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Is eBay keeping USPS shipping discounts instead of passing to sellers?

If you’ve been selling online for a while, you know that all major selling sites have worked out a deal with USPS for shipping rates that are lower than the commercial rates. Yet, for some reason, eBay, the 2nd largest online site hasn’t been able to work out a better deal for its sellers. OR HAVE THEY???

 

I have heard a rumor from a credible source (which was told to them by eBay employees), that eBay HAS negotiated a lower shipping rate but they are pocketing the money instead of passing on that lower rate to sellers. 

If this is true, it is beyond awful on the part of eBay. Truly nefarious and scummy. 

 

It’s no secret to any of us who have been here for a while that eBay is going downhill VERY rapidly. Revenue is plummeting. Fees keep going up. Search algorithm is beyond broken. 

I just had my worst 2 weeks in sales since I started selling on eBay 12 years ago. I sold two items in ten days. This is wa outside the normal ebb and flow. And in 2018 my sales dropped by 50% when they rolled out the new algorithm. 

 

I truly believe the terrible management at eBay is destroying this selling platform. It just shows you how desperate they are if they ARE pocketing a shipping discount instead of sharing with sellers in order to drive lower prices and sales and increase competition with Amazon. 

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Is eBay keeping USPS shipping discounts instead of passing to sellers?

I can't say what's going to happen with this change, but previously the ebay top discount matched the postage charged by Stamps.com and whatever the other one is........  so if ebay is benefiting, so were they.......  as I'm sure any company that provides any service does.........

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Is eBay keeping USPS shipping discounts instead of passing to sellers?

I understand what you’re saying, but Stamps.com only offers the same discount that any business owner can get through the USPS site for commercial rates. 

 

What im talking about is a volume discount from USPS that has been negotiated by Amazon, Mercari, Poshmark, etc. And all of them have passed this discount on to the sellers instead of pocketing that money. 

 

For example, Poshmark has worked out a flat rate priority mail fee for $6.49 which includes shipping to anywhere in the U.S. up to 5lbs. This is a pretty awesome rate. AND, sellers do not pay any portion of fees toward this out of their earnings. And Poshmark is nowhere near eBay in terms of overall volume. So how has Poshmark and others been able to secure such great shipping discounts yet eBay supposedly hasn’t? It just doesn’t add up. 

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Is eBay keeping USPS shipping discounts instead of passing to sellers?

But think of it - I buy a $9 t-shirt and have to pay $6.95 to ship it - I know people pay it but that is exactly how Posh can afford to do it as the PO is making more money off the lightweight items which are the bulk of sales.

 

I printed a couple of labels today and even tho the prices went up - I still received the discount we are use to and it wasn't bad. I'm sure shipping from NY to Cali will be quite a jump - but we are still getting a discount.

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Is eBay keeping USPS shipping discounts instead of passing to sellers?

I definitely agree with you about the lightweight part BUT there’s really no reason why eBay hasn’t been able to work out some kind of weight-based discount. (I think they have, they just aren’t sharing it with sellers.) 

 

And I do have to kindly disagree with you on the new rates not being so bad. I’m shipping a dress out that’s Zone 1 and the price is almost $5 for first class WITH the discount. I was already losing money last year on shipping by trying to keep my rates lower, but there’s no way I can continue to absorb this increase. I know it’s ‘part of business’ but I truly believe eBay is not only harming sellers but harming the overall platform by refusing to give sellers shipping discounts beyond what USPS itself offers on its own site for businesses. Comm rates are NOT a special deal give just to eBay Sellers. 

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Is eBay keeping USPS shipping discounts instead of passing to sellers?

From what I've read, Poshmark negotiated a flat rate label that is the average price of shipping for items under 5 pounds. They are not actually getting a discount or giving one to sellers. Since everyone has to use the labels, the people selling light stuff like tee shirts are subsidizing people who sell heavier stuff like shoes.

 

Can you imagine if Ebay tried to force First Class shipping sellers to ship for $6.49 Priority on every order? There would be a mutiny.

 

Not to mention the fact that since only part of Ebay sales are clothing, it's a good bet their cost to ship items under 5 pounds would average out higher than Poshmark.

 

 

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Is eBay keeping USPS shipping discounts instead of passing to sellers?

WoW we are not going to be able to sell anything at these rates. We ship alot of small items first class. Now we have to tack on another 17 to 30 % to the shipping price. To add insult to injury, a-bay can't even get the shipping platform to work properly.    Add sales tax and your toast! 

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Is eBay keeping USPS shipping discounts instead of passing to sellers?

**general reply**

 

WHO is the merchant of record when it comes to buying labels from Poshmark, Amazon and Mercari? I know I have no control over the process if I use an Amazon label (plus they charge 7 cents, or at least they used to) because Amazon is buying the label for me. I pay Amazon to use their label.

 

I sell on Mercari, but I don't use their labels, I ship on my own, but I am going to assume that Mercari is the buyer  when it comes to the label purchase. The seller pays Mercari to use their label.  Same thing with Poshmark - they would be the label buyer when it comes to a shipping label purchase because the seller is paying them to use the label.

 

When I print an Ebay shipping label, I am the buyer. I don't pay Ebay directly to buy a label. I pay through Paypal and that payment goes to the USPS.  Ebay doesn't control how a seller ships as far as carrier, class, postage provider, etc.

 

Amazon, Mercari and Poshmark are buying the shipping label FOR you. Ebay does not buy your shipping label. YOU buy your shipping label. Yes, your Paypal payment goes to an Ebay shipping label email address, but it is your  payment going to Ebay, who funds the shipping label with that payment. With the other three, shipping costs are deducted off of your seller account. You don't pay separately for a shipping label. 

 

Now, I would think (but I can certainly be wrong) that only the party paying for the shipping could negotiate a discount. Since Ebay doesn't buy shipping, they can't negotiate like someone who is actually buying shipping.

 

In other words, on Ebay a seller buys their label directly. On Amazon, Mercari and Poshmark the seller does not.

 

Does this make sense? I know what I'm trying to say, but I'm making a mess of it lol

 

 

The easier you are to offend the easier you are to control.


We seem to be getting closer and closer to a situation where nobody is responsible for what they did but we are all responsible for what somebody else did. - Thomas Sowell
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Is eBay keeping USPS shipping discounts instead of passing to sellers?

I use PirateShip,  It syncs with Ebay Listings as well as other selling platforms. The Rates are atleast the same, if not lower than ebay's shipping rates.  I also pay for the shipping with my Paypal debit to get the extra 1% cash back.  They offer a service called Cubic Rate that ebay does not offer.  It has saved me a ton.

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Is eBay keeping USPS shipping discounts instead of passing to sellers?

You make a good argument and I don’t necessarily disagree! I will say though, as a Posh seller, I ship quite a lot of items that are on the heavier side of the weight limit pretty regularly. Shoes easily can come in around the 2-3lb mark and boots even higher. I’ve shipped many items that were almost 5lbs. Plus, bundles are a huge thing on Posh as well. You pay $6.49 shipping for multiple items. 

 

The other great benefit to the Posh shipping system is that it’s standardized across the board. Buyers know this and have become very comfortable with it. It’s one price across the site and I think that has been a really big asset for Posh in buyers and keeping them. As a clothing seller on both sites, I definitely think Posh is outperforming eBay in shipping costs for both seller/buyer by far. 

 

I think if there were more standard shipping rates across eBay, it would lead to increased sales across the board. Right now, everyone here is mostly losing money on shipping. I know I do. During a time when every other major website offers shipping deals, eBay can’t afford to keep going this way with not helping sellers secure lower shipping rates. Buyers don’t grasp that eBay sellers are paying actual shipping charges because they’ve become completely desensitized to it due to Amazon Prime, etc. So they balk at paying and then go elsewhere. We all know this. The problem is, how many of us mid-level sellers can continue to stay competitive while absorbing extra shipping costs? As a seller for 12 years here, it feels more and more like a race to the bottom every day. 

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Is eBay keeping USPS shipping discounts instead of passing to sellers?

I think you may feel differently if you sold light items on Poshmark but still had to pay $6.49 for shipping. I'm surprised the buyers pay that shipping for light items without complaint.

 

Poshmark and Mercari seem to be sales and shipping for the common person. Like Mary wants to sell her Northface. They simplify sales and shipping as much as possible. That is not the target audience for Ebay, most of their sellers know how to squeeze every penny out of a sale. 

 

I have no idea how the shipping at Amazon is priced but they DO sell their own items so they're different from these other sites.

 

And I expect this is all different under Managed Payments. Doesn't the shipping come out of the seller account there?

 

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Is eBay keeping USPS shipping discounts instead of passing to sellers?



I understand what you’re saying, but Stamps.com only offers the same discount that any business owner can get through the USPS site for commercial rates. 

ROTFL.

Only if your definition of "any business" is any business that can sign a commitment to to ship 50,000 Priority Mail packages. 

 

For example, Poshmark has worked out a flat rate priority mail fee for $6.49 which includes shipping to anywhere in the U.S. up to 5lbs. This is a pretty awesome rate

It's not a pretty awesome rate for sellers who can already ship for $3 or less. No buyer should be paying $6.49 to ship any item I sell on eBay, let alone any seller.  My buyers would be overpaying for shipping in order to subsize other buyers to the tune of $3 per package. That would not sit well with my buyers and it would severely impact my sales. 

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Is eBay keeping USPS shipping discounts instead of passing to sellers?

I might have misunderstood you, but the difference in shipping between Posh and eBay is that the buyer pays for shipping AND there are no fees deducted from the seller’s earnings for shipping. The ONLY exception is if a seller chooses to offer a shipping discount, then they would pay that cost. But that is not the norm. Most of my buyers pay the $6.49 rate. So it’s different from eBay in that as a seller, I’m not ‘paying’ $6.49 to ship a 9oz item. The buyer is. It doesn’t affect my earnings or sale price. 

 

I think it also shows that buyers ARE willing to pay for shipping, unlike what eBay would have us believe. 

 

As for managed payments, yes, the shipping cost is processed through that too. Not PayPal. 

 

I think ultimately we both probably agree though that shipping rates are most likely hurting eBay sellers overall. I still believe that there must be a way for eBay to somehow negotiate better rates (again, assuming they haven’t already and are keeping the money.) Even a 10% discount per weight class would be big. But then again, the fact that eBay charges a FVF on shipping is most likely another main reason they haven’t secured better shipping rates. 

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Is eBay keeping USPS shipping discounts instead of passing to sellers?

1. No disrespect, but anyone can get the commercial base rates through Stamps.com. I’m not sure where you got the 50,000 thing but it’s in no way applicable or true. 

 

2. Sellers DO NOT PAY the shipping price on Posh. It is paid by the buyer. So your argument is moot since sellers there are not covering that cost, nor are they paying any fees on it. Honestly not sure why any seller would think eBay negotiating lower shipping or standardized rates could possibly be a bad thing. 

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Is eBay keeping USPS shipping discounts instead of passing to sellers?

I think we're talking at cross purposes here plus I was making many points which doesn't help. The most important are:

 

Buyers pay all shipping wherever they purchase if the seller is doing their job.

 

Second from what I have read (I don't sell there so don't know personally) Poshmark and perhaps Mercari have NOT negotiated lower shipping rates with the USPS. The rate Poshmark charges buyers is equivalent to the average ACTUAL shipping cost to buyers with regular USPS labels. So there is no actual discount, they seem to be just averaging out shipping costs to all sales.  That's why all labels have be be purchased through Poshmark, otherwise they wouldn't be able to use the savings on the light items to balance out the heavy.

 

 

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