posted on May 13, 2002 03:34:31 PM new
Really July 1 as June 30 is a Sunday, they tend to have their rates change on a day that there is no postal service.
posted on May 13, 2002 03:48:51 PM new
Hi,
Don't know about anybody else, but I'm a little panic over this. I ship Priority mail, flat rate no matter what the location depending only on weight. Now with the increases, they will be zoning everything between 1-5 pds. What happens? Charging the highest zoned as a flat rate won't due as the customers surely will soon realize why should they pay a shipping charge if they are in the next state as someone who is clear across the country. A nightmare, as there will be no accurate check-out shipping charge without the customers zip-code. How will this be handled in relation to the WBN form being filled out. Will there be an extra step by Autionwatch to get the customers zip code first before a check-out link is created. Any thoughts, concerns?? Thanks - I would appreciate it.
posted on May 13, 2002 03:53:20 PM new
You should be very concerned, as should everyone actually. A 2 pound package will vary from $3.95 to $5.75 - a 4 pound package will range from $5.30 to $10.35 - I don't know how others are going to handle this, but I am going to put my zip code in the auction, and tell them they can either figure this out on their own (which means giving an exact weight for each item) or to email me and I will get back to them. Either way, it will be a lot more work for the seller, and in my opinion will kill off a decent amount of ebay business because I know that when I am buying, I am less likely to purchase something from back east once the new rates are active. I think the buyers are going to think we are ripping them off. It's going to be ugly, esp. when you combine these outrageous rates with summer slowdown in a lot of sales.
Here are the priority mail rates:
http://www.prc.gov/news/2002/R2001-1/R2001-1-23.htm
[ edited by ahc3 on May 13, 2002 03:54 PM ]
posted on May 13, 2002 04:02:26 PM new
I am planning on stating the shipping in my ads as actual cost plus $1 as the first option. I currently charge $5 flat rate for the first and $1.50 for each additional. Most of my items fall into the 1 to 2 pound category. So this may continue to work under the new rates.
posted on May 13, 2002 04:03:56 PM new
Hi,
AW will there be any help on your end? I would imagine a very good percentage of your users use Priority Mail. Are you planning to address this problem. Thanks.
posted on May 13, 2002 04:06:40 PM new
Parcel post will cost less, but you still can't determine the rate over 1 pound without knowing the zip code. There is no getting around the new zoning if you ship over a pound. It also advertises as 8 days, that is a long time to get somewhere.
posted on May 13, 2002 04:13:01 PM new
Customers get nervous when their item is in transient. I love the 2 sometimes 3 day delivery time, and so do my buyers. It would be tough also to give up those "free" supplies. I ship approx. 40-50 items a week, it would be tough finding all those boxes. But I am not completely opposed to stop using Priority mail.
posted on May 13, 2002 04:59:51 PM new
> must you ship usps prioity??
> first class takes an extra day ,but then you have to use your own box.
first class only applies if you ship anything under 13 ounces. anything above that is automatic priority rates. up to one pound is $3.85 -- starting from two pounds is where the difficulty in pricing will be.
after the new rates go into effect, i'm moving over to fedex ground. all the processing can be done online and all i have to do is drop off the packages. no more waits in post office lines!
posted on May 16, 2002 02:04:48 AM new
stopwhining,
Priority Mail and First Class Mail are the
same thing, except for the fee and the
sticker/tape. Both take 2-3 days, according
the the USPS. Any other perceived difference
is totally due to effective USPS propaganda. :^)
Z
---
"Cannot say. Saying, I would know. Do not
know, so cannot say". -- Zathras (Babylon 5)
posted on May 16, 2002 05:56:52 AM new
What I plan to do is just sit on the sidelines during the transition period. I'm only going to sell things that can be shipped media rate and first class until the buyers get adjusted to the new rates. I'll check the message boards and see which shipping strategies seem to be working for others, then decide for myself later on.
I could have endured a Priority Mail fee increase if they simply kept it a flat rate nationwide. The fact that Priority Mail was the only fixed rate method of shipping packages from one side of the country to the other is what made it unique and user-friendly. I don't think the USPS appreciated what a great thing that is for both buyers and sellers.
FEDEX, UPS, and USPS's own Parcel Post are all based on zone structures which is why so many of us used Priority Mail. I checked those rates vs. the new Priority rates - UPS is still higher, FEDEX is approximately the same (after you add the $1.10 fee for domestic delivery). Parcel Post obviously is cheaper, but Priority still offers the advantage of free shipping supplies which is about the only reason I'll keep using it after the rate change.
And as usual, the USPS is keeping their staff in the dark. The other day I mentioned the zoned Priority Rates to the woman that I usually deal with at my local Post Office, and that was the first that she had ever heard of it.
posted on May 16, 2002 06:00:15 AM new
Could someone tell me if reg. letter rate is going up from U.S. to Canada, at the moment it is 60 cents. I always tell buyers the rate, as many think it is the same as mailing within the U.S.
posted on May 16, 2002 09:25:06 AM new
zathras11 - Exactly right about Priority mail. I know that the clerks must push it, but I cringe when I see someone who was going to mail a 2 ounce package for 57 cents get sort of bullied into priority mail thinking that it will get there faster. If it was any other organization doing this, there would be investigations and fines, but apparently it is okay if it is the USPS
holdenrex - I am going to be on the sidelines too, though the main reason is I am taking a one month vacation through July 15. It will probably take me a couple of weeks to catch up on everything, so it will be a month into the new rate before I get to deal with it. I think I will use parcel post a lot, there is a great box store in Los Angeles (where I am going) that I think I will visit and buy a lot of supplies. I know I still need to zone it, and I will miss those priority mail supplies.
amber - Right now, international rates are not changing. However, they tend to change them a few months after. Unlike domestic rates, where the USPS must go through several hoops and wait a long time (up to a year) to get approved, they can change international rates whenever they want without approval. I would expect a VERY steep increase in rates. Last rate increase saw a letter to Mexico increase from 40 to 60 cents, and a letter to Canada increase from 48 to 60 cents. A letter internationally went from 60 to 80 cents. I would expect to see 80 cent letter rate to Canada/Mexico and a $1 letter rate to the rest of the world. We'll see, but since they are so in the red, I think they will raise these significantly.
posted on May 16, 2002 09:53:54 AM new
There's a current radio advertising campaign by the USPS pushing Priority Mail, targeting small ebay-like businesses (the commercials specifically use a used record business for their example). What I don't understand is why they would want to recruit more business to Priority Mail immediately before the zoned rates go into effect. Seems to me that's only going to alienate any new shippers who jump onboard - imagine changing your shipping to Priority, only to have the entire pricing structure changed after using it for only one month!
It also really annoys me when they blame e-mail for selling less first-class stamps. I still purchase about the same amount of stamps that I used to prior to the internet, at least for personal use (ebay excluded). What email has done for me is drastically reduced my long distance bill. And yet everytime I turn around, the long distance companies are undercutting each other's rates and trying every stunt under the sun to get my business!
posted on May 16, 2002 10:19:09 AM new
While I do believe that the internet has reduced my long distance bill (as well as cellular phone plans, I have had a credit on my home line with Sprint for 6 months now, I never use it for long distance) I do believe strongly that the internet has reduced mail usage. There are hard stats by the USPS about this, but just from my own experience:
1) I moved last year, and was reorganizing and found a box of old letters - 10 years ago or so, I actually wrote most of my friends and family letters. These days, everyone is online. I have one uncle that isn't, so I do send him mail, but other than that, I don't write letters anymore, it is all email
2) Electronic payment. Not only do I pay just about all of my bills online reducing the need for me to use stamps, I get most of my bills via ebills, so the companies who send me the bills are doing so electronically. That reduces the need for the USPS on both ends.
This trend will probably continue and get more popular. What is killing the USPS is not the loss of revenue, but the inability to deal with it, and one primary cause is the awful employee's union they have. If they were a private company, they could deal with these changes a lot better than what they have now. I think this rate change signals the beginning of the end of the USPS AS WE KNOW IT NOW - Of course there will always be some entity to deal with mail and packages, but I think it is being pushed into a new direction. I expect them to lose a LOT of business to their competitors because this new zoning as someone said reduces the advantage of using the USPS. I know that for packages, I will most likely start using UPS and Fedex myself.
posted on May 16, 2002 03:57:27 PM new
i called my local fed ex and asked about their ground service and they told me it was being discontinued shortly ???
