Cubic shipping finally coming to eBay??

[huff-stuff]

I noticed today my option for regional rate shipping is gone.  Turns out the USPS is discontinuing that service on 1/22/23.  As a workaround I have been using stamps.com as they still give the option, but sometimes the cubic rate is actually a little cheaper.  I contacted eBay customer support and they said they will be offering cubic shipping as an alternative to regional rate since that option will no longer be available.  I was told it would be working by 1/22 and there will be an email communication sent to all users of the site.

[wastingtime101]

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@fern*wood wrote:

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why don't they let everyone know with an announcement or something.

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Probably because nothing is ready for prime time yet?

I found the info from the Nov '22 seller check-in and this was the 'official' response at the time.

[splendidthreads]

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@huff-stuff wrote:

Also, USPS still has the boxes available on their site, and you can still get them while supplies last, so I placed a big order for them today.  USPS is allowing people to still use these boxes and put cubic rate labels on them, so may as well get some free boxes while they last.

Good luck.

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I did this, too.  I like the dimensions of the top-loading ones and will be able to use a lot of them for the regular PM mail.   I ordered most of mine before Christmas, but was able to get 4 of the sets of 25 per size about an hour ago. 

Just read an article from Pirateship about PM cubic always being cheaper than regional rate.  I haven't looked into PM cubic yet, but if it is, I hope Ebay adds it as an option.  

[slykuss]

I went to ship a RR B package this morning and was ticked to see it gone already, I use them for more then half to almost all of my sales. Who do we blame,  the USPS realize the down hill spiral they are creating for themself. That they will lose so much revenue because most sellers will use private shippers. 

I am not familiar with some of the services mentioned in above post, but guess time to learn some new shipping  ways.  

[djvp53]

Cubic apparently is cheaper but you had to pay for your own boxes. Since the Regional Rate boxes were perfect for some of the stuff I sold and the difference in cubic vs. Priority Mail regional box was so small, using the regional rate boxes meant I was paying about 35 cents for a box. That seemed fair to me and I used quite a few of them. But, now I've got a bunch of free Regional Rate boxes, I've got more on order, and I can send them at the cheaper cubic rate going forward. Win!

[fern*wood]

I think I'm just angry at myself for doing what I always advise others not to do---wanting ebay to solve all the problems.   I was just in denial.  I knew the RRs were going away and I must have hoped I'd sell everything before this weekend that needed one. 😃  

Then when I saw ebay already quit letting us print them, it annoyed me that they hadn't offered a solution.   I should have looked for the solution myself earlier, but I'm learning about the cubic rates now, so we'll be fine. 

[wastingtime101]

If you need any tips @fern*wood you can PM me.

[slippinjimmy]

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@huff-stuff wrote:

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@oldskoolmadskilz wrote:

That's great news.

But stamps.com?  Do they still do the thing where if your label misprints you have to request a refund through USPS?  They used to not allow reprinting.

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Yes, the refunds do take a week or two.  They also now allow one (1) reprint per label.  I'm just using it temporarily until cubic shipping is available on eBay.

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The refund timing and process is the same with all providers, as far a the single reprint, I've never encountered that because I always print to PDF and then print from there so I could if needed reprint the label a thousand times.

As far as cubic, if eBay would completely dump Pitney-Bowes (as they have with GSP) all of these good options (cubic etc) would be available through eBay labels.

[sapphire_studio]

Pirate ship says themselves that you can use the regional boxes for cubic Priority rates now that regional is being discontinued.  There are many people on this forum that said they are getting a bunch of regional boxes from USPS right now to stock up to use for either normal Priority on eBay or Cubic Priority on Pirate Ship.

  I can ship a regional A size Box up to 20 pounds to New York (from Oregon) for $13.47,  And if I use the regional A box pricing it costs $14.34 (and is limited to 15 lbs).

 

 

 

[fern*wood]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

If you need any tips @fern*wood you can PM me.

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Thanks so much, I'll probably have to take you up on that.  I assume I won't get my little TRS postage discount through Pirateship, nor can the cost be deducted from my proceeds?   Shipping has always been something I try to keep simple and fight change, but I'll adjust.  I may just quit using ebay altogether for shipping.

[sapphire_studio]

I am a top rated plus seller and I don't find the price any cheaper on eBay compared to a pirate ship.  This they just seem to be  Identical commercial rates.  If anything pirate ship is cheaper just because you have the option of cubic.  They just started cubic ground in July and that is incredibly cheap.

 It's also amazing that they let you connect your eBay account so you don't have to manually bring the details of the package over from eBay or manually input the tracking number into eBay.

[albertabrightalberta]

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@huff-stuff wrote:

Also, USPS still has the boxes available on their site, and you can still get them while supplies last, so I placed a big order for them today.  USPS is allowing people to still use these boxes and put cubic rate labels on them, so may as well get some free boxes while they last.

Good luck.

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AFAIK, although you can use regional rate boxes, you will have to pay regular priority rates after 1/22. Even though regional rates may have been cheaper (in certain cases), they won't be valid once they're discontinued.

[wastingtime101]

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@fern*wood wrote:

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

If you need any tips @fern*wood you can PM me.

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Thanks so much, I'll probably have to take you up on that.  I assume I won't get my little TRS postage discount through Pirateship, nor can the cost be deducted from my proceeds?   Shipping has always been something I try to keep simple and fight change, but I'll adjust.  I may just quit using ebay altogether for shipping.

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You make up the 3% Priority TRS loss by charging shipping purchased at pirate ship to a cash back credit card instead of using your pending funds. 😉

[buyselljack2016]

To add to that "cubic" line of thought.

I read in another thread that cutting a "regional" box just a little bit will drop it down one size in the "cubic" breakdown rates.  As I mostly ship 1st Class, I did not pay great attention to which box was being referenced.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@fern*wood wrote:....  I wish ebay would make an official announcement instead of making everything guess about what is going on.  A warning that they would drop the regionals prior to USPS stopping them would have been nice too. ...

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On January 9, eBay issued an Announcement about upcoming changes in USPS rates, including one little line about discontinuing the Regional rates.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/2023-Shipping-Carrier-Rate-Changes/ba-p/33473166

[fern*wood]

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@nobody*s_perfect wrote:

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@fern*wood wrote:....  I wish ebay would make an official announcement instead of making everything guess about what is going on.  A warning that they would drop the regionals prior to USPS stopping them would have been nice too. ...

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On January 9, eBay issued an Announcement about upcoming changes in USPS rates, including one little line about discontinuing the Regional rates.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/2023-Shipping-Carrier-Rate-Changes/ba-p/33473166

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Yeah, I knew they were being discontinued, but I didn’t know eBay would stop allowing the labels to be printed earlier than the usps cutoff.  Plus if reps are telling sellers that cubic will be available this weekend through eBay, then they should tell everyone.