OUCH, just seen the rate increase for USPS on Sunday
I was printing my labels and was able to click on Tuesday's rate, WOW a $.35 to $.61 cent increase for 8oz or less packages. 12 to 15 ounces only went up $.10. Pretty much wipes out anything selling for less then $5. Now I have to decide to raise shipping, sales tanked with July 2025 increase and hasn't recovered.
Worse USPS has already put in a rate increase for July '26
38 comments
a-ztreasures4u
·8 months agoYou might have to sell them in a lot of 2 or 3 lures instead of just one to make it more affordable.
stainlessenginecovers
·8 months agoWhy not put together 'starter' kits- a reel, a rod, a couple/three lures- all for one price?
or just some 'multiple' lures for one price...
tsme35
OP8 months agoCan't ship rods and reels together, the boxes are 3 times as much, bigger and get hit with the higher dimensional rate, cheaper to ship separate. I did start putting 3-4 lures together early last year, I did the ones that would list less then $4, now I've move to it to $6 or less. Then the problem is, would the buyer want 4 of the same color or 4 different colors.
bamorris
·8 months agoCan eBay push back on some of these rate hikes?
I just had a quote for over 9 dollars to ship 8 ounces in a small package from Olympia to Florida. I ended up going FedEx for 7, but holy smokes. This is before the rate hike too? Granted, one of the more expensive zips I presume....
But maybe it's time for eBay to renegotiate its rates with USPS???
shado-x
·8 months agoOver $5.00 to ship a 4oz package, that is disgusting. It has nothing to do with "market trends", according to the USPS. To compensate, I say eBay should force the USPS to give free USPS Ground Advantage boxes to only eBay sellers. Yes!
In the end, all the parties that get their piece of the pie have taken all of one's revenue. But then again, we have to raise our prices too. Let's get those buyer tax refunds into our pockets!
tsme35
OP8 months agoYep, I get USPS, like everything else will go up but 3-4 times more than inflation each year
kensgiftshop
·8 months agoCould you deliver the package yourself for that price?
krazzykats
·8 months agoI’d bundle items together and set a fair price for the lot to encourage sales.
Grouping inexpensive items can make shipping costs more attractive to a buyer.
Lately, I’ve been creating more lots, sometimes weighing them at 1 or 2 pounds for lightweight items, and even making custom lots on request.
With higher postage prices, it makes sense to combine small items that cost more to ship than their actual value.
Related bundles are a great idea too, like a beginner’s fishing lot with hooks, weights, line, lures, or other interesting extras, or a set of assorted lures for someone just starting out.
á“šá˜á—¢
lakefor94
·8 months agoThat's what I will do if I start on purging my bass fishing tackle.
Make related, irresistible lots.
I am not in love with any of it, I don't think........
kibble-net
·8 months agoUse calculated shipping. Then it is the customer's problem. I don't worry about shipping costs, neither should you. There are enough things to worry about in 2026.
Everyone's bills have been steadily rising - this isn't isolated to shipping small parcels.
tobaccocardyahoo
·8 months agoWe all have different pain thresholds when we select what we are going to sell.
My minimum item price to be worth my effort has been $8. I make about $5 on my least expensive items, shipping is charged to the buyer and I target a breakeven each month. The holiday surcharge required I raise my shipping charges to break even.
The more I sell, the more I sell so I am unwilling to raise my minimum yet. Some of what I sell is worth the cost plus shipping but not much more.
I am working on having more items with appeal to the same buyers and am driving more multi-item sales but I is hard to find a big enough selection to persuade the buyers to buy more items at the same time.
bonanza125
·8 months agoIncreases have come annually for years now. We as sellers were well aware of this increase coming. The key is to increase shipping cost if you have to. Actually selling anything for $5 or under to where it costs more to ship than it's worth has been that way for a few years now. It has gotten to the point of anything under $7. If a seller decides to ask retail shipping cost that number can go as high as $9-$10 on a 4 to 8 oz. item.
tsme35
OP8 months agoYep, thought our rate was high until I looked what retail was for under 8 oz. USPS think their making more money but their not, I'm cutting more inventory out so less packages. On top of that, I'm putting 4 fishing lures together for the same shipping cost, so instead of 4 packages, their only getting one.
bonanza125
·8 months ago"USPS think their making more money but their not, I'm cutting more inventory out so less packages."
Just so you know USPS has been losing billions a year for many years now. So with or without the increases they aren't making money anyway. Yes selling stuff in bulk lot makes more economic sense for both seller and buyer than individual.
tsme35
OP8 months agoYep been selling for 19yrs, this will be my last year. I just can't find enough inventory to pay the bills. I'll make more on disability and not work 7 days a week.
animal-house-8
·8 months agoPretty much inline with all the other cost that have gone way up this year, you should see my electric and grocery bills compared to year before, just have to raise prices that's it. I like all your stuff, back in 2000 I sold about $100,000 of tackle on ebay, good luck and happy fishing.
kensgiftshop
·8 months agoMy electric went from $400 last month to a little over $700 this month.
tsme35
OP8 months agoI dropped my heat down to 64 degrees and still went up 40% from last year.
lakefor94
·8 months ago@animal-house-8 @kensgiftshop @
Here in Texas, my electric bill is always highest in January and February when I use a lot more electricity.
Same when I use a lot more electricity in July and August.
My water bill is always a lot higher when I use a lot more water.....
We don't have natural gas where I live...... electric only, booooo.
My grocery bill is lower than last year and I am spending 25% less at the gasoline pump.
Inflation is at it lowest since 2020.
Things are headed in the correct direction.
tsme35
OP8 months agoNot here in Missouri, only thing down is gas, which you'd think everything else would go down. Food, automobiles, car/home insurance still going up, differently not going in the right directions.
lakefor94
·8 months ago@tsme35
Items we use a lot of are down here in Texas.
Eggs down 20% or more with milk and other dairy dropping.
I got boneless chicken for $2.99 and bought a bunch yesterday. Down from 3.49 to 3.99 earlier this year.
The seafood I buy is getting less expensive as well.
USA beef is down at the stores I shop at.
I don't remember car or home insurance ever dropping aside for car insurance dropping for drivers advancing in age.
And of course, something most people use daily, gasoline is continuing to drop. If you buy 3k to 5k worth of gasoline a year, you are saving $700 to $1200 a year at this point.
selsa84
·8 months agoIn Georgia, and electric, food and household items have gone up quite a bit. Beef is sky high now
tsme35
OP8 months agoSame here, where's the beef, at the very rich peoples house lol.
lakefor94
·8 months ago@tsme35 OMG, where are you all shopping?? $8.99 is the most I have paid for steaks in the last 2 months. and those were USA Porterhouse. Been getting USA NY Strips for $6.99 and $7.99.
I imagine the meat from middle and South America is more expensive but why buy that crap? The less expensive meats are out there. I shop around online and then go buy it.
Lot of folks pay a ton more for fast food, delivery, and other take out without bliking an eye. Crazy what people spend on that many times a week and then complain about prices and being next to broke. I know some of those folks, lol.
kensgiftshop
·8 months agoI don't know why, but my utilities have always been higher then others.
Didn't use much more then the month before.
In the Winter, ours usually runs around $500.
We have natural gas here, but I don't have it, I'm all electric.
Our gas has gone done, which is good, but that's about it.
tsme35
OP8 months agoThanks, I've worked hard for the last 18 yrs but this will be my last year. Shipping went up close to a $1 last year and now an even bigger jump to start the year off, just no profit anymore. Can't sell half my fishing lures when shipping is almost what you pay at the store, same goes for fishing rods, use to be $8-12, now cheapest rate starts at $18.
ed8108
·8 months agoDid eBay tell you selling for profit would be forever ?
The shipping change requires that you discover how best you can adapt
Wishing you good luck on your journey forward
lakefor94
·8 months ago@tsme35
I have been tossing around the idea of selling off some of my bass fishing tackle, but after seeing what you are getting for items, I don't know......