eBay

maximum61 · ‎09-14-2023

I'm confused....I have a lot of used books to list. I don't understand how other sellers can sell a book for $3 and offer free shipping. And there are a ton of similar listings. Even with media mail rates, I can't turn a profit selling a $3 book. Can someone explain please?

lux-libri · ‎09-15-2023

@1786davycrockett wrote
It still remains unclear how sellers on Facebook are permitted to ship at $2.59, instead of $3.92.

Two possibilities:

Facebook negotiated a sweet commercial deal that has somehow eluded eBay, Amazon, Abe, Biblio, etc.

Or, Facebook is subsidizing media sellers and eating the sizable difference in postage.

The first scenario is unlikely. eBay and the other sites would have more power to negotiate lower MM rates, and that has never happened. The second scenario is possible but also implausible. FB isn't exactly known for giving away money.

nobody*s_perfect · ‎09-15-2023

Here's a third possibility, call it 1a: eBay is paying USPS less than the retail rate for MM labels, and keeps the difference.

robbie31415 · ‎09-15-2023

That is actually dirty but that last one would make the most sense.

I'd suspect Amazon would be doing the same to increase profits on these small transactions.

lux-libri · ‎09-15-2023

@nobody*s_perfect wrote:
Here's a third possibility, call it 1a: eBay is paying USPS less than the retail rate for MM labels, and keeps the difference.

Devious, but possible.

I suppose Amazon and other sites could do the same, but the grift would have to extend to Pirate Ship and other third parties. As it stands, Facebook is the only site offering MM at less than the counter rate. When has Zuck ever been the lone good guy?

robbie31415 · ‎09-15-2023

Something I just dug up is one of pirateships competitors, easyship advertises media mail rates starting at 2.80 for first lb.

lux-libri · ‎09-15-2023

I started reading an Easyship page that had the $2.80 price, but it seems to be outdated since it also mentioned First Class rates.

Most booksellers aren't rolling in money. It would have to be the best kept secret ever if there was a site offering Media Mail for $1.13 less and no one knew about it.

1786davycrockett · ‎09-15-2023

What is Commercial Mail? Is it Right for You?

The term "commercial mail" refers to larger quantities of mail prepared for mailing at reduced postage. In Business Mail 101, the term "commercial mail" means commercial First-Class Mail and advertising mail (called "USPS Marketing Mail" by the Postal Service). Commercial prices are available for other classes of mail, too.

Commercial prices are lower than "single-piece" prices. "Single-piece" means that you pay the full postage price; when you put a stamp on a letter, you're paying the single-piece postage. Many mailers pay single-piece postage even though they are doing large mailings. Why? Because they don't want to do any extra preparation work—they don't have the time, or it's just not cost effective for their business. Business Mail 101 will help you make smart choices about your own mail to determine if commercial prices are right for you.

What Are Commercial Prices?

The Postal Service offers lower prices for commercial mailings because you do some of the work that otherwise would have to be done by the Postal Service (for example, sorting the mail by ZIP Code or transporting the mail to a destination postal facility). Everyone benefits from this "work-sharing." Mailers make an investment in time and technology, the Postal Service's costs are reduced and you pay less postage.

In order to mail at commercial prices, you need to:

Get a mailing permit (permission to mail) and pay an annual mailing fee for each class of mail (First-Class Mail and USPS Marketing Mail).
Pay postage using one of several convenient methods: precanceled stamps, metered postage or permit imprint.
Make smart choices about the size, shape, and weight of your mailpiece.
Ensure that your addresses are accurate.
Presort the mailpieces (separate or sort your mail by ZIP Code).
Take your mail to the Post Office where you hold your mailing permit.

The choices you make can result in significant postage savings. Click here for information about the postage prices you'll pay.

Minimum Quantities for a Commercial Business Mailing

To qualify for certain postage discounts, you must mail a minimum number of pieces:

500 pieces for First-Class Mail.
200 pieces (or 50 pounds of mail) for USPS Marketing Mail.
50 pieces for Parcel Select.
300 pieces for Presorted or Carrier Route Bound Printed Matter.
300 pieces for Library Mail.
300 pieces for Media Mail.

That's direct from USPS.

So the MINIMUM mailing amount is 300 individual pieces to use USPS Media Rate/Commercial.

This kinda sounds similar to the contract that eBay has made with USPS regarding the eBay Standard Envelope (ESE) -- a "bulk" mailing, which is actually made from various individual spots from around the country, to account for the accumulated minimum number of daily mailings through USPS.

And -- yes -- if this contracted service is similar to the ESE, eBay should be able to negotiate the same deal for its USPS media sellers.

Hmm.

robbie31415 · ‎09-15-2023

First Class is on that list, so is Parcel Select, we get those don't we?

Would make sense if eBay had the commercial media mail rate, but instead of giving it to us, pocketed it?

lux-libri · ‎09-15-2023

I always assumed MM was cheap enough that USPS did not negotiate better rates like it does with other classes of mail.

It does seem possible, though, especially with MM prices up substantially in recent years. Probably a question best answered by eBay and its shipping team.

lepke1979 · ‎09-15-2023

There is a cheaper version of media mail that a lot of the book sellers/charities that sell tons of books have access to. Part of it is because they sell a lot. The other is they pre sort at their warehouse for the post office.

Couple that with the fact they might get the books for free (donated) or near free and have access to what might be free labor.

They also want you to buy more than one book so they can pocket the shipping.

yuzuha · ‎09-15-2023

@slati_2013 wrote:
Because on some auction sites, many local governments and libraries put up their outdated books for sale. The just want to get rid of the books. Make space. If you buy thousands of books for less than $100, sometimes I have seen pallets of books go for $10, you can list these books for $3 each with free shipping and still make a huge profit if you can sell the books. Given the price many of these sellers buy the books for, all it takes is selling just a few books to break even. Everything else is profit. The question is do they actually sell enough of the books to make big money?

My local thrift store has tubs and tubs of books for 5-10 cents each. Cheap books aren't hard to come by, it's selling enough of them to turn a profit that's the real issue.

femmefan1946 · ‎09-15-2023

Did you buy the books for resale?

Then any cost that is more than 10% of the selling price (including your costs for offering "free" shipping) is going to lose you money

Did you buy the books to enjoy yourself?

Then having read and enjoyed the book its cost is now zero, no matter what your credit card bill says.

Your costs are now shipping which is paid by the buyer, packaging and fees.

ajs_coins_and_alchemy · ‎09-15-2023

@nobody*s_perfect wrote:
Here's a third possibility, call it 1a: eBay is paying USPS less than the retail rate for MM labels, and keeps the difference.

Read through every single reply on this thread, and was thinking this thought the entire time. Was shocked to find it took until the 47th reply for someone to say/suggest it.

There is no way in all heck that EBay doesnt have MM Commercial pricing. If they WANTED to give sellers MM Commercial, they would fight for it and give it to us. If they didn't want to give sellers MM Commercial, they would sure as heck fight for it themselves and pocket the rest. So what I'm saying is there is no chance they don't have it, because they would absolutely get it to benefit their sellers or get it to benefit themselves financially. If they didn't get the Commercial MM rate (regardless who they'd give it to) and just forewent it all together, they'd be stupid as all heck.

Lastly... of course the HIGH VOLUME EBay book sellers are NOT using EBay labels and paying the retail rate. High volume book sellers on EBay either use labels from other services (or their own direct contracts with USPS) to get cheapest comm rates, OR they are offered the commercial rate direct from EBay.

lepke1979 · ‎09-15-2023

Shipping in Facebook is odd in general with the prices they sometimes charge. But my guess is it's more of a case where they want to get people to sell on the site even if they'll lose money because they're really making money tracking buyers shopping habits to then sell to advertisers.