This is the first USPS rate hike that actually worries me
I don't know if anyone can verify this, but I feel like the recent increase in USPS retail rates is much more dramatic than any in recent years. Incidentally the increase in commercial rate (what we sellers pay if we buy the label through eBay or Pirate) is not congruent with the retail increase, but I'll talk about that more in a minute.
Over the years I have seen posts here where people were freaking out about how hard it was going to be to make sales with this or that USPS price hike, but that was only because either they sold little cheap items barely higher in (item) value than the price of shipping, or because they sold items big and heavy enough that the label price would become significantly heftier. But for me, selling little pieces of jewelry, most of which are significantly higher-value than their shipping costs, each increase of less than 50 cents was not even worth thinking about.
But this most recent hike is a whole other animal. So here I am creating a listing for a one-ounce brooch that will be under 2 ounces fully-packed (if I understand right, the Ground Advantage tier 1 cutoff is 4 ounces). And I see that the LEAST a buyer will have to pay is nearly 7 bucks! For this nearly weightless thing, in a vinyl envelope that is barely big enough for a standard label to fit on!
So to compare apples to apples, I looked through my recent orders to find another tier 1 weight package I sold to someone in Zone 1. -Check it out. Another brooch, sold a few weeks ago to a buyer in Florida (next door state to me).
So now that same next-door buyer would be looking at a buck and a half higher shipping, when considering buying a brooch!! That is NUTS! And if they have a West Coast address (which probably the highest portion of my buyers do), it's even worse!
Meanwhile, I'm seeing only about a 20 cent increase in my shipping charge when I buy a tier 1 label through eBay. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't like THAT big of a disparity. Sure I want to make as much profit as possible, but you can't squeeze a penny of profit out of a sale that never happens in the first place, because all the buyers have too much sticker shock at the shipping price. I mean it now costs almost as much to ship a single piece of jewelry as it did a whole Small Flat Rate box of pieces, only a couple years ago!!! And the ones who know about the commercial/retail split are probably even more unsettled, when they see these high costs in the listings.
Meanwhile, I don't want to charge ONLY the commercial rate (pass my discount onto my buyers) because my shipping materials do cost money, and I dunno, I just prefer to have at least a little "cushion" there.
So do I have this right?: that there is a way to charge my buyers the commercial rate, but then also include a handling fee (say maybe 50 cents) on all of them, regardless of weight or zone? If so, where/how can I do that? Also, can buyers see the handling fee anywhere?
a-lotta-stuff
·1 year agoShipping cost when we're buying:
If we want to buy something the cost of shipping, be it listed separately or added to the item's price, doesn't matter. We just bought inks - set for cheapest first, bought the first ones on the list in boxes - cost of shipping? Never looked. Price we paid was $42 less then walmart. All that matters.
The total cost is all that matters. If the total cost is more then want we want to pay we just don't buy.
Shipping cost when we're selling:
Most of what we sold in the last 90 days was the only one on ebay. We use calculated shipping showing counter price. If a looker/buyer finds the total cost too much, we 'allow' them to not buy it.
Granted, we're a real store and ebay accounts for very little of our total monthly sales.
kh-shakhib
·1 year agoHi everyone,
This discussion has gotten a bit off topic. Please bring the discussion back to subject established in the original post.
Thank you.
inhawaii
·1 year agoTry not to worry about it too much.
I just heard that Trump will be bringing down drug prices by 500%, 600%, 1000%, as much as 1500%
Hopefully that savings will offset the usps price increase.
https://youtube.com/shorts/TTzIsrHyEXE?si=ApXM97kg7Vyj1C0Z
gurlcat
OP1 year agoI saw that last night! He's going to PAY US to receive drugs!! GOD BLESS THE UNITED SHCTATES!!!
selsa84
·1 year agoWhat do you expect from the guy who said maybe bombing the hurricane might get rid of it.
gurlcat
OP1 year agoNUKING the hurricane.
Also thinking people wouldn't notice if a hurricane pathway line was added to a map with a black Sharpie. The Dunning Kruger effect is strong with this dude.
fern*wood
·1 year agoMath isn't for everyone.
inhawaii
·1 year agoNeither is leading the Country. 😉
lakefor94
·1 year agoThat is why your gal is not leading it.
inhawaii
·1 year agoMy gal?
I assume you mean Harris?
I'm not a Harris fan.
I'm not even a Democrat.
Just not too big on convicted felons running the Country.
I'd rather Joe the plumber or Kyle the barista be running the Country.
Anyone but Trump.
lakefor94
·1 year agoNever Trumper. Not a big deal but you did vote for the laughing hyena who would have been the least qualfied president in history.
gurlcat
OP1 year agoInteresting you bring up laughing because that is one of the things I find most chilling about "your guy." Here is a man with possibly more collective hours of video and audio recorded and available for referencing than any other person in history, who knows how many thousands of hours' worth ..... but try to find a clip of him laughing for even a second. One of the most natural things that humans do .... except this one. There is something deeply wrong with him.
Incidentally, the closest I have ever seen to him laughing was at a rally during the first term, when he rhetorically asked the audience what to do with "illegals" -and someone yelled "SHOOT 'EM!!" He immediately got a big grin on his face, gave his head a little toss back, and breathed a "Huh" sound into the microphone. I .... guess(?) that counts as a laugh ...... at something horrific, go figure.
selsa84
·1 year agoI just saw a yt short on that interview. He really doesn't understand math at all.
colfaxstation
·1 year agoThis increase may finally signal the death of free shipping. Will still take a long time for the cheapskates to actually realize it though.
mam98031
·1 year agoWhy? @colfaxstation
adamcartwright
·1 year ago@colfaxstation
Why might this be the end of free shipping?
winterpalace25
·1 year agoI sell dishes and have my shipping policies set to give the buyer the eBay discounted shipping. I do not add a handling fee to split the cost or to recoup packing supplies. Ebay fees on shipping and packing supplies are expenses of my business.
I do this to stay competitive. And the shipping charge my customers pay is always the same as the postage I pay because I weigh everything with an appropriate box and enter measurements when listing. No free shipping and no surprises for anybody.
zakstreasuretrove
·1 year agoThe points you make here are pretty valid and something I thought of a long time ago. I have only done this with FedEx or UPS packages so far, but may have to do the same with USPS.
With my big items that require FedEx etc... The retail and commercial price for shipping was usually about a 50% difference. I might pay $15-20 for the label, but the customer is paying $30-40. That's too much in my opinion.
What I did was switch the shipping cost to give the customer the discounted price and added a handling fee that would cover my packing expenses and any other insurance/signature if applicable. This provided a significant shipping savings for the customer without costing me unnecessarily.
I've noticed with my USPS shipments that some of my small items are costing buyers a lot more than I'm paying since I don't offer the discounted rate for USPS.
It's just a layer of effort that I shouldn't have to do. The rate tables are schizophrenic and make no sense at times. Also, how is it acceptable that they just change rates multiple times a year?
simply-the-best-for-you
·1 year ago@cami*june*vintage Are you giving your discount to your buyers? Check your setting! I've used Calculated shipping for literally decades & never once had an error. That would mean eBay was charging you Counter rate & of course PS wouldn't know about your eBay setting!
I've used PS a handful of times. Exact same rate as eBay. Of course, I don't give away my discount.
simply-the-best-for-you
·1 year ago@christworks & others. I've been using the Calculated Shipping option for around 20 years now. Never once has there been an error. The Calculated Shipping works perfectly & works VERY well, I love it. If you're seeing oddities, make sure that you have the setting of who gets the shipping difference, set the way you want it.
christworks
·1 year agoI prefer to have full control over what a buyer sees. Calculated shipping makes no sense IMHO for some sellers. It has the potential to scare off buyers who are far away, depending on where you are shipping from (e.g. East/West Coast vs. Midwest) and what you are shipping (e.g. tee shirts vs VCR/DVD combo units).
It is really simple. There is a total price someone is willing to pay for an item. If that price maxes at, let's say, $60, but with calculated shipping buyers in Zones 6, 7, 8, see total prices of $65, $70, and $80, they are far less likely to buy my item. Unless I check zip codes from each zone, I won't have any idea what price those buyers are seeing.
I imagine you do not have a significant number of Zone 8 buyers due to where you ship from. For me, about 25% of the country is Zone 8, much of that very populous. I prefer not to scare them off due to the high cost of shipping shown to them when calculated is used.
Another reason why I prefer flat rate is because I get to select the carrier and do not have to concern myself with buyer preference. If they select Standard Shipping, then I have my choice of USPS/FedEx/UPS. When I used calculated, if a buyer selected and paid for USPS, I was stuck using them even if FedEx or UPS was cheaper. I was not a fan of changing carriers on buyers. Take the choice out of their hands, and I don't have to worry about that now.
simply-the-best-for-you
·1 year ago@christworks Sorry, I was off last week. No worries, it was just a suggestion, if you prefer flat rate, you know your business best. I DO have a ton of zone 8 sales b/c I have a huge number of sales to FL & quite a few to HI, but certainly not nearly as many as someone who lives on one of the coasts. I def understand that in some cases flat rate makes more sense. I like Calculated cuz of the ease for me. I like not having to adjust every single time there's a rate increase. I also don't stress too much about shipping costs, they are what they are & if someone doesn't like it, no biggie. I also don't sell heavy items 😉
mam98031
·1 year agoI LOVE the DECREASE in the Media Mail Rates. I don't remember USPS ever doing this. I could be mistaken, but whatever the reason, I sure appreciate it as it is my most common way to ship.
cami*june*vintage
·1 year agoI’m in the same boat as you with seeing such a huge increase with shipping lightweight jewelry items. I have always had free shipping, eBay used to encourage it back in the day. A lot of my jewelry is relatively cheap, but I’ve still been able to make a profit with shipping hovering around 4-4.80. With this new increase, my shipping went to 8.40-8.80, I kid you not! It’s difficult to make a profit with that on many of my items. I was about ready to close my store and move on to other platforms, but just opened an account with Pirateship. Something I just sold on eBay which cost me 8.80 would only cost 4.40 on Pirateship. I don’t know why eBay is charging so much because even on the USPS it would cost 7.90. Seems like it’s another eBay glitch, but glad to have found another shipper.
mam98031
·1 year ago@cami*june*vintage
Make sure you have your current rates correctly before you make a change to how you price your items or how you sell stuff with or without free shipping. Shipping did NOT double for GA. It seems you might be looking a FULL RETAIL and not the discounted rate you can get for purchasing shipping online.
How does closing your account here and do your business elsewhere on the internet going to help you? These USPS rate increases are NOT just for things sold on Ebay. It is a USPS rate increase for EVERYONE in the USA. Pirateship does NOT have cheaper GA or media mail rates that Ebay. They are the same for ALL internet providers of postage. USPS does not allow for negotiations on GA or MM. Everyone on the internet gets the Commercial rates. So you looked at something incorrectly on Ebay.
Below is a schedule that may help you.
adamcartwright
·1 year ago@mam98031
I wonder why people think Pirate Ship is cheaper than buying postage through eBay?
mam98031
·1 year agoActually it is possible on some methods of shipment. I've heard they have lower rates on some Priority mail methods, but it isn't anything I've every looked into.
If they are, it is in the areas where negotiations are allowed. For USPS that is Priority and Express mail.
Now I really understand the interest in Pirateship for UPS shipments. We have heard plenty of horror stories here on the threads where UPS and Fedex have come back at a later date and charged the seller some ridiculous amount of money on something they had shipped weeks before. This apparently does not happen on Pirateship. But I'm just going by what I've read, this is not anything I have personally experienced.
slippinjimmy
·1 year agoFor some sellers it's because things like Cubic pricing were available via PirateShip for years before eBay started to offer that service.
For other sellers it's the Simple Export service which is a lot cheaper than USPS International services.
lakefor94
·1 year agoI check everything over a pound against PirateShip rates and I save significant money every week.
There are times when ebay wins the bidding, PirateShip certainly wins some and there are plenty of shipments that both eBay and PirateShip are the same.
It is a must do for me.
I use both USPS and UPS ~equally.
inhawaii
·1 year agoI see lots of people here that use Pirateship.
I've never tried it.
Is it as easy at ebay?
lakefor94
·1 year agoAbsolutely. Just create an account and at the top of the page you can Import From Ebay.
Uploads the tracking to eBay as well.
If you like to be as cost efficient as possible, try it consistently for awhile. Can save on USPS as well.
I know you don't use UPS.
lakefor94
·1 year ago@inhawaii , use your best cash back credit card for the PirateShip account.
inhawaii
·1 year agoAre there times when it is CHEAPER than ebay?
mam98031
·1 year agoFor sellers that primarily ship vial USPS Ground Advantage and/or Media Mail, Pirate ship is the same price. No extra savings. There may be other methods that are about the same too, but these two for sure. All internet providers of postage is the same for these two methods. It is the Commercial rate.
Now where Pirate Ship can be helpful is for UPS and Fedex shippers. One of the big perks is no concerns about back charges like some sellers get on Ebay, or so I've been told. I personally don't ship via either of those methods.
I've heard they are a little cheaper on Priority and Express mail too, as those can be negotiated with USPS.
So it will depend on the method of shipment you use the most or on a regular basis.
lakefor94
·1 year ago@mam98031
Wrong. There are Pirate Ship cost savings for USPS GA, just not on the shipments under 13 oz or maybe under a pound. Over a pound, I price shop for sure.
AND Pirateship does not even offer FedEx.
cami*june*vintage
·1 year agoNot sure why it’s showing up around $8 on my items, but it is. I use Ground Advantage and did not change anything previously when this change took place. I also use Etsy and there were zero changes to my shipping costs when the USPS change took place. I have been planning to look into other platforms for awhile now for various reasons, not just because of the shipping hike. Have been a seller for 24 years and have seen many an eBay glitch.
See below examples of estimated eBay shipping versus Pirate Ship. Same service/same weight.
 
 
gurlcat
OP1 year agoIf that black screen is on eBay, it says right there, YOU the seller pay $8.16 for a 4-ounce tiny package to the nearest zone. I don't see how anyone can argue with you; it's literally there in black and white!
But I don't understand it either. It can't be RIGHT. I'm starting to wonder if something is wrong with (some people's) shipping calculator on eBay or something. @adamcartwright Take a look! ^
adamcartwright
·1 year ago@gurlcat
In that black screenshot above, those numbers have to be wrong, because I've been shipping steadily since the rate hike and haven't paid anything near that for a 4 oz. package.
cami*june*vintage
·1 year agoI agree, I think the shipping calculator has lost its mind! It even says that it is saving me from spending 10.80-11.90 in shipping, lol! When I go to print postage, priority has actually been cheaper than Ground Advantage 😬
adamcartwright
·1 year ago@cami*june*vintage
That's gotta be a glitch, because below is what I see when I plug your package into the shipping calculator.
 
cami*june*vintage
·1 year agoThank you for trying it out, glad to see that it is not ebaywide. Yeah, I’m thinking something is wrong in the system for some people, will most likely have to give them a call.
gurlcat
OP1 year agoI would skip that because it's highly doubtful the overseas reps know anything about United States Postal Service shipping rates. What you should do is get help from an employee working one of the social media sites (Facebook, Instagram or X). Have you done that before? Just send a private message there, give your username and briefly state your problem. They'll send a link for you to verify your account, and then the next available employee will reply. -Could be hours, but it's worth the wait.
And would you update here if they were able to help you?
gurlcat
OP1 year ago@cami*june*vintage Has your glitch fixed itself yet, or have you been able to get help by contacting eBay? I've been thinking about your situation and wondering how man others it could be effecting (who don't participate in the Community).
cami*june*vintage
·1 year agoThank you for checking in, I meant to update the good news! Apparently, I had “irregular†checked for my package dimensions on all my listings. Not sure why, but I must’ve done it years ago and have been using the same template since. With the new update, it caused it to add $4 to my shipping labels, which explains the crazy price 😬 I’m thankful that @wastingtime101 showed me how to fix this! Hope other sellers will be able to see the solution to this, too!
gurlcat
OP1 year agoOH that is wonderful news, thanks for replying!! I once had some kind of unfortunate thing selected on one of my templates before as well, so I know how maddening that can be.
meme6253
·1 year agoIt's very concerning, & I think it will affect the so called free shipping the most!
adamcartwright
·1 year ago@meme6253
People offering free shipping aren't as affected, because the commercial rates paid by sellers went up very little, while the retail rates paid by buyers (if your settings are that way) went up a LOT.
gurlcat
OP1 year agoIs it just me or is it kind of odd how little the commercial rate went up? Here's my only theory on why, possibly: This could be their way of pushing harder for ALL USPS customers to buy their labels online rather than in-person, in order to employ fewer counter clerks at post offices (or close some post offices down completely).
Here's my Tier 1, Zone 1 price on Informed Delivery (presumably would be the same on Stamps dot com or anywhere that regular non-business people can buy labels online). It's only about 20 cents higher than my last Zone 1 package!
But this is kinda weird: look at the crossed-out retail price. I don't think that's right. I just checked one of my Tier 1 listings, from my buyer account. The retail rate shows $5.44 (shipped to "me" = Zone1) ... and yes that is with that 20% discount I set up yesterday. But even 20% more wouldn't be $6.95!!! You think they're purposely showing a fake, SUPER-inflated retail rate, to make the online savings seem even bigger?? EDIT: Okay it's actually kinda close, 20% more would be $6.83. I wonder why it isn't precise though.
adamcartwright
·1 year ago@gurlcat
My shipping doesn't display like yours does, but I've noticed that the retail price my buyers actually pay is exactly what I expect it to be.
They and I both pay the prices the eBay Shipping Calculator shows.
I wonder why yours is different?
meme6253
·1 year agoI just keep thinking that there is only so much sellers can keep tacking onto the selling price to cover the shipping, The commercial rates didn't increase as much but they did increase, & at some point the whole ruse of free shipping is going to be impossible to keep from an educated consumer, in some cases that has already come to fruition, With some it is extremely noticeable that the selling price is way higher than any competition.
slippinjimmy
·1 year agoThink about this....the majority of shoppers believe free shipping is actually free just like when they see something in a B&M store and there is only one on the shelf they think it IS actually the last one.
As far as shipping costs, I've been doing mail order for 4+ decades, since the very beginning every time shipping costs went up people would say the end of mail order was coming soon. Here we are, decades later and "mail order" is bigger than ever.
I will concede that all these shipping increases have put pressure on sellers like myself who have always seen shipping as a modest profit source. Fortunately I can still make a reasonable amount on International shipping because it's easy to undercut USPS (or EIS) International charges.
My (not business) partner who I have been telling for years about all the scuminess of retail merchants, she still comes home to tell me that the latest thing she bought was "on sale" or "the last one", I just shake my head, role my eyes and mumble "yeah sure it was".
mam98031
·1 year agoI think that argument worked in the beginning when we were first seeing Free Shipping on various internet sales. But I think you are not giving our current customer base enough credit. I absolutely do not believe that "the majority of shoppers believe free shipping is actually free "
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 year agoOf course you are thinking that, it is correct. But it applies to some items and not others, even within the same category.
This is where your experience should lead to changes in what you offer and what you no longer offer.
Buyer motivation differs for different items and your inventory should change with time.
mam98031
·1 year agoWhy? What makes you feel this way? I'm just curious. We have been getting 3 USPS rate increases a year now for the last 6+ years. I'm not sure of the exact timeframe, but for a few years now.
I stopped doing free shipping a long time ago for a couple reasons. I sell the type of stuff that buyers will often buy multiple different items and expect Combined shipping, which I'm happy to do. But if I did free shipping it is less likely that combined shipping would be applied by sellers.
The other reason is I don't want the issue of having to update pricing on all listings with Free Shipping one by one for carrier increases. Either that or take a smaller profit. I just find it annoying.
johnrj1226
·1 year agoMe thinks buyer know how to add two numbers - by using their toes and fingers or use that calculator ap on that cell phone that is glued to their hand. - free ship is a marketing gig - the shipping costs has to get absorbed some where. Never once used free shipping - my buyers paid all my selling costs and at least my expected profit margin (46.5% of the items selling price - s/h was extratra for every item sold- took more profit if when I bought really right..
oldwestcoins
·1 year agoI surely wouldn't worry about something I have no control over. You only have so many options, and one is not getting a lower USPS rate. #1. Increase your listing prices. #2. Increase your shipping prices. #3. Ship with a different shipper. #4. Close your business, take a vacation, and enjoy life. #5. Operate your business at a loss due to shipping costs not being covered sufficiently. I'm sure there are a couple more out there, but that's all I got.
My property taxes went up 50% this year. I could have appealed, but I found my neighbors were raised higher than mine. My Dad always told me, "If money is the problem in life, you simply have to make more." Being retired, I am still digging in my backyard looking for buried forgotten cash. Nothing so far.
Good luck!
adamcartwright
·1 year ago@oldwestcoins
The point is that we DO have control over this, and so we're discussing our options.
gurlcat
OP1 year agoIf you don't think this is a worthy discussion then I can't imagine why you wanted to comment.
"Close your business, take a vacation, enjoy life." -Why not just write that flippant remark on all threads where people are having adult conversations about business strategies?
chapeau-noir
·1 year ago 
johnrj1226
·1 year agoThis song from way, way back might help you with your worries - https://woodyguthrie.org/Lyrics/Worried_Man_Blues.htm-
I say "it is what it is" -
the USPS keeps loosing money each year and the last two years has been the largest operating losses ever - more than twice the amount from previous years - from a long stream of 3 billion $ losses to over 6 billion plus folks don't use stamped mail so much - we might send one stamped mail per year - but get tons of those vote for me fliers or I want to buy your home, you need new windows, etc. junk mail. .
Some thing(s) has got to give and it won't be pretty.. Kinda like what the Big 3 auto makers did i.e. stopped manufacturing selling the small and medium size passenger cars and let the offshore companies have a larger slice of the pie...
Here is my answers -
or cut Saturday deliveries or Thursdays - we don't receive any mail on those days all our monthly bills are done over the internet and maybe look at paid days off - like the employees birthday.- This is my rant for the day.
.
simply-the-best-for-you
·1 year ago@gurlcat Sorry, no time to read 5 pages, so my apologies if someone else told you. I had the same experience on a 7 or 8oz pkg that wasn't going all that far last Sunday. Suddenly the retail was $10 & I was in total shock! It was 1/2 the price of what she bought. You can pass along the discount to the buyers, buy changing the setting in your shipping preferences & you do NOT have to use Business Policies to have a Handling Charge. I have ALWAYS had a Handling Fee. I recently lowered it & you can add it, delete it or change it in the Bulk Editor. Easy Peasy. There's no need to mess with Business Policies unless you want to.
The Handling charge is not separately disclosed to the buyer, although someone who is really up on shipping & on eBay's rates, could figure it out. I've never had it happen though. Buyers don't tend to be very knowledgable about shipping.
sreu3058
·1 year agoOn the bright side (for sellers) the constant squeeze out of profit / confusion setting up online shipping profiles (can I trust it to combine the shipping cost? can I trust it to accurately predict arrival time? Etc.)
Means more sellers are quitting / retiring.
If and when a ‘real’ tariff fee gets implemented (manufacturing location counts?)
Good grief.
It’s killing my game, personally.
mam98031
·1 year agoGeneral Post
Here is a link that I find extremely helpful and easy to read regarding the USPS changes last week.
https://savepostage.com/usps-rate-increase.html#groundc
Just a sample of what is in the above link.
gloryglorygifts
·1 year agoI think it's because it's now over $5 to ship to some locations, but overall, it's not that much of a jump (on here at least) from the prior rate. I remember paying $1.63, with tracking, when I first opened in 2008. Talk about sticker shock.
When I print labels from ebay, I always put the postage price on it so that people can see it. Still, I got dings on my stars for my shipping cost. I'm thinking it was from international sales, but who knows?
The way I address the lower cost items is that I have a separate cost for shipping and volume pricing on the products with free returns. That's about the only thing that I can do and I've never really had any returns on the lower priced items. The rate hikes are making it a little more difficult tho. Tbh.
gurlcat
OP1 year agoFor GA with the new rates, it's not under $5 to any location.
gloryglorygifts
·1 year agoI haven't seen that yet, or at least from the last few days since it went into affect. Most of the postage is still under $5 (4.54-4.61). Today was the highest one I saw and that was a $9.45 charge for a package from MA to NY. I think it was a mistake tho. I'm going to look into it in the a.m. The majority of my products are 3-4 ozs., packed to ship.
gurlcat
OP1 year agoI'm confused in more ways than one.
Firstly, you are talking about commercial rates, the amount that we sellers pay when we buy a label. -And you're right, that has not gone up very much at all. Yes, it's still under $5 for most packages under 4 ounces. BUT what this whole thread is about is how much the RETAIL rate has gone up. If a seller has their listings set to charge buyers the retail rate, calculated by package size/weight and the distance of travel, it is wayyyy more than it was before. -Not a single Ground Advantage package has a retail price of under $5, not even a 1-ounce package sent to someone in the same town. The MINIMUM is $6.80.
Here I will show you. This is what shows on my listing creation page for a 2-ounce jewelry item. Look at the difference between the "Buyer pays" amounts, versus the crossed-out amounts (those are what the buyer would be charged if I chose retail pricing for my buyers). -Nearly 7 bucks to ship a tiny package even if they lived a block away from me!
But I just looked at your listings to show you how much buyers are seeing, and you have FREE SHIPPING. So this thread doesn't really pertain to you at all, if your buyers are fine with your prices.
But then I went back and found your first reply here, and I don't understand why you said this:
"The way I address the lower cost items is that I have a separate cost for shipping and volume pricing on the products with free returns." -But you don't have it separate; your listings having free shipping means you have the shipping cost bundled into the item price -together, not separate. So why you said that, I cannot guess.
ryry-jj
·1 year agoThis might be a bit of a tangent...but this is really a 'glass half full/half empty' situation...we are all in the same boat as far as shipping costs go... (yes a few exceptions for those with their own account, possibly) ...we all are paying the same rates. But it comes down to how you view the value of shipping, and do you provide any value in your shipping/packing?
If you have an endless well of inventory, then you need to appeal to a greater audience, that might require you to sell to people who have no value for paying for shipping. If you have one off items, I'd list to find buyers who value both the item and the value we charge for shipping/packing.
I think the higher shipping cost has the potential for more people to shop locally, but brick & motor stores have far more costs than any of us do on eBay...the problem is many on-line sellers have inflated ideas of what profits should be
cbluewater1996
·1 year agoI found the best way for me to sell without the worries of the Ebay promoted " free shipping " and rate hikes, is to charge buyer shipping and add a small amount for packing materials or the dreaded forced returns. JMO
powell-collectibles
·1 year agoIf you are using a retail rate, the detriment is that a lot of buyers will think that you are a garbage seller. Some people get awfully upset about real or perceived over charges for shipping. You’ll see these buyers on the boards every once in a while – insulted at shipping prices and wondering why eBay doesn’t do more to stop Sellers that charge too much.
I’ve always been either free shipping or flat rate – in that flat rate is typically right around or under what the actual shipping cost would be
gurlcat
OP1 year agoBINGO, this is the crux of my concern. And I suspect this latest hike is going to stir more of that than ever before, for sellers who use calculated retail rate. As I said in a prior reply^ the way I found out about this was a buyer writing because she thought I had applied a higher tier (like Priority) for an item. The leap in price was THAT big.
This label actually cost me $6.02 (just like she said; I think she's a seller too) ..... but for her it was $10.60!!! -I refunded her most of the difference of course.
valueaddedresource
·1 year ago@gurlcat yes, it will also apply to future listings.
There are a few different ways to get there but here's at least one - in the left navigation under the Orders tab in Seller Hub you should see Shipping Preferences.
Then scroll down to Rates & Exclusions
valueaddedresource
·1 year ago@gurlcat in your shipping settings, you can choose to do a custom discounted rate so instead of sharing the full amount of the eBay discount with the buyer, you can select a custom percentage off the retail rate.
This is what @my-cottage-books-and-antiques was talking about.
https://www.ebay.com/ship/prf/carrier
fern*wood
·1 year agoI wish I could do that for just certain weights, like the 4 or 8oz ones.
gurlcat
OP1 year agoThank you for making that so easy, wow! -I set a 20% discount. I hope that is a decent enough amount of savings for shopper appeal, without biting me in the butt.
Couple of questions if you don't mind.
1. At the bottom it says it will apply to all existing listings within 24 hours. But will it also apply to future ones?
2. I've never seen that page before. How can I navigate there if I don't have the handy link you provided?
jonathanbrightlight
·1 year ago@gurlcat @valueaddedresource
One caution with the custom discount.
We had a thread not long ago where a seller was finding that their customers were being undercharged for shipping on Media Mail packages (which have no discount when you purchase the shipping label on eBay, as it's already a cheap service). We found that they had that custom discount enabled, and it doesn't take into account at all what your discounted price will be for the shipping label, or if there will be a discounted price, it just applies that discount indiscriminately. If you don't use Media Mail, you should be fine, but if you do, it's a potential concern. I'm not sure if there are other shipping methods that similarly don't have discounted rates you'd have to pay attention to.
valueaddedresource
·1 year agoGood call out @jonathanbrightlight ! It's definitely something that can be useful in some situations but can result in losing money in other situations, so every seller needs to review their specific business to determine if it will work/the best way to use it depending on the items they sell and shipping services they use.
jonathanbrightlight
·1 year agoYep, it's a good feature it just has some potential pitfalls that aren't obvious right away. I do agree with the suggestion in this thread of allowing sellers to set a mark up from the commercial rate instead of a discount from the retail rate, which would solve that issue mostly. The other option would be a more customizable setting that could be applied only to specific shipping services.
christworks
·1 year agoI think we can overthink shipping (myself included).
The market determines what a buyer is willing to pay for an item. That price is the all-in price, which includes the cost of the item plus the shipping (and on other platforms, a buyer's fee). Both how we charge shipping and how much we charge has more to do with what type of buyer we are aiming for as well as how we like to have our business set-up. There are pros and cons to everything, so there really isn't a right way or a wrong way. What works best for me, may not work best for someone else. My shipping strategy would likely be different if I lived in the Midwest verses one coast or the other. Also, what worked last week, may not work today. We need to be willing to explore another way and not be locked into something because we've always done it like that.
I didn't realize the OP was charging the full rate. There isn't anything wrong with that. It may mean they have to rethink whether to do that or lower the cost of the item so that the total price matches where the market is currently at.
The USPS retail rates are getting insane. I tell non-eBay people all the time to use Pirate Ship when mailing a package. I find a lot of people aren't aware they can do that.
gurlcat
OP1 year agoI agree with everything you're saying except the first line. "Overthinking" about shipping is actually what a lot of buyers do, and in a way you can't blame them. For one thing they can't see the total until checkout, so of course they're trying to do head-math and looking at 'this' seller compared to 'that.' And when they make those comparisons, unless they're a seller themselves (or someone who frequently ships things) they have no way of knowing what a seller is thinking when they set up their shipping -is this one a "nicer" seller by offering free shipping, and is this one being sheisty by having the highest shipping price of all? Heck even when I shop here, with a pretty good idea of how much an item will actually cost the seller to ship, when I see glaringly over-priced shipping I don't know if the seller purposely put some of their desired item price 'get' into the shipping, to make the item price seem low, or if they're just another seller who doesn't know what they're doing! 🤣
I wonder how many sellers realize just how "Wild West" ebay is compared to a lot of other venues. I've been considering trying a few listings on Mercari, and when I took a look at jewelry there the other day, I noticed the shipping prices were (somewhat) uniform from one listing to the next. I couldn't quite figure out how it works, but there is clearly some kind of standardization over there. I think I might like that, and I have no doubt that buyers do. Then again, I also noticed a "Buyer Protection Fee" .... and I don't know what the heck that is about, lol.
Anyway, the ironic case in point I can offer about how much buyers think about shipping is this -the message I got from a buyer a couple days ago. I didn't even know that USPS rates had gone up, so I couldn't understand what this buyer was talking about with "regular" price. It turned out the cost to ship this 11-ounce item had gone up so much, she thought I was charging Priority or something!!
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 year agoBeen a day of Zone 6 shipments for me. Everything which shipped today was 4 oz or less. $4.80
Will need to raise my $5 flat rate shipping if I don't get some buyers who are not on the left coast.
This price increase looks like I should not have to raise my shipping cost as long as I get my typical assortment of locations.
I check at the end of the month to determine whether my shipping breaks even after fvfs.
sin-n-dex
·1 year agoMy flat shipping rate on single coins is 4.80, so I'm priced relatively the same as you. I had thought the 4.80 was quite a bit higher than my cost when I set that up, but it looks like my cost has increased a lot in the past 2 years. I've been sneaking the shipping up 10-15 cents at a time when I make increases.
C.
christworks
·1 year agoMy experience with calculated shipping is that it tends to show buyers more than the actual cost to ship an item. I noticed a couple of years ago when I was sending packages to Zones 5-8. While buyers in Zones 1-4 were also paying more than what the actual shipping cost, the difference at the time was negligible. It could be the updated pricing has made this more noticeable.
The cut-offs for under 1LB are 4oz, 8oz, 12oz, and 15oz. According to the eBay shipping calculator, if I were to send a 15oz 12x12x12 package from where I am in Virginia to Los Angeles (Zone 8), it would cost me $7.10. If I were to ship that same package to Hilo, HI or Anchorage, the cost would be $7.35. To ship the package to myself, it would cost $5.86.
No doubt some buyers get scared off when calculated shipping is used, which is why I switched to a flat rate in early 2024 (after a brief dabble with "free shipping"). Among other factors, I do believe me having direct control over what buyers see did help to get more sales. At first I wasn't sure how to approach setting the rates. Ultimately I decided my flat rates would be based on my cost to ship to Los Angeles, plus the difference between that amount and the nearest .95 cents. So, if the actual postage was $9.38, then the shipping policy I use is $9.95. This ensures I have some extra worked in to account for eBay's fee and materials.
One of my concerns was that I did not want to solve the issue of far away buyers being scared away, only to have closer buyers to be scared off. As it turned out, this was not a valid concern for me. In fact, my observation was that my number of buyers nearby increased the most when I made the switch.
The graphic below shows the top 20 or so states where my buyers have been from in the past year. Of course, it is important to note that looking at what states buyers are from only gives us an overview. We'd have to break things down by zip code to be precise because shipping prices are based on zip codes, not states. For simplicity, I keep things at a state level. I have a map on my wall beside my desk that shows me how the zones breakdown for me.
All of California is Zone 8 for me and, while it does rank #1, the large population of the state plays a role in that. Three states adjacent to me are in the top 12. These are Zone 1–3 buyers. You have to go down further to find another Zone 8 state, Washington. The point of all this is that although I am charging everybody a Zone 8 rate, it does not seem to be pushing away Zone 1–3 buyers.
Back in April, I decided to experiment to see if items that shipped at a rate over $14.95 would sell better if I switched back to a calculated rate. I wanted to see if anything had changed with how eBay computes the calculated rate. The experiment has been horrible. Heavier things, like VCRs, immediately stopped moving at the frequency they were. I also experimented with "free shipping" and using Economy shipping on some things. From studying my data, I don't think those changes factored into any improvement in sales I've had.
Knowing USPS was going to change rates in July, I've held off on switching those items under calculated and free back to flat, but it is coming at the end of the month.
ryry-jj
·1 year agoYou can easily add a small handling charge to cover any cost and still offer the commercial rate to your buyers. The handling just gets added to the shipping to show only one cost as the aggregate shipping charge
buyselljack2016
·1 year agoYou are correct. Retail took a big jump.
Yes, you can charge "online" price with a "handling charge", but what I do is just have some "business policies" with "flat" shipping. Most of my items are under a pound, and many of those are under 12 oz.
I have a "flat" cost that covers all my 4oz, 8 oz, 12 oz items zone 1 thru 8. That flat rate covers all zones. I may lose a few pennies on the longer distance ones, but make up those pennies closer without causing sticker shock on the shipping for the buyer.
Bulk change the business policies when the USPS increases start to cut into the pennies too much.