New USPS rate .... errrnt!!!

[mr_lincoln]

Just finished printing some labels with the new USPS rates ... on items 1 LBS or heavier I list both Parcel Select and Priority Mail.  Most Buyers pick Parcel Select because it's cheaper and I will normally upgrade to Priority using my discount and pay just a little less the the Parcel Select rate. 

Not any more ... with the new rates Priority with the discount is more than Parcel Select ... sad but true.

[nc-daydreamer]

I had forgotten about the increase, until I went to print labels today. This is going to take some getting used to. 

[gwzcomps]

I never understood why Parcel Select was so expensive if it was meant to be a cheaper option. At best I think it generally would have saved me $2 over priority mail.

[dubiousgain]

And yet, buyers, ignorant of what real time USPS rates are, will continue to ding a seller's DSR cost of shipping metrics, as they felt it was excessive.🤨

[mr_lincoln]

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@dubiousgain wrote:

And yet, buyers, ignorant of what real time USPS rates are, will continue to ding a seller's DSR cost of shipping metrics, as they felt it was excessive.🤨

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Yes, another subjective metric that is based on a 3rd party that Sellers have absolutely no control over.

[dhbookds]

Try just adding 25c or so as a handling charge when you offer Parcel........

[vikingsandpintos]

Shipping costs have just KILLED my sales... Mostly light but bulky packages like car taillights, so over the 12x12x12 magic size.

Once those went into affect, sales just tanked.  I've seen the same thing posted by others that sell bulky items. It has to be good for B&M stores!

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@mr_lincoln wrote:  ... with the new rates Priority with the discount is more than Parcel Select ... sad but true.

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I just did a spot check for several weight/zone combinations, and the Parcel Select cost was less than the net cost after you take the TRS discount (i.e., online Priority rate times .97). Are you sure you were working with the online rates for Priority?  For Zones 1 - 4, the before-discount cost for Priority is literally 10 cents more than for Parcel Select.

New Priority Mail Commercial rate for 2020:

Parcel Select Ground rates for 2020:

[impeeryus]

Anything going more than a few zones away with parcel select (an online service) will cost you almost as much as Priority. HOWEVER-the OVER THE COUNTER SERVICE USPS retail ground did NOT have dimensional pricing rates applied. For example from memory, a 16" cube weighing 5 pounds I was shipping from MA to OH was showing around $63 priority and about $60 for parcel select. The over the counter cost for Retail ground was $17. It will pay you to pull up usps and use the calculate tool if a parcel is going to zone 4 or beyond.

[3eyedfishcatcher]

Since parcel select gets no insurance and does not get a discount on the label when purchased online combined with the fact you usually use priority mail anyways, it would probably be better to just remove that option from your listings. Plus longer handle time means more chances of damage and lose of the items.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@3eyedfishcatcher wrote:

Since parcel select gets no insurance and does not get a discount on the label when purchased online ...

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Parcel Select Ground IS the online discounted rate; the retail equivalent is called Retail Ground. Both services used to be called Parcel Post. I agree that there's no point in offering either of them.

[mr_lincoln]

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@3eyedfishcatcher wrote:

Since parcel select gets no insurance and does not get a discount on the label when purchased online combined with the fact you usually use priority mail anyways, it would probably be better to just remove that option from your listings. Plus longer handle time means more chances of damage and lose of the items.

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No because with Parcel Select the Buyer can select a lower cost shipping solution and thus a lower cost total price.  In general terms, in 2018 the difference between Parcel Select and a Seller's discounted Priority Mail was actually enough to cover some if not all of the eBay FVFs on paid shipping by the Buyer.  The 2019 USPS rate hike eliminated that advantage to where in many cases the difference was 20 cents or less and about 10 cents in the same or adjacent shipping zones.  I expected that this year's USPS rate hike and the discount eBay is giving would do exactly what it did ... cross to where a Seller's discounted Priority is MORE then Parcel Select.

Keep in mind, when I create a listing I hit the eventual "packaged weight" 95% of the time or more. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@mr_lincoln wrote: ... The 2019 USPS rate hike eliminated that advantage to where in many cases the difference was 20 cents or less and about 10 cents in the same or adjacent shipping zones.  I expected that this year's USPS rate hike and the discount eBay is giving would do exactly what it did ... cross to where a Seller's discounted Priority is MORE then Parcel Select..... 

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@mr_lincoln   Please give one specific example (weight/zone) of this, because I'm not seeing it.

It looks to me like the price dynamics are the same for 2020 as they were for 2019: The difference between the published rates for Parcel Select Ground and Priority Mail Commercial are so small that the 3% TRS discount makes Priority Mail cheaper.

[inhawaii]

[nobody*s_perfect]

Here's a  reference chart for the new online First Class package rates, put together by a friendly boardie. Handy for those of us who don't live in everybody else's Zone 8: