New postal rates are coming. Merry Holidaze...

[jayjaspersgarage]

From the recent announcement posted by ebay:

Effective January 9, 2022, rates for the following USPS shipping services will increase an average of:  

• Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express—3.1% increase  
• First Class Package—8.8% increase  
• Priority Mail International— 3.7% increase   
• First Class Package International Service—4.2% increase  

I don't use the other services and by now everyone will have seen the full post.

[jayjaspersgarage]

"Can we talk about how the "Flat Rate" boxes shrink every year?"

You might be thinking of package "shrinkage" in the food industry.  Cereal boxes and now the standard drink can sizes are getting smaller.  Candy bars have shrunk significantly since the 1960's.

The flat rate boxes are very close to the size they were when I started selling in 2011.  I can't comment on shipping box sizes prior to that year.  

[jayjaspersgarage]

"Lucky you, cost of living doesn't increase 8-10% per year like postage has."

Really?  You are correct in that the COL does not increase 8% each year since the cost of food is up 35% in the last three years.  Rents are out of control.  (Thankfully I haven't rented since 1982)  What else?  Lumber, I am a carpenter.  Did you know lumber has gone up 100% in the past four years?  Fuel affects all consumer goods.  The price of fuel is way up in relation to incomes since 2001.  

Cost of living fluctuates wildly among families and cultures I am sure but 8-10% is a pipe dream regardless of the government reports.  They leave out some of the most basic costs when reporting cost of living increases.

Bridge fares are going up another dollar in four days in the San Francisco Bay Area.  That's roughly a 14% increase which admittedly is not an annual increase and is only an increase for those who cross bridges in the toll direction.  People who drive out of the City for New Years Eve get to pay a dollar more on the way home after midnight.  

Btw.  Happy New Year everyone!

[jayjaspersgarage]

"Why hasn't eBay added the new postal rates for Priority mail?? A medium box is $16.25 but eBay has it at $15.50 Large is $21.00 and small is $9.25 I know this is true because I have lost money on shipping before I got the new prices at the post office"

Why would you buy anything over the counter at the post office?  I charge the retail rate and keep the savings from printing the labels at my ebay office.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@jayjaspersgarage wrote: ... What I would like to see is a little bit larger small flat rate box size.  Perhaps an inch in each dimension.  

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That exists!  Sorta.  The box known as 1096-L is not flat rate but last time I checked it would fit inside a padded flat rate envelope.

https://store.usps.com/store/product/shipping-supplies/priority-mail-box-1096l-P_O_1096L

[jayjaspersgarage]

"

@tsme35 wrote:

April 3rd, 2022   USPS is adding a $4 surcharge to packages longer than 20", $15 surcharge on packages longer than 30", ebay didn't add that to the last postage increase announcement

Ahhh!  That's right!  For some reason I thought it was being bundled in with the January rate hikes!  Best get that stuff outta here pretty quickly, then.  I've already started back to listing heavier clothing items to sell hopefully before the USPS rates go up again in January."

There is a lot of scheming going on here.  I love it!  Share your cost saving ideas on shipping.  For longer items I plan on using a saw since I am a carpenter.  Plenty of saws around my ranch.

For blue jeans I figure on selling two pairs at a time and using a medium 'flatten the pants' rate box instead of stuffing one pair in a padded FRE.

[jayjaspersgarage]

"This sounds to me like they felt they needed a disincentive for shippers who were willing to take a risk that their unpaid dimensional weight wouldn't be detected and back-charged."

Kenny Rogers sang a song about these shipping rate changes.  You've got to know when to hold em'...know when to fold em'...

[jayjaspersgarage]

"No way will I spend $25-$35 shipping a fishing rod with the record they've had for breaking them and not covering the shipping in the insurance claim."

I wouldn't be surprised if this rate increase finally closes the door on certain categories since the cost of shipping is too much for customers to make the purchase.  I don't buy a lot of clothes at Costco but I can see the prices for new jeans that I sell used.  It's very hard to compete with a massive company.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@jayjaspersgarage wrote: ... For blue jeans I figure on selling two pairs at a time and using a medium 'flatten the pants' rate box instead of stuffing one pair in a padded FRE.

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The Medium FRB often costs more than regular Priority rates based on weight and Zone.  

At current online prices, the MFRB costs more than shipping 3 pounds up to Zone 6, or 5 pounds up to Zone 5. Or 13 (yes, thirteen) pounds to Zones 1&2.

You should look into the Regional "A" boxes for items that you can't cram into a FRE.

[skeletonstore]

"The united states post office,  by amazon",  yeah after amazon buys up ebay for pennies on the dollar they will own the post office soon after.  Unions are once again to blame.  I live in the what was once called the "Shoe Capital of the World".  We were known for men's shoes.  95% of all Union soldier(Ironic, don't you think?)wore shoes made in Brockton, MA.  I can only figure undesirables from Europe emigrated to the area and unionized(communists)and drove the businesses out(south and then to china). The state got very liberal as well on crime.  Now it's the drug capital of the state,  known now for chain malls, worthless boxers and fast food.  The postal workers here?  LAZY.  I've got them to go postal at my door by leaving packages(I have daily pickups).  Chinazon is on my street 7 days a week.   It's pretty bad when priority is almost as much as 1st class and parcel post is more expensive than priority and none of these services are what they used to be.  Ebay doesn't even show my listings anymore,  forces me to delete them and relist to get fake views.  All they care about amazon drop shipper revenue.  Ebay fought hard to make sure our addresses were required for each listing.  Why don't they voluntarily flag all chinese accounts?  Most have fake addresses.  They know who they are,  they know by the fake tracking they are not who they say they are.  That would bring a rapid end to ebay as Americans are starting to resent china in general.  It's actually war and corporations are playing along.  We sellers are paying the price, and then $ome.   

[tsme35]

Not wrong, the higher the shipping rates go, there's less inventory that will sell. I can raise prices just so high before its not profitable, that's economics. Not to mention shipping supplies are going up, envelopes and boxes have risen 20 to 150%, the long boxes I ship my fishing rods back in Jan. was $55 per 50, today their at $147. Been selling for over 15 yrs, I've rolled with all the punches ebay has thrown out but the USPS will probably be what kills my business.

 Right now USPS shipping on a fishing rod is average $10, $5 for the box, $1.20 ebay shipping fee. Come April it jumps to $26, $9 for the box(i'll be out of the cheaper boxes and have to buy more) and close to $3 ebay shipping fee.  I'm pretty good at selling here but no way I can double shipping and think someone's gonna buy a $10 fishing rod.

[tsme35]

I'm listing all my long items, even doubling them up to get them out the door. I have to again change my business plan for 2022, already having to pass on huge lots of fishing gear because half of it won't sell after april

[tsme35]

It all boils down to who butters the USPS's bread, letters crash but us small sellers are the one's that keep them a float, their own retirement requirement is what put them in the red or they'd be OK'ish, they should be looking at the major changes, cut in sellers because of the 1099 requirement, the river is now delivering most of their own packages now out rural where I'm at(mail lady almost has no river package for a couple months now.  Gonna be a major drop in packages that for sure

[katzrul15]

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@jayjaspersgarage wrote:

"

@tsme35 wrote:

April 3rd, 2022   USPS is adding a $4 surcharge to packages longer than 20", $15 surcharge on packages longer than 30", ebay didn't add that to the last postage increase announcement

Ahhh!  That's right!  For some reason I thought it was being bundled in with the January rate hikes!  Best get that stuff outta here pretty quickly, then.  I've already started back to listing heavier clothing items to sell hopefully before the USPS rates go up again in January."

There is a lot of scheming going on here.  I love it!  Share your cost saving ideas on shipping.  For longer items I plan on using a saw since I am a carpenter.  Plenty of saws around my ranch.

For blue jeans I figure on selling two pairs at a time and using a medium 'flatten the pants' rate box instead of stuffing one pair in a padded FRE.

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@jayjaspersgarage 

You can get 2 pairs of mens jeans in a medium flat rate?  Do you roll them? 

(Asking for a friend....lol)

[chapeau-noir]

@katzrul15I slide them into a plastic bag, sit on the bag to squeeze the air out and pop them into the box. I used to specialise in larger size men's jeans.

[chapeau-noir]

NB:  The USPS is discontinuing the large flat rate puzzle/game boxes - after existing supplies are out, that's it.  I use that box a lot for shipping coats (I sell a lot of coats) and heavy clothing bundles that ship several zones out so ordered another 25, but just a heads up.

@nobody*s_perfect  The regional A's are definitely an option - the only problem with them is that they're awfully small, even smaller than the shirt size USPS boxes.  They fit much less than the medium flat raters.

Shipping costs are a constant struggle for me because of my location - due to population distribution, save for California, most buyers are several zones away.