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USPS Rate Hikes.....
RandyT:
Most people know about this already, but I suspect few have looked into it enough to understand the ramifications of the changes for our community, who tend to get a lot of their goodies through the mail system.
I just went through the whole mess so I could understand it better, and see what I could do in the way of adding more of the new services to the store's shipping options. It wasn't fun, but i think I have a handle on it and did what I could. Because it is so complicated (compared to previously), I thought I would share what I have learned over the last couple of days. You can also see what I wrote on the subject at the GGG store home page and more detail at the Shipping and Returns Info Page.
For the most part, domestic customers don't have too much to worry about with the normal sized items. The rates went up on Domestic Priority Mail by about 15 to 20 %. It's a little bit of a sting, but not that big of a deal. There is also the addition of the evil "dimensional weight" that complicates, and raises the cost of, shipping large items like monitor bezels. So those who were using that loophole in the system for those types of items, be aware that it is now quite "plugged."
International customers are going to be hit the hardest. The Global Priority method is gone and there is nothing that comes close in both delivery time and cost. You can have similar cost, but at much longer delivery times, or the same delivery times with the new Priority Mail International option, but at a much higher cost. Canada and Mexico are less expensive to ship to using PMI than destinations across the globe, so folks from those locations won't be hit quite as hard. However, PMI shipping to EU and other destinations costs almost %100 more (or double) what it used to with the now defunct Global Priority mail.
One benefit of the new services, and possibly one of the biggest reasons for the hike, is the long talked about inclusion of tracking and minimal indemnity services for Priority and PMI options. Now that they offer the same service as the independents, they appear to be pricing themselves closer to them.
In any event, those are the highlights. The worst part is that the USPS is still cheaper than most other options for the same level of service, so there really still isn't much that can be done other than to just bite your lip and deal with it.
I hope this helps those who are interested better understand how the changes will affect them. :-\
RandyT
Kaytrim:
Thank you Randy for that explanation of the rate increase and changes. As I sell on eBay internationally this helps me to understand and be prepared for the influx of issues that will hit my international sales. Especially when it will now cost more to ship some of my things than what the customer is paying for the item itself. I used GP almost exclusively for all my international shipments. Now I am going to have to make some serious decisions and changes to my auctions and store items.
TTFN :cheers:
Kaytrim
shardian:
global priority was awesome. I shipped stuff to germany in a flat rate box for like $5 some time ago. Oh well. Right now, I am more pissed that I have a whole book of 39 cent stamps and a half book of 37 cent stamps. I HATE those 1 cent make-up stamps. ;D
SavannahLion:
Just a small note on the flip side of the coin, not trying to steal any thunder.
There's internal dissent within the USPS about some of the changes. I try to avoid tracking the political sewage the USPS operates in, but from what I can gather, not everyone is thrilled. There's also hints that there is/will be additional machinary to automate handling of the "evil" bulky packages. I figure the FRAGILE sticker will get a lot of usage.
Some (all?) offices are pushing harder to tack on extra fees to packages, whether you need them or not. Many of the older employees don't give a rats ass about extra fees, but some are not telling customers all of the shipping options for their packages. Know your oprions before you go in.
No, I don't work for the USPS. Too much work. :P
BobA:
It will definately add extra cost to shipments to Canada. Still cheaper then UPS and their added customs clearance fees.
BobA