08-24-2018 05:05 AM
I have sold a lot on eBay years ago and have just started again. I don’t understand what the regional A and B boxes mean or priced. I have always shipped priority. Thanks to anyone who can explain.
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08-24-2018 08:34 AM
Fouand a link that might help you better understand- https://shippingeasy.com/blog/usps-priority-regional-rate-boxes/
08-24-2018 05:19 AM - edited 08-24-2018 05:20 AM
Regional A boxes ship at the same rate as a Calculated Zoned 2 lb box, but can weigh up to 15 lbs
Regional B boxes ship at the same rate as a Calculated Zoned 5 lb box, but can weigh up to 20 lbs
They are Priority. You have to order them from USPS
If you are only shipping domestic, you can enter 2 lbs and 5 lbs respectively in your listing because the shipping platform doesn't actually offer Regional boxes, but remember to change the box type when purchasing labels. If you are going to offer international, it's not going to work well.
You can purchase the labels on eBay and USPS.com but not on PayPal (unless PP has recently changed)
08-24-2018 07:22 AM
As lintbrush explained, when you set up your listing you can just choose Priority Mail calculated shipping for either 2 or 5 pounds. When you go to print your shipping label, you will find the options for the Regional boxes in the drop-down menu along with the other Priority Mail options.
08-24-2018 08:02 AM
Additional note:
Because of the USPS pricing structure, Regional Rate B boxes are more expensive to use than either Medium or Large Flat Rate boxes when shipping to Zones 6 thru 9.
If you're planning to use RR-B boxes to ship, also offer either Medium Flat Rate or Large Flat Rate as a shipping option (but not both).
08-24-2018 08:28 AM
The Regional Rate Boxes, especially the A boxes can save you $ when shipping shipments areto locations not to far from your home base, escecially if the weight is over 2lbs.. We are in Atlanta area and can ship to locations like central Texas (like Dallas/Ft. Worth or Houston areas) or Michigan and save $ over std Priority and in some case to locations near us say Tennesse or N. Carolina, Florida the rate is very close to a small flat rate box or flat rate padded envelopes.
The Regional B boxes are not so popular with us and we seldom ship anything 5lbs or over.
When we ship to the West Coast areas teh Regional boxes don't help us - the y Used to but USPS got greedy and raised rates and reduced teh on-line discount but like the old Chad & Jeremy song went - that was Yesterday & Yesterday's gone (I'm old too).
08-24-2018 08:34 AM
Fouand a link that might help you better understand- https://shippingeasy.com/blog/usps-priority-regional-rate-boxes/
08-24-2018 11:46 AM
@johnrj1226 wrote:
... When we ship to the West Coast areas teh Regional boxes don't help us - the y Used to but USPS got greedy and raised rates and reduced teh on-line discount ...
That doesn't make any sense at all. Since the day they were first issued, the postage cost for the Regional "A" boxes has been identical to the Commercial Base rate for shipping 2 pounds, regardless of which Zone you're shipping to. If you are shipping a 3-pound package, it will be cheaper to use a Regional "A" box regardless of which Zone you're shipping to.
The only potential exceptions are for Top Rated Sellers, who pay the Commercial Plus rate for regular Priority Mail. The Commercial Plus rate for regular postage (based on weight and distance) is 3% less than the Commercial Base rate. So for them, the 2-pound rate is lower than the Regional A rate. For heavier packages, they should check on where the Regional A price starts to be cheaper than the weight-based rate. Last time I checked, it was 3 pounds to most Zones.
08-24-2018 05:21 PM
Thanks, that really helped. Now to order some boxes.
08-24-2018 07:19 PM
@bkb1942 wrote:Thanks, that really helped. Now to order some boxes.
That article quoted the Commercial Plus rates for Priority Mail; as a new eBay seller those are not the rates you will pay for your shipping labels.
When printing postage through eBay, most sellers pay the Commercial Base rate; the Commercial Plus rates are only available to Top Rated Sellers and to those who ship at lest 300 packages per month.
08-25-2018 04:42 AM
@johnrj1226 wrote:The Regional Rate Boxes, especially the A boxes can save you $ when shipping shipments areto locations not to far from your home base, escecially if the weight is over 2lbs.. We are in Atlanta area and can ship to locations like central Texas (like Dallas/Ft. Worth or Houston areas) or Michigan and save $ over std Priority and in some case to locations near us say Tennesse or N. Carolina, Florida the rate is very close to a small flat rate box or flat rate padded envelopes.
The Regional B boxes are not so popular with us and we seldom ship anything 5lbs or over.
When we ship to the West Coast areas teh Regional boxes don't help us - the y Used to but USPS got greedy and raised rates and reduced teh on-line discount but like the old Chad & Jeremy song went - that was Yesterday & Yesterday's gone (I'm old too).
RR'B' boxes size wise fall between the MFRB and LFRB. Yes they are less popular than the RR'A' but they do have their uses.
But what I want to address is your statement that USPS is greedy.
First USPS does not set the rate. It asks for rate hikes and must show that the rate is needed and justified. Even justified it is often denied.
You can thank Congress for the larger bump in the price of postage as they also mandated that USPS FULLY FUND the pension plan for 75 years. Which they (Congress turned around and "borrowed" it).
The bad thing is the Postal Service is in dire need to replace the LLV fleet (around 150,000 units). They were designed to go 24 years and a lot are well past that point. There simply is going to have to be another MAJOR rate hike. Not for profit but just to get by and continue to deliver the mail
I do not use a LLV on my route, Currently I am dead in the water using up my vacation days because BOTH of my RHD Jeeps are broke down. I have a 2000 Jeep Cherokee with 272,000 miles on it and a 2010 Jeep Wrangler with 213,000. When I am working I put 150 miles on the Jeep with 513 stops ON the mail route each and every day, in a very rural area. Only 10% of my route is paved, this necessitates that I run aggressive 10ply tires (set of 4 is $700+). These also affect my MPG and I use 3/4 of a tank of gas each day.
You think it is rough on the equipment. About 2/3 of mail carriers will need surgery on our shoulder or back before it is all said and done. Heck I think I have provided my Chiropractor with a couple new cars so far.
https://savethepostoffice.com/trucks-fire-usps-long-life-vehicles-outlive-their-lifespan/