eBay

desertseller · ‎02-11-2018

Ebay says they have negotiated discounts. The discount is the same if you buy postage directly from USPS online or thru Paypal directly .. why the big deal? Can't we get a better rate than the standard discount USPS give anyone buying postage online?

partial*eclipse · ‎02-11-2018

If you purchase postage online from USPS, you pay the retail rate.

Otherwise, you're absolutely right: the "eBay discount" is nothing more than the regular online rate that is also available through PayPal, endicia, stamps.com, et al. The only exception is that Top Rated Sellers (and some other high volume sellers) pay the Commercial Plus rate for Priority Mail; this is about 3% lower than the regular online rate (Commercial Base).

orangehound · ‎02-11-2018

wrote:
Ebay says they have negotiated discounts. The discount is the same if you buy postage directly from USPS online or thru Paypal directly .. why the big deal? Can't we get a better rate than the standard discount USPS give anyone buying postage online?

eBay didn't say that they are passing on the negotiated discounts ... simply that they negotiated discounts.

Given that every reseller of postage charges the same amount, I don't think the USPS allows any postage reseller to charge anything other than the USPS published rates - depending on your access profile, you pay retail, commercial, or commercial plus. The reseller, however, may pay a different rate to the USPS as part of their sales commission.

For example, we may pay $6.35 for a flat rate envelope, which is USPS' published price for commercial plus. eBay will get a commission for the sale of that postage, and may only have to pay USPS $5.90 as part of their negotiated deal ... another reseller, say stamps.com, may pay the USPS $5.85 as part of their negotiated deal.

partial*eclipse · ‎02-11-2018

wrote:
... eBay didn't say that they are passing on the negotiated discounts ... .

That's certainly implied when they say that they negotiated the discounts "for you."

wrote:
... For example, we may pay $6.35 for a flat rate envelope, which is USPS' published price for commercial plus. ....

Top Rated Sellers (and 300+) pay the Commercial Plus rate, everybody else pays the Commercial Base rate, which is the regular online rate that's available anywhere.