I talked to my local Postmaster today

[rockusone]

I live in a small unincorporated village and the Postmaster here knows all the local eBay sellers. The P.O. is a casual 5 minute walk from my house and I always loved that daily routine. These days, I'm lucky to take that walk even once a week and today was only the 2nd time this month to do so. I'm not big on small talk when I go there but today I decided to ask her if shipping had slowed down for eBay sellers. She responded with exclamation, "Big time, especially for small sellers! ... What is going on?"

Short talk, but no answers, as we both shrugged our shoulders.

[luckythewinner]

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@rockusone wrote:

I live in a small unincorporated village and the Postmaster here knows all the local eBay sellers. 

{snip}

I decided to ask her if shipping had slowed down for eBay sellers. She responded with exclamation, "Big time, especially for small sellers! ... What is going on?"

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Did your postmaster give you any idea how many eBay sellers (both large and small) there were in your small unincorporated village?

[richard1rst]

Generalities can not be deduced from isolated statistics.

My sales are still strong.

So my isolated statistic contradicts yours.

[bigdeals.etc]

My warehouse/office is in a large industrial zone. Lots of other businesses around. A few months ago a fire marshal came by and was making his yearly inspections on fire safety code. He looked around and asked me what I did here and I told him. And he asked how was business, and I said not bad... better than last year so far. He said that was REALLY good because he's been to many online selling businesses and they all say they are doing much worse than last year.

So I kinda get what the OP means. But those claims are really general. I don't know what channels or product the businesses are doing that the marshal was talking about. But yes, I believe generally that is the trend right now. Either that or it's just really common that people say things are bad, when they probably aren't. Kinda like sometimes it's just "trendy" to be stressed out and not like your job. Happy selling.

[ekmadonna]

I have noticed the same massive slow down at the 3 main Post Offices that I drop my packages off at. They are always empty including the MAIN Providence RI Hub. It is only going to get worse as I just read a post on Eccomercebytes last week about the USPS ALREADY in discussion with yet another RATE INCREASE in January. They are going to eventually price themselves right out of the industry. Every one has a breaking point and their shipping rates are on the verge of tipping the scales to the point of no return.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@ekmadonna wrote:

I have noticed the same massive slow down at the 3 main Post Offices that I drop my packages off at. ....

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Maybe more of your neighbors are taking advantage of Carrier Pickup rather than trekking to the Post office.

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@ekmadonna wrote: ...  I just read a post on Eccomercebytes last week about the USPS ALREADY in discussion with yet another RATE INCREASE in January. ....

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USPS rate changes have to be discussed and approved months in advance.  For the past several years, the changes have been approved in October and implemented in January.  Since October is just a few weeks away, this seems to be the right time for those discussions.

[ersatz_sobriquet]

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@ekmadonna wrote:

I have noticed the same massive slow down at the 3 main Post Offices that I drop my packages off at. They are always empty including the MAIN Providence RI Hub. It is only going to get worse as I just read a post on Eccomercebytes last week about the USPS ALREADY in discussion with yet another RATE INCREASE in January. They are going to eventually price themselves right out of the industry. Every one has a breaking point and their shipping rates are on the verge of tipping the scales to the point of no return.

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This exactly.

Buyers are balking at the shipping costs now. They will shop more locally. USPS is cutting off their nose to spite their face. 

[toooldtorock]

"Every one has a breaking point and their shipping rates are on the verge of tipping the scales to the

point of no return."

You pay more to get less. I would like the post office to raise their rates higher so I have to deal

with them far less. In many instances they are not much cheaper than UPS is on bigger packages

sent Priority.

UPS has become expensive. I sent a 1 lb package to California for $18.00. It had to be a remote

delivery and I was surprised the customer paid it. FedEx isn't any cheaper. The one advantage

UPS has for me is they can pick up earlier if I need pickup and they have a drop box nearby.

Unless you are a big shipper that can qualify for discounted rates the future maybe a bit grimmer

for smaller sellers. I have been slowly ending certain product lines that are low margin and

USPS shipping is requested.  I have been trying to move into higher margin products where the

UPS cost isn't as much of a disadvantage. Results have been mixed.

[ersatz_sobriquet]

For some of us, UPS is 15+ miles away and would be a huge inconvenience. I need USPS to be cheaper. 

[m60driver]

Fact is for many new items it will become increasingly difficult to compete on price with some items that are shipped to brick  & mortar stores in case lots with a 60% UPS discount.  I already have some older inventory items that are slow sellers that I now donate to my favorite non-profit thrift shop because selling and shipping on Ebay are no longer competitive with many retail stores. Again, you can thank a certain political party for doing everything in their power to bankrupt the USPS in order to force a privatization of that service as they have certain major donors salivating at the thought of the potential future personal profits if privatized.  Of course, unless you drink the Canidae Kool-Aid, we know that once privatized prices will slowly go through the roof.

[ifyouloveit]

I am friends with my main postal carrier and he said eBay packages are down, down, down. (At least the ones with eBay tape and or in eBay mailers). They have been for at least 8 weeks now, I ask him all the time.

[ekmadonna]

I agree and would add that NOBODY handles fragile packages better than USPS!

[totoro470]

I'm pretty sure it's a combination of things at play but for me the biggest threat has always been China and their bootleg items with subsidized shipping. I've been able to adapt over the years but that has meant that things to sell have become harder to find as the range of things that are profitable has decreased significantly.

I think there may be good news though. Trump threatened to pull out of the UPU last year if the rates for China (and other countries) weren't negotiated better. The UPU has until October to set new rates or Trump will pull out of the UPU. (The UPU helps sets rates from country to country, often allowing richer countries to subsidize shipping for developing countries)

https://about.bgov.com/news/new-postal-rates-help-level-global-commerce-trump-official-says/

[zamo-zuan]

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@totoro470 wrote:

I'm pretty sure it's a combination of things at play but for me the biggest threat has always been China and their bootleg items with subsidized shipping. I've been able to adapt over the years but that has meant that things to sell have become harder to find as the range of things that are profitable has decreased significantly.

I think there may be good news though. Trump threatened to pull out of the UPU last year if the rates for China (and other countries) weren't negotiated better. The UPU has until October to set new rates or Trump will pull out of the UPU. (The UPU helps sets rates from country to country, often allowing richer countries to subsidize shipping for developing countries)

https://about.bgov.com/news/new-postal-rates-help-level-global-commerce-trump-official-says/

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This doesn't matter much since eBay has said on the record that if that goes away, they are "uniquely positioned" to offer China discounts on shipping rates (that are obviously not offered to US sellers...)

[nc-daydreamer]

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@ersatz_sobriquet wrote:

For some of us, UPS is 15+ miles away and would be a huge inconvenience. I need USPS to be cheaper. 

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PLEASE write a complaint to Congress since they are ultimately responsible for the postage we pay. If they get a million complaints and threats of not voting for them next election, then maybe they will do something to make it better for all people.