eBay

treasure.hunter.d · ‎08-12-2014

Just printed a Tracked Packet shipping doc via PayPal and the max charge is now up to $17.48 CDN. Thats $17.00, $17.40 and now $17.48 all in the last year. I last printed on at $17.40 on August 2, 2014.

I called Canada Post and they insist that no rate change has happened since April so that means that Ebay/PayPal has decreased our discount. I tried calling PayPal about it who transferred me back to Ebay and I promptly got the call centre in the Philippines who were clueless as usual.

Anyone heard anything?

This is absolute nonsense!

cumos55 · ‎08-12-2014

How about an increase in the percentage fuel surcharge.... This can change with the cost of fuel.

The basic cost does not change until next January

pocomocomputing · ‎08-12-2014

Tracked Packet rates vary monthly because there is a monthly fuel surcharge that determines the final price.

Current Fuel Surcharge rate is 7.5% for August, it was 7.00% for July, 7.25% for June and 6.50% for May. Implementation of the new monthly surcharge is on the first Monday of a month from what I see.

Here is the Canada Post web page on the current rate, a link is on this page for past rates.

http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/aboutus/news/fuel/default.jsf

In January 2014, Canada Post announced the basic rates for Tracked Packet three weight classes which are constant for the year.I do not have a link to these original prices easily at hand.

In January 2014, the fuel surcharge rate was 5.50% (I have it marked down, you can't find it on the CP site as they only keep the past 3 months.) So the fuel surcharge has increased 2% since Jan 2014.

treasure.hunter.d · ‎08-13-2014

@pocomocomputing wrote:
Tracked Packet rates vary monthly because there is a monthly fuel surcharge that determines the final price.

Current Fuel Surcharge rate is 7.5% for August, it was 7.00% for July, 7.25% for June and 6.50% for May. Implementation of the new monthly surcharge is on the first Monday of a month from what I see.

Here is the Canada Post web page on the current rate, a link is on this page for past rates.

http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/aboutus/news/fuel/default.jsf

In January 2014, Canada Post announced the basic rates for Tracked Packet three weight classes which are constant for the year.I do not have a link to these original prices easily at hand.

In January 2014, the fuel surcharge rate was 5.50% (I have it marked down, you can't find it on the CP site as they only keep the past 3 months.) So the fuel surcharge has increased 2% since Jan 2014.

This is all well and good but the price has NEVER varied on a monthly basis based on fuel surcharge before.As I mentioned, the rate has changed 3 times in the last year at varying intervals and NOT on a monthly basis as it would if the fuel surcharge were to blame, at least according to what you are saying anyway. If Canada post is going to start doing this now they are just nickel and diming us to death even more than they already do. I can track the rates in my PayPal history easy enough and there has NEVER been a monthly change for fuel surcharge so i really think something else is afoot here.

It really irks me that on top of everything else that is going on, on top of how ridiculous the rates already are, it's just another bit of change coming out of my pocket that I previously got to keep.

cumos55 · ‎08-13-2014

All of my listings are flat rate for shipping.

I always look at the total buyers pay in relation to what I pay for shipping.....

Buyers, in total have always paid more than I have paid.... $200 to $300 more in total

Some buyers.... do pay less than the actual cost for postage, while others pay more and may get a refund or pay less postage than the flat rate on an invoice.

Postage is charged in such a way that buyers do not see me overcharge, and when a buyer receives a refund they have always been most happy with the refund.

Looking at all buyers in total makes any price adjustment in relation to fuel charge most tolerable.. with the same strategy applied to any extra charge that may be levied by Canada Post.

Postage is always a base cost... as set last in January 2014..... plus a fuel surcharge that does vary throughout any given year...

I doubt whether Canada Post is allowed to levy any "extra" charges... above and beyond the base cost plus fuel surcharge....

cumos55 · ‎08-13-2014

Does a variation in the exchange rate have an effect on the cost for Tracked Packet...

treasure.hunter.d · ‎08-13-2014

@cumos55 wrote:
Does a variation in the exchange rate have an effect on the cost for Tracked Packet...

Nope.

I'll get to the bottom of this today.

If I could access to the actual calculations for my recent PayPal shipping it would be easy enough to see where the increase is but there's no way as far as I know to go back and see the entire calculation, just the end result. If I could see the entire past calculations it would be obvious what has happened as every shipping doc starts with the calculation based on CP business rate less the discount from Ebay/Paypal.

pocomocomputing · ‎08-13-2014

Nothing to investigate.

The rate change is caused by the FS increase. It went up from 7.0 to 7.5% (increase of 0.5%) on August 3rd. So a rough calculation of the rate increase % is $17.40 (Aug 2) to $17.48 (Aug 10) is $0.08 / $17.40 =0.4597% or 0.5% increase.

The small difference in % is caused by my rough calculation using your rates with the FS already in them. A more accurate calculation would be on the base rates, the fuel surcharge rate, the PayPal discount rate and exactly how the rates are calculated by CP/PayPal/Pitney Bowes. No info is available on how the calculation is done exactly. My attempts to reproduce the calculation result in a difference of 20 cents more than the PayPal rate.

For example, the base rate for TP 1 kg is $19.03 from this CP document for prices for consumer over the counter rates. (page 20)

http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/assets/pdf/rates/parcels_changes_2013_en.pdf

Base price $19.03 times 14% PayPal discount = $2.66 leaving a base rate of $16.37.

Add on FS rate of 7.5% of $16.37 = $1.23

Rate is $16.37 + $1.23 = $17.60.

I would expect to get $17.48 like you got from the PayPal site. Whenever I calculate the rate manually, I get a higher number. It may have to do with how I calculate the discount. I have asked eBay/PayPal over the years how the calculation is done but never got an answer. No way to verify the rates they charge and the discount they apply.

treasure.hunter.d · ‎08-13-2014

@pocomocomputing wrote:
Nothing to investigate.

The rate change is caused by the FS increase. It went up from 7.0 to 7.5% (increase of 0.5%) on August 3rd. So a rough calculation of the rate increase % is $17.40 (Aug 2) to $17.48 (Aug 10) is $0.08 / $17.40 =0.4597% or 0.5% increase.

The small difference in % is caused by my rough calculation using your rates with the FS already in them. A more accurate calculation would be on the base rates, the fuel surcharge rate, the PayPal discount rate and exactly how the rates are calculated by CP/PayPal/Pitney Bowes. No info is available on how the calculation is done exactly. My attempts to reproduce the calculation result in a difference of 20 cents more than the PayPal rate.

For example, the base rate for TP 1 kg is $19.03 from this CP document for prices for consumer over the counter rates. (page 20)

http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/assets/pdf/rates/parcels_changes_2013_en.pdf

Base price $19.03 times 14% PayPal discount = $2.66 leaving a base rate of $16.37.

Add on FS rate of 7.5% of $16.37 = $1.23

Rate is $16.37 + $1.23 = $17.60.

I would expect to get $17.48 like you got from the PayPal site. Whenever I calculate the rate manually, I get a higher number. It may have to do with how I calculate the discount. I have asked eBay/PayPal over the years how the calculation is done but never got an answer. No way to verify the rates they charge and the discount they apply.

I understand fully what you are saying but why now? There has never been an arbitrary increase to the rate before. Is there now a new policy where by the rate will be adjusted monthly due to the FS?

If the FS is established monthly and it changes every month then should there not have been an alteration to the shipping rates every month historically speaking? There has not been.

So I still am asking where the change happened or what new policy is causing it.

pierrelebel · ‎08-13-2014

The changes are directly related to using the new "tracked packet" service.

Sellers are experienced using small packet and light packet which are fixed price services where no "fuel surcharge" is charged.

However, with the new "tracked packet" service, "fuel surcharge" is added, calculated monthly, just as it is with Priority, Xpresspost and Expedited.

treasure.hunter.d · ‎08-13-2014

@pierrelebel wrote:
The changes are directly related to using the new "tracked packet" service.

Sellers are experienced using small packet and light packet which are fixed price services where no "fuel surcharge" is charged.

However, with the new "tracked packet" service, "fuel surcharge" is added, calculated monthly, just as it is with Priority, Xpresspost and Expedited.

Again, this has not happened historically with this service. According to what you guys are saying there should have been a change every month, because of the FS, since the new service started and there has not been.

I use the service extensively even outside of Ebay and I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that there have not been monthly chages because of FS. On the off chance that there has they must have been offset by the discount we get from Paypal being adjusted. if that is the case then is PayPal no longer doing that?

This is still not figured out as far as I am concerned and I can't for the life of me understand what part of the lack of monthly changes historically over the life of Tracked Packet you guys aren't getting?

pierrelebel · ‎08-13-2014

"Again, this has not happened historically with this service"

Of course not, it is a NEW service.,

When exactly did you start using Tracked Packet?

treasure.hunter.d · ‎08-13-2014

@pierrelebel wrote:
"Again, this has not happened historically with this service"

Of course not, it is a NEW service.,

When exactly did you start using Tracked Packet?

What was it, April or May of 2013 that Tracked packet was implemented and I have been using it ever since.. So in over a year there has not been monthly updates.

pocomocomputing · ‎08-13-2014

Check your records for TP shipments costs over the past year since TP was introduced. You will find some different charges.

Sometimes the FS rate does not change because gas prices do not vary enough. So it might be the same FS for a few months or very little change.

treasure.hunter.d · ‎08-13-2014

@pocomocomputing wrote:
Check your records for TP shipments costs over the past year since TP was introduced. You will find some different charges.

Sometimes the FS rate does not change because gas prices do not vary enough. So it might be the same FS for a few months or very little change.

There have been exactly 3 changes in the last year. 2 were directly due to Canada Post increasing their rates and this one. Because I used Tracked Packet so often, and because there is no incremental increase in the rate ie as soon as you go past 500 grams you are pushed to the max charge, I notice every little discrepancy.

There is simply not any evidence to support that this is a Fuel Surcharge situation. The FS did not stay the same for 11 of the last 12 months resulting in no rate change as would have to be the case based on the numbers. Again, I can link 2 of the 3 increases to Canada Post but this latest one is the mystery.

Anonymous · ‎08-13-2014

It is possible due to US exchange. The more our dollar is lower, the more we pay for postage rate via PayPal Shipping which is normal. When our dollar (Canadian) go up, the postage rates go down. I have seen it happening, so I am sure it is the same for you.

cumos55 · ‎08-14-2014

A link to Canada Post's fuel surcharge table.

http://www.canadapost.ca/cpo/mc/aboutus/news/fuel/avgprice.jsf

pjcdn2005 · ‎08-14-2014

@Anonymous wrote:
It is possible due to US exchange. The more our dollar is lower, the more we pay for postage rate via PayPal Shipping which is normal. When our dollar (Canadian) go up, the postage rates go down. I have seen it happening, so I am sure it is the same for you.

The postage rates have nothing to do with the rate for the Canadian dollar. If the rate is $3.78C when the Cdn dollar is worth .92 U.S., it is still $3.78C when the rate is .99 U.S. If you are paying in U.S. dollars the exchange rate will vary but the actual postage rate will not vary.