(long but important!)
(similar sentiments are being shared by my friends in business...)
We just received a reminder that as of June 23, 2019 postal rates at the US Post Office will be going UP(AGAIN!) on all domestic parcels. :-(
All parcels measuring over ONE CUBIC FOOT - or 1728 inches when multiplying the height, width and length. will be calculated by DIMENSIONAL WEIGHT to ALL zones. Also the divisor will go down from 194 to 166.
DIM weight used to only be used on AIR shipments for overnight packages as cargo space on planes is limited (although they've got a lot more now that you must now pay extra to check your bags...separate rant...), but is now applied to ALL shipments by all the carriers as a sneaky way to increase profit.
For instance, if you order something that weighs 3 lbs (a pillow, for instance), and it fits in a 15" x 15" x 15" box. You don't pay for 3 lbs of weight. You pay for 15" cubed divided by 166 = 20.33 lbs. This amount is rounded to the HIGHER weight and you pay for a 21 lb parcel.
Also, by changing the divisor from 194 to 166 you add three more pounds to the total.
This mostly affects small businesses, which are unable to ship in substantial volumes to have preferential contracts with the Post Office.
What small business owners know is that USPS has been raising package rates almost constantly - only the price of a first class stamp (which they only raise maybe once a year..) gets in the news., UPS and FedEx raise prices about 15% every year plus are still tacking on fuel surcharges, originally when gas prices were high but now that they are lower, just extra profit. Other charges like delivery surcharges (for outlying areas) or address correction charges have been added and/or increased greatly, just as profit generators.
I used to be able to ship my little PA systems almost anywhere in the CONUS for about $8.-$11. Now, same size box costs $26-$38 with my UPS account "discount". USPS rates are over $44.
The biggest issue small business owners face is that customers are so used to Amazon's free shipping. What they don't understand is that in order for carriers to give Amazon such incredibly low rates, they have to make it up by raising rates for us little guys, which has to get passed on to the customers, either by charging for shipping in addition to your merchandise, or raising the price of the mdse to include the cost of shipping. So, ya see, nothing is "free"...someone else is paying for it (not Amazon, USPS, UPS or FedEx..), either a struggling small business owner, their customers, or YOU, next time you have to ship something.....Now Amazon has switched to their own local delivery trucks, causing the big carriers to lose that part of their income and again make up their loss by charging the small businesses more....
(similar sentiments are being shared by my friends in business...)
We just received a reminder that as of June 23, 2019 postal rates at the US Post Office will be going UP(AGAIN!) on all domestic parcels. :-(
All parcels measuring over ONE CUBIC FOOT - or 1728 inches when multiplying the height, width and length. will be calculated by DIMENSIONAL WEIGHT to ALL zones. Also the divisor will go down from 194 to 166.
DIM weight used to only be used on AIR shipments for overnight packages as cargo space on planes is limited (although they've got a lot more now that you must now pay extra to check your bags...separate rant...), but is now applied to ALL shipments by all the carriers as a sneaky way to increase profit.
For instance, if you order something that weighs 3 lbs (a pillow, for instance), and it fits in a 15" x 15" x 15" box. You don't pay for 3 lbs of weight. You pay for 15" cubed divided by 166 = 20.33 lbs. This amount is rounded to the HIGHER weight and you pay for a 21 lb parcel.
Also, by changing the divisor from 194 to 166 you add three more pounds to the total.
This mostly affects small businesses, which are unable to ship in substantial volumes to have preferential contracts with the Post Office.
What small business owners know is that USPS has been raising package rates almost constantly - only the price of a first class stamp (which they only raise maybe once a year..) gets in the news., UPS and FedEx raise prices about 15% every year plus are still tacking on fuel surcharges, originally when gas prices were high but now that they are lower, just extra profit. Other charges like delivery surcharges (for outlying areas) or address correction charges have been added and/or increased greatly, just as profit generators.
I used to be able to ship my little PA systems almost anywhere in the CONUS for about $8.-$11. Now, same size box costs $26-$38 with my UPS account "discount". USPS rates are over $44.
The biggest issue small business owners face is that customers are so used to Amazon's free shipping. What they don't understand is that in order for carriers to give Amazon such incredibly low rates, they have to make it up by raising rates for us little guys, which has to get passed on to the customers, either by charging for shipping in addition to your merchandise, or raising the price of the mdse to include the cost of shipping. So, ya see, nothing is "free"...someone else is paying for it (not Amazon, USPS, UPS or FedEx..), either a struggling small business owner, their customers, or YOU, next time you have to ship something.....Now Amazon has switched to their own local delivery trucks, causing the big carriers to lose that part of their income and again make up their loss by charging the small businesses more....
RSS Feed