The Yak Shack Forum

As of 14 May 2007 postal rates increase in the US...

http://pe.usps.com/RateCase2007/DMM300_HTML/RatesAndFees.htm

Looks like I'll be doing some serious looking at electronic postage (which means I have to get a new printer)

1st class letter - from 39c to 41c
a 60c bubble mailer to 75c
Priority Mail flat rate from $4.05 to $4.60
Delivery confirmation from 50c to 65c for Priority Mail & from 60c to 75c for First Class
Insurance - $0.01 to $50 - from 1.35 to $1.65
50.01 to 100 - from 2.30 to 2.05
100.01 to 200 - from 3.30 to 2.45

Registered Mail will depend on value declared -
$0.00 declaration - $9.50
0.01 to 100 declaration - 10.15
100.01 to 500 declaration - 11.25

Thanks for posting this info Tialessa!!   :)   

Considering that UPS and FedEx can increase their rates any time they want with a "fuel surcharge" I really don't mind this too much.  I read somewhere that it costs the USPS millions every time the gas price goes up by a penny.

The electronic option does save some money on services like confirmation.

I wonder if there was a typo though...  Do you really think Insurance for both 50-100 and 100-200 went down?

Ed

I thought the same thing - everything else is being raised - makes no sense for them to be lowered...

And yes, FedEx, UPS, and courier service hits our company with TONS of fuel surcharges so it's not too much of an increase considering...

On the USPS site, it says that the rate for 2-ounce first class mail (such as wedding invitations) will drop from 63 cents to 58 cents.  The flat rate Priority boxes are going up from $8.10 to $9.15.    Since the cost of delivery confirmation bought at a post office is going up, I wonder what will happen to the cost of that service when you ship through PayPal?  It's currently 14 cents.

We recently had a mail hike from the Royal mail as well  :-[  they complain that less people use the mail so put prices up!! I wonder if they ever thought to attract customers by bringing prices down for once  :o LOL

De Orc  ;D

Electronic rates are in that link from the USPS - I didn't look at them...

Looks like electronic delivery confirmation went up from .14 to .18  :P

That stinks, but at least it's significantly cheaper than buying delivery confirmation at the post office.  I think USPS service has been terrible since Christmas.  Delivery is much slower than it used to be.  Almost all of the Priority Mail packages I've received in the past few months have taken 5 to 8 days for delivery, instead of 2 or 3, and first class and parcel post have been awful, too.  Will the new rates improve this?  I doubt it. :-\

There's an update in eBay Announcements about the rate changes.  One interesting change is this:

Discount for international USPS shipping labels printed with PayPal - Beginning on May 14, the following discounts will automatically be applied to USPS international labels printed with PayPal:

Priority Mail International -- 5%
Express Mail International -- 8%

Labels for the small, flat-rate Priority envelopes can't be printed through PayPal (too small for the customs documents that have to be printed), so the discount should apply to Priority variable weight and the large envelopes.

The rest of the info is here (scroll down a bit):

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200704.shtml#2007-04-19094009

Here's a head's up -- As of May 14, USPS will no longer offer the Global Priority Mail small envelope that ships for $5.25.  There will be only one envelope, with a rate of $9 to Canada and Mexico, and $11 to the rest of the world.

This stinks! >:() 

That is bad news most of my cards come in the smaller envelope  >:() might have to cut back on purchases.

De Orc  >:()

That's exactly what worries me.  The higher price will be too expensive, especially for the more common cards and sets I send out, but there is no way I will ever again send an auction item via Air Mail.  I've had too many items get misdirected or very delayed to trust it.

Any news on how much the flat rate boxes will cost that they're introducing?
I agree 100% - the small GP mailers were ideal for most of the chase cards (provided they were packaged well inside the cardboard mailer) and their price definitely was affordable, not sure the new options will be as popular given they're twice as dear!  :-\

Oh yes, there's news, and you won't like it.  Flat rate boxes to Canada and Mexico (limit of 20 pounds or whatever will fit in the box) are $23; to the rest of the world, they're $37.

Here's more info about the international rates: 

http://www.usps.com/ratecase/ratecase_faqs.htm?ov=001QI#H8

This is truly going to have a major impact on eBay.

Oh rats ... that's not good news ... >:(
What about those small white mailing boxes that one of our other Forum members always uses when he sends out his cards?
Do you know the ones I mean Cindy? I've often thought how good they are for card sets and single cards (provided they're well packaged inside the box of course), but he's the only seller I know who uses them routinely for all his cards.
I wondered if USPS were getting rid of those too? Or if they aren't, I wonder what tariff they'd be covered by as I couldn't find any specific mention of them. :-\
I see they've put the price up for GP Express mail by $2.00 too ...  ::)
Please correct me if I'm wrong Cindy, but reading through all that stuff, it sounds like ALL the international mail will have in-built tracking and insurance (to some degree) as part of the cost .. am I right?

Still, these increases are going to have a HUGE impact on ebay sellers and buyers alike as you say and if anything, people will only consider purchasing domestically rather than looking further afield ... bang goes the advantage the US sellers have enjoyed had over the rest of us when getting the latest card releases ... no more UK buyers looking Stateside for cheaper cards, which means you might not get the same level of bidding and the prices will be lower.
I hate to say this, but I think it's going to put the smaller dealers out of business - they just won't be able to stand the costs and losing your potential international customers because the postal prices are too high will be what tips them over the edge. >:(
I know we've moaned about the postal prices here in the UK over the past couple of years, but ours haven't been hiked-up as far as this in one go! :(

There are small white Priority Mail boxes, but they're supposed to be used only for shipping within the U.S.  Or do you mean the little white boxes that have no printing on the outside?  If so, those don't come from the post office.

It does appear that at least some insurance will be built into the Global Priority price.  I haven't been able to get a straight answer about it, though.  When I called my post office this morning, I was told that they just went through training last week and that it'll be a learning curve for everyone.

What upsets me is that USPS made it seem like this was only a rate increase, but in fact they've made some major changes to the entire postal system.  When I sell on eBay in May, I'm going to use the calculated shipping option for my listings, instead of the flat rates I usually use.  There have been changes in First Class mail, too, including any bubble mailer or package that weighs 3.5 ounces or more has to be shipped using a First Class parcel mailing rate (at a higher rate) rather than the First Class letter rate we use now.

I think a lot of sellers are going to make some big shipping rate mistakes in May and June until they become better acquainted with the changes.  I'd expect that to lead to some seller-buyer problems when the actual cost of shipping is much higher than the price listed in the auction.

These increases are ridiculous!  >:()  :P

This is going to be one huge mess. I really liked the small global priority envelope, it was probably the best option to send cards and small items to the UK/Australia. I went to the PO today and was I surprised to find that as of May 14 I won't be able to ship a 1lb bubble mailer by letter post anymore. The guy there told me I'll have to pay $14 for Airmail PARCEL Post to Canada, when i used to pay around $5 >:().

This is bad.  I won't be selling overseas anymore.  The risk of sending something regular airmail is too great.  But I'll still send to shakers of course!  ;D

Eeek! I don't have much to add to this, but doubling the price of those Global Priority mailers in one go is a bit over the top. I certainly will hesitate if I'm buying a card that costs the same amount as the envelope. Given my taste in cards, that's highly unlikely ::) But $11 is still a rip :P

WHAT????  I guess I'll be talking a LOT to my local office.  This royally bites!

Very peeved about the small GPM mailer - it's PERFECT to send a lot of items...

I don't know if it'll do any good to complain to USPS, but maybe if enough people do, they'll bring back the small GPM envelope. :-\

The rate changes take effect on Monday.  Here are links for domestic and international pricing:

http://pe.usps.com/RateCase2007/DMM300_HTML/dmm300_landing.htm

http://www.usps.com/ratecase/intlrates/welcome.htm

This is a guide for mailing:

http://pe.usps.com/text/dmm100/intro.htm

Man talk about confusing, there are going to be a number of US sellers who are going to suffer because of this, that is for sure.

De Orc  >:(

The post office put up a simplified guide...
http://www.usps.com/prices/

I'm planning to list some items Monday night and decided that the safest thing to do is use eBay's shipping calculator.  I hope it will be working correctly. :o=

I am concerned, though, about some of my auctions that ended a few days ago.  I sent invoices with combined shipping, expecting payment through PayPal, but some of the buyers sent money orders that I haven't received yet.  If payment arrives after my post office closes on Saturday, I'll have to pay more for shipping than the buyers paid.  It's my fault for not taking into account that I might not receive payment before the rates go up, but I didn't want to charge the buyers more for shipping on the off-chance that I wouldn't get their payments this week. :-\  It truly has been a long time since I've been paid by any method other than PayPal.  Oh well, at least the problem is only with a few packages.

I'm going to start doing the same thing - it'll be a PAIN to set it up on the current auctions, but better than revising everything only to revise it again soon afterwards...

If someone were to bid today on an item that ends next week, will the shipping calculator state the current shipping rate or what it will be when the auction ends?

I'm sure I read that the shipping calculator would be reflecting the new prices before they came into effect next Monday so fingers crossed you won't have to change much in your auctions. :o=
I'm not looking forward to it any more than you are and it will definitely impact on how many items and how often I buy from sellers in the US.  :-\

Considering that the cost of Global Priority flat rate will more than double, I'm sure a lot of U.S. sellers are going to feel the pinch from the lack of international bidders.

Exactly!! The casual ebay sellers are gradually getting squeezed out ... the ebay fees ... the Paypal fees and now this ... I hate to say it, but I'm sure this will put some sellers out of business ...  :(

There's still AirMail (now First Class International), but I'm sure going to miss the small flat rate Global Priority option!

They just changed the names from "Airmail" and "Global Priority" to "First Class International" and "Priority Mail International". Prices are way too high for some of their new International Flat Rate boxes ($37 for a box the size of a $8 flat-rate Priority box?). Funny thing is some Post Offices are still waiting for the new flat rate boxes and envelopes. Some of us will have to order USPS supplies from the website before we can ship anything using the new Priority Mail Intl ::)

**You can now order the new boxes/envelopes HERE (http://shop.usps.com/) .

Sure, there's Air Mail, but I won't use it.  I've had Air Mail items get lost or sent Surface Mail, but I've never had problems with Global Priority.  At least now we can add insurance to the new Priority Mail International.

http://www.usps.com/ratecase/intlrates/imm_rates.1.12.html

Forgive me for asking a dumb question, but I've never sold anything on ebay.  One of the things that scares me about trying if figuring the postage.  Ebay has a postage calculator. How does it work?

Ok, I'm totally shocked!  I didn't check out the new increase chart figuring prices would go up sort of on the same scale as the first class envelope postage.  Wellllllll....I did some online postage through paypal today and boy was I shocked!!  :o  First class for under an ounce, shipped in a very small #000 bubble mailer has gone up from .49 to $1.13!!!!!!  What?!!!  Over double the price?  With the delivery confirmation it adds up to $1.31 for what used to cost me around .61.  I just can't believe it.  >:()  It wasn't anything I sold through ebay, but I guess In order to sell any cards through ebay now, I'll have to charge $3-$4 to cover shipping, Paypal and ebay fees for just one card!  Terrible.

I recently sold something on ebay and just used the "calculate shipping"
option! Worked perfect. I'm not taking anymore chances with
charging a flat rate!  >:(

I agree, and there's no way I can keep selling to intl buyers if an item must be shipped in a box or weights over 1 pound. I just had to cancel a transaction for an item like that because what i expected to pay for shipping was about $15 and with the new rates I'd have to pay $37! It's ridiculous >:().

I've noticed that with eBay's new feedback rating system, sellers who charge $3 or $4 to ship a card are getting less than perfect ratings for shipping and handling charges.  I hate eBay's new system, but I hate even more that they decided to start it in the US just before the USPS rate change went into effect.

On another down note, I'm no longer getting bids from overseas buyers.  I know Priority Mail International is too expensive, but I will never again take a chance shipping items via Air Mail. :-\

Be prepared for some possible more shocks. You might start seeing your small bubble mailers returned to you for "improper use of Delivery Confirmation."

Here's the scoop, based on research into just what's written into the revised USPS Domestic Mail Manual. I did this because previously, under the old rules, the USPS was returning auction-win parcels to the sellers improperly, and I had to (politely) read them the riot act and prove to them exactly what the rules were supposed to be. Even PayPal Shipping told me that Kelly's example wasn't remotely allowed under the old rules, and they were wrong too.

The scoop on Delivery Confirmation (DC) domestically in the USA. Previously you were allowed to use it with First Class Mail parcels if they were "machinable" with "no minimum weight" as long as the item was at least 1/4-inch thick and was rigid enough to be compatible with the mail-sorting equipment. Now, they have gone into greater length in defining what they mean by machinable and removed the no-minimum-weight words from the DC section.

This *might* affect a lot of auction sellers who like to add DC but keep the postage costs and hassles down.

With the new rules, DC can be used with machinable parcels, but to qualify for that description the package has to be at least 1/4-inch thick (if the weight is 6 ounces or more), at least 3/4-inch thick (if the weight is 5 to <6 ounces), or at least 1-1/2-inch thick (if the weight is 3.5 to <5 ounces).

Any other parcels are non-machinable, thus "irregular". Under the published rules, the item would have to be at least 3/4-inch thick. If they enforce this, say bye-bye to the regular bubble mailer option for lightweight packages.

I spent a couple of months before I won my arguments with the local USPS on the old rules, when they had been sending back packages for "improper use of DC", at considerable inconvenience and expense to me. So I took this research seriously. Maybe the rewritten Manual wasn't what they intended, but as it's written, the conclusions above are all I can do with it. Maybe they'll issue another revision or a Postal Bulletin.

Most of the time, even "illegal" DC packages will be delivered. But sometimes non-qualifying mail will be returned, or held for postage due for the difference between the First Class Parcel rate and Priority Mail.

I wouldn't stop using bubble mailers with lightweight packages yet, but I wouldn't be surprised to see an occasional piece of mail returned. Possibly they knew what they were doing and specifically wrote the new rules to close a loophole that they didn't like. You can't convince me that the usual "stuffed" bubble mailer is incompatible with their sorting machines, but their definitions say it isn't unless it weighs 6 ounces or more and "becomes rigid after the contents are enclosed and the container is secured." You can petition them to change their minds if you send them 100 samples to be tested, at least 6 weeks before you want to send anything.

I hope we see a clarification or a Postal Bulletin. For the most part I expect them to let things go through if they went through previously, but you might be at their mercy.