Postal rates up again

[Northviewcats]

Just returned from the post office. First class packages with tracking is now $3.00, up from $2.67. Don't know how I missed hearing about the increase. Doesn't seem like much, but if all of my listings sold on eBay today it would cost me over $100.00 more in shipping costs. To add a little salt to the wound eBay will charge another 12% on to the increase.

Need to rethink my selling strategies.

Best regards,

Joe

[savedfrommyspokes]

IF a First Class package is 9 ounces or more, since early this year, the cost has been over $3. On ebay this morning, 4 oz and less FC mailings were $2.61 while 5-8 oz FC mailings were $2.77. What was the weight of your package?

[slinger23]

Weight (Ounces) Previous Postage Rates Rates as of 09/03/2017 Price Change
1 $2.67 $3.00 $0.33
2 $2.67 $3.00 $0.33
3 $2.67 $3.00 $0.33
4 $2.67 $3.00 $0.33
5 $2.85 $3.16 $0.31
6 $3.03 $3.32 $0.29
7 $3.21 $3.48 $0.27
8 $3.39 $3.64 $0.25
9 $3.57 $3.80 $0.23
10 $3.75 $3.96 $0.21
11 $3.93 $4.19 $0.26
12 $4.11 $4.36 $0.25
13 $4.29 $4.53 $0.24

Sorry not the cleanest look, but a copy and paste from USPS website. First column old price, 2nd column new price and third column the price increase.

[Exhibitman]

I think those are retail prices. eBay has a discount on shipping. I printed three labels this a.m. from my store and noticed that the eBay shipping charge stayed the same but the discount value increased.

[Jim F]

It costs $3.00 with tracking?

[D. Bergin]

Stamps.com guys. Online prices on 1st Class still seems static from what I've seen so far. USPS is trying to discourage paying for postage at the Post Office from what I can tell.

[scooter729]

I think those are retail prices. eBay has a discount on shipping. I printed three labels this a.m. from my store and noticed that the eBay shipping charge stayed the same but the discount value increased.

Exactly this. The 1-4 oz package printed via eBay was $2.61 (discounted from $2.67) last week, and remains $2.61 (but discounted from $3.00) today. And includes free tracking.

Gotta use eBay shipping labels when selling stuff through eBay - so much easier and cheaper.

[frankbmd]

Exactly this. The 1-4 oz package printed via eBay was $2.61 (discounted from $2.67) last week, and remains $2.61 (but discounted from $3.00) today. And includes free tracking.

Gotta use eBay shipping labels when selling stuff through eBay - so much easier and cheaper.

Postal increases usually just happen without a lot of fanfare. As soon as the fan flares toward EBay, their rates will go up. Enjoy it while you can, but it will not be long before the EBay rate jumps as well. Don't ya think?

[scooter729]

Postal increases usually just happen without a lot of fanfare. As soon as the fan flares toward EBay, there rates will go up. Enjoy it while you can, but it will not be long before the EBay rate jumps as well. Don't ya think?

Gotta piss in my Cheerios and can't just let me enjoy my 33 cent discount, huh Frank?? :D

[Exhibitman]

No doubt, Frank. eBay excels at fee extraction from its members, so we are sure to see that cost go up too.

On an unrelated eBay note, gotta love this eBay math from my store:

Late shipment rate 0.55%
Tracking uploaded on time and validated 98.65%

MIA: 0.90%

[autograf]

I'm sure ebay gets a chunk of each and every package processed through their site.....just like Stamps.com. When/If they need to extract a little more to prop up Wall Street expectations, it'll be passed along even further. Dropped about 60 packages at Post Office today for scanning and my window person said she just saw it this morning. Said they normally get much advanced notice about it but there wasn't anything that she'd seen. And she's really good too. SO......I agree with the sentiment that they're driving people to more electronic means for posting. Which I'm fine with because I use ebay's shipping API all the time anyway. I'll take any/every discount I can get. The discount is pretty strong on 13-14-15 ounce packages that are close to/over the Priority mandate. Couple bucks in some instances for low weight Priority packages depending on the destination distance. Time to go to $3.50 minimum shipping from $3.00.

[D. Bergin]

I think it was the last USPS fee increase when Ebay started pocketing a larger portion of their commercial discount and passing less of it on to it's sellers.

They even started inflating dimensional weight costs to certain regions that had been adjusted downward by the USPS.

I used to use Ebay shipping for all Priority Mail packages and International and Stamps.com for all 1st Class shipping.

Now I only use it for International (discounts are still better on Ebay) and non-dimensional Priority packages valued between $51-$100 (free insurance through Ebay).

[VintageBen]

You can also use this link to get the postal discount through PayPal.

https://www.paypal.com/signin/?returnUri=https%3a//www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr&state=%3fcmd%3d_ship-now

[philliesfan]

I noticed this increase also. I usually package my sales and go to the Post Office and use the self serve machine to get the cost to ship and bring it home to put on old postage stamps. My bubble mailers were always $2.67 but today were $3.00. I always charged $3.00 but when you take into account the cost of the bubble mailer, ebay fees, and paypal fees, it is more that that. I may think about raising my buy it now prices an additional $4.00 to cover postage and fees and then offer free shipping. Not sure what I will do yet. Any suggestions?
thanks,
Robert

[ValKehl]

I must be missing something. I shipped two First Class packages (one 7 oz. and one 8 oz.) today, and I did the shipping labels via eBay/PayPal. I was charged the same USPS Commercial First Class rates for these packages that have been in effect since January 22, 2017; these rates are shown in the USPS' published Price List, which is also known as USPS Notice 123 - here's the link to it: https://pe.usps.com/cpim/ftp/manuals/dmm300/Notice123.pdf
The Retail First Class rates are on Page 5 and the Commercial First Class rates are on Page 15. My wife and I ship several packages, both First Class and Priority Mail, resulting from eBay sales (mostly non-sports stuff) each week. For Priority Mail shipments, we are charged the USPS' Commercial Plus rates - these rates appear on Page 12 of Notice 123. I have not seen anything to suggest that the USPS's rates have changed, and when the do, I assume the USPS' online Price List will immediately reflect the rate changes, as it has in the past. What am I missing?
Val

[ValKehl]

I just found what I was "missing." It seems the the USPS has changed its "First Class Parcel Service" to "First Class Package Service," and in so doing, has increased its retail rates significantly, while not changing its commercial rates. Here's the link to my source of this info: https://www.neopostusa.com/newsroom/expert-insight/usps-rate-change-to-take-effect-september-3-2017
I guess the USPS will get around to revising its Notice 123 Price List sooner or later. I may still be "missing" something, as I am not aware of anything else that changed, other than the name change from "Parcel" to "Package."
Val