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Annual Postage Rate Increase - 2019 edition
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cosmicray



Posts: 7286

PostPosted: Thu Oct 11, 2018 6:52 am    Post subject: Annual Postage Rate Increase - 2019 edition Reply with quote

http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2018/pr18_086.htm

"Going up ?"

for me, the key paragraph is this …
Quote:
First-Class Package Service, a lightweight expedited offering used primarily by businesses for fulfillment purposes, will move to zone-based pricing to better align with the cost of service and improve value based on distance.


Yep, the last package vestige of flat rate is about to die. (and possibly the shipping matrix along with it)

https://pe.usps.com/resources/PriceChange/January%202019%20-%20Notice123.pdf
see pg 18
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A-Better-Way



Posts: 3363

PostPosted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 11:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

My last first class package was 13 ounces and cost $4.10 from Mich to Connecticut, seems higher than it should be and for that distance.
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MoonwishesStore
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Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Fri Oct 12, 2018 6:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

When I saw the first chart, I about threw up. Then I realized I was looking at the retail one and I needed to see the commercial one which isn't nearly as bad for FCM-parcels. Then to figure out the zones, which is not an easy chart to find. For the first 4oz which most of my one item orders fit into is a $.43 increase. Bad but not as bad as the first chart I looked at. Up through the 4 ounces, all zones are the same price. I think I will need to do a postage increase for the matrix, but I hope someone puts their brains back in their heads before all this gets approved. They complain about the decrease in FCM going out, but let me tell you before I started selling online and most bills being able to be paid online, I sent maybe 40 FCM envelopes out a year, if that much. Now I still send out about 20 stamped items, plus a thousand plus or minus FCM packages each year. In the good days of selling it was way more than that. Because of the online selling and buying going on, the PO should be rolling in money! I'm sure I spend more on postage because of my business than my whole neighborhood spends on postage. Where is the deficit??? I know it has something to do with the retirement fund, but my retirement fund is whatever I can set aside each month from selling here. I sure have no big pension to look forward to like the postal clerks that leave my mail out in the rain (the substitute drivers, not my usual lady who is wonderful!).
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A-Better-Way



Posts: 3363

PostPosted: Sat Oct 13, 2018 12:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's the retirement fund, and congress won't change that it has to be 70 years ahead collecting the money.

But the money is being spent for other things. I think.
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MoonwishesStore
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 13, 2018 12:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A-Better-Way wrote:
My last first class package was 13 ounces and cost $4.10 from Mich to Connecticut, seems higher than it should be and for that distance.


I just checked and $4.10 is the price for 13-ounce commercial USPS postage. If you had bought your postage at the PO it would have been more! The highest FCM goes via e/postage is 15.9 ounces and costs $4.94 and then at 16-ounce, it becomes Priority mail and currently is $6.35 for one pound Priority mail commercially. Retail prices at the PO are always more. Most of my FCM stuff is below $3.00 unless I have multiple items and my matrix take that into account.

The PO retirement 'savings' is odd and won't it be a big surprise when the time comes for some of the employees retire and then find out there is nothing in the kitty!
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cosmicray



Posts: 7286

PostPosted: Sat Oct 13, 2018 11:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

MoonwishesStore wrote:
Bad but not as bad as the first chart I looked at. Up through the 4 ounces, all zones are the same price.

So I went back and looked again. The chart in question is, as far as I can tell, the lower one on page 17. I do not see the flat rate (across zones) you speak of. I do see the same price for 1-oz to 4-oz within a specific zone, but not horizontally across all zones.

For shippers located near the geographic center of the US, they should feel less of an impact (because fewer zone 8 destinations). Those of us in one of the corners will take a larger hit. Note that really big shippers, those who do drop entry closer to the destination, they will feel almost no impact. USPS is not increasing here for the actual delivery, but for the cartage, and more as the distance increases.
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MoonwishesStore
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 8:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
First-Class Package Service
Commercial—Parcels
Weight Not Over
(oz.)
Zone
1 & 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 $2.66 $2.68 $2.70 $2.76 $2.84 $2.96 $3.09 $3.09
2 2.66 2.68 2.70 2.76 2.84 2.96 3.09 3.09
3 2.66 2.68 2.70 2.76 2.84 2.96 3.09 3.09
4 2.66 2.68 2.70 2.76 2.84 2.96 3.09 3.09
5 3.18 3.20 3.22 3.28 3.36 3.49 3.63 3.63
6 3.18 3.20 3.22 3.28 3.36 3.49 3.63 3.63
7 3.18 3.20 3.22 3.28 3.36 3.49 3.63 3.63
8 3.18 3.20 3.22 3.28 3.36 3.49 3.63 3.63
9 3.82 3.85 3.88 3.96 4.06 4.19 4.33 4.33
10 3.82 3.85 3.88 3.96 4.06 4.19 4.33 4.33
11 3.82 3.85 3.88 3.96 4.06 4.19 4.33 4.33
12 3.82 3.85 3.88 3.96 4.06 4.19 4.33 4.33
13 4.94 4.98 5.02 5.12 5.24 5.38 5.53 5.53
14 4.94 4.98 5.02 5.12 5.24 5.38 5.53 5.53
15 4.94 4.98 5.02 5.12 5.24 5.38 5.53 5.53
15.999 4.94 4.98 5.02 5.12 5.24 5.38 5.53 5.53


Sorry Cosmic, don't know where my brain was at when I wrote that sentence - probably on my new beautiful granddaughter! Now I understand that saying I see once in a while "if I had known grandkids were so much fun I would have had them first!" Not that I have gotten to see her in real life yet, but I fell in love with that little girl over the last 2 days and my brain turned to mush! But the above is the chart that I believe I would be having my pastage figured from.

Anyhow, one of the advantages of keeping track of what states I sell to, my farther distance, like you I believe, will be Alaska, HI, PR? So far this year I have shipped 14 total FCM parcels to those areas. They eventually each go up but not too bad for zones nearer us, and most of my shipments are 3-4 ounces. So not too bad for close zones. The real problem is with the matrix which except for a few fixed rate items is all I use for postage, I'm either going to have to increase my postage enough to completely handle a 4-ounce packet to all zones, or do a minimal rate increase and eat shipping at times. What to do, what to do?

Does anyone know when this might become the real thing and not just proposed? Does anyone know who we should write to in Washington, DC to complain? On average just through Endicia alone I am buying $2500 worth of postage a year and throw in the shipping I purchase through Amazon and I am buying a lot every year, and I am a small seller with fairly steady sales! Some sellers that are much bigger are paying way more on a monthly basis. It seems like since online buying exploded into the US economy, everyone and their brother have had their hands out wanting to benefit from it all including the PO. Instead of being grateful that many online sellers are adding to each businesses kitty, they just keep increasing rates. All the big venues keep raising rates, and we sellers if we try to raise our rates to keep up with it, lose sales so everyone but us is making money due to our efforts.

The current and former CEOs of eBay made/make millions/year to totally destroy a company. The sellers that stay face so many problems trying to sell that they are barely making any profit. I went to a book sale on Wed. and have checked some of the books that I picked up to see what they are going for. Incidentally, books that when I first started selling online would have sold in the $20-30 range! One of the books, multiple sellers had it priced with free shipping and a sale price of not even $5. They would owe Amazon money if their book sold which convinces me that many sellers don't even check before listing to see if they will even break even. On the Amazon forum there are still the occasional sellers who come on and are shocked at what happened when they sold a book or other item, but books especially, a year after Amazon raised their rates for books! I don't have much sympathy for those that aren't paying attention to their business, but it does hurt to do all this work and to realize that while we are paying through the nose for shipment, China gets subsidized rates! What happened to taking care of the US citizens first? Back in 2004, I was just starting to sell patterns. On my bookwork I found postage that was usually $1.19. Now my cheapest postage is $2.66. Over 100% increase! When will enough be enough?
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MoonwishesStore
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 8:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Could we please have this topic moved to 'eCRATER sellers only' thread so it isn't public?
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cosmicray



Posts: 7286

PostPosted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 10:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

If approved, this will happen in January 2019.

In theory, USPS Shipping method would cover this, but using that overrides shipping matrix and fixed. What to do, what to do.
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MrsDsHandKnits



Posts: 334

PostPosted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 3:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Canada Post rates increase yearly and we already have some of the highest postage costs out there..no media mail rates or economy rates so when we have books or similar printed matter to ship it can become exceedingly more expensive, yet we Canadians have always been forced to compete with USPS postal rates.We definitely cannot even consider trying to compete with China post, so when USPS rates increase, we Canadians can sympathise with USA sellers, but at same time hope that somewhere those postal differences will inch just a wee bit closer...
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MoonwishesStore
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 14, 2018 3:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

MrsDsHandKnits wrote:
Canada Post rates increase yearly and we already have some of the highest postage costs out there..


When I was at college in Regina we had a 2-month postal strike. Bad for the Canadians that were depending on checks from the Bank of Mom and Dad. We from the US fared somewhat better as we had a professor that stayed during the week on campus and then went home to MT on the weekend. He would take our mail across the border (with our money for stamps) and our folks sent our mail to him. So for two months Monday was mail day. Sort of like being in the army. But bless him for doing that. One of the best professors I have ever had in my life and he also gave me one of the most precious compliments I have ever had in my life as well.
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SheilaDeesPostcards
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Posts: 4614

PostPosted: Mon Oct 22, 2018 11:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

What a headache! I sure hope this doesn't pass, but I'm not holding my breath. At least they didn't change pennies for every ounce across all the zones. Rolling Eyes

I sure hate to even think about the re-design with my shipping that's going to be necessary to cover this first class change.

To quote Roseanne Rosannadanna, "It's always something!"
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cosmicray



Posts: 7286

PostPosted: Mon Oct 29, 2018 5:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

SheilaDee,

An approach I've used previously is to take the rate matrix and lay it down into a spreadsheet. Columns would be zones, and rows would be weights. Then I try to get the best statistical information I can about where my customers actually are, based on zones. This statistical information will vary from seller to seller. Finally allocate percentages to each column, based on that same information, such that it adds up to 100%. That allows you to take the explicit rates, apply a percentage weight, then add then up going left to right. As the end of the row, you end up with a weighted postage rate for that particular weight. It's guaranteed to make someone unhappy, but it was the only way I could thing of to collapse the zoned rates back to a single rate per weight.
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pickychicky



Posts: 1552

PostPosted: Tue Oct 30, 2018 3:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I just posted a comparison table for members of my own forum site. The columns for the separate zones show how much more each package will cost compared to what we pay now. As you can see, some rates will be significantly higher. I, for one, sure hope they don't get approved. The higher the cost gets, the less appealing it is to customers, especially when comparing shipping to lower-priced items. At least I can currently include the shipping in the price without having to worry about varying rates between zones. This will create a serious problem for many (books, CDs, movies, and the like) and I hate using Media Mail.

Weight - Current Rate - 1 & 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 & 9
1-4 - $2.66 - N/A - $0.02 - $0.04 - $0.10 - $0.18 - $0.30 - $0.43
5 - $2.79 - $0.39 - $0.41 - $0.43 - $0.49 - $0.57 - $0.70 - $0.84
6 - $2.92 - $0.26 - $0.28 - $0.30 - $0.36 - $0.44 - $0.57 - $0.71
7 - $3.05 - $0.13 - $0.15 - $0.17 - $0.23 - $0.31 - $0.44 - $0.58
8 - $3.18 - N/A - $0.02 - $0.04 - $0.10 - $0.18 - $0.31 - $0.45
9 - $3.34 - $0.48 - $0.51 - $0.54 - $0.62 - $0.72 - $0.85 - $0.99
10 - $3.50 - $0.32 - $0.35 - $0.38 - $0.46 - $0.56 - $0.69 - $0.83
11 - $3.66 - $0.16 - $0.19 - $0.22 - $0.30 - $0.40 - $0.53 - $0.67
12 - $3.82 - N/A - $0.03 - $0.06 - $0.14 - $0.24 - $0.37 - $0.51
13 - $4.10 - $0.84 - $0.88 - $0.92 - $1.02 - $1.14 - $1.28 - $1.43
14 - $4.38 - $0.56 - $0.60 - $0.64 - $0.74 - $0.86 - $1.00 - $1.15
15 - $4.66 - $0.28 - $0.32 - $0.36 - $0.46 - $0.58 - $0.72 - $0.87
15.999 - $4.94 - N/A - $0.04 - $0.08 - $0.18 - $0.30 - $0.44 - $0.59

The table doesn't copy well here and I don't know how to create one in these forums, so here's a link just to that post, which I hope is okay to do. It's just a forum site and we don't allow any spamming: http://esellerscafe.boards.net/post/12557
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trafficjammers



Posts: 275

PostPosted: Thu Nov 08, 2018 3:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

thank you for the table purpleiris Wink
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