Tracked Packet USA -- eBay's special rate

eBay and Canada Post have partnered to offer Canadian sellers a special promotion for Tracked Packet USA service. To access these rates, purchase and print your Canada Post shipping through eBay Labels. These promotional rates are available until December 31, 2023.

 

These base rates apply to any location in the continental United States:

  • Up to 100g : $6.35 + fuel surcharge
  • Up to 250g : $7.08 + fuel surcharge
  • Up to 500g : $8.67 + fuel surcharge
  • Up to 1Kg : $14.09 + fuel surcharge
  • Up to 2Kg : $16.98 + fuel surcharge

Here are the SfSB level 1 prices for comparison. You'll see the biggest benefit for packets over 500g.

  • Up to 100g : $8.53 + fuel surcharge
  • Up to 250g : $10.46 + fuel surcharge
  • Up to 500g : $14.43 + fuel surcharge
  • Up to 1Kg : $21.26 + fuel surcharge
  • Up to 2Kg : $27.25 + fuel surcharge
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Re: Tracked Packet USA -- eBay's special rate

CP website asks about tubes, so if I use their website, I always "desguise" the tube as a box. 😁

Ebay doesn't ask. I was never surcharged for a tube.

 

ChitChats charges about 20 cents more for a tube (ChitChats EDGE vs ChitChats SELECT). 

 

Image2.jpg

Message 41 of 54
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Re: Tracked Packet USA -- eBay's special rate

The tube issue would hardy apply to CP SP/TP. Instead of adding the 2 dol. surcharge, it's allowed to provide the circumference, instead of the diameter. While it changes the price of Expedited Parcel just by about $2, it doesn't change the SP/TP price. 

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Re: Tracked Packet USA -- eBay's special rate


@38e_avenue wrote:

CP website asks about tubes, so if I use their website, I always "desguise" the tube as a box. 😁

Ebay doesn't ask. I was never surcharged for a tube.

 

ChitChats charges about 20 cents more for a tube (ChitChats EDGE vs ChitChats SELECT). 

 

Image2.jpg


@38e_avenue 

Reminds me of the old joke. The door is ajar...The door is ajar. No, it's not a jar. It's a door.

When someone sents as a box it should not be charged as a tube...in theory. The possible concern with tubes would be not meeting CP's minimum requirements for parcel size. (As per the eBay Calculator if that is what seller used for their measurements). and rates not showing on the sellers listing. The system hides services if they under the limits. You get an error message if you input more than allowed for a service. 20 Cents would be peanuts to have to eat if it turned up as a surcharge. 2.00, not so much.

 

With eBay labels I have been nervous from the getgo of being a guinea pig for extra charges after the fact. With Fedex and eBay labels the charge for residential pickup and delivery was supposed to be waived. There were numerous reports of sellers getting billed because, by the sounds of things the charge when parcel is delivered. As for cubing if a parcel is measured accurately the rate displayed should show cubed or actual whichever is higher. Unless there were a very large number of sellers living by seat of their pants and winging it with measurements.

 

-Lotz

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Re: Tracked Packet USA -- eBay's special rate


@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:

@38e_avenue wrote:

CP website asks about tubes, so if I use their website, I always "desguise" the tube as a box. 😁

Ebay doesn't ask. I was never surcharged for a tube.

 

ChitChats charges about 20 cents more for a tube (ChitChats EDGE vs ChitChats SELECT). 

 

Image2.jpg


@38e_avenue 

With Fedex and eBay labels the charge for residential pickup and delivery was supposed to be waived. There were numerous reports of sellers getting billed because, by the sounds of things the charge when parcel is delivered.


Yep. I sent an item FedEx, label purchased through eBay. Days after delivery, I got billed a significant additional amount by FedEx, automatically deducted from my eBay earnings. With eBay's FedEx rates, clearly they are neither inclusive nor final. 

 

I complained to eBay and the rep told me that they have received many such reports. They opened a dispute or ticket or something and gave me a file number, but weeks later I have heard no resolution nor reply. I likely will not use FedEx anymore, due to that uncertainty.

Message 44 of 54
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Re: Tracked Packet USA -- eBay's special rate


@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:


When someone sents as a box it should not be charged as a tube...in theory.


I pay less - by "desguising" I mean putting the tube into a light box. I save 2 dollars or more by doing that. 😀

Message 45 of 54
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Re: Tracked Packet USA -- eBay's special rate


@toronto_tuttle wrote:

@lotzofuniquegoodies wrote:

@38e_avenue wrote:

CP website asks about tubes, so if I use their website, I always "desguise" the tube as a box. 😁

Ebay doesn't ask. I was never surcharged for a tube.

 

ChitChats charges about 20 cents more for a tube (ChitChats EDGE vs ChitChats SELECT). 

 

Image2.jpg


@38e_avenue 

With Fedex and eBay labels the charge for residential pickup and delivery was supposed to be waived. There were numerous reports of sellers getting billed because, by the sounds of things the charge when parcel is delivered.


@toronto_tuttle 

Yep. I sent an item FedEx, label purchased through eBay. Days after delivery, I got billed a significant additional amount by FedEx, automatically deducted from my eBay earnings. With eBay's FedEx rates, clearly they are neither inclusive nor final. 

 

I complained to eBay and the rep told me that they have received many such reports. They opened a dispute or ticket or something and gave me a file number, but weeks later I have heard no resolution nor reply. I likely will not use FedEx anymore, due to that uncertainty.


When I used Shippo in the past if there was any kind of discrepancy with my measurements and a parcel got audited I received a secondary charge from Shippo with an explanation. Going forward with eBay you may see 1 amount when you create the label, there are no guarantees you will see the same amount when it is billed. Unsure how often it happens on the upcharge side but recently had 1 where they decreased the charge. Could have been a fuel issue. Again, no explanation. Caught it entirely by accident. Possibly a 1 in a million occurance. 🤔 In your situation with Fedex any modifications to a charge should come with an explanation and option to appeal. No guarantees you would win. But it would help you know if there was a next time. 

 

-Lotz

Message 46 of 54
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Re: Tracked Packet USA -- eBay's special rate

@38e_avenue as a funnny note, Canada post sells collectors "uncut press sheets" that are contained in a round tube, however, they ship the round tube in a square box, it appears their collector fulfillment department wants to save the $2 too! 😉

Message 47 of 54
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Re: Tracked Packet USA -- eBay's special rate

@38e_avenue 

The official technical name is "creative packaging". I've been doing it for years!!! 😁

 

-Lotz

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Re: Tracked Packet USA -- eBay's special rate


@ricarmic wrote:

@38e_avenue as a funnny note, Canada post sells collectors "uncut press sheets" that are contained in a round tube, however, they ship the round tube in a square box, it appears their collector fulfillment department wants to save the $2 too! 😉


Anyone here knows, why all shipping service workers around the world hate the tubes and ask the surcharge? I know the answer because years ago I worked briefly as a student for Fedex ...  😎

Message 49 of 54
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Re: Tracked Packet USA -- eBay's special rate

What I find most useful about the structure of Tracked Packet is that there is cost certainty. 

 

Meaning, the rates are the same regardless of where the order is being shipped to in the USA. Yes, the fuel surcharge is adjusted periodically, but the rates still remain the same regardless of the location.

 

If they can get Canada Post to agree to extend these prices, I think the next step would be to overhaul Expedited Lite to mimic the cost certainty that Tracked Packet has. Meaning, regardless of whether I send something from Ottawa to Toronto, or Ottawa to BC, it's the same price. The downside to this would be that regional orders would become more expensive. The upside would be that national orders would be more affordable, and cost certainty would make it easier to price items. It would also make it easier to offer free shipping because there would be no difference in a sellers margins regardless of where the item is shipped to.

 

I obviously do not have access to the internal data Canada Post and eBay have. So I don't know if averaging out the cost to where the closer orders subsidize the farther ones would make sense. 

 

I would go as far as to say, they should find a way to combine eBay's Tracked Packet service and Expedited Lite. Most Canadian sellers only ship to USA and Canada. Essentially, figure out what the average would be that makes sense, and maybe offer a service with 100g/250g/500g tiers, where it is the same price to anywhere in Canada or the USA.

 

I don't know if the above would be viable. It would take someone who has access to all their internal data, and has a good mind for analytics.

Message 50 of 54
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Re: Tracked Packet USA -- eBay's special rate

My only theory is that they have a higher rate of damage, and they are a hassle to process because they can roll off the conveyor belt. The surcharge might be more to discourage the use of tubes, rather than a realistic price of what it costs them to process the tube. Almost like how Canada Post charges 1.07 for a .92 cent stamp in order to dissuade people from wasting the extra time it takes for a cashier to process 10 different single stamp transactions rather than one transaction for a book of stamps.

 

You can buy longer boxes at Staples that fit tubes. They cost less than the surcharge, but they only sell them in bulk.

 

Disney has an Insiders program where you can redeem codes from DVDs for free merchandise. A popular item they offer are authentic movie posters. At one point over the last few years, they shipped from tubes to these big bulky triangular mailers. 

Message 51 of 54
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Re: Tracked Packet USA -- eBay's special rate


@ilikehockeyjerseys wrote:

My only theory is that they have a higher rate of damage, and they are a hassle to process because they can roll off the conveyor belt. The surcharge might be more to discourage the use of tubes, rather than a realistic price of what it costs them to process the tube. 


You are partially right. They have not a higher rate of damage (rather the opposite), but they ALWAYS roll off the conveyor belt and then roll everywhere on the floor, causing dangerous situations for package handlers  -people need to go under the conveyors to collect the tubes, etc. ..  a real nightmare. The surcharge is indeed to discourage the usage of tubes. Many carriers just banned the tubes completely. I order my stuff from Italy. Since many years it came in tubes - here what I got this month: 

 

Image1.jpg 

Message 52 of 54
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Re: Tracked Packet USA -- eBay's special rate


@38e_avenue wrote:

CP website asks about tubes, so if I use their website, I always "desguise" the tube as a box. 😁

Ebay doesn't ask. I was never surcharged for a tube.

 

ChitChats charges about 20 cents more for a tube (ChitChats EDGE vs ChitChats SELECT). 

 

Image2.jpg


Hi @38e_avenue! Can you reach out to me with more details via email at askcommunity@ebay.com? The shipping team wants to dig into this to figure out the root cause. 

Message 53 of 54
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Re: Tracked Packet USA -- eBay's special rate


devon@ebay wrote:


Hi @38e_avenue! Can you reach out to me with more details via email at askcommunity@ebay.com? The shipping team wants to dig into this to figure out the root cause. 


E-mail sent. Happy to answer all questions 😃

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