post office cheaper than ebay? (please read)

[slateknightcards]

So today i had a clinker of an auction sale.  I put my tail between my legs, made their package all nice.  Printed out my label and affixed it, and set it nicely on the desk for shipping tomorrow.  Then i decided to see what it would cost if someone actually had me ship 2 of these.

So to usps dot com i go to start plugging in numbers and low and behold it would of cost me .63 cents less to ship my item if i bought my postage directly from the post office.  Has anyone else come accross this?  When every penny counts if thats the case ill just go there and do it and manually enter the tracking info myself. any opinions will be greatly appreciated.

[duchess-at-speakeasy]

No, tracking is not the only difference between a flat and a package.

A "flat" is a large envelope that must be FLEXIBLE and cannot be RIGID or LUMPY. It must be of uniform thickness up to 3/4".

The minimum dimensions are either 6-1/8" wide OR 11-1/2" long. The flat can be rolled, bent, creased or folded to fit into an apartment-sized mailbox. Maximum weight 13 oz. Maximum size 12" x 15". No tracking, no online prepaid postage. Retail only.

Examples: A 9x12 paper envelope or poly mailer containing 50 sheets of paper. A magazine, catalog or directory. A manuscript. Sheets of stickers or labels.

~~C~~

[xgoblazersx]

It's NEVER been cheaper through USPS.com or the PO.  I'm skeptical as well.

[axelene]

No but I get Comm+ rates

By the way...

It's never cheaper if I have to physically take something to a post office.

[partial*eclipse]

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duchess-at-speakeasy wrote: ... The minimum dimensions are either 6-1/8" wide OR 11-1/2" long. ...

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In order to not be a letter, the piece must be over 3.5 ounces OR exceed ANY of the 3 dimensional limits for a letter, including thickness 1/4 inch.

[lja440]

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@fitzfindsthedeals wrote:
flat. they are shipped in gag mailers. kids shirts

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Flats do not qualify for tracking. Even if your item is physically flat you still need to ship it as a parcel to get tracking.

[alwaysthemusic]

YES! Finally a seller here questioning the ebay system. I can tell you without hesitation that as a buyer, I routinely pay 10 - 25% more for shipping thanks to EBay's inaccurate shipping calculator, and every time a seller makes the effort to take item to post office, the price is right. On top of that, the Global Shipping Program is an utter disgrace, charging anywhere from 25 - 90% more re import fees than is actually required. I wonder how the Canadian Border Services Agency will deal with this when they recognize Pitney Bowes and Ebay are making a profit off the buyer's backs because those import fees are NOT going to the proper channels. UPS and FedEx triple charge when they cross the border. Nice. So if I ever shop here again, it will be via USPS, the ONLY method I can count on, which will ensure quick, and reasonably priced shipping to Canada. Bonus when a seller like you cares enough to investigate what the "true" cost of shipping is, when compared to the ebay calculator.

[partial*eclipse]

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alwaysthemusic wrote: ... . Bonus when a seller like you cares enough to investigate what the "true" cost of shipping is, when compared to the ebay calculator.

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The original poster didn't investigate or reveal anything.  They were comparing  two different services. The price that they got at the PO was not for the same service that eBay was selling.

[fern*wood]

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@alwaysthemusic wrote:
YES! Finally a seller here questioning the ebay system. I can tell you without hesitation that as a buyer, I routinely pay 10 - 25% more for shipping thanks to EBay's inaccurate shipping calculator, and every time a seller makes the effort to take item to post office, the price is right. On top of that, the Global Shipping Program is an utter disgrace, charging anywhere from 25 - 90% more re import fees than is actually required. I wonder how the Canadian Border Services Agency will deal with this when they recognize Pitney Bowes and Ebay are making a profit off the buyer's backs because those import fees are NOT going to the proper channels. UPS and FedEx triple charge when they cross the border. Nice. So if I ever shop here again, it will be via USPS, the ONLY method I can count on, which will ensure quick, and reasonably priced shipping to Canada. Bonus when a seller like you cares enough to investigate what the "true" cost of shipping is, when compared to the ebay calculator.

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I think you need to read the rest of the thread.

@alwaysthemusic

[galaxies-of-wonder]

Have a large package weighing an even 11 pounds.  Decided to check the various services to try to keep the shipping costs down.  USPS Priority Mail though eBay : $20.74 (after discount) ; USPS website Priority Mail  : $13.50 ; Fedex through eBay : $14.34 (after discount) ; Fedex website (drop off) $10.83 ; UPS website (drop off) $11.40.   I'm a Top-rated Powerseller with an anchor store (if that makes any differance these days).  If I hadn't happened to look, I would have paid and extra $7.50 just for using the eBay labels.  ALL the other choices were much better then the eBay USPS option.  Looks like I would get to pay and extra 54% for the privilege of using eBay labels.

[partial*eclipse]

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@galaxies-of-wonder wrote:

Have a large package weighing an even 11 pounds.  Decided to check the various services to try to keep the shipping costs down.  USPS Priority Mail though eBay : $20.74 (after discount) ; USPS website Priority Mail  : $13.50 ....

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You must have entered different information for those two calculations.  eBay's shipping is connected directly to USPS rates and is 99.99% accurate when it's set up correctly.

$20.74 is the Priority Commercial Plus (online) rate to ship 12 pounds to Zone 5.  

$13.50 is the Priority retail rate to ship 11 pounds to Zone 1.

So it looks like both the weight and at least one of the ZIP Codes that you entered were different.

[kh-ornesh]

Hello Everyone,

Due to the age of the thread, it has been closed to further replies.  Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thanks for understanding!