eBay Sneaks In USPS Shipping Increase Effective January 8, 2024
UPDATE 1-10-24
eBay has finally acknowledged this issue and assured sellers they will be credited if they were negatively impacted.
The Shipping team reached out and wanted to share the following:
"The Shipping team is aware of the USPS rate fluctuations. A resolution is in place and rest assured, sellers who were negatively impacted will be credited."
Rates for Priority and Ground Advantage are now back to what they were previously, though eBay has still made no comment on whether they intend to incorporate these rate adjustments into the shipping update slated for January 21.
UPDATE 1-9-24
eBay is once again showing different rates depending on which "ship on" date is chosen.
Selecting Wednesday, January 10th, shows the changed rates with increased Priority and decreased Ground Advantage.
However, selecting Friday, January 12, reverts back to the old rates.
We now also have multiple reports from sellers that their buyers were charged lower rates for shipping than are being presented when they go to purchase the labels.
I just had eBay try to charge me $8.75 but charged the buyer $8.12 for Ground Advantage.
I actually wrote it down because my buyer asked for an upgrade to Priority due to a bitter cold snap forecast for them early next week and I was going to invoice for the difference if it was big enough.
Why would eBay charge me more than they charged the buyer?
I experienced a shipping issue as well. The customer was undercharged for shipping (they paid $6.02 for GA and should have been charged $6.94). The eBay rep I spoke with was very helpful and is sending the situation to the tech team.
Had another one today where calculated Ground advantage charged the buyer $.01 less than it charged me. It's only a penny but I have NEVER seen the rates off at all. It should be exactly the same.
This week one of my USPS priority flat rate padded envelope labels cost me $8.54. I thought prices were raised but today I purchased another one and it was the usual price of $8.30. Anyone know why this could be?
Did anyone else notice the cost of a flat rate envelope went from 7.60 to 8.05 when you went to ship yesterday, 1/7/24? I checked this morning and it's showing 7.60 again however, I paid 8.05 yesterday.
eBay is still completely silent on the issue with no acknowledgement or explanation of why these rates are fluctuating or what they plan to do to assist sellers who may be being charged incorrect rates depending on when they print labels and what "ship on" date they select.
UPDATE 1-8-24
Now the reversion has been reverted and eBay is back to showing increased rates for most Priority Mail services and decreased rates for some Ground Advantage shipments going to closer zones.
What a mess! And no one at eBay appears to be willing or able to simply give a transparent, direct answer about what is actually happening here.
Yes Graham, that's exactly what I'm stating. Your colleague Cecilia is already aware of the issue as well.
— Liz Morton ~ Value Added Resource (@ValueAddedRS) January 8, 2024
Basically, it looks like eBay tried to make some stealth shipping adjustments this weekend to bring their rates in line with other service providers & marketplaces that…
UPDATE 1-8-24
eBay appears to have reversed course on these changes with Priority rates going back down and Ground Advantage going back up to what they were previously.
eBay has still not made any public statement or addressed if buyers who paid the higher rate for Priority will be automatically refunded or those who paid the lower rate for some Ground Advantage shipments will be charged the difference.
UPDATE 1-7-24
The seller who posted about this issue in the eBay community has confirmed they were actually charged the higher rate amount, ruling out the possibility this could be just a "display error" glitch.
Other sellers also say they are seeing changes lowering the price of Ground Advantage to some closer zones (which may be why yesterday's example did not show a change).
I just noticed when printing shipping labels that USPS Ground Advantage rates for zones 1-4 and 1-6 pounds have decreased. The same rates for priority were decreased several months ago and GA was actually more expensive than PM for many of those rates, but now it seems like rates have been significantly cut for GA. Interesting timing considering USPS raises rates next week.
It seems now that there are now no longer any instances where PM is cheaper than GA. Hoping these stay put even after next week's increase.
That puts these changes even more in line with the changes that Pirate Ship and others made back in November, increasing the likelihood that what we are seeing here is eBay simply making those same adjustments now before the USPS price increase slated for January 21.
There has still been no explanation or acknowledgement from eBay about these unannounced stealth shipping changes.
eBay appears to be sneaking in a stealth USPS rate increase effective January 8th, 2024 with no warning, despite previously saying they "try" to give sellers two weeks' notice of shipping price changes.
A seller in the eBay community noticed a change in prices when attempting to print a USPS Priority Padded Flat Rate Envelope label yesterday, with the cost going from $8.30 to $8.54
I don't remember seeing anything about the USPS shipping rates going up. I went to print a label for a padded flat rate envelope and see it went from $8.30 to $8.54.. Was there any announcement about this?? Did I miss it?? TIA
Others said they were still seeing the old price of $8.30 but testing shows that may depend on what shipping date is selected.
Attempting to purchase labels with a shipping date of 1/6/24 still shows the old rates, with eBay saying you save 20% off the retail price of $10.40.
However, if you switch the ship on date to Monday, January 8th or later, the rate changes to $8.54, with the retail price remaining at $10.40, reducing the discount to only 17%.
It looks like USPS Ground Advantage Rates will generally be staying the same across a few weight and dimension options we tested, but Priority is going up pretty much across the board - for example:
Saturday January 6th Rates
New rates after January 8th
It's possible this could be a technical "glitch", as in the past eBay has had a habit of "inadvertently" pulling the trigger early on shipping updates and there is a USPS rate increase set to take effect on January 21, 2024.
Liz Morton
However, since the retail rate quoted still reflects current rates and other service levels like Ground Advantage are not showing any changes for Monday even though there will be changes to those rates with the Jan 21 USPS update, it would be a very odd glitch indeed for it to only impact Priority Rates.
Either way, sellers should be warned - these rates may change again in just two short weeks!
Liz Morton
Back in November 2023, many online shipping providers and marketplaces made adjustments to their USPS rates as a result of changes in their negotiated service agreements and the USPS Connect Ecommerce program.
Liz Morton
However, eBay confirmed they were not increasing their rates at that time and said when there are rate changes, they "try" to give sellers two weeks' notice.
Hi everyone! The Shipping team wanted to share an updated on the USPS Rate Change:
"eBay is not currently raising rates on 11/18. We continue to work with USPS on competitive rates, and when we do have rate changes we try to give our sellers at least two weeks' notice."
Obviously they aren't trying too hard as there has been zero notice given about this stealth increase either through public announcements, emails, or onsite banners or messaging either in Seller Hub or directly on the shipping label purchase page.
Literally the only way you would know about is if you try to print a label with a ship date of January 8th or later.
It is absolutely unacceptable for eBay to increase rates with no notice, especially over a weekend where sellers may make sales with shipping charged to buyers at the old rates but not print labels until Monday - at which point they may be paying more for that label and losing money on the sale or at least having their profit eaten into by this sneaky increase.
This action is even more egregious at a time when eBay is putting increased pressure on sellers to pass discounted shipping rates on to buyers, eroding margins even further.
Liz Morton
We have not yet seen reports of Media Mail or eBay Standard Envelope changes, but will update as soon as we have additional information on other shipping methods as well.
Let us know in the comments below if you are seeing increased USPS shipping rates on eBay labels!
