UPS to "upcharge" rates for Black Friday and Christmas deliveries

[duchess-at-speakeasy]

Latest news about UPS and FedEx -- UPS will "upcharge" rates specifically during the Black Friday and Christmas shopping seasons.  From what I hear on radio news reports, UPS intends to increase the cost of sending a package during the period immediately after Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving) and again during the week just before Christmas.

In other words, if you ship during these 2 "rush" periods, it'll cost you more!

FedEx initially was going to charge more for "large" or "irregularly shaped" packages during this time but apparently has backed off the idea.  Now FedEx is promoting the fact that they will NOT add any fees -- in an effort to attract more customers and stand in favorable contrast to UPS.  It's not clear if current FedEx add-ons will be affected.

You might want to have a chat with your UPS and/or FedEx account rep soon and get a firm idea of your holiday season costs and exactly when the higher rates will be charged. And how will eBay calculations be handled?

~~C~~

[partial*eclipse]

There was plenty of coverage when UPS announced this in June:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/ups-to-add-delivery-surcharges-for-black-friday-christmas-orders-149788...

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/06/20/533611270/attention-holiday-shoppers-ups-to-add-de...

"Between Nov. 19 and Dec. 2—the weeks encapsulating Black Friday and Cyber Monday—UPS is adding a 27-cent charge on all ground packages sent to homes..... From Dec. 17 to Dec. 23, UPS will charge an extra 27 cents for each ground shipment, 81 cents for next-day air and 97 cents for two- or three-day delivery."

But earlier this week, FedEx made their official announcement about NOT following suit.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-03/fedex-shuns-most-holiday-surcharges-drawing-contr...

[duchess-at-speakeasy]

Thanks for the info! No radio news in June about the UPS fees, but it's been a hot topic on the air this week -- even before FedEx made their "no fee" announcement.

Did I miss a prior announcement in June here on the boards?

~~C~~