USPS rates have increased? USPS Ground Advantage 3 oz costs $8.87.
This is my first time posting a question in the eBay Seller Community.
Today, I tried to purchase a USPS Ground Advantage label through eBay to ship a very small 3 oz item, just like I’ve always done. But I was shocked to see the shipping cost come out to $8.87 for such a lightweight package.
I know USPS has been raising rates lately, but I can’t understand how a 3 oz item shipped within the U.S. could cost this much. I’ve been selling on eBay for several years, and I’ve never seen an increase this extreme. I would really appreciate input from other sellers.
Also, with the current shipping rates and eBay fees, I honestly don’t know how sellers are supposed to make any profit on items priced under $20. I’m now thinking about removing all my listings that are priced under $20–$30 because it no longer seems worth selling them.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
jbbowers12012
·5 months agoHi, Something seems a bit strange here. We have just shipped a Ground Advantage package (6" X 6" X 6" - 7 Oz.) N.J. To N.C. - Cost $5.45 - eBay label. Hoping u get to the bottom of it. Good Luck!
calico_jos
·5 months agoDon't feel bad. The same thing happened to me today. 4 oz package was almost $10. I knew that wasn't right. Checked the price at USPS. I ended up going to Paypal to purchase label for $5.45.
I just checked and like others said, irregular package was checked. Ebay glitch obviously, I never even shipped an irregular package before, much less changed it to that myself. The system somehow did it.
So everyone, check it says standard when you ship! Ebay is messing around again.
wastingtime101
·5 months agoNot a glitch. It was selected on your listing which is why it translated to the label page.
You may have used sell similar from a listing that had irregular selected, or checked the box in error. Easy to do.
christworks
·6 months ago@jewal-9896 I would love to read everything you said, but I can't deal with that one long paragraph.
jewal-9896
·6 months agoI understand. Everybody has a phobia.
kibble-net
·6 months agoIs it possible this has something to do with the dimensions?
Edit - I see IRREGULAR PACKAGE is selected - there's your problem
jewal-9896
·6 months agoI had similar doubts when I started to sell items. The advice given to me is to be patient. You can check other sites and, regardless of what they are selling, they also have the same shipping costs. As for Ground Advantage, the cost is based on distance, weight and diameter of the container. While you container size will usually remain consistent, the weight and distance often change. One item may ship for 5.85 if the buyer is in neighboring states, but 8-10 if it's across country. I have found the bigger issue to be the number of people selling the same items, which dilutes your chances of being seen at all. Another issue it sellers often don't do enough of their own research. For instance, eBay offers pricing suggestions. Do not accept them at face value. They are often wrong, and not by just a little. eBay's pricing suggestions don't seem to consider the difference between items being auctioned and those being sold. Auction prices are often much lower, or much higher than the normal selling price. Additionally, eBay often does not offer a price. This is because the item, as you described it in your listing, has not sold for the last several months. You can put the item up for sale, but you may have to wait a long time for that sale to realize. Always check your items as if you were buying them yourself. Look at similar items for sale and compare prices. Then go to the sold items and see what they have actually been selling for. Just because someone is asking 300 dollars for an item doesn't mean that is what they are selling for. Example, one item was listed by a dozen people at 20.00. However, eBay's sold showed me that the item has not sold for any price or for a much lower price in the last several months. So, the dozen or so people who based their prices on other listings in the for sale area, will be very disappointed when the item doesn't even get a look. Thus, even if you do everything right, sales can take time. If your items are unique enough to limit your competition, then you should do well. If you are like most sellers, you items are being sold by a whole lot of other people. The only thing you can do to gain some advantage is to try and promote your store via social sites and/or a personal podcast or you can take advantage of eBay's promote the item offer. In your active listings area look under the category called Promoted Listings. Each one offers you the chance to promote your item for a percentage. Average percentages are between 8-13. I can't say it makes a huge difference, but it is something to try on a couple items and see if it helps. Once example I think worked for me is I had an auction for an item. Previously I had an auction that only got one watcher and they didn't bid. I put the item back up for auction and promoted it at 9%. I now have three watchers with 6 days left. My chances of getting a sell are looking a lot better. Was it the promotion that did it, or just timing. I'll never know. But again, there is almost no point to listing an item, or promoting it, if there have been no sales for three or more months. Unless you are playing the long game, and have the space to let an item sit, hoping for an eventual sale, take it down and put up something that is, at the very least, being looked for. Selling on eBay is a job and like any job, it requires work. Unfortunately, just like a store, if no one walks in the soor, it can be difficult to make money. Another thing people do is to take their stores link and post their eBay items to other platforms. I was just perusing through a competitor and found that the competitor had items for sale that were eBay listings. And, after all of that, you still need patience. I am currently using a basic store option with 250 free listings. 85-95 percent of my items sale on an intermittent basis. A book, one day, an album the next, some days multiple sales Realistically, I have some higher end items that tend to sell faster, but the bulk of my store is items that the market is flooded with. Over time, I hope I can gather a following by providing excellent service. I am also considering going up to the next level subscription which would offer 1.000 free listings. The logic behind this is that if my sales are two percent of my inventory, then once I have a thousand listings, two percent of that would be more. Example, if sell an average of 24 items a year with 250 free listings, then with a thousand, I should be able to sell 96 items a year. Whether that will happen or not remains to be seen. Good luck with your sales. And don't forget to be patient.
nyr134
·8 months agoI agree with @stainlessenginecovers that you might have irregular package checked.
But, also, don’t leave the dimensions at 1 x 1 x1 when purchasing postage. Ground Advantage pricing is based on both weight and size.
stainlessenginecovers
·8 months ago@slda777 @soh.maryl
Something is wrong with your shipment; even with the Xmas 'increase'; 3 oz is nowhere near $8- it's about $4.50
I'll bet you have 'irregular size' checked which cost $4 extra
kibble-net
·6 months agoYup, it's right there in the screen shot.
soh.maryl
·8 months agoAlong about the end of October or so, the USPS announced that there would be a "temporary" increase in fees, evidently for the holidays. And there's always the possibility that the temporary increase will turn into a permanent increase later on.
sanister
·6 months agoIt just became permanent. I knew it was never going back to the original rate on Jan. 18. "New" rate increase effective Jan. 18. What a coincidence.