New Postage Rates -- A shock

[TxSilver]

As most people know, USPS is putting its new international postage methods and rates into effect next Monday, May 14. They have eliminated the economy parcel and letter category and divided the other standard delivery parcels into categories of shipping into international first class or priority. I ran some of the prices today and was distressed at how much it would cost to ship things that I sell. Are any of the other sellers experiencing the sticker shock that I feel? I plan to stop selling overseas, because I don't feel good about charging that much shipping. Is anyone else going through this, wondering what to do?

This is certainly not a good time for international glass sales. Maybe it's not as bad as my numbers indicate -- I hope not.

Anita

[fossilfly]

I ship a lot internationally, and usually use the post office, as it is generally less expensive than UPS, which I use domestically and for Canada. I havent gotten a chance to review the new rates yet. I wouldn't worry about charging for the increased shipping rates, due to the conversion ration between the euro/dollar and pound/dollar shipping is less enpensive than it seems for overseas customers.

[TxSilver]

I had a reality check today when I shipped something FedEx to NY. Two-day shipping was $53. Ouch!! The $7.59 it would have taken to send priority mail sounded very mild in comparison.

I guess the USPS is not so bad after all.

Anita

[fossilfly]

I had a reality check today when I shipped something FedEx to NY. Two-day shipping was $53. Ouch!! The $7.59 it would have taken to send priority mail sounded very mild in comparison.

I guess the USPS is not so bad after all.

Anita

I agree. The USPS is always poked at, but they do have reasonable rates, especially for international parcels. I would never ship internationally if it werent for the USPS. Although the rates are increasing, they are still less expensive than UPS or Fedex. DHL is a good choice for international shipments, but they are still more expensive than the USPS. Only for larger shipments do I use DHL. One reason why I never had considered using them domestically is the lack of a tracking number on ground parcels. I think they have upgraded to a limited tracking system, but nothing like UPS or Fedex has.

[TxSilver]

The postage rates may have had an effect on eBay. I've noticed the bids are down and the number of unbought pieces is up. Yesterday eBay cut its final value fee on the first $25 for the rest of the summer. Most people who shop eBay are looking for a good deal, so I imagine the increase shipping cost are driving bid amounts down and the number of unsold items up. It makes sense. If someone is only willing to pay $100 for an item, then they will bid $90 if s/h is $10 and $85 if it is $15.

There could be other factors that are coming in, but I can't help but think that the rate increase played a large role in the reduction in sales. USPS may have been wise to phase the increases in, instead of levying them the way that it did. I'll bet there has been a huge impact on online sales.

Anita