USPS RAISING RATES AGAIN

[mvls1]

One of the sellers on the power sellers board posted this for everyone today.

The U.S. Postal Service announced its proposed new prices for 2020 on Wednesday. While the price of a first-class stamp isn’t changing, the prices for flat-rate Priority Mail packages are going up across the board. The prices, which still need to be reviewed by the Governors of the Postal Service, would rise by about 1.9 percent overall. The average Priority Mail Express price would increase 3.5 percent, and Priority Mail would increase by 4.1 percent, according to the USPS. Rates for sending letters would remain flat at $0.55 for the first ounce and $0.15 more per additional ounce. Outbound international letters would go up from $1.15 to $1.20.

Postage increases, sale taxes, new Paypal fees, new managed payment transaction fees - up, up and away. That about covers it. Brick and mortar looks better for buyers with each increase. Change is inevitable, but so is the collateral damage that it causes some businesses.

[thehonorabletrader]

The USPS is established as part of the Constitution. As such, it is run and controlled by congress. Congress doesn't want to subsidize tax payer funds by allowing the USPS to sell non USPS products or offer ad space in their stores, locations or online. So USPS is basically forced to operate at a loss.

The USPS has had a rates increase in at least some capacity every year for the last 15 years and that is going to be the case moving forward. Expect USPS rates to go up each year until they are on par or equal to what the competition such as UPS, FedEx, etc.. are charging for similar services.  (Or until we as a people replace all of our members of congress and the house with new people that are willing to help keep taxpayer cost down by allowing advertising and other money making ideas for USPS).

[mvls1]

That will be forever since UPS and Fedex raise their rates every year! Does anyone really think this can go on forever and not negatively impact online business? USPS needs to STOP cutting special deals with some companies and treat EVERY business fairly. I believe many of these increases are contributed to by the ridiculous deals they give companies like Amazon. WE are ALL taxpayers and deserve to be treated the same as every other online company.

[richard1rst]

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@mvls1 wrote:

 USPS needs to STOP cutting special deals with some companies and treat EVERY business fairly.

So you are willing to give back the eBay discount you get because that amounts to a "special deal" that the average consumer does not get? Please, speak for yourself.

[richard1rst]

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@mvls1 wrote:

Postage increases, sale taxes, new Paypal fees, new managed payment transaction fees - up, up and away. That about covers it. Brick and mortar looks better for buyers with each increase. Change is inevitable, but so is the collateral damage that it causes some businesses.

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Rent increases, rising city business taxes, federally mandated minimum wage hikes, higher insurance premiums, higher utility bills, homeless encampments at your front door - Yep, you’re right B&M is looking better every day.

Are you so historically challenged that you missed the pattern? The post office raises their prices EVERY year - why does this come as a surprise to you?

[muttlymob]

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@mvls1 wrote:

Postage increases, sale taxes, new Paypal fees, new managed payment transaction fees - up, up and away. That about covers it. Brick and mortar looks better for buyers with each increase. Change is inevitable, but so is the collateral damage that it causes some businesses.

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some problems with this statement.

1)  if you are selling something that is easily available at B&M stores, why would you expect to be able to compete online?

2)  online sales are not going away, because B&M is not available to everyone.  In many rural areas there is no access to even the basics, much less anything that is rare or hard to find even in more populated areas.

[muttlymob]

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@thehonorabletrader wrote:

The USPS is established as part of the Constitution. As such, it is run and controlled by congress. Congress doesn't want to subsidize tax payer funds by allowing the USPS to sell non USPS products or offer ad space in their stores, locations or online. So USPS is basically forced to operate at a loss.

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Not sure if I am reading this right, but are you suggesting that the USPS is funded by taxpayers?

If that's what you are saying, then no, the USPS does not receive taxpayer funds.  The USPS is funded by its own operating revenue. 

[mvls1]

muttlymob said,

"1) if you are selling something that is easily available at B&M stores, why would you expect to be able to compete online?

2) online sales are not going away, because B&M is not available to everyone. In many rural areas there is no access to even the basics, much less anything that is rare or hard to find even in more populated areas."

I agree with your 2nd point. There will always be buyers that for reason of access that will buy online even if the prices are higher and buyers of rarer items,but they alone will not sustain all the online sellers.

Your 1st point is a different matter. If a seller can source their inventory at the right price then they should be able to compete with brick and mortar stores. Some combination of sourcing inventory at the right price and your 2nd point will make an Ebay business work. That said, all the continued increases sellers are seeing across the board are taking their toll on some of the sellers here on Ebay that are just trying to make ends meet.

Fortunately, we have done alright, but not without much extra effort.

[mvls1]

I guess if ALL online venue were cut the same deal, whatever that might be, then we would not be at a competitive disadvantage with regards to shipping cost. So yes, in order to level the selling field in that area, I would exchange what we have now for a new rate. At least then my product and service are areas I have better control of.

[mvls1]

richard1st said,

"Rent increases, rising city business taxes, federally mandated minimum wage hikes, higher insurance premiums, higher utility bills, homeless encampments at your front door - Yep, you’re right B&M is looking better every day.

Are you so historically challenged that you missed the pattern? The post office raises their prices EVERY year - why does this come as a surprise to you?"

Not historically challenged at all. Sure I realize USPS raises their prices every year, doesn't every long term Ebay seller? My point is that part of the reason we pay higher shipping rates is BECAUSE of the better deals they give to other online venues. Shipping costs are just one of the areas that every seller needs to be concerned about.At some point it will simply be too expensive to continue to sell and ship larger items online. Even sellers of smaller items are starting to feel the pinch of all the various cost increases to running their Ebay businesses. We can revisit this question in a couple of years after we see where all the other Ebay changes and future shipping increases go. That may prove enlightening.

Having had a successful construction company for 40+ years I am well aware of all the costs involved in running a business and probably few you haven't even thought of. California is one of the most challenging states around build in. Running an Ebay business is a walk in the park in comparison.

[richard1rst]

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@mvls1 wrote:Having had a successful construction company for 40+ years I am well aware of all the costs involved in running a business and probably few you haven't even thought of. California is one of the most challenging states around build in. Running an Ebay business is a walk in the park in comparison.

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In fact, I ran a B&M store doing custom cabinet making coupled with kitchen and bath remodeling in Huntington Beach for 20+ years. Then as the political climate started to change I moved to Nevada.

You said:

At some point it will simply be too expensive to continue to sell and ship larger items online

That's an easy one to solve. Stop selling large items. Surely there are plenty of smaller items available for sale.

[mvls1]

Small world isn't it. From what you said, it sounds like you do have 1st hand knowledge of the construction situation and requirements here in California. For the last 15 years, we have been involved in constructing high end, one of a kind architect designed residences and commercial construction. If you did any cabinet work for one of a kind residences, you know what I am talking about. Our average residence was an 18 - 24 month project. I don't blame you for moving. We are actually considering it ourselves.

We started our Ebay business for my wife and added accounts as it grew. Having been in construction yourself I am sure running your Ebay business is NO problem for you. You probably adapt to the changes fairly easily. Some of the post I read here are sad. Sellers just trying to earn enough money to make ends meet are getting killed by all these cost increases.

[richard1rst]

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@mvls1 wrote:

We started our Ebay business for my wife and added accounts as it grew. Having been in construction yourself I am sure running your Ebay business is NO problem for you. You probably adapt to the changes fairly easily. Some of the post I read here are sad. Sellers just trying to earn enough money to make ends meet are getting killed by all these cost increases.

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I'm not really sure whether running a business is what makes it easy to adapt or whether it is just something in my nature that made adapting easy which in turn lead me to be self employed.

In response to one of the "sad" posts I saw earlier I responded:

You don't join a band if you can not play an instrument

You don't join a basketball team unless you are really tall (Bob Cousy notwithstanding)

You don't run a business if you don't have the "Lobes"

The point being that there are some people who are just not properly configured to run a business, not matter how much they might want to do it 

One of my early mentors said: To be successful find something you are good at and just keep getting better. Notice - something you are good at, not just something you want to do because you enjoy it.

Frankly, for most of the "sad" posts I see here that seems to be the biggest stumbling block.

[lja440]

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@mvls1 wrote:

That will be forever since UPS and Fedex raise their rates every year! Does anyone really think this can go on forever and not negatively impact online business? USPS needs to STOP cutting special deals with some companies and treat EVERY business fairly. I believe many of these increases are contributed to by the ridiculous deals they give companies like Amazon. WE are ALL taxpayers and deserve to be treated the same as every other online company.

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The "deal" cut with Amazon is nothing the average shipper could possibly do. 

In order to get their rate (and this also applies to UPS SurePost, and FedEx SmartPost) is that Amazon does most of the work. Each day they deliver their packages to each and every delivering Post Office, we just take it from there to the customers address.  It would be like you had a buyer that lives in the zip 90210, you pack your item as normal with the address, then you hop on a plane from where ever you live to LA. touch down and travel to where your customers mail carrier is sorting that days mail and hand it off to them to deliver to your buyers house.

There are many levels of discounts. Some deal with volume and advance into the levels of presorting done by the shipper. The average eBayer falls into raw mail. Meaning other than printing a on line label they do none of the sorting or transporting from their zip to their buyers zip.

[johnrj1226]

The USPS  says the average price increase  will be 1.9% based  on the retail  rate.  What they  don't say is what commercial  rate  discounts  that will be reduced.  In teh  past  they  have done both the net  effect  is an even greater cost increase to those  that buy labels on line  like eBay labels, stamps, etc.  Last  year USPS on line label rates were the  same as retail  counter rates.

Been  selling on eBay since 2010 and USPS seems to make price changes every year like clock work.  Maybe  some  day they will stop  Saturday deliveries & save  that $2 billion  dollar a year.  Personally, we  only get "junk" mail on  Saturday i can wait 'til Monday to throw it away.