northwoodsguy
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posted on February 11, 2008 01:39:20 PM new
Well, isn't that special. If it's not enough that eBay is raising their rates, so is the U.S. Postal Service.
A First Class stamp will increase from 41 cents to 42 cents on May 12th.
A 2 ounce envelope will increase from 97 cents to $1.00.
A one ounce letter....First Class Mail International to Canada and Mexico....will increase from 69 cents to 72 cents.
The same one ounce letter will increase from 90 cents to 94 cents to all other countries, other than Canada or Mexico.
New prices for Express Mail AND Priority Mail will be announced in March.
Sigh.
www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2008/pr08_011a.htm
[ edited by northwoodsguy on Feb 11, 2008 01:47 PM ]
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zoomin
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posted on February 11, 2008 01:43:14 PM new
when I started on eBaY, I sent a pair of jeans priority mail to California $1.85. Seven years later?
$7.80.
More than 4x the amount!
Wish the value of my home would jump like that...........
[ edited by zoomin on Feb 11, 2008 01:44 PM ]
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cashinyourcloset
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posted on February 11, 2008 01:48:21 PM new
zoomin,
"Wish the value of my home would jump like that......" Depending on where you live, your home value might have jumped like that... only it recently "unjumped."
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pmelcher
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posted on February 11, 2008 02:01:44 PM new
We just HAD an increase and I haven't memorized that one yet. This is ridiculous.
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zoomin
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posted on February 11, 2008 02:44:11 PM new
cash:
very true!
think maybe the post office will 'unjump'?
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on February 11, 2008 03:07:17 PM new
Actually, Claude, in our little corner of San Mateo County sales prices are still running around $551/sq ft., not much different from a year ago.
zoomin: You should write up your anecdote about the jeans and put it on your AboutMe page or somewhere. Buyers tend to forget how steeply the cost of shipping has risen just in the last few years.
The amnesia seems to extend to sellers, too. Certain ill-intentioned people around these parts scoff at my $6 shipping; most jewelry sellers charge far more. $8 to $10 is not unusual. I just typed in "sterling silver bracelet" and took the first three auctions' shipping: $11.99, $6.95 and $4.00.
fLufF
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eBay changes mean fewer choices for buyers. Here's why.
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agate18
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posted on February 11, 2008 03:08:31 PM new
Postal rates in Australia are also going up on MARCH.1. As well.
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mcjane
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posted on February 11, 2008 03:20:28 PM new
fluff, what makes your postage very reasonable, not to mention nice double bubble packaging, is that the buyer gets a quality piece of sterling jewelry at about 90% off dept store price.
Kind of blows my mind when I see a remark about postage in your FB where a buyer bought a 60.00 bracelet for 2.95 & then whines about the 6.00 S&H.
Tell them to go to Bloomies & pay full price.
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Libra63
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posted on February 11, 2008 04:26:47 PM new
OH CRAP If I up my shipping then the buyers will get upset. Right now I charge about 50 cents more than the postage. I at least should get something for my new envelopes and boxes.  Now I will start just wrapping the item throw it in a envelope forget about the DC and the box and when the package doesn't arrive, so what. Now that isn't the way I do business but eBay and the USPS are making me do things I don't want to do. Find myself a real job. Anyone in S.E. Wisconsin need a good employee? I am available....
_________________
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zippy2dah
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posted on February 11, 2008 04:32:57 PM new
Just say no to paranoia, Fluff.
You're free to charge whatever the heck you want for shipping and handling. It only becomes an issue when you whine about not having a perfect 5 DSR in that area and think it's because your buyers are stupid and ungrateful.
You can't have it all ways. Everything in life is a trade-off. Most grown-ups understand this.
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Libra63
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posted on February 11, 2008 04:34:31 PM new
Sorry McJane I would whine also if I paid those shipping charges. Do you live outside the U.S. If that is the price in the auction I would never bid. When I sell a bracelet I charge 1st class for $2.50 to ship which includes a box and DC. The total for shipping is $1.82. Enough left to pay my paypal fees. I start my jewelry at $4.99.
People when they bid would rather pay higher for the merchandise than for shipping. That is a given so why not increase you selling price and decrease that shipping? Buyers do not know what the eBay charges are but they do know the price of postage. That is probably one reason why the negatives in the shipping catagory.
_________________
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hwahwa
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posted on February 11, 2008 04:35:32 PM new
Libra,
Many sellers have upped their shipping,why not you?
I went from $3.25 to $4.95.
*
Lets all stop whining !
*
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zippy2dah
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posted on February 11, 2008 04:35:50 PM new
Give Libra a cookie and a star. She gets it.
[ edited by zippy2dah on Feb 11, 2008 04:36 PM ]
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zippy2dah
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posted on February 11, 2008 04:37:40 PM new
Hwa, are you going to start whining if or when buyers start dinging your stars?
If not, you can have a cookie and a star too.
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neglus
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posted on February 11, 2008 04:41:26 PM new
Libra - Fluff has been very successful with her business model. Aside from her FP items, she starts everything at 99 cents and she doesn't sell junk! Every piece I have gotten from her has been lovely and durable. I wear a bracelet I got from her a couple of years ago all the time - to bed, bath, swimming - and it still looks nice. I liked it so much I got one for my mom and she loves hers too.
There are some folks who won't bid when shipping is higher, others who take shipping into consideration when they bid and still others that don't care and love to boast about their ebay "find" for only $1.
-------------------------------------
http://stores.ebay.com/Moody-Mommys-Marvelous-Postcards?refid=store
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hwahwa
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posted on February 11, 2008 04:50:34 PM new
Zippy,
I shipped in a box,my shipping fee is 4.6 ,shipping speed is 4.7,but I dont care!
I shipped same or next day,what do they want?
*
Lets all stop whining !
*
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zippy2dah
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posted on February 11, 2008 04:53:07 PM new
"but I dont care!"
Good for you! That's the difference between you and the sellers who whine and throw around words like "fascist."
I admire your attitude and I hope you do well.
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on February 11, 2008 05:16:16 PM new
It only becomes an issue when you whine about not having a perfect 5 DSR in that area and think it's because your buyers are stupid and ungrateful.
You couldn't be any more off base if you leaped from the top of Half Dome.
Feel free to be inspired.
fLufF
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eBay changes mean fewer choices for buyers. Here's why.
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zippy2dah
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posted on February 11, 2008 05:32:04 PM new
Nah, thanks but no thanks. I'll leave that to the experts.
I prefer a long, relaxed, slow climb up the backside and then down again.
I did recently jump out of an airplane though. That was great fun. I highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't have a heart condition or weight issues.
It would knock the whine right out of you!
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sthoemke
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posted on February 11, 2008 05:39:58 PM new
I can remember when First Class stamps were only 13 cents.
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zippy2dah
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posted on February 11, 2008 05:43:55 PM new
13 cents?
Y'er a youngun.
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birgittaw
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posted on February 11, 2008 05:55:08 PM new
I may be getting old and forgetful, but I think perhaps zoomin best check before adding any anecdotes. There is no way he/she could have sent anything priority mail for $1.85, not even next door, and certainly not 7 years ago.
Just means that one needs to look at other options for shipping. It irks me no end that sellers still insist on using priority mail for heavier packages, when another carrier would be half price and include insurance.
Perhaps the next flat rate box will become a viable alternative; the old ones certainly come in handy.
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fluffythewondercat
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posted on February 11, 2008 06:03:47 PM new
It irks me no end that sellers still insist on using priority mail for heavier packages, when another carrier would be half price and include insurance.
But the other carrier is located awfully far away for some people.
It isn't for me -- I have a UPS Store 1 1/2 blocks from my house. But I won't use them. The staff is openly hostile to people who bring in prepaid parcels. Yes, I know why -- they don't get their cut if you don't buy the shipping from them -- but every other UPS Store I've been in has been fine with it.
I do ship heavier stuff than jewelry sometimes.
fLufF
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eBay changes mean fewer choices for buyers. Here's why.
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birgittaw
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posted on February 11, 2008 06:19:26 PM new
I do take their location into consideration when requesting other carriers. If they're in a rural area, I do understand (but I don't understand why they won't ship parcel post for hard to break items).
My shipper isn't thrilled with me either, since I print directly and he doesn't get his markup. Too bad. I still drop off. I do believe he gets something for acting as a receiver, but it's nowhere near what he used to get from me.
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niel35
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posted on February 11, 2008 06:51:28 PM new
You better believe it. When I first used the Pak and Wrap up the street and let him do the printing of the label, etc. he was happy as hell and used to run out to my car and pick up the packages. When I figured out how to print the labels myself, he completely ignored me. I would knock on the back door with a load of packages and he would only open the door and walk away, leaving me with an armload and many more to haul in. As the gal on PRETTY WOMAN said BIG MISTAKE, HUGE MISTAKE, because at the end of the year, I am very generous with people who help me out with shipping.
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zoomin
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posted on February 11, 2008 07:27:12 PM new
birgittaw:
I may be getting old and forgetful, but I think perhaps zoomin best check before adding any anecdotes. There is no way he/she could have sent anything priority mail for $1.85, not even next door, and certainly not 7 years ago.
oops ~ my bad! Should've said $2.85 ~ that was with delivery confirmation ~ without it the rate was $2.70. Free priority mail tyvek, package shipped ANYWHERE in the US weighing 2 lbs was $2.70 ~ next increase, I believe, was to $3.20, $3.50, and $3.85 or the likes, somewhere in there they added the pound charges, then of course the zone fiasco.
Sorry for my blonde moment ~ I was blown away with the prospect of yet another increase ~ so the rate has more than TRIPLED since the explosion of eBaY, not quadrupled.
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Libra63
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posted on February 11, 2008 07:35:41 PM new
Neglus I don't sell the same things as fluffy. I understand she sells new items and that is a lot different than the items I sell. Because she has new items and because they are nice then someone wouldn't mind the shipping charge because of the price of the item is low but they wouldn't with the items I sell.
I still am going to sell but not on ebay.
Have you noticed since the announcement from ebay today how many more sellers have signed the petition. Tonight alone I emptied my mailbox over 1,000 emails and I imagine it is full again. They aren't going to listen but who cares. I feel sorry for the long time sellers that use this venue for their day to day living. I wish them good luck.
_________________
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merrie
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posted on February 11, 2008 08:15:23 PM new
zoomin:
" birgittaw:
I may be getting old and forgetful, but I think perhaps zoomin best check before adding any anecdotes. There is no way he/she could have sent anything priority mail for $1.85, not even next door, and certainly not 7 years ago.
oops ~ my bad! Should've said $2.85 ~ that was with delivery confirmation ~ without it the rate was $2.70."
There was no delivery confirmation then. Items just got where they were going without being confirmed.
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zoomin
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posted on February 11, 2008 08:29:28 PM new
merrie:
was the $2.85 another increase?
I swear I went from $2.70 to $2.85 ~ too low of a difference for insurance.
Around 1999-2000 delivery confirmation and delivery confirmation with signature were introduced.
I started selling sometime around there.
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birgittaw
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posted on February 11, 2008 08:43:15 PM new
Oh, there was delivery confirmation I'm sure, but no one ever used it. Before PayPal that is.
I don't remember priority mail being any less than $3 something for one pound, and I go back longer than most of you.
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