First Class Postage eBay discount?

[fancyfindsandtreasures]

Where is the eBay discount on First Class Postage?  

Today, 1/18/16, USPS raised the first class postage to $2.60, but there is no discount from eBay for printing postage through eBay like there used to be.

Almost all of my items are 3 oz, which I used to pay $2.04 to ship; today (1/18) it is now $2.60 through eBay!!!  I know postage rates were increase but a jump of $0.56 per item is about 27%.  

I sell jewelry and some of my items will cost more to ship than the actual cost of the item...that's a sure way to put customers off and buy overseas where they can afford to offer free shipping.   Charging $2.60 for postage will put me out of business in a few months!

You'd think eBay would be on top of this postage hike and have the discount in place to implement when USPS raised their postage.  

I'll be researching other online shipping companies for a discounted rate.

Any suggestions on where to look for a discounted First Class Shipping rate?   

[posting*master]

The reason that the discount vanished is because today the retail cost of a FC package up to 3 ounces went up from $2.45 to $2.62.  So eBay has gome back to charging the online rate for everything, i.e., $2.60 for up to 8 ounces.  

It took the USPS from January to August to straighten out the weird discrepancy with retail being cheaper than the online rate.

[slippinjimmy]

http://announcements.ebay.com/2016/06/new-usps-first-class-rates-for-august-2016/

http://announcements.ebay.com/2016/06/usps-proposes-new-rates-for-august-2016/

[trencher7]

Ah thanks.  I was debating waiting to ship wondering if it was a glitch. 

[gsn13579]

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@trencher7 wrote:

Ah thanks.  I was debating waiting to ship wondering if it was a glitch. 

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The title of this zombie thread is totally misleading.....

Ebay gives NO ebay discount on 1st class shipping, PERIOD....

Ebay merely passes on the discount that the USPS gives any vendor that sells postage  online , it is a USPS discount NOT and ebay discount...

The EXACT same rates can be had by purchasing postage online from any number of vendors that sell online postage...

[reallynicestamps]

Another way to get a discount on postage is to buy postage lots on eBay.

Many stamp dealers have many thousands of dollars worth of older mint postage in stock, more than they can ever sell to collectors.

I sell counted packets of 100 mint stamps at 80% of face value.

Since I am in Canada, these are Canadian stamps. I don't have much in stock at the moment except for my own use.

We buy in public philatelic auctions and directly from collectors.

The Dominion of Canada has never demonetized any stamps. We can even use Newfoundland stamps-- part of the deal when Newfoundland joined Confederation in 1949.

I think, but am not sure, that all US stamps are still valid for postage -- including that Inverted Jenny that's been cluttering up Granpa's collection for the past 30 years.

[fleur--de--lis]

You can also buy unused postage stamps at estate sales.

I have 2 folks who run estate sales contact me whenever a collector dies. as generally stamps have no value

[tiramisu41]

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@brorick wrote:

Another problem with shipping is that they only offer First Class Packages and not First Class Envelopes.  I sell paperback books that are slightly less than 1/4" thick and fit in a 6" x 9" envelope.  At 5 ounces, the USPS First Class Envelope rate is $1.89.  When the discounts were in place, eBay charged me $2.04, which of course included tracking.  Now that it's gone up to $2.60, I'm just going to print my own label, slap four Forever stamps on and skip the tracking.

Rick 

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Only problem with that plan is eBay will ding you for not having tracking info entered into their system.  I think the metric is you must have at least 90% of your transactions with tracking info or they "demote" your seller status.

What do sellers who sell things like collectible stamps or postcards that may only require a 49 cent stamp to send do?   Seems ridiculous to have to spend 500% more to mail the item in order to be able to obtain/post the required tracking info...

[fleur--de--lis]

You need another seller account in your wifes or hubbys name for stuff like postcards,stamps,decals,paper items etc that fit into a envelope,  

You then raise price of item by extra dollar or so instead of paying  $2.60 for tracking,,

Keep track of extra money as a form of self insurance to cover the 1 or 2 sales in 100 sales that claim non delivery and refund them out of this insurance fund,

This is how these sellers survive. and pocked a easy extra $80 or more on 100 sales.

[posting*master]

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@fleur--de--lis wrote:

You need another seller account in your wifes or hubbys name for stuff like postcards,stamps,decals,paper items etc that fit into a envelope....

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No need to use somebody else's name.

[green1eng]

I just gave up and quit fighting Ebay to maintain TRS and accepted 'above standard' status with 100% positive feedback.  Definitely not worth the constant paranoia and hassle to maintain TRS - Oh My God USPS didn't scan my package in time, etc.  So letters or flats get stamps and no tracking and I so state in my listings.

I get totally infuriated with USPS Epacket service every time I think about it (which is way more often than healthy).  International sellers inundating Ebay buyers with sub $2 items thanks to postage SUBSIDIZED BY US GOVT and by US sellers' skyrocketing USPS rates.

[lynnster1952]

So why does eBay charge me the $2.60 for a 3 oz 1st Class Pkg and then charge my buyer just $1.84. **bleep**?! I'm losing money daily as listed a lot of small items for small money. OMG!

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@lynnster1952 wrote:
So why does eBay charge me the $2.60 for a 3 oz 1st Class Pkg and then charge my buyer just $1.84. **bleep**?! I'm losing money daily as listed a lot of small items for small money. OMG!

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You're charging letter rate mail when you need to be charging PACKAGE rate.  You cannot print letter rate mail through Ebay, but you can select it in your settings (for those that don't use Ebay/Paypal and ship untracked)

[lintbrush*]

While you may have picked First Class Package as the shipping method, you picked Letter or Large Envelope in the Shipping Weight & Dimensions section.   You need to select Package/Thick Envelope

You picked an old post from Jan 2016  regarding a different issue to add your problem to.  Luckily s*s*t* found it.  It would be better to start your own discussion next time.

@lynnster1952

[lynnster1952]

I love the way reponders decide what we did to make  GIGO mistake! I made NO MISTAKE, Lintbrush.  I selected Package/Thick Envelope NOT Letter/Large Envelope. Ebay reps confirmed this & said there is a bug in the software and there is a report on this that's been escalated. The problem is that I have to suck up their lousy error in the meantime. I figured out a workaround with a rep today. Further - you need to know that even a large envelope starts at $2.61 - There is no postage at $1.82. If you are able to prove this otherwise, pls do so as even the customer rep supervisor agrees with this.

[lynnster1952]

I am NOT charging letter rate! I'm selecting package/thick envelope. Furthermore, one of my items weighed 3 oz which no way ships First Class in ANY size envelope for $1.82. Do you work for the post office, paypal or ebay? If you could actually prove I did something wrong, I'd be happy and grateful, but that's not the case. Not a GIGO issue. Please try it yourself for a 3 oz large envelope. The Ebay rep did and he still came up with $2.61.