April 3rd what to Do?

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

The ebay shipping team---as far as I can see---has not yet posted about this ,although we've been promised they will, um, "soon"

So, for those who may have missed it. USPS will be adding some new surcharges on April 3rd. The most important changes:

for Priority, Priority Express and Parcel Select/Retail Ground:

Packages longer than 22": an extra $4.00

Packages longer then 30" OR larger than 2 cubic feet: an extra $15.00

I assume ebay will factor this into calculated shipping.  

So far, there is NO indication that ebay managed to strike a deal with USPS to exclude ebay or provide a reduced surcharge. Nor has ebay provided suggestions for sellers on how to reduce the impact of these new surcharges. (I use only USPS, but may have to consider UPS or FedEx going forward)

For now, however, this is what I've done. It might not benefit me, and then again, maybe it will...just throwing it out there as a suggestion, and you can of course, vary it as you please: I'm running a coded coupon 10% off sale between today and the 27th...with a notice on my store home page (don't know if anyone will see it) that buyers can buy now and save 10% AND avoid the new fees. The items on sale are all items that might be impacted by the increase. 

Again, I might get nothing from this, but if I can sell a few of these things before the fees go up, I'll be glad to get them out of here LOL

So, again, if you sell larger items and use USPS, it might be something to consider....

[myhomeschooldelights]

@my-cottage-books-and-antiques 

Thanks for posting this very important information.  I also saw your thread on the weekly chat from last week.  Would you mind replying with those box dimensions again?  The cubic feet sizes for both the $4 and $15 charges?  I plan to do the same thing you just did with a 10% coupon good through the end of the month for anything I have listed right now that this might apply to.  After that time, I'll raise the price on those things.  It's a great idea.  

[nobody*s_perfect]

New surcharges:

Length over 22 inches: $4

Length over 30 inches: $15

Volume over 2 cubic feet: $15

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:

The ebay shipping team---as far as I can see---has not yet posted about this ,although we've been promised they will, um, "soon" ... I assume ebay will factor this into calculated shipping.  

So far, there is NO indication that ebay managed to strike a deal with USPS to exclude ebay or provide a reduced surcharge. Nor has ebay provided suggestions for sellers on how to reduce the impact of these new surcharges. ....

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I didn't expect them make any deals with USPS, since they didn't do anything when USPS started applying the dimensional weight policy to all Priority Mail, Parcel Select Ground, and Retail Ground. (Before that, the dimensional weight had only applied to packages being sent to Zones 4 - 8 via Priority Mail.)  The dimensional weight was, however, calculated accurately as soon as it went into effect, so probably these new surcharges will be implemented accurately as well.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@myhomeschooldelights 

The $4.00 surcharge doesn't have anything to do with cubic size, it is only if one side is longer than 22".

The $15.00 surcharge is for one side longer than 30".

And then there is the other $15.00 surcharge, which is for any package larger than 2 cubic feet. I think that's what you are asking about? 

I had given some examples of boxes that would exceed 2 cubic feet (just examples, not an exhaustive list, obviously):

here are a few examples of box dimensions that exceed 2 cubic feet (3456 cubic inches):

15 x 15 x 16

14 x 14 x 18

12 x 15 x 20

12 x 14 x 22

So, even though none of these exceed 30" long, they would all be subject to the 2 cubic feet $15.00 surcharge. 

One thing we did learn the other week is that if a box exceeds 30" AND 2 cubic feet, it will only be assessed one $15.00 surcharge. 

[ckimodog]

@my-cottage-books-and-antiques 

Thank you so much for posting and keeping us all updated.  Your info is appreciated as always.  

[iart]

@my-cottage-books-and-antiques 

You seem to be the person to ask. Will this apply to media mail as well?

Holy sacred cow, this could be a business killer.

[myhomeschooldelights]

@iart 

It appears to not include media.....for now....per the USPS.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@iart No.

[myhomeschooldelights]

@my-cottage-books-and-antiques 

Thank you.  Yes, it was that 2 cu feet total measurement I was looking for (3456 cu in) - that way we just need to multiply all the 3 dimensions on whatever box we are using to see if the total is under that.   I think in the weekly chat you had also posted a 1 cu feet total too (must have been half of the other, so 1728 cu in?).   

Thanks again for posting the information for everyone.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@myhomeschooldelights Yes, 1728 for a cubic foot. Classic example is : 12" x 12" x 12"

Here is what I have on my store home page about my Sale, just as an example:

I used an end date of March 27th because I will sometimes accept an offer, and I wanted to make sure there was time for a buyer to make a payment (if he didn't pay immediately) before April 3rd.

[myhomeschooldelights]

@my-cottage-books-and-antiques 

This is excellent.  Great idea.  Thank you for sharing!

[onefootflipper]

Anything I have that big usually ends up being around the same price to send UPS or Fedex anyway. 

[dbfolks166mt]

     I have reviewed every item I currently have posted or intend to post and am looking at alternate shipping through UPS which, unless they change their rates or add a surcharge, will become cheaper than USPS after the surcharges go into effect. However given the horror stories associated with the unilateral UPS and FedEx charges on labels purchased through eBay I will utilize other discount shipping services like Pirate Ship to purchase the labels and then upload the tracking information into eBay. 

     For the things I have checked so far using UPS Ground or even UPS 3 Day Select will be cheaper than USPS with the surcharges. 

      Interestingly enough I still have several of the Priority Mail Large Flat Rate Game Boxes which measure 24" x 12" x 3" and although USPS has discontinued the box they apparently will still honor the flat rate even though it exceeds the 22" surcharge limit. 

[tsme35]

I've been listing all the fishing rods I have in stock, been marking them down as we get closer, this weekend I'll be marking them  down as low as I can afford. I check shipping per UPS and FedEx when I print a shipping label and finding FedEx has been a few dollars higher then USPS new rates(plus been hearing horror stories about added rates), UPS has been right at or a little less but they won't pickup at my home, so add a 30 mile to costs. 

 I've probably already  lost a couple grand, have to pass buying fishing rods(and reels attached) at 2 Huge flea markets this year and a bunch I had to pass on FB and CL's. I looked it up and the last 2 years I've sold $25-$30k just in rods, that's now all gone.

 Like nobody's perfect mention, ebay isn't going to make any deals, nor do they. We get the same discount rate as any other selling venue, all they see is the dollar signs on the increase fees for shipping. What ebay and USPS don't get is there won't be any dollar's, 95% of my fishing rods won't sell with $25 shipping nor will I take the chance of losing shipping because USPS doesn't cover shipping on their insurance.