eBay

aimnabby · ‎02-01-2013

I'm a high volume Ebay buyer, and buy almost everything exclusively online primarily through Ebay. Most items I have bought are clothing for my daughter and most recently a ton of Christmas ornaments - over 50 packages. I contacted Ebay to discuss the increase in USPS first class postal rates to Canada under 4 lbs and explained the average shipping cost was $4-7 US. It's now almost double!! Is anyone else on Ebay concerned about this from either a buyer or seller point of view?

I think the USPS is greedy considering both sides of the border the economy hasn't recovered and business is hurting. Having a postal increase - doubled certainly is a way to hinder if not kill business.

What are sellers doing to entice buyers to shop with them? What can a buyer do to alleviate some of the excess financial hardship associated to excess shipping costs? Would it be fair to ask the seller to split or absorb some of the increase???

Thoughts???

lady.stark · ‎07-30-2013

@pjcdn2005 wrote:
Do all U.S. sellers receive discounts on shipping or is it just TRS plus or maybe powersellers?

That is a good question. I have a friend who is also a Powerseller, and she told me she has discounts on shipping when using eBay. But I don't know if she had them before being a PS. I would have to ask her 😉

marnotom! · ‎07-30-2013

Info on shipping discounts for US sellers listing on .com can be found on this page:

http://pages.ebay.com/usps/USPSsavings.html

pjcdn2005 · ‎07-31-2013

Thanks marnotom. It looks like all U.S. sellers receive a discount with ebay shipping but TRS (or very high volume sellers) receive special pricing with a better discount.

lady.stark · ‎07-31-2013

Thanks! I didn't have time to ask my friend, you were faster 😉

keitha_ottawa · ‎08-08-2013

I have found that it is cheaper to ship books from the UK to Canada now than it is to ship books from the USA to Canada...

marnotom! · ‎08-08-2013

@keitha_ottawa wrote:
I have found that it is cheaper to ship books from the UK to Canada now than it is to ship books from the USA to Canada...

Is that because the UK still has the option of Surface Mail?

deadtreehalloween8 · ‎02-10-2016

Wow. As a Canada Post employee, I wish you could get your facts straight before making a statement such as you have. FYI, we did NOT go "on strike to make more money", we did not go on strike at all - we were locked out by the corporation. As we all say (at one time or another) I wish you could do my job for one week, just ONE week so you could see if you could handle it and I very much doubt that you could - it is a far more difficult job than you think. Giving us less money is not the answer, I could go on for pages about what WOULD be the answer, but don't have the time. Fortunately, our new Government has put a stop to the ridiculous changes that Canada Post was implementing and hopefully, this, in time, will help change the costs, but I agree that the postage costs to and from the US have risen high enough that I will no longer be buying anything from either country.

@jhay4737 wrote:
That increase shocked me as well. I thought I was the only one!! I was searching for video game stuff and for something so light the cost was unbelievable to ship. For the first time in a long time I hit the only in Canada button to search and find lower shipping costs. Perhaps they're paying their employees too much? Didn't they just go on strike to make more money? They deliver mail I don't think they should be paid as much as they do. Most new neighborhoods I've lived in have gotten the super boxes so they don't really even need to walk anymore. They just drive from box to box, open it and stuff the mail in. It's not really that tough of a job in my opinion. And one that doesn't require any schooling either and yet they make wages that are equal to people that have college and university degrees under their belt. Cuts have to be made somewhere and it should be within the company. They shouldn't be making up money lost by gouging people.

sylviebee · ‎02-11-2016

I didn't wake this thread up, but someone did and 'it's interesting to read the 2013 posts on the subject.

Every time USPS increases shipping rates, American sellers go a little crazy and hike shipping costs way beyond the actual increase.

Then, in time things settle down again.

Over the years I have learned that the USPS website price quotes are not accurate and the difference between actual and quoted shipping cost can be substantial.

Now it's back to step one. USPS First Class International cost increased by about 22% but the quotes I'm getting for shipping have doubled.

I think it's especially hard for Canadian sellers who also buy to adjust to this because we routinely charge less for shipping that actual cost and sort of expect the same in return. However, that's not he way it works.

Many many US sellers will fight to the death over shipping costs even when you're talking about very expensive small light-weight items.

marnotom! · ‎02-11-2016

@sylviebee wrote:

Over the years I have learned that the USPS website price quotes are not accurate and the difference between actual and quoted shipping cost can be substantial.

My finding is that the price quotes are accurate, but the distinction between a First Class International "letter" and "package" tends to confuse matters.

For example, a one pound item travelling from Boston to BC is US$9 more to send as a First Class International package than it is a First Class International Large Envelope.

hlmacdon · ‎02-11-2016

@sylviebee wrote:
I didn't wake this thread up, but someone did and 'it's interesting to read the 2013 posts on the subject.

Every time USPS increases shipping rates, American sellers go a little crazy and hike shipping costs way beyond the actual increase.

Then, in time things settle down again.

Over the years I have learned that the USPS website price quotes are not accurate and the difference between actual and quoted shipping cost can be substantial.

Now it's back to step one. USPS First Class International cost increased by about 22% but the quotes I'm getting for shipping have doubled.

I think it's especially hard for Canadian sellers who also buy to adjust to this because we routinely charge less for shipping that actual cost and sort of expect the same in return. However, that's not he way it works.

Many many US sellers will fight to the death over shipping costs even when you're talking about very expensive small light-weight items.

The price increases were not 22% across the board, that was simply the attempt at a positive PR spin on what was a hefty increase. The increase really depends on the weight range as USPS consolidated a huge amount of the weight ranges (some locations went from 17 rates to just 4). That consolidation is the main problem with the rate increase as many of the more affordable intermediary rates were eliminated.

For Canada, the increase ranged from 15.9% to 56.5% depending on the weight. I understand the expensive shipping options in Canada mean some undercharge on shipping, but for sellers who aren't in high margin categories I have no expectation that they would charge less than their costs, especially given the ebay tax on shipping along with the fact that many people also have to pay for their shipping supplies.

The other key thing to keep in mind here is that as little as a fraction of an ounce can mean a huge difference in shipping costs. For example, there are 4 rates for Canada via First Class Package. The difference when you exceed the initial rate class is as follows (USD): $5.70, $8.55, $11.40 (for reference, commercial rates range from $9.03 for 0-8 oz to $34.58 for 52-64 oz). Depending on the category in which you sell, that is a huge amount to be absorbing by underestimating rates.

Some US sellers have grossly overcompensated (not everyone has their weights down to a science), while others may have erred on the side of caution and went up to the next weight class. As someone who ships a number of international shipments via USPS I can attest that the new rate structure is difficult to work with, especially once you start factoring in multi item purchases. For lower priced goods it is just as painful to be shipping from the US into Canada as it is shipping from Canada to the US.

pjcdn2005 · ‎02-11-2016

@marnotom! wrote:
@sylviebee wrote:

Over the years I have learned that the USPS website price quotes are not accurate and the difference between actual and quoted shipping cost can be substantial.

My finding is that the price quotes are accurate, but the distinction between a First Class International "letter" and "package" tends to confuse matters.

For example, a one pound item travelling from Boston to BC is US$9 more to send as a First Class International package than it is a First Class International Large Envelope.

Plus, there used to be a fairly hefty discount if a USPS label was printed online rather than at the post office so that would make a difference too. Now,some of those discounts have been eliminated or cut back.

pjcdn2005 · ‎02-11-2016

I've seen quite a few sellers using the 1-8 oz delcon rate of $9.50 to Canada and some others put in a flat rate of $13.50 which is the cost overseas for that same weight. It is frustrating when I see the $13.50.

For lower priced goods it is just as painful to be shipping from the US into Canada as it is shipping from Canada to the US.

I understand what you are saying but it would be less painful for them if they were willing to ship inexpensive items without delivery confirmation. It is really overkill when they charge $9.50 for a $5 4 ounce item. But some of them are convinced that if they don't use delivery con. the buyer is absolutely positively going to scam them.

hlmacdon · ‎02-11-2016

@pjcdn2005 wrote:

Plus, there used to be a fairly hefty discount if a USPS label was printed online rather than at the post office so that would make a difference too. Now,some of those discounts have been eliminated or cut back.

Click N Ship (sort of like our Canada Post EST) eliminated the commercial base pricing and moved to retail following the elimination of commercial plus pricing for first class. Many smaller sellers used Click N Ship in lieu of a monthly subscription to the likes of endicia/stamps.

pjcdn2005 · ‎02-11-2016

The discounts have also decreased for those who print their labels on ebay. At least that's what many posters are complaining about on the boards.

hlmacdon · ‎02-11-2016

@pjcdn2005 wrote:
I've seen quite a few sellers using the 1-8 oz delcon rate of $9.50 to Canada and some others put in a flat rate of $13.50 which is the cost overseas for that same weight. It is frustrating when I see the $13.50.

For lower priced goods it is just as painful to be shipping from the US into Canada as it is shipping from Canada to the US.

I understand what you are saying but it would be less painful for them if they were willing to ship inexpensive items without delivery confirmation. It is really overkill when they charge $9.50 for a $5 4 ounce item. But some of them are convinced that if they don't use delivery con. the buyer is absolutely positively going to scam them.

Just as we have many sellers in Canada not setting up shipping options to the US/International we get many in the US doing the same.

Delivery confirmation doesn't really add anything to the cost with packages. Aside from the cultural issues of trying to convince people not to use it when they are in a market where delivery confirmation is standard on just about anything, the other thing to consider is how USPS handles machinable vs non-machinable packages. The sort of stuff we get away with sending via light/small packet in bubble mailers or via letermail with our slot of doom height restrictions is generally a bad idea with USPS as those go through machine sorting with lettermail and can be reclassified as parcels with postage due on delivery, or destroyed/damaged in the process. There are plenty of sellers gaming the ridged mailer loophole as a way around this but that is a very YMMV depending on the postal offices you deal with.

hlmacdon · ‎02-11-2016

@pjcdn2005 wrote:
It is really overkill when they charge $9.50 for a $5 4 ounce item.

To expand further on this, I get where you are coming from totally as it is something I experience regularly with customers outside of North America. Part of the problem is that that the negotiated rates that China was able to secure with USPS along with their own subsidies have skewed our perception somewhat with respect to the all in cost of ordering low value goods.

A lot of this relates to how the UPU terminal rates (what one country charges another for delivery) are negotiated for items that are lumped into a lettermail like classification versus a parcel. This is what you have seen ebay lobbying on recently, attempting to apply pressure to decrease those terminal rates to something more akin to lettermail charges like we have seen with the epacket service popularized in Asia. On the flip side of that Amazon is lobbying for those terminal fees to effectively be increased (and the rates with China were), to reduce what they consider to be market dumping by Chinese sellers. I suspect in the medium or long term we will see some change. In the meantime USPS international first class is classified as a competitive class product, unlike domestic first class, and they have much more freedom to increase pricing without the same degree of government oversight as a market dominant class.

dmil8030 · ‎02-12-2016

Hello 'pj',

<< quite a few sellers using . . . $9.50 to Canada and . . . $13.50 which is the cost overseas . . . >>

For small lightweight items like knitting and sewing patterns I am seeing those prices quite a bit. In my searches, it is

rare to find a US seller charging less. "Frustrating" is not the word I would use (ahem), particularly not when items can

come in to Canada for a lot less.

I just received a "Large Envelope" tracked for $3.46. To my house the cheap-o items always arrive tracked, although I

don't know if the same applies to everyone. The only things that don't are those which use postage stamps the seller

sticks on the envelope herself.

I have even seen sellers of knitting/sewing patterns charging $15.95 or more for shipping, and these are not GSP.

Naturally I laugh and move on, but you're right that it is 'frustrating' to encounter a hard-to-find item with a shipping fee

$10+ more than it needs to be.

Someone around here recently suggested asking about a lower rate, but then again, in light of how prickly and

block-happy so many sellers are, inquiring about shipping costs seems to be a sure way to end up on a lot off BBLs.

<< it would be less painful for them if they were willing to ship inexpensive items without delivery confirmation. It is really

overkill when they charge $9.50 for a $5 4 ounce item.>>

Yes! I recently received an item in which the seller only (?) charged $7.46 but the actual price she paid was the $9.50.

In a way it's sad because she could have just put on the stamps and kept the rest for herself. The pattern was only $3,

so she got next-to-nothing. Her choice, though.

<<some of them are convinced that if they don't use delivery con. the buyer is absolutely positively going to scam them.>>

Haha, so true! My, how I laughed at that! . . . . haha, I still laugh. Thanks!

pjcdn2005 · ‎02-12-2016

I just received a "Large Envelope" tracked for $3.46. To my house the cheap-o items always arrive tracked, although I

don't know if the same applies to everyone. The only things that don't are those which use postage stamps the seller

sticks on the envelope herself.

Shortly before the price change I received a return from the U.S. and the postage was $3+ and was also trackable. The number on that is supposed to be just a customs number and I've always been told that it doesn't track once it leaves the U.S. I asked about that on the U.S. boards and a seller there told me that the customs number will track all the way to delivery in Canada because CP scans theat code but that other countries do not. I found that interesting and the knowledge could come in handy for future returns.