New Postal Rates

[dutchman48]

I picked up the new rates from my post office which will be effective Monday.

What got hammered as usual are the lowest light packet rates for the US and International.

US up to 200 grams from 5.70 to 6.84

US from 200 to 300 from 8.23 to 8.60

US up to 500 grams unchanged at 11.75

International up to 200 grams from 8.78 to 10.10

International over 200 unchanged

I guess they figured out a lot was going light packet at the lowest weight so just jack it up by a lot

[ypdc_dennis]

So for January 16, 2017

USA

000-200g ..  6.84 Light Packet
201-300g ..  8.60 Light Packet
000-250g ..  8.61 Small Packet (Air)

251-500g .. 11.29 Small Packet (Air)
301-500g .. 11.75 Light Packet
000-250g .. 15.42 Tracked Packet
251-500g .. 16.71 Tracked Packet

501g-1kg .. 16.82 Small Packet (Air)
501g-1kg .. 18.92 Tracked Packet

...

Rest of the World
Light packet is the same rate world wide.
Small Packet (air) has 10 rate zones -- + UK zone 2 rate shown.
Tracked Packet has fuel surcharges, $100 insurance, paypal discounts. * UK over-the-counter base rate shown.

000-200g .. 10.10 .. Light Packet
000-250g .. 10.27+ . Small packet (air)
000-250g .. 35.58* . Tracked packet

201-300g .. 11.50 .. Light Packet
251-500g .. 19.75+ . Small packet (air)
301-500g .. 21.00 .. Light Packet
251-500g .. 45.98* . Tracked packet

500g-1kg .. 38.72+ . Small packet (air)
500g-1kg .. 56.31* . Tracked packet

1.0-1.5kg .. 48.46+ . Small packet (air)
1.0-1.5kg .. 62.50* . Tracked packet

1.5-2.0kg .. 58.20+ . Small packet (air)
1.5-2.0kg .. 69.41* . Tracked packet

...

[momcqueen]

Again, I have to say this is a big part of the reason I switched to Calculated Shipping Tool on ebay Canada. 

[Anonymous]

What rates on PayPal Shipping?  With the new format they won't let us see the rates, so how the heck are we supposed to know?  Anyone knew??

[dutchman48]

There is no discount for light packet or small packet if I remember, but may be on tacked packet.

Perhaps someone that sends out a lot of them can clarify.

[dutchman48]

But shipping calculator will not do some of us that sell small inexpensive items any good.

A lot of us use flat rate shipping for jewelry, coins, stamps, cards, etc and we are getting hammered every year

[momcqueen]

Light packet is still calculated with the Calculated Shipping Tool. I use flat-rate for domestic oversize lettermail and can still use the Calculated Shipping Tool for international services. On my minifigures. It's about fifteen per cent of my inventory.

p.s. Tracked Packet through Paypal Shipping is discounted as follows:

• Save up to 14% on Canada Post international and US shipments via Tracked Packet™-International and Tracked Packet ™-USA

http://pages.ebay.ca/sellerinformation/ship-smart/ebay-shipping-partners/canadapost/

[dutchman48]

Maybe I did not say it properly, so will try again.

If you don't send out any parcels above the light or small packet category, you do not need a shipping calculator.

It is cheaper for me to send out a light packet with private insurance than to use tracked packet.

Also, CP does not insure many items that private insurance does, so the free CP insurance is totally useless for me.

[dutchman48]

Here is a question?

Why can an item be sent other lettermail within Canada, not be sent other lettermail outside the country other than an idiotic policy by CP to gouge Canadians?

[momcqueen]

My point was that if you use the Calculated Shipping Tool for Light Packet, the postal rates hikes don't cause the seller any listing revision work. The Tool does it. Not the seller.

It was not a statement judging whether to use it.

[rose-dee]

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@dutchman48 wrote:

If you don't send out any parcels above the light or small packet category, you do not need a shipping calculator.

It is cheaper for me to send out a light packet with private insurance than to use tracked packet. 

---

This is pretty much my situation, too, although I do occasionally need to use Expedited for larger, more valuable items.  

I use flat rate pricing exclusively.  I like to control in advance what my buyers pay for shipping, rather than having them pay the actual, full shipping on their own.  I "subsidize" most of my shipping rates, and I'll sometimes upgrade the posted flat rate to a higher service as a courtesy on particular orders.  

I generally don't need to raise my flat shipping rates from year to year unless there's a particularly huge increase in one area (like the ca. 25% hike we had on international rates in 2015[?]).  Because I sell almost exclusively in $USD, and use my $USD to pay $Cdn shipping costs, as long as the currency differential remains at 15% to 25%, I can be fairly liberal with shipping discounts and leave prices in place from year to year.  As a result, my shipping costs look cheaper and cheaper to buyers as time goes on (and less wasted time for me in revising listings).  A lot of my listings still have 2014 flat shipping quotes.  

These 2017 rate hikes are not so harsh that they will require very much adjustment for me anyway.  

[momcqueen]

The p.s. in my previous post answered hangbags query about the discount. I'm sorry if that was unclear to people. I thought it clear at the time.

Again, it has nothing to do with any complaints about the rate increases.

[momcqueen]

Also: anyone who wants to subsidize shipping for buyers can easily do it via the Calculated Shipping Tool by entering a percentage rate discount on counter rates. Like I do. It's easy.

[rose-dee]

---

@mjwl2006 wrote:
Also: anyone who wants to subsidize shipping for buyers can easily do it via the Calculated Shipping Tool by entering a percentage rate discount on counter rates. Like I do. It's easy.

---

But the calculated shipping tool is not available to Canadian sellers listing on .com, or am I misinformed?

A lot of us list on both sites, and I find it easier in any case to keep shipping quotes consistent between sites by using flat rates.  If calculated shipping does become available on .com, I might consider changing. 

I know you've used calculated shipping for some time.  Do you find it flawless and completely dependable?  I think I can recall seeing complaints on the boards about it, which is why I ask.  I have a problem trusting eBay's automated systems, as I've had some troubles and inconsistencies with other aspects of their automation.  I'm reluctant to leave buyers on their own with a shipping calculator that may not function 100% perfectly.  

Still, this is probably moot for my situation, since I'm unlikely to go back to .ca exclusively now that $USD listings are no longer possible.  In fact, once the last of my $USD listings on .ca are taken down next week, I'll unfortunately have to be on .com only for the foreseeable future.  

[momcqueen]

The Calculated Shipping Tool is available on eBay.ca for items shipping from Canada.

[momcqueen]

Calculated Shipping has been flawlessly reliable for 99.95 per cent of my items sold. This is the reason I recommend it. The one error I discovered with a volumetric limit not being recognized was rectified and subsequently corrected.

[dutchman48]

Right now I can revise 100's of listings on Turbo Lister in no time at all.

Not sure what will happen when it goes away in June.

[dutchman48]

only on .ca.

I also list on .com and .ca all the time. One type of item on .ca and another on .com

What is hurting me as well as others, the light packet rate to the US has become absolutely ridiculous. Some things I send out packaged are under 50 grams but can't go letter at all so I have to pay 5.70 and as of Monday 6.84 to send to the US.

I can't hide the cost in the price as nothing will sell. CP is just killing the market on this type of merchandise. I refuse to sell a $3 item for 10.00 and give Ebay a bigger chunk of the pie.

Either way, the market is just about dead outside of Canada. When light packet was under $3.00, I used to sell a great deal to the US and overseas. Now I no longer sell overseas and the US is just about dead.

For an INR, it is not losing the cost of the item that is a major issue, but the cost of the postage certainly is.

Buyers will buy, file INR due to high postage costs and get their $3.00 item free and the seller is out the $3.00 item plus the $7.00 shipping charge.

This is the problem CP has created, but personally I don't think they care either.

[pocomocomputing]

Dutchman, wonderlister seems to be a good contender to replace Turbo Lister. Cost is $5 usd monthly for 1000 active listings on ebay ( you can store as many listings as you want), suports two ebay ids, one ebay site, windows computer based.

$10 plan is 2500 listings, 2 ids and 2 sites.

It will import tl cav export files.

More plans available.

[recped]

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@dutchman48 wrote:

Here is a question?

Why can an item be sent other lettermail within Canada, not be sent other lettermail outside the country other than an idiotic policy by CP to gouge Canadians?

---

Because Canada Post says so!

There is no ruling from the UPU or policy of USPS that prevents it.

I understand that US Customs may have asked Canada Post to sort First Class Letters into two streams, one with goods and one with documents only and CP decided the best way to sort them was to eliminate goods from First Class Letters entirely. Of course they could have said "no can do" as other countries did or would, or they could figure out a simple (free) way to separate goods and documents.

Seems like they effectively charged a lot of money to create two piles instead of one.