Commercial rates vs Retail rates / %

Question

I am trying to determine if I want to opt in to eBay's new policy passing along commercial rates to buyer, which I am afraid will become mandatory at some point. In order to do so I would have to raise the pricing on store items. Is there a actual % that is calculated from commercial to retail rates by the USPS - or is it calculated on a per package basis - based on size, weight and zip code. I would have to raise rates by some percentage to cover the difference and to recoup some packaging cost...

tree*fern · Answer

Hi @floridatreasuregirl The average is about 33% off retail rates.

The percentage varies per carrier and service type (e.g., Priority, Ground, etc). It's a discount eBay negotiates with carriers for each service type, based on the combined total volume shipped by all eBay sellers together. The carrier rate is calculated on a per package basis (size, weight, zip code), but not the discount.

Note that some flat rate services like Media Mail don't get a discount.

Rather than basing your pricing on the shipping discount percentages, the better way is to calculate your own actual and average packaging costs, then set your item pricing so that your costs are covered. The difference between commercial rates and discount rates for shipping may or may not be covering your actual costs.

Consider whether passing on the discount will make you more competitive with the other sellers in your category.

You'll need to opt out (not opt in) if you don't want to pass on the shipping discount to buyers when you use calculated shipping.

This change just reverses the previous default setting. The previous default setting was to charge buyers the full amount, and we had to change the setting to pass the discount on to buyers.

Now the default setting passes the discount on to buyers, and we will have to opt out to change the setting to charge buyers the full amount.

https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/shipping/calculated-shipping-rates

wooden_flower · Answer

@floridatreasuregirl

The commercial rates are not a flat % off of the retail rates. You can use the shipping calculator to see some examples. Add a sample package size then look at the eBay rates - it will show you the discount % to various locations.

https://www.ebay.com/shp/Calculator