OT: eBay no longer offers International Parcel Post

[Buythatcard]

While printing a shipping label, I just discovered that eBay will no longer offer International Parcel Postage rates. Instead, you will need to use 1st Class International.

What does this mean to the seller?

Before tomorrow, if you were to ship a 1 ounce card to Canada using Parcel Post rates, it would cost you $3.30. Starting tomorrow, you will need to use the 1st Class International rates which will now cost you a whopping $6.16.

eBay says that if you want to use the Parcel Post rates, you will need to go to your local Post Office.

Unfortunately the time has come for me in which I can no longer ship outside of the U.S.

[Gradedcardman]

+ 1

[jcmtiger]

Why not just go to the Post Office? Just wondering?


Joe

[jb217676]

Don't be lazy, go to the post office. The business you keep will be worth more than the time you have to wait in line at the post office.

Jeff from Canada

[Buythatcard]

Obviously, you haven't been to my Post Office. Always atleast 1/2 hour wait.

I have a full time job in the afternoon and spend my evenings working on my eBay business. Don't have time to stand on a PO line several times a week.

[zljones]

Originally Posted by Buythatcard

Obviously, you haven't been to my Post Office. Always atleast 1/2 hour wait.

I have a full time job in the afternoon and spend my evenings working on my eBay business. Don't have time to stand on a PO line several times a week.

+1

[jb217676]

No problem, but if you went to the post office you could continue to have Canadian customers. Always bad business to cut out customers. Sorry, I get my back up when sellers discriminate against me for living in the great white north.

[kmac32]

Mailing to foreign countries is overrated for sales. There often is a communication issues if you sell outside to non English speaking buyers and foreign buyers tend to be pushy. No a loss in my opinion.

[Buythatcard]

My beef is not with customers outside of the US. It's with eBay for making it so difficult to do business.

Every customer counts no matter where they are located.

[jb217676]

Originally Posted by kmac32

Mailing to foreign countries is overrated for sales. There often is a communication issues if you sell outside to non English speaking buyers and foreign buyers tend to be pushy. No a loss in my opinion.

I apologize for being "foreign" and "overrated". I can't help it, I was just born that way.

[D. Bergin]

The costs have nothing to do with Ebay. Post Office just upped their rates and changed around a bunch of services and just about doubled shipping costs on lower weight International shipments.

Ebay is behind the ball on providing shipping labels for Domestic Pacel Post Shipping Labels due to a change in the name for the service.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by kmac32

Mailing to foreign countries is overrated for sales. There often is a communication issues if you sell outside to non English speaking buyers and foreign buyers tend to be pushy. No a loss in my opinion.

Depends on what you sell I guess. I usually ship 3-4 packages outside the U.S. every week and it would be a huge loss to cut off International bidders.

Unfortunately the cost to send a simple photo in a rigid envelope to Europe, has just about tripled in the last couple years, between the last few price bumps.

[deebro041]

Don't the buyers pay for the shipping anyways?

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by deebro041

Don't the buyers pay for the shipping anyways?

Buyers are much less likely to buy something once the Shipping cost becomes more then the actual item.

[buymycards]

Howard, there is a simple way to send a single card overseas. I always use a rigid photo mailer. I buy a size that is 6" high and 8" long. This qualifies as a non-machinable letter. Even after the price increase I can send 1 card in this photo mailer in the US for 86 cents (66 for a 2 ounce letter plus a 20 cent non machinable surcharge). Don't go over 6 1/8" inches high or the mailer will not qualify for the letter rate.

A single card to Canada is $1.30. Other countries are either $2.25 or $2.10 depending on the country. At this point you don't need a customs form but that may change in the future. I just buy stamps and put them on the photo mailer. You still need to take them to the Post Office because you can't put international mail in the blue collection boxes.

If your PO gives you any crap tell them to look in the Domestic Mail Manual under 101.1.1. You can buy cheap photo mailers by the case from ULine.com.

Good luck! Rick

[buymycards]

Also, the reason behind these higher rates is because the cost of transporting these items is escalating. The airlines charge the Postal Service by weight and size according to the number of cubic inches of the parcel.

The reason that you have to take international items to the Post Office is because the Border Protection Service has instituted new regulations that really tighten up the security of overseas mail. There are new regulations for the customs forms that ended up costing the Postal Service a lot of time and money. There are also tighter restrictions for items that are being sent overseas, such as a prohibition on lithium batteries, and a prohibition on perfume or any other items that could possibly be flammable. In addition, the Postal Service is phasing in a tracking service for international parcels that will be included in the base price. Canada will be the first country phased in, the other countries will follow.

There - that is probably more than anyone really wanted to know about international parcel delivery.

Rick

[Buythatcard]

Rick,

Thanks for the suggestions.

[kmac32]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

Depends on what you sell I guess. I usually ship 3-4 packages outside the U.S. every week and it would be a huge loss to cut off International bidders.

Unfortunately the cost to send a simple photo in a rigid envelope to Europe, has just about tripled in the last couple years, between the last few price bumps.

This is true. My wife was selling some jewelry that specifically said in the listing ship to USA only and had a person from Austria ask how much to ship to them. They were told that we ship only to USA and they bid anyhow. Then they got upset when we would not ship to them and left negative feedback which was full of lies. Even after reading the emails and having situation explained to eBay, eBay let the feedback stand. They of course are banned from our auctions. We also had a person from Thailand that tried to do the same thing. Checked her feedback and they have a history of leaving negative feedback and being pushy. Banned also but before they could buy this time.

[alanu]

I may be missing something here, but can't you just go to the USPS website to print postage for any parcel.

[r2678]

Ken - You can block non USA buyers through your Site Preferences.

[kmac32]

Originally Posted by r2678

Ken - You can block non USA buyers through your Site Preferences.

John

We found that out after the fact. They are blocked now.

[sdkammeyer]

i could be wrong here but i believe this is a short term thing that will be fixed in early march.

the USPS is TOTALLY doing away with "parcel post" as of yesterday. it is now called something like "post select" and the change happened too fast for ebay to do anything about. i received an email about this last week, quickly scanned it, and then deleted it.

as far as i know, ebay will have their software updated and back on track in the first week of march.

again, i could be wrong and unfortunately i do not have that email anymore.

[jcmtiger]

Originally Posted by sdkammeyer

i could be wrong here but i believe this is a short term thing that will be fixed in early march.

the USPS is TOTALLY doing away with "parcel post" as of yesterday. it is now called something like "post select" and the change happened too fast for ebay to do anything about. i received an email about this last week, quickly scanned it, and then deleted it.

as far as i know, ebay will have their software updated and back on track in the first week of march.

again, i could be wrong and unfortunately i do not have that email anymore.

I think you might be right, parcel post did disappear. I did not receive an email though.

Joe

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by sdkammeyer

i could be wrong here but i believe this is a short term thing that will be fixed in early march.

the USPS is TOTALLY doing away with "parcel post" as of yesterday. it is now called something like "post select" and the change happened too fast for ebay to do anything about. i received an email about this last week, quickly scanned it, and then deleted it.

as far as i know, ebay will have their software updated and back on track in the first week of march.

again, i could be wrong and unfortunately i do not have that email anymore.

That's about right. It's more of a domestic issue. It usually only comes into play for larger sized and heavier boxes.

Unfortunately I've got a couple of those going out this week and Ebay wants the tracking info uploaded next day, so I'm going to have to take to the P.O. and manually upload the tracking number, instead of just printing the label online and leaving out for the Postal Carrier.

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by alanu

I may be missing something here, but can't you just go to the USPS website to print postage for any parcel.

Only for Priority and Express packages.

[sdkammeyer]

Yes, it is a b*tch uploading tracking numbers by hand but i think it's only a temporary thing. I personally busted my ass to get that "top rated seller" thingy by my name and now i am in jeopardy of losing it if i don't manually enter tracking number within 24 hours of auctions end ...... bullcrap.

Just another negative mark for eBay.