Shipping prices

[mllesicmaricela]

A few months ago I noticed a dip in my eBay sales. It was a busy time in my life (planning my wedding) so I altogether took a little break from selling. Now I've started selling again and I've noticed shipping prices have gone up (no more Media Mail?). Also, my ratings are all stellar, but the lowest rating is of course, shipping cost. I try to sell things as cheap as possible but now it seems even that is too much for my buyers when they have to pay $10-13 for a pair of jeans. Not to mention, eBay suggests that I offer free shipping, so I tried that (while raising the price of the product) but then eBay "suggests" that my price is too high. I decided to test eBays selling advice, listed a shirt for $4 (suggested price) and offered free shipping. Shirt was purchased, I paid $5.45 for the shipping label, so now I'm negative $2.33 (with fees/sales tax). eBay has really been my go to for selling but this is obviously not worth it for me. Suggestions?? 

[kensgiftshop]

I don't see you have anything listed that qualifies for Media Mail.

[soh.maryl]

Some time in December, the USPS announced that there would be an increase in their prices effective January 18 I believe.

I did not follow the details of this closely because it's been a very long time since I was a seller although I do have occasion to mail packages to relatives.

Someone else will probably be able to tell you if it affected media mail.  

[ryry-jj]

Media mail is still an option for qualified categories.  We are all in the same boat as far as shipping goes.  Don't let eBay tell you anything about pricing and shipping, those are two things you need to know for yourself.  eBay cares about eBay, the made money off of your sale, you only make money if you profit from the sale.

The rise in shipping cost hurts the "free shipping" sellers more than others as they attempt to absorbs those cost.  Yes, sellers may stop buying if shipping cost go too high , but I'll let my buyers make that call as I always recommend calculated shipping .   A $4 shirt with free shipping....how I'd you think that would ever work?

[tsme35]

USPS jacked shipping rates Sunday the 18th, 8 oz and under had a 18% rate increase.

[cityslickercreations2004]

A couple of things to hopefully help you out.

In general, ignore ebay suggestions on pricing, shipping, etc. Their suggestions are pulled out of a hat.

Ebay has a fee calculator available. If you can't locate it through the help pages just google it. I use the fee calculator extensively to make sure my listing has some profit. 

There is also a shipping calculator which you may need so I would bookmark it.

When setting a listing price, I always look at the sold items. Do a general ebay search, then look at the filters to the left.  Near the bottom under show only you can click on sold items. Sold items are your true competition because they reflect what a buyer is willing to pay.

Your shipping seems to be all over the board. Invest in a scale to get an accurate shipping weight.

You may want to offer buyer paid returns to help buffer against remorse returns. Many buyers just claim INAD to get free return shipping. 

Looks like things are going well for you!

[reallynicestamps]

Free Shipping is adspeak for "the cost of shipping is included in the purchase price."

And yes, the cost of shipping has risen a lot in the past year.

I believe USPS just announced another one for January.

And the private companies raise their prices whenever they feel like it.

The shipping labels offered by eBay are usually discounted, so make sure you take advantage of that. 

Also , have you considered not tracking at all? Most people are honest and the tracking is only needed if there is a problem transaction.

[lovincloud9]

Since I've starting selling shipping costs have gone up 5 or 6 times and I had a low rating for shipping costs also and tried to figure out a way to make everyone happy while also still making a good profit. I put a flat rate of $5.00 for buyers to pay and that covers most of it and I pay the rest. If I list an item for over $30.00 then I put free shipping on it, unless its really heavy then I still put $5.00. Hope thats helpful!

[inhawaii]

Aren't there shipping price increases every single year since the beginning of time?

Should anyone really be surprised?

[tobaccocardyahoo]

You need to reconsider your strategy.

You should not believe any Ebay recommendation for pricing.

You should probably be offering your items fixed price Buy It Now.

You should consider whether your items are worth the effort of listing.

You should probably not offer free shipping until you better understand how to price and run an online business.

If you follow these recommendations you are unlikely to lose money while you learn what to sell and how to sell it. You may, however, see piles of your buying mistakes accumulating.