Shipping to CA and FL is getting unreal.

[quadcitypickers]

It is now costing upwards of $12 to send a small 1lb box via priority mail to California.

Usually too large for a small flat-rate box and a medium is $1.75 more.

I offer flat-rate shipping and hate it when I get CA/FL buyers, which seem to compose of ~50% of my listings, but of course about 25% of the entire country lives in these two states.

This cost is making it hard to compete with drop shippers using prime because they pay nothing for shipping whereas I do.

There is about 3800 cubic feet of cargo space in a 53' trailer which means 3800 12x12x12 boxes could fit in.

That means on a truckload going to CA, the postage paid on said truckload would be over $45,000..per..truckload.

Honestly I blame Amazon for putting something the size of a coaster in a 24x24x8" box which ties up all the usable space and thus less orders per shipment which increases cost.

[kare-bearb]

Why not switch to calculated shipping?

[Anonymous]

Whole lotta complaining in your thread. Sounds like you should take a break from sales or re-strategize the way you sell.

[mtgraves7984]

Good buyers know that shipping is expensive. Give me a good buyer any day. Upward and onward and all...

[a_c_green]

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@quadcitypickers wrote:

It is now costing upwards of $12 to send a small 1lb box via priority mail to California.

Usually too large for a small flat-rate box and a medium is $1.75 more.

I'm not seeing those prices to California from Chicago for a 1-pound package. I see $8.27 for a non-Flat-Rate Priority package, or $7.67 for Flat Rate Small (if it fits). Flat Rate Medium is $13.34, but Regional Rate A is $11.29. It appears that you're in Iowa, so I would not expect a whole lot of difference at a glance.

If it's just a 1-pound box, you're doing yourself a disservice by charging Flat Rate prices. Go with Calculated Shipping for smaller and/or lighter packages, and you will probably benefit.

[luckythewinner]

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@quadcitypickers wrote:

It is now costing upwards of $12 to send a small 1lb box via priority mail to California.

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Use First Class instead of Priority. $6 or less for up to 15.99 ounces. 

There. I just saved you 50% 🙂

[forward-motion]

I just learned how to do this. Go to my account>shipping preferences>use shipping rate tables>domestic

You can add extra shipping to regions and states as well as APO/FPO and US Protectorates 

[quadcitypickers]

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@kare-bearb wrote:

Why not switch to calculated shipping?

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Because when I looked into it before there was no way of sorting it by price.

Priority mail is usually the same price as FedEx on a short distance but gets a huge difference the farther out you go.

For some odd reason eBay can't make the shipping calculator smart enough to sort the service by price.

[Anonymous]

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@quadcitypickers wrote:

It is now costing upwards of $12 to send a small 1lb box via priority mail to California.

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No way to trim the weight to 15.9 oz and send 1st class? I've literally trimmed flaps before to get it under weight.

[katzrul15]

We use calculated daily with multiple options with no issues.  A Buyer always sees the lowest/cheapest option first.  

Florida is not an issue for us.  So many flat rate and regional box options, especially if heavy items.  Confused by your post.

[kare-bearb]

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@quadcitypickers wrote:

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@kare-bearb wrote:

Why not switch to calculated shipping?

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Because when I looked into it before there was no way of sorting it by price.

Priority mail is usually the same price as FedEx on a short distance but gets a huge difference the farther out you go.

For some odd reason eBay can't make the shipping calculator smart enough to sort the service by price.

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When you are setting up the shipping terms on the selling form, eBay allows you to offer multiple shipping options.  Then your buyers can select the one that works best for them.

[mr_lincoln]

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@quadcitypickers wrote:

It is now costing upwards of $12 to send a small 1lb box via priority mail to California.

Usually too large for a small flat-rate box and a medium is $1.75 more.

I offer flat-rate shipping and hate it when I get CA/FL buyers, which seem to compose of ~50% of my listings, but of course about 25% of the entire country lives in these two states.

This cost is making it hard to compete with drop shippers using prime because they pay nothing for shipping whereas I do.

There is about 3800 cubic feet of cargo space in a 53' trailer which means 3800 12x12x12 boxes could fit in.

That means on a truckload going to CA, the postage paid on said truckload would be over $45,000..per..truckload.

Honestly I blame Amazon for putting something the size of a coaster in a 24x24x8" box which ties up all the usable space and thus less orders per shipment which increases cost.

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@quadcitypickers   I use Calculated shipping and let Buyers see how much it will cost them to ship from here to there ... if a package is above the Dimensional weight threshold the cost can over double coast to coast.  I have NEVER use the Flat rate setting and the ONLY time I offer Free shipping is on very light weight items I am ready to get rid of and will sell and ship for my minimum item price.

[randysauto01]

This peaked my interest. We sell used auto parts from our 2 wrecking yards, and found that flat rate shipping has been more productive and increased our sales greatly. 

I used to get about 50 messages a day from people wanting quotes on things like engines and transmissions and doors. A vast majority of my time was spent working up freight quotes, and only converting 2 of them or so to sales.

Issue for me is same as OP, I'm in Washington state, and it never fails, when I've got some lower priced engine that sells, its almost always going to go to some zone that is much much more expensive than most other places.

I would like to implement your idea, but I'm not seeing on my computer screen where it says my account.

More than likely its staring me right in the face, is it under something else you have to click on to open up and see where it says My Account?

[bigdeals.etc]

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@mtgraves7984 wrote:

Good buyers know that shipping is expensive. Give me a good buyer any day. Upward and onward and all...

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I know postage is super expensive... and it sounds like the OP thinks so too. We must be terrific buyers. So what goods do you have for sale? Dazzle us 🙂

[lepke1979]

What are the dimensions of the package? You'll have to go to a different shipping service such as Pirate Ship or XPS Ship. But if it is less than 0.2 cubic feet, you can ship up to 20 pounds from California to Florida for $10.31. USPS Tyvek envelopes for instance fall in that area as well.

Another option is to try to get it under a pound. But that may be a wash depending on the cost of the boxes you would need.