyer each time.
In the other direction, orders going to the same destination address are grouped, so one label can write one tracking number to every order in the box. If a write-back fails it retries for up to 7 days.
Related questions
Yes. The same screens that add tracking let you edit or delete the details, in Seller Hub under Dispatch and in My eBay under More actions. Replace the number when you voided the label and bought another, and delete anything that will never move, because a dead number is worse for the buyer than no number.
The buyer gets an email with the order tracking details when tracking is added, so a second upload means a second message. That is a reason to upload the numbers as the parcels actually ship rather than all at once, and to say in a message what is in each box.
No. That is how a combined package is recorded: each order carries the shared number, gets marked as shipped and gets its own buyer email. It is the right thing to do, because an order with no tracking on it counts against your tracking uploaded percentage even when its contents shipped with something else.
Six numbers on one order is the ceiling, and an order needing more parcels than that is usually a freight or pallet conversation rather than a parcel one. If you genuinely split into more shipments, upload the numbers for the parcels the buyer most needs to track and keep the rest in a message on the order so the record is still complete.