Wrong zone calculation when i print labels
Is it just me or do others have this issue?
As i want to print labels i see that i pay more for a label to zone 3 then to zone 5...same size package or similar 1-4oz . Item location all the same no irregulars just plain 9x6 or 10x7..but yet zone 3 costs me 5.22 and zone 7 5.07. I see it all over the board. A zone 5 for 5.07 and zone 4 for 5.30.
What is going on?
8 comments
dealzforuandme
OP8 months agoOh wow, thanks. Guess the change between rural and city wasnt too obvious for me before that i never noticed. Now with mostly everything over 5$ for me it kind of stuck out more. On another note...every price hike impacts me--if i adjust for higher label cost--i wont sell. Thank you for your clarification
wastingtime101
·8 months agoShipping is complex and based on many factors, even for small, lightweight packages.
In this case, @dealzforuandme you're assuming zone is the only factor that matters for something small and light, but that's an incorrect assumption. On September 16, 2024 (link), USPS changed pricing for specific zip codes within zones. Essentially, they stopped giving larger discounts for more rural zips with lower USPS volume.
Areas with lower volume ship at standard commercial discounted online rates. We typically call it "rural" thought the zip may not necessarily be truly rural.
Areas with higher volume receive an additional discount through companies like eBay that negotiate lower rates.
This is why you'll pay the following 4oz merchant rates through eBay for zips with higher USPS volume. You can verify these rates using eBay's shipping calculator with large cities in the "to" zip code field.
You'll pay the following 4oz commercial rates for zips with lower USPS volume. You can verify these rates on the published USPS price list, or using eBay's shipping calculator with a "rural" zip in the "to" field.
Using your examples:
zone 3 costs me 5.22 - rural zip with standard commercial discount
zone 7 5.07 - this is a zone 5 rate, not zone 7, so I believe you mis-typed - and it's the more deeply discounted eBay rate for higher volume zips
zone 5 for 5.07 - more deeply discounted eBay rate for higher volume zips
zone 4 for 5.30 - rural zip with standard commercial discount
When in doubt, use the published USPS DMM Commercial rates here (the higher "rural" rates) to determine estimated shipping costs you're building in to your free shipping listings.
For actual rates based on zip code, use the eBay Shipping Calculator here.
Edit to add: This change took place nearly a year and a half ago. Many sellers are just realizing now because (a) they didn't pay close attention before or (b) the more rural zips have lower populations, and are lower volume, meaning fewer sales to those areas.
This is why eBay's announcement said only a small percent of orders would be impacted. It's roughly 42% of US zip codes affected, however I believe sales volume to those zips is roughly 10% of all online sales based on an article I read back when this first changed. Now consider your sales are a small fraction of that, and see how minimal of an impact this is.
dealzforuandme
OP8 months agoOk i get that part that it could have an effect, but its not the case here. Something is going on here and i cant believe that its just me. Michigan--46982 Indiana(zone3)--74857Oklahoma(zone5). Without even checking i know that indiana would be the cheaper fee, but its not. The label to OK is cheaper then IN just on another comparison i just did. Same to AZ and OR..i dont even have to check to know that the labels to OR are always more for me, but yet AZ is more then OR.....and all this happened after JAN 18th rate hike, but today i finally started looking into it because of too many inconsistencies.
dealzforuandme
OP8 months agoAdded a screenshot if my question was confusing or not clear enough, but i never noticed anything like it before. I used to be able to just look at the location to tell if its right. I used 2 in the same state with 2 different zones. Zone 4 is more then zone 5 when it shouldn't be.
buyselljack2016
·8 months agoYour zone 4 zip appears "rural".
Your zone 5 zip is "big city".
May or may not be the "rural" thing.
buyselljack2016
·8 months agoSometimes "rural" zip code can determine different amount of discount to the same zone, but what you have seems to be beyond that possibility.
tobaccocardyahoo
·8 months agoSame or similar may differ.
Ebay postage will provide for the differences based on cubic and commercial rates for the same class of mail. One package may be calculated using cubic, another commercial based on size. Ebay charges for whichever rate is lowest.
dealzforuandme
OP8 months agoWell they are basically identical they are not measured by cubic since they are small. 9x6x3 makes no difference to 10x7x2, the rate should be same and is when i have both packages with same dimension but yet a zone 8 is cheaper then a zone 7. Never been like this before it started with the last rate hike.