I still am confused about shipping costs.

[the_old_same_place]

I am having difficulty determining the shipping costs for an item which weighs about 9 pounds; it requires a box sized 10” x 9” x 5”.  I plan to price the item for about $10.00.  When I check USPS rates using Priority Mail 2-Day™ Medium Flat Rate Box, the cost is estimated at $13.65; however, there are nearly identical items (differing only in labeling) which have postage costs ranging from $7.25 to $8.95 within the USA.  I cannot locate any such pricing on the USPS web site.  I would appreciate any explanations and advice on how I should determine accurate shipping costs.  The shipping cost I find (regardless of location in the 48 contiguous states) for selling my item is $13.65, not the prices specified in the below listings.

For comparisons, see the following items:

Item 292555938567

Shipping from Washington State to Illinois $7.99 Economy Shipping

Item 381825382304

Shipping from New York State to Illinois $9.85 Expedited Shipping (USPS Priority Mail®)

Item 292555938567

Shipping from Pennsylvania to Illinois $8.47 Economy Shipping. 

[thallidguy]

Priority Mail is not Economy Shipping, so that's probably not an apples-to-apples comparison. My guess is that those sellers are using FedEx SmartPost, or UPS' equivalent service, and that they're located in the middle of the country, so that shipping just about anywhere except Alaska and Hawaii would cost less than it does for me to ship from my base in California to the East Coast.

Similarly, the seller using Priority may be using Priority Mail Regional Rate A, which ships at the 2 lb. rate. It sounds like your item might just barely fit into a Regional Rate A box. USPS Regional Rate A is priced by postal zone, like normal Priority Mail, but if it fits into the box it ships at the 2 lb. rate for that distance traveled (Regional Rate B ships at the 4 lb. rate).

Did you get that $13.65 price for Flat Rate from the USPS website? I'm pretty sure that if you buy postage through eBay Shipping, it's less than $13.

[nobody*s_perfect]

As I noted in your other post, if a seller sets up their listing with calculated shipping, then the postage cost will seem lower for nearby buyers and higher for farther ones.  For instance, item 381825382304 is set up with calculated shipping for a 2-pound package; it shows $12.90 as the postage cost to ship to California and $7.25 to ship to NYC. That seems like about the right weight for a 1:25 diecast car; it certainly wouldn't weigh 9 pounds, packed.

The other item has a flat rate for generic "Economy shipping" so it's impossible  to estimate what service he's using or what it would cost.

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@the_old_same_place wrote:

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 ....  The shipping cost I find (regardless of location in the 48 contiguous states) for selling my item is $13.65, not the prices specified in the below listings..... 

Because the postage cost for a flat rate box is a flat rate. 

[betsm-51 · Accepted solution]

Also, the USPS website has the cost for full retail postage, ebay sellers get the commercial discount, and some get commercial plus at a bigger discount