My god.... I just paid $45 to mail a purse Priority with USPS

coachfreak

Looking for LVOE
Oct 27, 2007
6,677
5
Hi all-

I just wanted to note here that shipping charges are outrageous, even with USPS.

We have had a quite a few people comment on shipping charges listed on eBay and how people are mailing their bags (stuffing them into smaller boxes) so I thought I would post my experience here.

I sold two of the same bag (large bag 18 inches in height) in the last 10 days.

The first I agreed to Express Mail my buyer on my dime [long story, but I was just glad she still wanted the bag after some drama]. I did fold the bag in half [bag was safe and it would not cause any creasing (etc..)] this cost me $43 to Express Mail overnight with $850 insurance.

The day I mailed that bag there was discussion on here about the "appearance" of packages and it got me to thinking maybe I should have laid the bag out, even though I knew I wouldn't have minded receiving this particular bag folded. So, I decided when I mailed the other one I would put it in a box large enough to lay out.

The second bag I just mailed today and put it in a much larger box (21x17x8) (bag laid flat-out] and I printed a non-paid label at home to then go into the Post Office and pay for the label ($18.60 for the postage including sig confirm) and I thought another $10 for the insurance. So I expected to pay $29 to ship. When the worker measured the box it was over the "standard" measurement so they charged me the premium surcharge for "large" boxes. The postage when from $18.60 to $33.58. So I just paid more than $45 to mail a bag I thought would cost me half of that. Virtually the same amount I paid to mail the same bag Express.

So, in short don't think sellers on eBay are being unreasonable for shipping charges. THey are currently OUTRAGEOUS!!!!! :cursing:
 
If it makes you feel any better I paid almost $18 to ship a small envelope (3"x5") >1lb with UPS and only charged a buyer $8 shipping.

UPS tacks on a fuel surcharge fee on top of their ridiculous rates. I also got charged a "this address is out in the boonies" fee.
 
If it makes you feel any better I paid almost $18 to ship a small envelope (3"x5") >1lb with UPS and only charged a buyer $8 shipping.

UPS tacks on a fuel surcharge fee on top of their ridiculous rates. I also got charged a "this address is out in the boonies" fee.

Just an FYI- when my husband has had to overnight business contracts he uses FedEx (it was $27 for their envelope) vs UPS who wanted $45. I told him USPS Express was only $17 for their flat rate envelope, but the P.O. was closed already.

I would ONLY use UPS for a parcel.
 
Yes, the shipping rates are outrageous with all carries.
I am currently using the calculated postage - on my auctions. However it is still costing me more to send out items.
UPS - charges extra for a FUEL surcharge fee!!!
I still think USPS is the most reasonable - and have been using the Express Mail with the majority of my auctions(as it seems to be more reasonable then Priority Mail).
 
I am only using Fedex now. It so much cheaper than USPS and in my experience has arrived to it's destination in one piece unlike UPS. USPS is just too exspensive and buyers complain and your rating gets dinged.
 
well with correos here in spain is the same I used the callculator and I ended up loosing money becaue the shipping was higher than expected.... so it´s a worldwide crisis not just in the us..... the price of Gas is increasing prices everywhere....
 
i strongly recommend first class with insurance from a third party. i have learnt from sellers that auctiva allows insurance to be bought on first class packages, and endicia.com is another option.

i am currently experiencing my second case of a lost package by priority mail. :tdown:
 
i strongly recommend first class with insurance from a third party. i have learnt from sellers that auctiva allows insurance to be bought on first class packages, and endicia.com is another option.

i am currently experiencing my second case of a lost package by priority mail. :tdown:

Good point, but in this case both purses were mailed within the U.S.
 
would first class still be cheaper?

Probably, but I always offer priority in my auctions and priority is sorted differently here. I actually don't think it is that much of a difference, but I am about to go see how much that purse would have cost :yes:

Okay, we don't have first class for more than 13 ounces.

I would have had to send parcel post... that "can" take up to 3 weeks even if it says 7 days here



Domestic Services


Products Speed Post Office Price Online Price
Express Mail®
$35.74
Priority Mail®
2 days 32.38
Parcel Post®
Additional Postage May Apply 7 days
10.58

Now that I did this I didn't realize that Express and Priority were virtually the same amount of money!
 
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strangely, all my first class packages have always been faster to reach me than the priority ones, which i pay 3 times the postage for. and none have ever been lost, while priority has lost 2. sigh! i'm still hoping the second one will turn up magically. it's been more than 3 weeks. SIGH.
 
strangely, all my first class packages have always been faster to reach me than the priority ones, which i pay 3 times the postage for. and none have ever been lost, while priority has lost 2. sigh! i'm still hoping the second one will turn up magically. it's been more than 3 weeks. SIGH.

Yea, that is definitely not true within the U.S. If the package wasn't going far I would use Parcel, but it was going across the country.