FedEx Home and 2Day rate drop for 2020

[dtexley3]

I was surprised to see the recent announcement that eBay had negociated a reduction in the FedEx Home and 2Day rates.  In the recent "Ask Jordan Sweetnam" questions I had asked why eBay, as a much larger shipper, couldn't offer FedEx rates like a couple of their smaller competitors.  (Such as M's $11.50 FedEx Home flat rate for 2-10lbs regardless fo the box).  No Response.

So I was hopeful that maybe eBay had taken the intiative and worked some real magic.  Well, not so much, we didn't get anywhere near the (FedEx) rates offered by other online marketplaces, but we did get some savings.  Below are what I found going back to December and recalcing a few FedEx Ground shipments.  I also tossed in some SmartPost just to see the difference:

Actual Shipping Cost: $21.66   (FedEx Home)
Orig Wt: 6.0; Orig Dims: 16.0x11.0x12.0 in;
New Rate: 20.18 Savings: $1.48

Actual Shipping Cost: $23.98   (FedEx Home)
Orig Wt: 5.0; Orig Dims: 24.0x17.0x6.0 in;
Home Rate: $21.22 Savings $1.76

Actual Shipping Cost: $27.33  (FedEx Home)
Orig Wt: 10.0; Orig Dims: 18.0x14.0x12.0 in;
Home Rate: $24.09 Savings $3.24

Actual Shipping Cost: $15.05 (SmartPost)
Orig Wt: 5.0; Orig Dims: 12.0x12.0x10.0 in;
New Rate $14.18 (Home) ($15.58 SmartPost)

Actual Shipping Cost: $11.75 (SmartPost)
Orig Wt: 3.0; Orig Dims: 14.0x8.0x8.0 in;
Home Rate: $12.82 ($12.25 SmartPost)

Actual Shipping Cost: $16.19 (SmartPost)
Orig Wt: 4.0; Orig Dims: 12.0x10.0x8.0 in;
Home Rate: $17.10   ($16.94 SmartPost)

So, for the FedEx Home rates there is a savings, in some cases it dropped the FedEx Home below the SmartPost rate or near enough the SmartPost rate that I would have eaten the difference to get the item there faster and with less "hands" on it.

Your mileage may vary, I didn't look to get samples based on distance or cost, just grabbed random Home and SmartPost shipments and recalculated the label cost to see what changed.

If your only comment on this post is to trash FedEx Home or Smartpost, please find another thread to post in.  This is just for those that do ship FedEx to get an idea what the "new savings" is all about.

[autopartspuller]

I wont ship Smart post, for several reasons but, I do use fedex Ground (home) for many of my heavier/larger items.  I have been doing a comparison to USPS prices and I have found a larger amount of my items are now being shipped Fedex vs. USPS.  Unless it's light and/or small Fedex is typically cheaper.  I looked at the New USPS rates coming into effect soon and this is only going to get to be a bigger increase in the amount of my items that will be shipped via Fedex.

On a personal note, I use my post office as my Fedex drop off site.  I have a good relationship with them and they treat my packages with care.  I am unsure if they will be wiling to continue as my drop off if I start to come in with multiple packages daily for fedex.

[mvls1]

Thank you for your rate comparison. I have also noticed the savings you have shown here. FedEx has been a very reliable delivery service for us over the years. We also use Smartpost when it makes the difference in getting a sale and have had only positive experiences with it so far. All delivery services will have issues from time to time. With that said, FedEx has far superior tracking details for our buyers and allows them the option of picking their packages up at other convenient locations such as Walgreens if they are unable to be home to get their package.

[dtexley3]

Just a quick followup.

If your package is 12x12x10 or smaller and 10lbs or less CHECK FEDEX 2Day!!!!   80-90% Discounted Rate!

[nobody*s_perfect]

Why does eBay never provide any pricing charts for the special rates that they negotiate?

[orangehound]

@dtexley3 

As I've written in other threads, we should wait on confirmation of this from an eBay employee before purchasing or promoting this.   Those rates are crazy cheap, so much so that it looks like an error ... it looks like some eBay employee made a mistake and cut-n-pasted Zone 2 rates for Zones 3-8.

And, remember, eBay simply provides estimates for FedEx on here ... the bill comes later, and none of us wants to think we are shipping a 10 pound package across country for $15 and then getting the bill for $45.

Most often, we pay for eBay's mistakes ... not eBay.

[dtexley3]

@orangehound 

Brian just tagged you here: https://community.ebay.com/t5/Shipping-Returns/WOW-FedEx-rates-with-80-discount-Who-knew/m-p/3062570...  See post 14 confirming the new 2Day rates.

[1crow]

Thanks for the info.  I've always used USPS, but finding on larger items potential bidders are complaining about the (actual) cost. You say you don't use the FedEx Smart Post. ? Based on what I'm looking at for an item I'm listing the Ground/Home Deliv FedEx is less expensive than Smart Post. Not sure why or the difference. Thanks for any insight. 1crow/Jennifer