[thecatspajamas]

A big part of the rate increases you are seeing on small, light packages has to do with the changes to where the incremental jumps are set for packages. Previously, anything under 3 oz. was charged at the 3 oz. rate, in an incremental increase for each oz. above that. Now, anything up to 8 oz. is charged at the 8 oz. rate, with smaller incremental increases beyond that.

This means that the 2 oz. package that used to default to a 3 oz. package weight for $2.04 (using commercial base prices) now defaults to an 8 oz. package for $2.60. The increase has much more to do with the default weight than the rate increases. In fact, the 8 oz. package that used to cost $2.71 to ship now costs $2.60. Unfortunately, for many of the collectibles we deal with, package weights are often well below that 8 oz. threshold. Basically, I see it as the USPS saying that, for them to handle my shipment as a package, including multiple scans of a bar code on the package, the baseline cost to them is basically the same for a 2 oz. package as it is for an 8 oz. package. In other words, the cost of handling the package is weighted more heavily than the weight of the package itself.

As Rhett noted, the increases are even more dramatic on international shipments. I have been selling a larger number of photos (due to listing more Entertainment photos than sports) to overseas buyers lately, and what I used to be able to ship to Europe as a 4 oz. package for $9.18 now defaults to an 8 oz. weight (the minimum increment for a package) and costs $12.83. The price for an actual 8 oz. package only went up $0.50, from $12.33 to $12.83, but lighter packages are now even less economical to ship. I have had several buyers ask if there are cheaper shipping options, and a few who have sworn off buying from the U.S. altogether (and I have to figure for every 1 that has taken the time to write me to tell me they will no longer buy from the U.S., there are at least a dozen others who have silently made the same decision).

At the end of the day, it is what it is, and postage costs are a necessary part of doing business without a physical store front. I just wish that more buyers would realize that and increase their order sizes in order to spread that shipping cost across more items rather than 1-at-a-timing it until they get frustrated and stop buying altogether.