eBay

parkersparrow · ‎02-01-2019

I was wondering what everyone thinks about the effect the new zone specific usps rates will have on sales. Will we see an increase in local sales? If a buyer has a choice between two sellers with the same item with the same or similar price the one closer to that buyers location will most likely get the sale. How can we price competitively if we now have multiple shipping zone prices to take into account?

tunicaslot · ‎02-01-2019

No offense taken dog I'm sure from any clothing sellers - it surprises me how well clothing sells online with the amt of items listed on these sites and the fact there is a thrift, outlet or mall relatively close to many people.

mynewfindstore · ‎02-01-2019

We are clothing sellers and I can tell you the reason why sales are still good for clothing online. I shop a LOT and I can tell you that it's easier to find something you are looking for online than in the stores...especially if you don't like some of the "current" styles and I don't! I rarely find anything I like out there in retail. I also shop resale shops and with a few exceptions, I rarely like anything. I have found lots of items I love online....ebay and other online platforms for clothing.

nobody*s_perfect · ‎02-01-2019

@18704d wrote:
...
I'm in the MidWest,
so that helps me a lot.
...

Don't be so sure about that. All sellers will see a trend towards more buyers in closer zones, and a seller in the midwest has fewer potential buyers in their closer zones. Most of the US population lives in your Zones 5 - 8, whereas for sellers on either coast, a significant portion of the potential buyers are in Zones 1 - 4. The seller in Virginia will lose buyers from California, but likewise the seller in California will lose buyers from Virginia.

Here's an example based on Lincoln, NE.

https://www.fitshipper.com/freeTools/usps-zone-calculator.html?toZip=&fromZip=68501

gopetersen · ‎02-01-2019

It makes a BIG difference in eBay search.

An increase of 50 cents can put you 20 screens deeper if there are a lot of items in the same price range.

Some sellers will increase their shipping costs to make up for the increase in prices, and some won't. The ones who don't will get better search placement when filtered for price.

bsarafian · ‎02-01-2019

Good points. I've found for unique items whether shipping cross country or even internationally. If the buyer really thinks it's worth it, they'll pay the shipping. Knowledgeable buyers* know there's some items you just can't shop by price, and they also have a pretty realistic idea of shipping costs are.

*I'm careful to say "knowledgeable buyers" I realize there are some that think nothing costs more than $5 to ship no matter where it's going and we're all getting rich on shipping.

sharingtheland · ‎02-01-2019

Luckily this Virginia person is actually in the Washington DC metro area, the 6th largest population center in the country. And NYC is just a hopskipjump away. I'd be happy to never send another 2 lb 14 oz package to CA or, like yesterday, to Somewhere South Dakota.

And the Dulles USPS Distribution Center is awesome. I've been very lucky in my 3 different locations while selling; all were within a few miles of excellent and massive mail centers. All of my shipments got/get same day distribution and sent off on a truck or plane; I didn't/don't have to wait an extra day for the widgets to travel from a rural post office to the main centers.

Sherry

=^.^= =^.^=
( ) ( )
" " =^.^= " "

nobody*s_perfect · ‎02-01-2019

Exactly. From your location in NoVA, your Zone 4 encompasses everybody from Chicago to Atlanta (and points east and north of those). That's a significant portion of the US population, even if you lose all the Californians.

https://www.fitshipper.com/freeTools/usps-zone-calculator.html?toZip=&fromZip=20598

johnrj1226 · ‎02-01-2019

From the what it is worth department. We ship from Georgia and ~45% of our total sales go to the Western States- we ship exclusively via USPS the greater majority of them go by std Priority mail and a bunch via padded flat rate envelope ( hardly any med or large flat rate). Ship some via FCP. Most of our items are in the 1-3 lb range with an occasional a 5 lb item. Don't think the new FCP prices will affect us much - time will tell.

Of course, those that live in the middle of the US will have an advantage on shipping rates but so do all the stores that are closer to me do to. But if I want an item that ain't in a store close by I will drive to get what I want or need.

"I have the right to remain silent but I didn't have the ability." Ron White, Fritch, Texas
"Stay away from negative people, they have a problem for every solution." A. Einstein
"The Devil made me do it!" - Flip Wilson
"If the band can only play loud - they ain't no good - peps too!" J.R. Johnson

johnrj1226 · ‎02-02-2019

Another way to look at where the people are is that ~76% of the US population live in the Eastern & Central time zones. That has been pretty consistent (+ or - a couple percent points) for many decades. And that takes into account that El Paso, Texas is in the Mountain Time zone not the Central Time Zone - guess it because El Paso is closer to San Diego than it is to Texarkana, Texas. And you are closer to Texarkana from Chicago than from El Paso. And it does matter the state of Indiana is in two time zones.

"I have the right to remain silent but I didn't have the ability." Ron White, Fritch, Texas
"Stay away from negative people, they have a problem for every solution." A. Einstein
"The Devil made me do it!" - Flip Wilson
"If the band can only play loud - they ain't no good - peps too!" J.R. Johnson

714gorilla · ‎02-20-2019

@parkersparrow wrote:
I was wondering what everyone thinks about the effect the new zone specific usps rates will have on sales. Will we see an increase in local sales? If a buyer has a choice between two sellers with the same item with the same or similar price the one closer to that buyers location will most likely get the sale. How can we price competitively if we now have multiple shipping zone prices to take into account?

I, too, been trying to figure that out. I sell mainly clothing and have always shipped in Poly Bags (because they're light weight and cost less to mail). I also pay all the shipping and keep my prices very reasonable.

The Poly Bags used to be part of the 'Large Envelope' group which has now been deleted. Many are around 1" high and the last one weighed only 6 oz and 'would have' cost $1.75 via First Class. But now with the new Zone Pricing and being forced to list it as a I had to pay $2.00 extra (which is more than the 11.9% that Ebay claimed would be the highest increase).

I live on the West Coast and sent it to the East Coast. I'd like to go back to having the customer pay shipping and have what it would cost for each zone in the listing. I think Ebay should figure out a way to help us out so the customer knows ahead of buying. Anyone else have thoughts on this?

"In the end only kindness matters"

"In the end, only kindness matters."

nobody*s_perfect · ‎02-20-2019

@714gorilla wrote: ...
The Poly Bags used to be part of the 'Large Envelope' group which has now been deleted. Many are around 1" high ...

USPS has not changed or removed the shipping option which eBay calls "Large envelope" and which USPS calls a "First Class flat."

In order to be mailed as a flat, an envelope must be no more than 3/4 inch thick. This has been the USPS policy for at least 10 years.

https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/101.htm#ep1002686

Your envelope that is 1 inch thick (or any thickness over 3/4 inch) isn't eligible to be mailed as a flat now, but it also wasn't eligible before the latest rate changes.

@714gorilla wrote: .... I'd like to go back to having the customer pay shipping and have what it would cost for each zone in the listing....

That hasn't changed, either. If you set up your listing with calculated shipping, you can choose either "Package" or "Large envelope" for the calculator package type and your buyer will be charged the correct postage for their location. But don't choose Large envelope for items that are thicker than 3/4 inch.

714gorilla · ‎02-20-2019

@nobody*s_perfect wrote:
@714gorilla wrote: ...
The Poly Bags used to be part of the 'Large Envelope' group which has now been deleted. Many are around 1" high ...

USPS has not changed or removed the shipping option which eBay calls "Large envelope" and which USPS calls a "First Class flat."

In order to be mailed as a flat, an envelope must be no more than 3/4 inch thick. This has been the USPS policy for at least 10 years.

https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/101.htm#ep1002686

Your envelope that is 1 inch thick (or any thickness over 3/4 inch) isn't eligible to be mailed as a flat now, but it also wasn't eligible before the latest rate changes.

@714gorilla wrote: .... I'd like to go back to having the customer pay shipping and have what it would cost for each zone in the listing....
That hasn't changed, either. If you set up your listing with calculated shipping, you can choose either "Package" or "Large envelope" for the calculator package type and your buyer will be charged the correct postage for their location. But don't choose Large envelope for items that are thicker than 3/4 inch.

I don't know if you're a fellow seller or you work/volunteer for Ebay but I was attempting to mail a Large Envelope via First Class and the dimensions were 9x12x1/2" so I tried using Ebay's Shipping Calculator.

The calculator would not accept 1/2" and so I tried using .5 and then I added my zip and the buyer's zip, but it still rejected it. So then I called Ebay for help and they told me I had to put in 1 (inch) and that is how it was finally accepted. But the bad news was - then I ended up having to pay $2.00 more than I should have paid. So there is a problem with Ebay's calculator...try it yourself and please let me know.

https://www.ebay.com/shp/Calculator

"In the end, only kindness matters."

nobody*s_perfect · ‎02-21-2019

There's nothing wrong with the shipping calculator. If you select "Large envelope" then it will show you the prices for a large envelope (which the USPS calls a flat) regardless of what dimensions you put in.

The purpose of entering dimensions is not to determine what type you're mailing; it's so the calculator can determine whether there's a surcharge on a larger package. It's up to the user to know what to choose in that first drop-down "Type" menu.

Not sure what you mean by "I ended up having to pay $2.00 more than I should have paid." If you purchase postage through eBay, then you can only purchase postage for packages. If you're mailing a flat, then you need to use stamps or pay at the PO.

714gorilla · ‎02-25-2019

@nobody*s_perfect wrote:
There's nothing wrong with the shipping calculator. If you select "Large envelope" then it will show you the prices for a large envelope (which the USPS calls a flat) regardless of what dimensions you put in.

The purpose of entering dimensions is not to determine what type you're mailing; it's so the calculator can determine whether there's a surcharge on a larger package. It's up to the user to know what to choose in that first drop-down "Type" menu.

Not sure what you mean by "I ended up having to pay $2.00 more than I should have paid." If you purchase postage through eBay, then you can only purchase postage for packages. If you're mailing a flat, then you need to use stamps or pay at the PO.

It doesn't let me choose "Large Envelope" with the measurements. Try it:

https://www.ebay.com/shp/Calculator

Choose Large Envelope

Dimensions-----> 10 X 11 X .5 (it won't allow me to choose 1/2)

14 oz.

Shipping from Zone 1 to Zone 7

It keeps wanting me to change the measurements.

Something is not right with the Calculator as far as I can tell.

"In the end only kindness matters."

"In the end, only kindness matters."

berserkerplanet · ‎02-25-2019

You can't choose other than integer measurements - the calculator isn't set up to care about them for anything other than package, and measurements are in round inches for packages.

Measurements are use for some pkg threshold and limit determinations, but mostly for dimensional weight computations.
Volumetric calculations do not apply to letters or flats.

The calculator isn't set up to accept fractional inch measurements and make decisions on the validity of the chosen packaging (ie: if > 1/4" can't be First Class letter, if > 3/4" can't be First Class Flat) which sounds maybe like what you are expecting. When it tells you to enter a dimension you need to enter at least 1".

The calculator offers envelope and flat pricing lookups essentially as a courtesy for estimating and charging buyers.

You are expected to know what you are doing with choices other than package (and even for package), and whether a given envelope or flat is "legal" (too thick, too small, too long, too short, too rigid, too lumpy, wrong aspect ratio, etc)
https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm100/mailing-domestic.htm