Stop Ripping Off Buyers and Yourselves with USPS Ground Advantage

[erzengelb]

USPS Ground Advantage is a scam. It does NOT cost $50 to $75 to ship an 8 pound box from California to New York. You can ship up to 70 pounds in a Priority Flat Rate box (multiple sizes) to anywhere in the continental U.S. for $20 max. UPS Simple Rate offers similar pricing.

You're killing your own sales and bottom line by using Ground Advantage, and you're ripping off buyers who aren't aware that you could be shipping far cheaper.

[nobody*s_perfect]

Those are indeed the published USPS rates from Notice 123, but when purchasing Priority Mail postage through eBay shipping labels, the price is lower than the published Commercial rate.

[sawri_2017]

Absolutely

[sapphire_studio]

You can send a 12"x12.25"x6" (large flat rate size) package that weighs 20 lb from Oregon to New York for $13.99 with cubic ground advantage. Anything smaller and closer to you just gets cheaper from there.  Anything that is 1/10th of a cubic foot (like 9"×6"x3") is the same cost as 13oz (always under $7) anywhere in the country if it is under 20 lbs. A full cubic foot (double the size) is just over $18.

Whenever I see anybody using a flat rate box I roll my eyes at the money that they are wasting. Now that you can get cubic prices on eBay there's really no excuse not to use ground Advantage if it's less than a cubic foot and less than 20 lbs. 

Those that are charging more for shipping (retail rates that arent cubic) and then take advantage of the great cubic prices and are pocketing the difference should not be annoying to you. Just consider the item price higher. When they do throw away money using flat rate shipping like you do then that is a little irritating but their own choice.

But if you are irritated at people using ground advantage under 20 lbs and a cubic foot instead of flat rate then you don't know your numbers.

[jasoheat_0]

if it fits , thats a fact 

[fern*wood]

I find that dimensional size, rather than weight, matters the most in my shipping costs.  Unless what I sell is really heavy, if it dimensionally will fit in a flat rate box, most times that is more expensive to use than regular GA or PR rates.   How much does your large flat box of action figures actually weigh?

[buyselljack2016]

You are correct that it does not cost $50- $75  and that is not what USPS charges.

Seller choice to hammer the buyer.

Buyer choice to be hammered.

I can ask $100 for shipping. Buyer has the choice to purchase, or not purchase.

 

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@buyselljack2016 wrote:

You are correct that it does not cost $50- $75  and that is not what USPS charges.

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But for packages OVER 1 cubic foot, USPS will charge the "Dimensional weight" which is based on package volume.  For instance, an 8-pound box that is a 15-inch cube will ship at the 21-pound rate.  And the postage for a 21-pound Ground Advantage package is $66.30 to Zone 8.

Anyway, the bottom line is that buyers should show by TOTAL cost, so they can just move on if a seller's postage fee is unreasonable, relative to the competition.

[myfrugalboutique]

@gator08041971 

I did have an 8 pound box going from Arizona to Texas and it did come up to almost $90. I tweaked the dimensions a big, and got it down to $24. Everything will not fit in a flat rate box. 

I do think the new rates are a joke. 

[gator08041971]

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@myfrugalboutique wrote:

@gator08041971 

I do think the new rates are a joke. 

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I won't argue that at times there are some serious issues with the pricing.  I had a rather large box that weighed about 30lbs (24x 100ft  of Cat 5 cable) that I had to ship to Florida.  USPS wanted 91 dollars at MY discounted rate!  (I had that listing with a flat shipping cost, but wasn't expecting someone to buy most of my stock)

eBay had charged the buyer 41.50 (which was correctly calculated according to my listing settings).  I went with UPS and paid just over 41.   So I dodged a bullet there, but those dimensions when you get past a certain size, yeah they jack the prices something fierce.  And that box was 18x16x13, which pushed it into a larger cost bracket.

But I could have broken that into two boxes and shipped it for probably less than what I paid UPS if you think about it.

[buyselljack2016]

Correct, but not a factor, as we know, Flat Rate Priority does not accommodate those items over a cubic foot, so I did not delve into that area in response to the OP with their comparison of PFR to GA.

[nobody*s_perfect]

Indeed, now that we have access to Cubic rates, the flat rate boxes will have even less relevance than ever.

[erzengelb]

It's clear that most sellers here are not yet aware of what's happening. I'm not going to call you stupid, because ignorance is not the same thing as stupidity. When you figure it out for yourselves, you'll come back here and apologize.

USPS Ground Advantage is charging $50 to $150 for simple shipments (nothing fancy, nothing oversized, nothing out of the ordinary) from the Pacific coast to the Eastern seaboard, and vice-versa. Sellers are just as surprised as buyers when contacted about it, because sellers can't see the shipping charges themselves until they look it up or make the sale. 

These egregious shipping charges through Ground Advantage are not the exception, they are now the norm. And when you figure that out for yourselves, maybe you'll whistle a different tune. You've been had. You've been scammed by the USPS into believing Ground Advantage is cheaper, when it is in fact abhorrently more expensive than ever before. And you can stand on your high horses until you're blue in the face. You'll figure it out, and I accept your apology.

[buyselljack2016]

Sorry, but you must be using a different GA than I am.

See post 21. (screenshot from USPS  Notice 123)

[tinsoldierunderground]

Apologies are quite rare on these boards.... I wouldn't hold your breath.

[steady2304]

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