Caution Ebay is gouging on shipping
So i went to print label and noticed prices went up. I decided to check pirateship pricing for the same package and they are cheaper by a lot. Priority shipped in my box: ebay $24 pirate $18.
21 comments
So i went to print label and noticed prices went up. I decided to check pirateship pricing for the same package and they are cheaper by a lot. Priority shipped in my box: ebay $24 pirate $18.
pburn
·3 years agoThis would be a great topic for EcommerceBytes to take up on their blog.
inhawaii
·3 years agoI would ship it in a medium Priority Mail flat rate box for $15.
partfinds
OP3 years agoNow next package and Ebay price is lower than pirate. Thanks Ebay.
Lesson : you need to not drop down the guard and compare pricing all the time.
shado-x
·3 years agoSo i went to print label and noticed prices went up. I decided to check pirateship pricing for the same package and they are cheaper by a lot. Priority shipped in my box: ebay $24 pirate $18 and flat rate is less too.
As far as I know, eBay does not offer the "Priority Mail Cubic" option with their commercial relationship with the USPS. However, they do offer that $14.00 Medium Flat Rate option, scroll down to see all of the USPS options available between the Large Flat Rate and the US Priority Rate that you leave out. FYI the Cubic Rate is not the "same package", there are specific measurement regulations to use that option.
partfinds
OP3 years agoPlease, explain difference of ebay priority to cubic priority? Please explain why should i ship ebay priority instead of cubic priority from pirate?
and for flat rate I couldn’t edit. I asked mod for correction
but they didn’t get to it yet.
buyselljack2016
·3 years agoand they (mods) are likely not going to correct your error, Not how it works here.
We mess up, we live with it. Been there, done that.
an-57470
·3 years agoThey are all Priority products. They will all receive the same treatment. They may be handed over to FedEx to be transported on their fleet of planes and then handed back to USPS for final delivery.
Cubic is a special rate given to smaller sized boxes. Since the box takes up less room in a truck, semi and plane cargo hold unit load device that means they can get more packages inside and thus earn more money from the same transport, thus they can give you a further discount than if the box was bigger.
partfinds
OP3 years agoOk. So how do you know if Ebay didn’t get cubic discount from usps?
chevymontecarlo88
·3 years agoIMHO The bigger question would be what would the cost be if you went into the USPS to ship. (Retail pricing without business account)
I have a feeling that Ebay shipping labels would be considerably less than going into USPS to purchase a shipping a label.
Kind of hard to say Ebay is gouging on shipping if they are less than USPS Retail pricing.
I like Pirate Ship and use it when Ebay Shipping is glitching.
partfinds
OP3 years agoUsps keeps putting out commercial on TV „I like to move it move it†- they made investment and cuts (reduction of emplyees, taking away the regional options and some falt rate) for what?
i can’t really understand how is that even balancing?- firing people, raising shipping charge/making shipping unaffordable just to put out commercial?
what is the reason you advertise: you(dejoy) think people don’t know of usps shipping or you think people will jump to ship with you because you are so affordable
chevymontecarlo88
·3 years agoI can understand your frustration and empathize with you on how USPS does operate as a business.
That being said, i do not think Ebay is gouging prices as your title suggests.
slippinjimmy
·3 years agoFor what? To remain solvent!
Just like eBay and all the seller here, if you continuously lose money you eventually go out of business.
what is the reason you advertise: you(dejoy) think people don’t know of usps shipping or you think people will jump to ship with you because you are so affordable
I suppose, Ford, GMN, Coke, Pepsi, McDonalds , Walmart et al should not be advertising either, after all everybody knows about them.
For what I sell, NOBODY beats USPS on price/service for shipping within the US.
an-57470
·3 years agoeBay is responsible for USPS losing billions over the course of Obama's adminitration.
In 2010 eBay negotiated a deal between eBay, China Post and USPS to create cobranded shipping labels for eBay's Chinese merchants. This was to abuse a 1969 Universal Postal Union agreement that gave favorable rates to developing countries and China was still considered a developing country under this agreement.
These Chinese packages could weigh up to 4.4 pounds and would be treated as First Class mail in the U.S. The public was told this was needed to offset declining domestic First Class Mail volumes, but that was a lie as USPS was losing money on every single Chinese package and they were unable to change the rate they were paid as it was set by UPU.
USPS had always made money on foreign mail but in 2010 they saw their profits dramatically drop due to eBay's agreement. The only reason they still made money on foreign mail was because eBay's program only ran half the year. From 2011 onward USPS lost increasing amounts on foreign mail due to eBay. Soon Amazon copied eBay's program. This cost USPS billions in loses and Obama, Biden and Congress did nothing. To make up for these loses USPS raised domestic rates thus earning eBay even more money. Just by pure chance they also added FVF on shipping at that time - wow, what could be going on here?
Trump finally put an end to this abuse.
Then we have Congress and eBay efforts to give contributions to politicians to prohibit any reforms to USPS as eBay wanted to keep the status quo. Congress required USPS to fund retirement costs for 75 years into the future, costing USPS tens of billions of dollars in loses. This money is not sitting in a account earning USPS interest. USPS was simply given an IOU by the government for funds USPS collected. This was all about Congress trying to cover its own overspending. That money has already been spent many times over by Congress.
partfinds
OP3 years agoThere is no logic to me to what they do . If they were in trouble then they wouldn’t be investing in commercials (tv advertsising). Or don’t make all the unfavorable changes (changes to actually make people stop using this service) and then beg for them to come back in commercial (advertising on TV to be clear) without making service favorable again.
partfinds
OP3 years ago@slippinjimmy
“Me:what is the reason you advertise: you(dejoy) think people don’t know of usps shipping or you think people will jump to ship with you because you are so affordable
@slippinjimmy “I suppose, Ford, GMN, Coke, Pepsi, McDonalds , Walmart et al should not be advertising either, after all everybody knows about themâ€
there is a difference between advertising food and postage.
ckimodog
·3 years ago@chevymontecarlo88
I also use Pirate ship for custom orders on my other sites I sell on. I like when you click on the icon and you hear the Pirate say "arrrggh" lol
an-57470
·3 years agoOf course they are gouging.
Previously Commercial pricing from USPS was classified as a higher priced Base and a lower Plus. eBay Non Top Rated sellers the higher Base price with only $50 shipping and Top Rated the lower Plus pricing with $100 shipping. Yet anyone could go to PirateShip and get Plus and $100 insurance.
After USPS made Base and Plus the same price eBay gave Non Top Rated the Base with only $50 shipping and Top Rated sellers $100 insurance and the Plus pricing less a further discount. In reality this further discount was just a refund of some of the FVF on the shipping.
They don't offer Cubic because they want to gouge. Heck they don't even let you enter fractional values, which are required for Cubic as it rounded down to the nearest 1/4".
eBay is also very likely making money on labels it sells to you as it negotiated rates are even less than what you pay.
Gouging buyers and sellers is what promoting free shipping and FVF on shipping is all about.
chevymontecarlo88
·3 years agoThere are many different options available to sell (platforms) and ship. This is not a case of shipping price gouging where you do not have any choices and/or desperately need their service/product.
When i hear "Price Gouging", i think of someone selling bottled water for $10 to desperate people during a natural disaster. Folks that do not have choices or options.
I do agree with the overall sentiment of some of your arguments but IMHO i don't think this a case of price gouging on shipping. The fee structure is documented.
You may not agree with the fee structure or general business practices but that is a different argument.
Again, I do understand and agree with you on most (fee structure) but to say Ebay is gouging customers on shipping labels seems hyperbolic.
monica-sells
·3 years agoYou do know you are comparing a Medium Flat Rate Box to a Large Flat Rate Box.....
and 2 different classes of Priority Mail....
(ebay does not offer cubic yet)
partfinds
OP3 years agoYea asked mod for correction.
the_fancy_fox
·3 years agoI’ve noticed it as well. (But you are comparing two different services).
Overall I have seen the cheapest of all the ways to ship ends up being pirate ship.