Shipping Increases Today Broke My eBay Shop
Summary: vintseller1980 expressed frustration over high shipping costs on eBay, stating that the platform is unsustainable with these rates and low offers from buyers. Other participants, like eoma689485 and symbolinedesign, attributed rising shipping costs to increased fuel prices and noted that USPS benefits from tax breaks. tobaccocardyahoo suggested reevaluating selling strategies, while christworks provided detailed feedback on specific listings to help vintseller1980 improve sales and manage shipping costs more effectively. Discussions also touched on changes in USPS pricing, with many participants noting discrepancies in shipping charges and eBay's handling of discounts.
They've done it ... $11.60 to ship a small-box, 2 lb., 6 oz item. And you thought gas prices were OOC?!?
Between the perpetual rising costs of shipping, the propensity of the platform to only promote those who are live, and the notion that lowballing buyers view eBay as the "world's largest thrift store" ... the online reselling game is just not sustainable.
"I'll give you $8 for that $40 item, and I want free shipping." Sure thing, chicken wing. I love losing $10-20 on every sale.
You say you're a 130-million buyer (and 20 million seller) marketplace?
Show us that leveraging power and get some real deals with USPS and FedEx - or this 5-star seller is going local for good.
willingdealer_make-me-an-offer
·1 week agoYeah It seems like Ebay is afraid to exercise any leverage on the major shipping companies. It could do that easily, but they've let USPS get too big for their britches.
jwgtiques
·1 week agoI shipped a USPS Ground Advantage package today that weighted 4 ounces Ebay label purchase was a discount of 10% off retail.
I sent the exact same package 3 days ago USPS Ground Advantage 4 ounces and Ebay label purchase was a discount of 35%.
So is it a big postal increase or is it Ebay lowering the discount rate? When Ebay fees add in the 13.25% shipping
cost to the purchase price everyone lost money on shipping.
thriftyfiftyfifty
·1 week ago · Edited@jwgtiques To answer your question...A combination of both actually. USPS removed the Ounce Tiers Pricing from their Commercial Rates on 12 July. In response to that eBay is still providing the old/previous Tier Pricing Discounts for those Buyers' Zipcodes NOT on the Rural Zipcode List. But those Buyers ON the Rural Zipcode List, you will no longer get the Tier Pricing but the same price up to 15.99oz, and pricing will only vary based on Destination Zone. See the eBay Announcements in July to understand it. Most of their Announcements concerning USPS Ground Advantage pricing/discounts now also contain a link to the Rural Zipcode List.
jwgtiques
·1 week agoThank you, that's exactly what happened, I sold the same thing today and shipping was back to the 35% discount.
again Thank You!
thriftyfiftyfifty
·1 week agoYou're Welcome.
willingdealer_make-me-an-offer
·1 week agois there a way to put that list into your shipping policy and charge rural zipcodes more?
thriftyfiftyfifty
·1 week agoNot really.
grann-4629
·2 weeks agoThe fuel prices are the main reason for high shipping costs so yes, they are out of control. Time to go back to the mall.
grand-and-glorious-purpose
·2 weeks agoIf shipping is killing your sales you don't have a shipping problem, you have a sourcing problem.
vintseller1980
OP2 weeks agonope. That’s not it. Anything else?
grand-and-glorious-purpose
·1 week ago · EditedYeah, it's that. You are sourcing low value, low demand smalls.
It should cost less than $9 with the ebay discount to ship a 1lb mug from FL to CA, you are more than double that. You not only need to source better but also get a handle on how you ship items because an artificially inflated cut is coming out of your already meager profit.
Your wounds are self inflicted.
tsme35
·2 weeks agoNope, only way to get cheaper sources is getting them free, it's a USPS problem. 6 rate increases in one year, over $4 in increases is the problem. There comes a point where shipping has a breaking point and it was last year.
shire123
·2 weeks agoNope. The practicality issue is the price of what you sell. Smaller cheaper things (less than $5) cannot be sold on ebay economically because of shipping costs. Those items have to be put into lots but then that potentially decreases their desirability for buyers.
On the other hand, when your average sale is over $90 (like mine) then the USPS shipping rates really aren't an issue.
tsme35
·2 weeks agoPretty much what I just said, increase rates 200-300% times inflation a year has wiped out small items. After 19 yrs, I only have 10 more months and I can retire, but another year with $4+ rate increases I won't make it, neither will online sales for small sellers
shire123
·2 weeks ago@tsme35 Maybe qualify that statement to "online small item sellers" rather than small sellers. I would completely agree with that since cheaper items just won't be economically reasonable to sell online.
I would classify myself as a small seller. But then if your items tend to be more expensive shipping increases don't have as big an impact. To date, I have had no problem moving my items with all the shipping increases.
tsme35
·2 weeks agoTrue but if it wasn't for us small sellers, USPS would have gone belly up years ago, especially the small items. I'm still do good with fishing reels but hard to find one not attached to a fishing rod, which were wipe out with the high surcharges added a couple years ago, along with tackle boxes. Give it another year with the constant rate increases and even the good stuff won't sell.
grann-4629
·2 weeks agoMaybe not an issue for a seller, but certainly an issue for a buyer who has to pay the costs of expensive shipping.
willingdealer_make-me-an-offer
·1 week agoyou have bssing problem
pudlet66
·2 weeks agoThere is definitely something wrong with the shipping via eBay over the last few days. An item that used to cost say $5.27 to ship, cost $7.30 to ship. When you go to their Shipping Calculator, the true prices are displayed - link is here https://www.ebay.com/shp/calc/rates (it took me a while to find it so I wanted to save others the pain and post it).
I called eBay about this and 5 calls later, after several disconnections and having to deal with the chat bot, I finally got through to a rep and got credited back the difference for shipping. The rep indicated there is an issue and they are supposedly working on it.
fern*wood
·2 weeks agoAre you familiar with all the changes USPS have made to their pricing since mid July? Here is the big one that sounds like what you encountered -- shipping under a pound to a rural zip code. I highly doubt the phone reps know much about this.
https://community.ebay.com/forum/announcements-57928/topic/usps-rate-and-service-update-466150/
pudlet66
·2 weeks ago · EditedHi and thanks for your response - I did test this with a zip for a major city and I can see it was not on the rural zip code list from your link and got the same high rates when eBay's rate calculator shows it should be lower. Thanks again for the info.
tsme35
·2 weeks agoAlso USPS increased shipping the 19th, $.25 to $2.50 on 3-5 lb packages
vintseller1980
OP2 weeks agoBingo. And long distance ship domestically on anything over 1 lb.
shire123
·2 weeks agoNot to sound too snarky but you are saying 30 cents is breaking your shop? It might have been mentioned but there was a small postage increase that went into effect on 19 September.
vintseller1980
OP2 weeks agoZones matter too — living in Florida — aimed by long distance domestic increases too
sonic*609
·2 weeks agofound it
2 lb 12 oz - 16x14x2
zip
93455-4244
sonic*609
·2 weeks agoWeight
2lb 12oz
Dimensions
16x 14x 2 in
zip - 93455-4244
sonic*609
·2 weeks agoI AM the seller...why am I being charged MORE for the shipping cost when I go to purchase label than what was charged to buyer? This happened twice this week- anyone have any ideas?
christworks
·2 weeks ago@sonic*609 There are a handful of reasons why that happened. If you used calcuated shipping, you may have entered a different weight and/or dimensions when you purchased the shipping label. You could have also selected an irregular package option which added on to the cost of the label.
Shipping rates also increased for certain package weight classes on Saturday, September 19. If a buyer placed an order prior to the rate increase, they would have been charged the old rate. If you did not purchase the shipping label until after the increase, you would have been charged the new rate.
If yo use flat rate shiping and did not update it to reflect the updated prices, that also could explain why you were charged more.
Without more details it is simply no way to tell you why.
sonic*609
·2 weeks agoHmmm -Nope - I entered everything correctly... I just entered a new listing yesterday and it did not calculate the shipping correctly - sold same day
christworks
·2 weeks agoWhy don't you provide details. The listing, the specific weight and size of the package, and the destination zip code.
sonic*609
·2 weeks agoWhat your buyer paid
Subtotal
$12.99
Shipping
$11.30
Sales tax*
$1.01
Order total**
$25.30
What you earned
Order total
$25.30
eBay collected from buyer
Sales tax
-$1.01
Selling costs
Transaction fees
-$3.84
Shipping label
-$11.67
sonic*609
·2 weeks agohere it is...
sonic*609
·2 weeks agoIt does not show all details after item shipped...
sonic*609
·2 weeks agoClassic Trains Charles Ditlefsen's Those Remarkable Trains CALENDAR LOT 2006-09Classic Trains Charles Ditlefsen's Those Remarkable Trains CALENDAR LOT 2006-09
Sold
US $12.99
vintseller1980
OP2 weeks agoThat $11.30 rate is showing up on a lot of packages too that were $6 or $8 at most last week
sonic*609
·2 weeks ago2 lb 12 oz - 16x14x2
zip
93455-4244
avocat123
·2 weeks agoI could never have taken so many variables into consideration. Ty for assessing!
kensgiftshop
·2 weeks agoStop using Flat Rate shipping.
This item, 327353397559, you have the shipping set at $5.68 and it's the same cost if you change zip codes.
Use calculated shipping.
vintseller1980
OP2 weeks agoThanks. Taking all this advice and just adjusted everything to calculated.
sonic*609
·1 week agoInteresting - thanks for that info... don't know how it got set to that in the 1st place...
ryry-jj
·2 weeks ago · EditedIt actually has a lot to do with rising diesel fuel costs. And as long as fuel costs go up so will shipping...and that national average on diesel is over $6.50/gl
tobaccocardyahoo
·2 weeks agoIf that is a common occurrence, it is time to reevaluate what your choose to sell. After you have done that, you should consider whether to remain an Ebay seller.
The same evaluation is appropriate to deal with the promotion issue. The need to promote exists only for items and categories which are in oversupply.
Scarce items do not benefit from promotion, common and easy to obtain items require promotion.
vintseller1980
OP2 weeks agoTrue that. This just isn't the place to sell vintage or niche. If you have 5,000 of the same item that buyers covet - small headphones, decent sports cards that ship super cheap - you're a rock star here. But alas, those who bulked up on 2 lb items of any quality are dead. No one wants to pay.
shire123
·2 weeks ago@vintseller1980 I sell primarily certain types of collectible toys and have absolutely no problem moving them. Most of my items weigh from 2 to 10 pounds.
You need to charge shipping accordingly.
christworks
·2 weeks ago · EditedI cannot disagree with you anymore than I do.
I sell a wide variety of items. Modern, vintage, collectibles, necessities, and stuff that is for disposable income. I have no trouble selling just about anything. Pull up my sold history and you will see the variety of items, often at least 2 pounds, that people are buying. In the last hour I sold a vintage Rival electric can opener. In the past few days I've sold vintage bike parts, colored IBM diskettes, a vintage electronic handheld game, a puzzle, vintage books, a 80s era lazy susan full of kitchen gadgets went to California. They gladly paid $20 for me to ship it to them. I've sold recently a rotary phone, vintage tees, a lot of broken smart phones, a 1934 mickey mouse projector went out the door for $500. Looney tunes glasses.
I could go on and on about what people are buying every single day on this platform. Do I have junk that nobody wants? Absolutely. Do I have slow sellers? Yes. My average time to sell any one item is anywhere 3 to 5 months, depending on what part of the year we are in.
I looked at your store. Like you I'm a sucker for coffee mugs. I like them. Most people don't. Certain coffee mugs do very well and will sell within hours of listing. Most sit for months. The last coffee mug I sold was June 9. It was a classic Starbucks mug that took 9 months to sell. I made $4 on it. Before that I sold a mug in March. It took 9 days to sell and I made $12 on it. I didn't count, but scanning through your store, roughly half of it is coffee mugs. Nothing wrong with selling them, but I wouldn't want half my store to be mugs. Most move slow. They are costly to ship relatieve to what most sell for, if you are going to pack them correctly so they don't get broken.
Forgive me but I'm going to go over a couple of your mug listings as examples to show you what is going on and why some people are not buying them. This isn't to embarss you. This is to help you. I'd rather see you turn it around than to give up.
Look at the one titled, Rare Vintage 2006 Starbucks St. Louis Gateway Coffee Mug 18 Oz.
First, it's not rare. That's a waste of a key word and nobody is searching "rare" anyway. There are nearly 600 of that exact mug listed and probably more than that that eBay isn't pulling up. Do you know how many have sold in the past 90 days? None. Looking at product research only 13 have sold in the past three years.
Four to five of those mugs sell every year. Out of 600 currently listed, assuming nobody lists another one and the demand stays constant, it will take 120 to 150 years to sell every single one of them.
They have roughly a $20 out the door price, that includes shipping but not taxes. Yours is listed for $12.99 OBO. Shipping to me you have at $14.10. Without even looking I can tell that is overpriced. That mug can ship in an 8x8x8 box, even double boxed at the 2lb rate. Coming to me in zip code 24541 from West Palm Beach, where you are, shipping for that weight and size would be $7.09. You need to find out why I'd be charged double that.
If I were going to buy that mug for you, I'd have to offer you like $5 because you are overcharging for shipping on this listing. If I offered any more than $5, I'd be overpaying. Even $5 is generous given there are cheaper options for the same mug.
Sticking with that listing for a moment longer, I changed the buyer's zip code to 90001, which is Los Angeles. The shipping went up to $19! Twenty dollars for shipping a coffee mug, and you wonder why people are low balling you on the price. The actual cost to ship that mug to LA is $10.15.
I try to avoid buying mugs that are tied to cities unless it is a really popular city that people enjoy going to as a vacation destination. Nothing wrong with St. Louis, I've been there many times and I'm a Cards fan, but the buyer pool for that mug is small. The buyer is someone who collects the series of mugs from varoius cities and they either never got that one or they need a replacement because theirs got broken. People who bought those in 2006 are pushing 50 today and probably have donated their collection by now or will be soon.
Something is off with the shipping you are charging buyers. I'm assuming the Le Creuset set of 2 mugs is what you were charged $11 shipping on since that was your last sale. Those are quality mugs and exactly what you want to pick up if you are going to sell coffee mugs and make it worth your time. (Side note but you sold them as a pair but only ever showed one in your photos. Next time show them both side by side in at least one photo. ) Anyway, you sold them for $19.99 plus $5.99 shipping. For two mugs of that quality, they are not going to ship for $5.99 anywhere. I changed the buyer's zip code to Los Angeles again and that shipping price was also $5.99. You did flat rate shipping on those two mugs and undercharged. Why?
Your buyer was clearly far away, probably out west. $11 is about right to ship a 3 pound package out there. I also think you undercharged on the mugs. I would have sold the pair for $30, not $20.
Your problem isn't the post office or the higher costs to ship. You have an inventory quality problem and some issue going on with how you are charging for shipping. Both of those are fixable. Stop buying worthless coffee mugs. I don't care how cheap they are. As I said, I'm sucker for them, too. I do look at them because some have value. Most don't.
On the shipping, a single standard coffee mug will ship at the 2LB rate. I normally put them in a 6x6x6 box and drop that into a 7x7x7 or 8x8x8, depending on what I have on hand. Sometimes I'll just use 5/16" bubble around them and only single 7x7x7 or 8x8x6 box for the cheaper mugs. It really depends on how much the mug sold for as to whether I double box it. Sometimes how far it has to travel plays a factor.
Forgive my spelling errors. It is late and I'm not proofing what I wrote. 🙃
avocat123
·2 weeks agoThank you for the input.
toomuchstuffagain35
·2 weeks agoSold prices for SB 'series' mugs fell off a cliff a few years ago when overseas sellers starting listing knockoffs (often made in the same factories as the genuine article) and flooding ebay and other places with them..
vintseller1980
OP2 weeks agoSome good suggestions here. I will tell you — every mug I find is $1 or $2. Same for glassware/barware. Unique? Rare? Some are. Some not. That’s fine. I sold an sb mug last week after just a few days. I run sales all the time and typically off a $5.99 ship on every item except bulky ones. Goal - $8 to $10 on every one of the ‘lesser’ items. They add up.
And yeah, I can sell an item in 3-5 months and do, but I got loads of decent stuff with value I need to move and it’s just way too slow or people just super lowball. Its tiresome.
I do think shipping from South Florida is a big problem. Every zone is far when it isn’t in the Southeast.
I never sell anything when I put calculated shipping. I try to keep prices pretty low too — but margins are tifht enough where I’m gonna lose if I calculated and price everything like a thrift store.
I don’t know. I really think I’m done. Shame because I have a good eye (been purveying for 30 years) and I get stuff dirt cheap. And I’m also a quality seller, great feedback, etc.
Shipping is breaking me — and the idea in buyers minds that they’re gonna get rock bottom somewhere.
I do appreciate the time you took here.
christworks
·2 weeks ago@vintseller1980 I'm glad you replied with some more details. I'm going to try to encourge you one more time to not give up yet. I believe you can absolutely turn it around.
Regarding the mugs, you are in south Flordia and I cannot speak to those prices when you are sourcing. Here, with the exception of Goodwill, coffee mugs at other thrift stores are 25 cents. Yard sales are often a quarter as well. Our Goodwill and most of the ones around the area I am, think every coffee mug is worth $50. They price them for $3-$5. I rarely shop at my local Goodwill due to their prices and the amount of time it takes to find the handful of things that have slipped by the price people. In my view, $1 for a coffee much if too much unless you know it sells for $25+. I would have paid $1 each for the Le Creuset. Good brand and they move fast. Many don't sell for that much and the shipping cost eats way into the profit unless you are careful about which ones you pick up.
You say you offer $5.99 shipping except on bulky items. Show me where I am wrong, but the there two Le Creuset mugs were bulkier than the SB mug I cited in my other post. Yet, you charged $5.99 on the Le Creuset and I take it lost money, but on the single SB you have a shipping at $14. What am I missing? That also does not address why the shipping is more than twice the actual cost to ship.
That last point ties into what you said about your calculated shipping. People in the middle of the country do not understand why calculated shipping does not work well for many sellers who are on either coast or, in south FL as you are. If you live anywhere and the areas that take up Zones 6-8 is significant, as it is for me, you scare away buyers when you use calculated shipping. On the SB mug example, $10 to ship to California is a big ask for a mug that isn't worth $10. This is why I use flat rate shipping. I do take advantage of shipping tables which better helps me to price target.
Again, I think you can turn it around. It will take you rethinking how you look at things and a change in buying habits to make it work. Either way I wish you well.
symbolinedesign
·2 weeks ago · EditedRegarding USPS fuel/gas prices the USPS also get a tax break on that too !
lawnmowerpartsstore2
·2 weeks agoAs an independent establishment of the federal government, the United States Postal Service (USPS) does not pay traditional corporate or income taxes on its standard operations, but individual postal workers must pay personal income taxes on their wages
eoma689485
·2 weeks ago · EditedGlobal aviation fuel prices have surged roughly 96% since the outbreak of the war on February 28, 2026.
Retail diesel prices have hit historic, all-time record highs, surging between 60% and 78% since the outbreak of the war with Iran in late February 2026.
The U.S. national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline stands at $4.48 per gallon. Before the war broke out, the national average was sitting comfortably at $2.98 per gallon.
UPS, FedEx, and the USPS - all use an extraordinary amount of fuel - USPS operates one of the largest civilian vehicle fleets in the world.
Leverage to get better shipping rates - what leverage do you think eBay has - I see none.