Merchants selling goods on the UK eBay site can now set the amount they want to pay to send goods to specific countries.

Sellers can now provide customers with postage costs, based on either the type of item being sent or its weight, for more than 200 countries.

eBay's official announcement says: "For example, sellers can specify different postage costs of £2 to Austria, £3 to Belarus and £4 to Belgium."

The cost of international postage for any item will vary according to the carrier used, the size of what is being sent, and where it has to be collected from.

eBay has an easy step-by-step guide and video on its site showing merchants how they can set up their international carriage charges tables.

While the innovation should make it easier and encourage more businesses to consider selling to an international audience, eBay warns sellers: "You must continue to comply with applicable laws relating to refunds and returns and these may vary in different countries. You must make it clear in your listing if you do not cover the cost of postage of any returned items."

Users of third-party selling tools have been advised to check with their provider when the tables will be available for their use.