Loss of USPS Regional Rate Boxes will be costly for Booksellers

[lost-lizard-trading-company]

Loss of use of USPS Regional Rate Boxes will be costly for book sellers. RRB were a welcome and useful shipping tool for many online sellers, especially book sellers and other shippers of small, compact items.

Today (1/1/2023) I prepared a 7# shipment which will ship in a RRB-A (an 11 by 3 by 13" USPS-provided Priority Box). Today the cost of that shipment is $10.63; at the end of this month (effective January 22, 2023) it will be $20.82, nearly a 100% shipping price increase (especially if you include the increase in sellers' fees from the fee assessment on shipping).  The larger "B" RRBs were especially useful for heavy, over-sized books for which using RRB made a competitive alternative to Media Mail.

Did anyone consider the effects of this change on shippers who relied on RR Box options?  Is there an easy way to pull specific shipping options from listings?

[eaux-de-vie]

I am confused as to why you are not shipping books Media rate. I cannot even imagine a regional A being less than Media, there is only so much you can jam into those little boxes, even if the stuff is heavy. Are you talking about magazines, in which case, yes the regional would be less than regular priority or probably parcel. I just used some regional to ship gifts. 

[glgenterprise]

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@eaux-de-vie wrote:

I am confused as to why you are not shipping books Media rate. I cannot even imagine a regional A being less than Media, there is only so much you can jam into those little boxes, even if the stuff is heavy. Are you talking about magazines, in which case, yes the regional would be less than regular priority or probably parcel. I just used some regional to ship gifts. 

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It's usually not. I ship almost exclusively Media Mail on a different account and if it would fit in a regional A box, it would have to be going in the same zone I live in to beat MM. Where I will take a hit is on on being able to ship to several zones with regional B with a "free" upgrade to priority.

And to answer a previous question - you should be able to use the regional boxes as regular priority boxes with the proper dimensions and weight. I did that with my leftover regional rate C boxes when they discontinued that rate years ago.

[rudy2828]

Most magazines can't go MM (legally).

[wastingtime101]

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@rudy2828 wrote:

Most magazines can't go MM (legally).

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NO magazines are eligible for media mail. (source)

[varebelrose]

Why would anyone consider shipping books by priority versus media mail? The cost of shipping alone would likely force your prices above competitors?

[readabouthorses]

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@varebelrose wrote:

Why would anyone consider shipping books by priority versus media mail? The cost of shipping alone would likely force your prices above competitors?

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If I were shipping a very expensive or rare book I would probably ship Priority instead of Media Mail. Media Mail can get opened for inspection and trust me, as someone who has received books that were opened and reshipped, they do a HORRIBLE job of sealing them back up.