Many of you have likely heard of the USPS rate increase. On May 14th, rates will increase significantly, leaving eBay sellers with some things to ponder.
How does this impact your business? If you are a large-volume seller like me, a shipping rate increase is a big deal. Sellers like myself move thousands of units each month, and each of these units will be impacted by a shipping rate increase.
Some eBay sellers believe they will be able to combat this issue by simply raising their shipping rates. However, in competitive categories, I don’t personally believe this is going to fly.
eBay buyers are generally looking at the total price of buying an item (sales price + shipping). An increase in the shipping rate will put you at a disadvantage against the competition (unless of course everyone else raises their rates as well).
So what do you do? My recommendation is to simply make sure you are always aware of all our costs, including shipping rates and fees, and track your profit margins to ensure that you are still making money when its all said and done!
Corey Kossack is one of eBay’s “top sellers” through his eBay store, Koss DVD. He is also author of eBay Millionaire or Bust and creator of ProfitBuilder software that maximizes profits for eBay sellers.
