New Postage Rates????????
Summary: hertzgirlz expressed frustration over increased postal service rates, which have dramatically affected shipping costs for smaller items like jewelry. Other participants, such as 1940fc and oncoyotemountainart, shared similar experiences, reflecting on how past pricing led them to change sales strategies. carolbearstreasures07 acknowledged the need for constant adjustments due to inflation and rural shipping surcharges. hawkandfox raised concerns about the impact on small sellers, citing increased rates as detrimental to their business with USPS Ground Advantage. Various strategies were discussed, such as using different carriers or adjusting item prices to accommodate shipping costs.
Wow--have any of you shipped any jewelry under the new rates? A 2 ounce padded envelope was 7.69 today--up from 5.59 just last week. This insanity at the postal service has to stop--they are going to price themselves right out of the market. Now I have to go in and change my shipping on all the jewelry items--what a bugger!! And that price was for an item going less than 1000 miles away. Can't imagine how much it's going to be to send something all the way across the US.
hawkandfox
·2 weeks agoUSPS INCREASED POSTAGE RATES FOR GROUND ADVANTAGE ARE HURTING THE SMALLS SELLERS
Unanswered
As a TRS I have Huge concerns regarding the increases in USPS shipping charges- I ship all my items USPS Ground Advantage which is the cheapest for less than the 3 ounces rate which all my items are.
My necklaces sell for about $8.99 each or less with free shipping to buyer- I was paying about $5.49 for shipping- but USPS has been raising some of their rates to $7.49- my items are promoted and also I pay the required eBay fees plus my material cost and some profit.
This is INSANE- These items can ship USPS in a envelope for ONE $0.80 stamp- eBay will not allow us to do that because there is no USPS tracking with regular mail- so I'm giving USPS OVER $6.50 to ship this item-
I talked with eBay regarding this matter and they said if I just send 1St class mail on all of my items I will lose my TRS status!
WHY can't eBay Some how rewrite the TRS guidelines for allowing us to ship these smalls 1st class mail without being penalized?
If the Buyer says they did not receive allow the seller to work it out with the Buyer and if we don't resolve then penalize us? What is so hard here?
Ebay needs to address this situation because a whole bunch of us sellers are in this small position.
I would appreciate your VOICE to speak up to eBay to somehow address this issue.
Regards,
Roy King
soh.maryl
·2 weeks agoIf you are doing "free shipping to buyer", then why are you not wrapping the shipping cost into the item price?
hawkandfox
·2 weeks agoI have been- doing this for 15 years- not my first rodeo- If I keep raising my prices I price myself out of the market
oncoyotemountainart
·2 weeks agoI had what I called loss leaders on the other site. Earrings for $9.50. It gets people in the door, and I literally made a buck. I changed all those prices. They're still "cheap" at $14 but again I can't compete with international sellers and subsidized shipping who can sell mass produced earrings for $2 with free shipping. That's on a site supposedly dedicated to handmade items.
scifidaughter64
·3 weeks agoThis is why Fedex is now an option on so many of my packages.
bat197
·3 weeks agoI know what you're talking about. I just sent a 4 oz pkge. Cost me over $7! This is just in my state.
Rural areas are being charged the commercial rate for ground advantage, items will be charged at a higher rate.
sassykzt
·3 weeks agoYour buyer was probably located in a USPS rural zip code. These zip codes along with AK, HI, US protectorates, APO/FPO no longer qualify for the increment ground advantage rates( 1-4 oz, 5 - 8 oz, etc) rates. All packages to these locations will be billed at the 15 oz rate regardless if that package is less than 15 oz.
USPS is just catching up to Fed Ex and UPS which have had rural delivery surcharges for years.
With thousands of rural zip codes, it's best to use calculated shipping. That way your buyers in densely populated areas will not see this latest price increase. Those that live in rural areas are well aware of their zip code designation and if they truly want your item, they will pay the current rate. You can also implement shipping discounts and combined shipping in your shipping preferences and business policies.
southernmermaid8
·3 weeks agoOMG come on this is the third increase this year. Off to bulk edit my items. Thanks for letting me know.
carolbearstreasures07
·3 weeks agoI saw the rates went up again. I try to use the eBay reduced % prices when possible so help lessen the costs. Inflation brings the cost of everything up. Is what it is.
Last year I adjusted my shipping/mailing sizes to help provide the best guess for rates. Might need to redo again.
Also know that rural places might cost more. I had a buyer live in a rural place and wanted UPS for shipping but they had to give it to USPS for final delivery. So that happens too.
The financial issues of the USPS has caused it to struggle for years. (according to news and those I know in the mail biz)
Also the cost of a Forever stamp also went up this month. Luckily I bought some just a week prior so I'm good for letters etc.
hertzgirlz
OP3 weeks agoLike Mermaid said that is one of several increases this year and it is getting to be too much!! A 2 ounce 7" by 9" padded envelope going less than 1000 miles from me was an over $2 increase from just last week--unless you are selling high priced costume pretty soon the postage will make the pieces unsellable.
dream*peddler
·3 weeks agoHi hertz 👋! Thanks for reminding me to bulk edit my shipping prices 😀
1940fc
·3 weeks agoMorning Karen..happy to see you found us. 😊
I agree, it's getting awful. The reason I had to stop selling ladies clothing years back, it was costing more to ship that the price of the item