RSSeBay, USPS Partner for Auction Mailings
By Ed Oswald | Published June 20, 2005, 1:28 PM
eBay and the United States Postal Service are set to announce a special flat rate box for items sold through eBay regardless of weight or destination at the company's eBay Live conference this Thursday. The boxes, which will be sold for $7.70, will be treated as regular Priority Mail packages although they will carry the logos of both eBay and the USPS.
Several different shapes and sizes of the boxes will be offered to eBay auction shippers. Flat-rate boxes were already being used by the Postal Service, but Monday's announcement marks the first time the USPS has teamed up with a third-party to provide a special service for that company's customers.
The bumped-up shipping cost often charged by sellers is often a way to avoid some of eBay's advert placement charges. It's also good business: If I sell an item for 99c plus $5 shipping, it's obvious the full price for the item is $5.99. There is no rip-off in that. However, if I advertise my item with a starting price of $5 when everyone else is advertising the same item for 99c, my item looks expensive from the start, and remains that way until all the other items reach that price. That means I attract only last-minute bidders and therefore am likely get a lousy final price for my item. It's not a rip-off, it's just business.
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Is this any bigger than the post office's existing flat rate 7.70 box? Because if not this is kind of a lot of fuss over nothing.
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Not to mention more easily spotted by customs officials. :-( Guess I'll really have to think twice now before making a purchase from US sellers.
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Hopefully they will also setup similar schemes for regional ebay sites, as we are all sick of overinflated shipping fees...
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Finally! The end of inflated sellers shipping fee (I hope).
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This is really a great idea to stop from shipping charge scams on ebay.
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Im not so sure SCAM is the right word. I mean, if I sell an item and decide it costs 20 bucks for me to pack it and bring it to the post office, then thats what I think. If you disagree, then you shop elsewhere.
I happen to charge VERY reasonable shipping rates. BUT, I learned my lesson with items I buy. I ALWAYS check the shipping cost first. Some people just work that in to the price so you think you are getting a good deal on the item (pre-shipping)...
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I think most people are talking about sellers who ship a game with cd, box and everything for $15 with USPS. That's a bit over the top for a realistic shipping charge.
Hopefully this will also stop another thing that I find annoying and illegal according to ebay and that's to charge the listing fees and other fees associated with ebay in the shipping.
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$15 is a bit over, but mobile phone delivery prices are way over their normal delivery rate. They ship EMS from Hong Kong for $45 AUD + $20 AUD insurance, when it only costs $20 AUD with insurance.
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This is hilarious. An eBay branded shipping box. Does anyone else see how this will be an open invitation to thieves? We all know how the delivery folks just love to dump and run... prepare for rates to rise again as they pass the cost of their stupidity and insurance claims onto the customers.
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Wouldn't the thief steal the box whether it said eBay on it or not?
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I haven't had any problems with my Amazon branded boxes.
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I'm sure given the chance a thief will steal anything they see. Doesn't matter if the box is coming from amazon, buy.com, ebay, your grandma and etc.
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