| Author |
 Replies: 10 / Views: 397 |
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
6896 Posts |
Today I had a head scratcher for USPS shipping. A 9oz package containing $77 worth of War Nickels cost $6.45 to send. A 1oz package containing a single silver half dollar for $25 cost $7.45 to send. Nothing I did with any parameters reduced the price of the single coin. Is there some way to work the ebay software better to get a smarter price? What exactly triggered the higher price in the first place? Or maybe ebay subsidized the bigger package more for some reason? |
|
|
|
Moderator
 United States
195559 Posts |
That is odd. Are they charging by distance, like UPS or FedEx?   |
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
6896 Posts |
I think you're right, Jbuck. The half dollar is going 1000+ miles, and the heavier package is going a few hundred at most. I didn't realize that the USPS Ground Advantage zones were baked into ebay's shipping label pricing. I think maybe for coins around $20, it's a better plan to just set the price at $20 firm so I can use the ebay Envelope shipping option, which is $0.78 for a 1 oz package. Lesson learned. |
|
Moderator
United States
195559 Posts |
Quote:
Lesson learned.  |
|
Bedrock of the Community
United States
19571 Posts |
Yes, ground advantage costs vary by destination location.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
6896 Posts |
Actually, I looked at the addresses again this morning. The heavier, cheaper package is traveling further than the smaller, more expensive package. So back to square one on the mystery of higher cost.
|
|
Moderator
United States
195559 Posts |
You know how they are tracking you in stores and adjusting prices based on who you are and what not? Yeah, something like that being played against the buyer.  |
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
7376 Posts |
Yea, just logged on here to talk about this. I ship small packages on ebay. Haven't shipped in a couple of months. Was shocked to see a 5oz item in a small bubble mailer cost $8.40 to ship from GA to NV. It's a long way, but 2 mos ago it was $5.50. Yikes! FEDEX was cheaper, but not worth the inconvenience to save a dollar. |
|
Moderator
United States
16696 Posts |
If I sell a coin under $25, I ship it in an 82 cent stamped envelope.
Never had a problem yet. Over that amount, Ground Advantage.
swcoin.ecrater.com
|
|
Pillar of the Community
United States
6896 Posts |
Why $25? For single coins under $20, you can ship ESUS with limited tracking and insurance. I have found that service to be pretty good, as it is essentially the same as USPS standard letter with some extra features.
|
|
Pillar of the Community
 United States
5718 Posts |
I was also surprised to see USPS ground advantage shipping of over $8 for a 2 ounce package recently. Apparently the reason is a new policy effective July 2026 that eliminates the lower weight tiers when shipping to rural locations. So any package weighing up to one pound will cost the same as a 15 ounce package when shipping to a rural address. Fortunately most buyers don't have rural addresses, but if you provide free shipping, it's not possible to predict when a seller will get dinged by the new policy.
|
| |
Replies: 10 / Views: 397 |
|
Posted 09/03/2026 3:45 pm
