eBay

mackman_173 · ‎03-01-2018

I am a Top Rated Seller, supposed to be getting discounted USPS rates. Why is there now a disparity in Large Flat Rate Box pricing since the USPS rate raises. I have to pay $17.10 on eBay, I can buy same postage on Amazon through Seller Central for $15.60. In all the years I ahve been selling on both sites, the discounted rates were the same. What gives? I am sure that eBay can get the same rates as Amazon.

partial*eclipse · ‎03-01-2018

@mackman_173wrote:
... . Why is there now a disparity in Large Flat Rate Box pricing since the USPS rate raises. I have to pay $17.10 on eBay, I can buy same postage on Amazon through Seller Central for $15.60.... I am sure that eBay can get the same rates as Amazon.

@mackman_173

Well, if ebay DOES negotiate the same rates as Amazon, they just aren't sharing them with ebay sellers. eBay's postage rates, as ever, are the regular USPS published online rates. Top Rated Sellers (and some other high-volume sellers) pay the Commercial Plus rate, which is about 3% less than the regular online rate (Commercial Base) that all other sellers pay.

$17.10 is the regular published Commercial Plus rate for a Large Flat Rate box, so that's what eBay charges you and all other TRS's.

http://pe.usps.com/cpim/ftp/manuals/dmm300/notice123.pdf

mackman_173 · ‎03-01-2018

I understand what the Commercial Plus Pricing rates are. The question is WHY isn't eBay passing on this discount to TRS/high volume? Because 100% they are getting better than posted rates. My theory is this is what is paying for eBay free to everyone version of "Prime", Guaranteed Delivery, so it is pretty obvious that the SELLER is paying the way for everybody involved.

fern*wood · ‎03-01-2018

I doubt they need a specific reason---it's been like this all along. It's difficult for most corporations to give up easy money. It's rather annoying, though, when they brag about their negotiated prices.

thatsallfolks · ‎03-01-2018

@mackman_173wrote:
I am a Top Rated Seller, supposed to be getting discounted USPS rates. Why is there now a disparity in Large Flat Rate Box pricing since the USPS rate raises. I have to pay $17.10 on eBay, I can buy same postage on Amazon through Seller Central for $15.60. In all the years I ahve been selling on both sites, the discounted rates were the same. What gives? I am sure that eBay can get the same rates as Amazon.

Why would you expect eBay, which has no centralized shipping locations, would be able to negotiate the same rates with USPS as Amazon, which has massive warehouses that provide significant economies of scale to USPS for package sorting and pickup?

berserkerplanet · ‎03-01-2018

Amazon shipping offers sellers USPS Commercial Plus rates.

The $15.60 you are quoting is the USPS published Commercial Plus price for an APO/FPO/DPO Large Flat Rate Box not a standard Large Flat Rate Box.

As I only ship First Class Package through Amazon shipping, I've never looked at Priority Mail prices there, and since I have no current unshipped Amazon orders, can't look at the shipping interface to check what Priority Mail options and prices are offered.

One of two things are happening here:
(1) Amazon did negotiate something better with USPS and obtained the APO/FPO/DPO Large Flat Rate Box rate for its sellers for all Large Flat Rate Boxes
or
(2) You are using the incorrect label option for your Large Flat Rate Box labels.

mackman_173 · ‎03-01-2018

I was not aware that $15.60 was the APO/FPO/DPO Large Flat Rate Box USPS CPP rate( I never ship anything in that particular classification) , thank you for bringing that to my attention, it makes sense that Amazon got it negotiated down to that rate because I can tell you for sure that I am not choosing the wrong postage option, that classification of LFRB is not available as a option in Seller Central for the orders I am fulfilling.

mackman_173 · ‎03-01-2018

I would expect it for 2 reasons. 1) Amazon themselves uses USPS as little as they can, they are deep in to UPS for their own shipping, they get unbelievable discounted rates from UPS, that they do not pass on to their 3P sellers, so Amazon does not do as much business with the USPS as you think. 2) eBay is funneling millions and millions of labels through their company to USPS with eBay shipping labels, so they can easily get negotiated rates as good as Amazon. I have talked to USPS about better than Commercial Plus Pricing, I know what their thresholds are, and eBay is far exceeding them, they are just pocketing the profit, Amazon is too I am sure, but eBay is pocketing more, which is the whole reason I started this post in the first place.

berserkerplanet · ‎03-01-2018

That makes sense.

As I said, I can't see the actual rates at Amazon or what specific Priority options are available there right now, but from what you are saying, there is only a single "Large Flat Rate Box" option there, it does definitely look like Amazon made a deal (and didn't keep the swag for themselves)

Would have been sweet if eBay had been able to do that for us here (I could use it once in a while for certain shipments)

thatsallfolks · ‎03-02-2018

@mackman_173wrote:
I would expect it for 2 reasons. 1) Amazon themselves uses USPS as little as they can, they are deep in to UPS for their own shipping, they get unbelievable discounted rates from UPS, that they do not pass on to their 3P sellers, so Amazon does not do as much business with the USPS as you think. 2) eBay is funneling millions and millions of labels through their company to USPS with eBay shipping labels, so they can easily get negotiated rates as good as Amazon. I have talked to USPS about better than Commercial Plus Pricing, I know what their thresholds are, and eBay is far exceeding them, they are just pocketing the profit, Amazon is too I am sure, but eBay is pocketing more, which is the whole reason I started this post in the first place.

1) Amazon does plenty of business with USPS. USPS has added an extra delivery day (Sunday) specifically to handle Amazon packages.

2) Funneling people to buy postage doesn't reduce USPS's cost to handle those packages. In fact, they probably have to pay overtime to keep up. Amazon warehouses are the equivalent of a USPS sorting center, which saves USPS lots of money on those packages. eBay may be exceeding thresholds, but the packages are spread out over millions of sellers across the entire country. That does nothing for USPS, so eBay will never get Amazon's rates.