Has Anyone Else Noticed That USPS Shipping Costs Are Now Even More Ridiculously Expensive?!!

[futurespast1113]

I was once a long time power seller here on eBay. Sadly, in the past I got burned twice selling high valued antiques by scammers and lost hundreds of dollars. Because of that, I no longer sell here anymore. With that being said, since I am a just a buyer here now, I still feel connected to the Ebay seller forum and Ebay in general. So as a fellow online seller (on another venue that starts with an E) and as a buyer on eBay, I thought I would still post here because we are all in this together.

I went to ship something that I sold on the other venue and got sticker shock! I sell antiques and most of my items only fit in boxes over 12X12X12. USPS is really getting really ridiculous and out of hand!! They now raised the prices of Parcel Select (Parcel Post) by messing with the ballon rate of anything over a certain size and now it is just as expensive if I sell to someone in my own state on the east coast and also if I ship it all the way to the other side of the country. I nearly fell off my chair when an item that was only a few pounds in a 14x18x14 box was going to cost my buyer $54!! It used to be anywhere from $22-$38 which was outrageous at that price as it was. Another item I just sold going to the midwest that weighs approximately 8 pounds that needs to go in a box that is 20x12x14 is costing my buyer $76.16 for Parcel Select!! This is seriously going to take a huge toll on my business. If an item is only $20-$50, I will no longer get sales now unless the item is extremely rare or valuable. The same goes for buying any items that fit in a box larger than a cube.

What are sellers like me going to do to stay in business? We all know that buyers want Fast and Free shipping because Amazon has spoiled a lot of buyers, but how many of us can afford to offer Free Shipping at these prices? Also, the new online sales tax laws that have been passed recently are only going to make buyers even less likely to buy more expensive items too now. I can stop selling larger items but, is this now going to limit my inventory to small items? Even if something is smaller, most of the items I sell are fragile antiques that need lots of bubble wrap and padding which will make the item larger thus needing a box over a cube (12X12X12).

As a seller this is really troublesome, but I am a buyer too. I am noticing the antique items I like to buy here on ebay are now showing astronomical shipping costs. For example I saw an antique teddy bear I wanted to buy, but the shipping was $48! As soon as I saw that I hit the back button. The sad part was that price was not even for Priority Mail. It was for Parcel Select. This is going to be very damaging to buyers and sellers alike.

I would possibly use Fedex if it was cheaper, but in the past when I used FedEx, it is slow as molasses and they lost 5 of my packages in one year, which included delivering my packages to the wrong house. In my eyes UPS is not much better but the USPS is a better service. I guess anyone that sells or buys something over 12X12X12 is pretty much screwed. I guess I needed to rant. This is going to hurt a lot of people, buyers and sellers alike.

[ed8108]

Well said, you are unfortunately correct.

I expect USPS will suffer a decline in the shipping of lightweight larger sized items and will be increasing  the cost of priority FLAT rate again very soon

[extrememobility]

As said in another post like this one the other day, U.S.P.S may have written their own epitaph? My opinion but with the online sales tax no one is going to pay for both shipping and sales tax if they can just get their stuff locally?

[futurespast1113]

 I agree 100% with you. This isn't the last price rate increase we've seen and there are probably more to come.

[futurespast1113]

Yes, they have written their own epitaph in my opinion. If we do bad, then they do not make money because we will have nothing to ship if there are no sales. But I guess they don't care because they have Amazon and others to make up the volume. It seems that the only online ecommerce sellers that can afford to stay in business now are the big corps like Amazon, Walmart, etc. Not to mention they pay pennies on the dollar compared to us for shipping.

Could you imagine it costing Amazon $50 to ship a box? They would go out of business. Looks like we are subsidizing cheap China epackets, Amazon, Walmart and all the big players. Why are we paying $50 to ship a box when Amazon or Walmart pays a few bucks for a box the same size and weight going to the same areas of the US?

When I calculated shipping costs for my listings, I realized a sobering thing. The same package that cost $76.16 to go from NY to Texas cost $79 to go to Europe. **bleep**?!

[drusalina]

I stopped selling here in March because of GTC.  But on the other sites I sell on, I won't be listing anything that can't fit in a 12x12x12 box.  The new  dimensional postage rates will probably help the brick and mortar stores. 

[scga912]

I'm going to ship UPS for items over 1 cu foot.

Although they use Dim Weight too, their rates are cheaper for larger items.

I said in an another thread that I have 2 large items left in active listings.  The 18x12x12 which used to bill at 8 lbs via Parcel Select or Priority Zones 1-4 now bills at 16 lbs across the board.

I ordered 13x13x10 and 14x14x8 boxes as my max size for USPS shipping (unless the item is heavier than DimWeight).

[futurespast1113]

"The new  dimensional postage rates will probably help the brick and mortar stores."

Yes, but what kind of brick and mortar stores? The brick and mortar stores with a large internet presence like Walmart, Amazon, Target, etc.. will still not see a change because they get shipping rates that are low and people will always be looking for things at bargain prices and free or low cost shipping. The only brick and mortar stores that will do well will be stores that sell one of a kind, rare items or customized items that big corps don't sell or ship. A lot of the small sellers like myself and others are being priced out of business and no longer stand a chance if we are selling items that fit in a box larger than 12x12x12.

I really feel bad for people that sell cheap lampshades, fishing poles, pillows, etc. Nobody in their right mind is going to pay more than $20 to ship a $12.99 lampshade. Amazon and the other big players are going to be taking more of our business because what sane person would pay $35 for shipping a $20 fishing rod.

I'm going to have to start selling my larger items in the antique mall that I have a spot in. Hopefully I can offload my larger things there because nobody is going to buy my larger items if shipping is going to be $50-$75 for Parcel Select shipping. The only people that will buy my stuff is the hardcore collectors who can't find the same items anywhere else.

[futurespast1113]

I'm going to ship UPS for items over 1 cu foot.

That sounds like a good idea. Unfortunately for me the venue I sell on, only lets us print labels for USPS shipping. There is no plug in for UPS or FedEx as a choice of shipping.

[slippinjimmy]

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@futurespast1113 wrote:

I'm going to ship UPS for items over 1 cu foot.

That sounds like a good idea. Unfortunately for me the venue I sell on, only lets us print labels for USPS shipping. There is no plug in for UPS or FedEx as a choice of shipping.

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Does this venue force you to purchase shipping labels from them with no other options?

Doesn't sound like a place I'd want to sell on, 20 years here on eBay and I have NEVER printed a shipping label through eBay or PayPal.

[futurespast1113]

Does this venue force you to purchase shipping labels from them with no other options?

Doesn't sound like a place I'd want to sell on, 20 years here on eBay and I have NEVER printed a shipping label through eBay or PayPal.

Actually I can print my shipping labels anywhere I want and upload the tracking numbers manually, but when I add calculated shipping to my listings the only methods they have to choose from is via USPS. We get a small discount for using USPS. I can choose a set shipping cost to use UPS or Fedex, but the problem with that is that is if someone buys from me from another other coast  or the midwest, I will lose a lot of money on shipping so it is not a good option for me to use. It doesn't let me put different set prices by region and only calculated shipping via USPS is the only way I can get the right shipping amount to be paid by my customers.

With that being said, to be honest, as a former power seller here, I like that other venue much better although there is always much more traffic here. It is a much better fit for me. Every seller is different and for some Ebay might be a better fit for them. For me, selling on that venue gives me a lot more leeway over my own business and doesn't micromanage me. I hated when I sold here and got 50 rules shoved down my throat on how to run my own business. I also hated that those 50 different rules constantly changed here with every change screwing me over some more.

Nonetheless, that other venue might not be good for other ebay sellers especially ones that sell brand new things. They are better off here. The other reason why I migrated over there was because at the time ebay forced us to take Paypal and I refused to accept paypal anymore. I hate that company with a burning passion. The other venue processed my customer's credit cards for me at a very low fee and if I want I could accept paypal at my own discretion.

The one good thing about ebay now is that sellers are no longer forced to accept paypal. I liked and continue to like that I get to run my business the way I want to and don't have to be like every other seller on the other venue. It does sometimes have it's own set of negatives though too. Each shop on that site that I am on has their own individual store and it feels very quaint and personal when I deal with my buyers. I love the fact that I can interact with my buyers at anytime and feel like my business is my own and not at the other venues control. That is why I don't get too upset when I am limited in some other ways. Hopefully they will integrate UPS and FedEx shipping options into the mix soon.

[sharingtheland]

Why are we paying $50 to ship a box when Amazon or Walmart pays a few bucks for a box the same size and weight going to the same areas of the US?

When you ship millions of packages per day, your rates will be as low as Amazon's.   I know exactly why Amazon pays a few bucks and I pay $50 and I don't* have a problem with that.

As I've always said, there's a reason why people in First Class get to board the plane first.

*I do have a problem with China epackets and perhaps that will be addressed soon someday.

[luckythewinner]

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@futurespast1113 wrote:

 If we do bad, then they do not make money because we will have nothing to ship if there are no sales.

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The USPS does not make money. They lose money.

Maybe if the volume of packages drops, they will lose less money 🙂

[futurespast1113]

The USPS does not make money. They lose money.

Maybe if the volume of packages drops, they will lose less money 

Lol. Sadly that is so true.

[penguins_dont_fly]

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@scga912 wrote:

I'm going to ship UPS for items over 1 cu foot.

Although they use Dim Weight too, their rates are cheaper for larger items.

I said in an another thread that I have 2 large items left in active listings.  The 18x12x12 which used to bill at 8 lbs via Parcel Select or Priority Zones 1-4 now bills at 16 lbs across the board.

I ordered 13x13x10 and 14x14x8 boxes as my max size for USPS shipping (unless the item is heavier than DimWeight).

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@scga912 

Suzanne ... the eBay branded 14x12x8 is a good size if you need to spend your coupon on something 🙂