Shipping Overcharged
Summary: dhpatters sold an item on eBay and encountered a discrepancy between the estimated and actual shipping costs, suspecting USPS pricing anomalies. lakefor94 explained that current USPS pricing can make lighter packages more expensive, while thriftyfiftyfifty pointed out issues with eBay discount criteria affecting weight-based pricing. Other participants shared similar experiences, noting unexpected costs for lighter packages, with suggestions to adjust package weights to leverage better shipping rates. This discussion highlights confusion over shifting USPS pricing structures and how sellers can adapt to optimize shipping costs.
I recently sold an item that I estimated at 2 lbs 4oz. Ebay calculated and charged the buyer $5.89. When packed for shipping weight was actually 1lb 11oz which I corrected when purchasing the label through ebay. However, I was charged $8.18. How or why would that happen?
kibble-net
·1 month ago3-5 pound parcels now often cost LESS than their lighter counterparts.
WHY? We still don't know. USPS hasn't said a word about their logic.
But the consequence is that you must pad your boxes to be OVER 2 LBS. As long as the scale reads 2 lbs and zero point something ounces, it will count as 3 lbs and you get the better rate. If you want to be safe, get it to at least 2 lbs 1 ounce.
At least one person has been charged MORE for listing their parcel as 3 lbs when it was in fact lighter, so make sure you're adding enough packing material, bags of sand or rocks to get it above the threshold.
Is this bonkers? Absolutely. But those are the rules and it's up to us to use them to our advantage.
Personally, I'll be giving some of my buyers FREE GIFTS to increase the weight when needed. I don't mind giving them something that cost me $1 to save a few dollars on S/H.
tools*
·1 month agoAlternative logic?
deserdog
·1 month agoI sort of had the same problem. But I paid $8.18 for a 1 lb. 12 oz package and a 3.0 lb. label printed out.
kibble-net
·1 month agoPirateship?
deserdog
·1 month agoYes
1786davycrockett
·1 month ago@dhpatters
If you are talking about those Tommy Bahama tumblers which you sold on July 9, were you possibly charged a cubic fee for a longer than normal package?
dhpatters
OP1 month agoNo, It was what most people were saying. I thought less weight, less cost. Seems that is not so anymore. If I had put something in the box to get it over 2 pounds, I would have been able to get the label for the amount the buyer paid. Learned something new today!
glenvonnie
·1 month agoI've had items recently ship for 5.89 at 3 pounds, and when I put in 1 or 2 pounds for the weight the price went up close to or above $8.
USPS is trying to take business from UPS and Fedex for those heavier packages so they lowered the rates for them, you should have added weight to the package to keep it above 2 pounds.
I shipped a 12 ounce envelope to California from Indiana this morning, 6.72, if it had weighed 3 pounds it would have been 6.07.
wowbooks
·1 month agoSame here. Ebay charged buyer $5.50 and I was charged $5.89 for ground advantage. No ,I do not offer the Buyers the discount.
stainlessenginecovers
·1 month agoI'm guessing you used a flat rate as it also shows me $5.50 in Nevada and I'll guess that is not where the buyer is.
thriftyfiftyfifty
·1 month agoExactly the reason...
thriftyfiftyfifty
·1 month agoARE YOU passing your eBay Discount onto the Buyer? If so, then it will happen because the estimated Weight in the Live Listing fell into the current 3 to 5 Lbs Ground Advantage Commercial Pricing discount currently being applied. When you purchased the Label and changed the Weight, the weight didn't fall within the Commercial Discount criteria. If you purchased the Label and indicated the Weight was 2.1 Lbs it would have, but not with a 1lb 11oz auto roundup to 2Lbs.
lakefor94
·1 month agoThat is what the USPS pricing is now. 3 lbs costs less than 2 lbs to ship.
deserdog
·1 month agoNot to all zips.