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Re: USPS rural Area
 

Fed Exp has its own planes while USPS relies on commercial planes ,there is a limit on how much airlines will allow .
Do you know those weekend deals going to Cancun,Carribean ,those planes are from Fed Exp,as they do not need them on weekend.

Re: USPS rural Area
 

Lol, the difference is that Fedex is using planes at all. USPS is transporting all Ground Advantage.. on the ground.

Re: USPS rural Area
 

Hmm not sure if they use these cargo transport plans for weekend "vacation deals" - doesn't seem intuitive - what's your source?

Re: USPS rural Area
 

I went to Cancun once on one of those planes,they refitted the inside for passengers.
A package deal -flight,hotel and meals.

Re: USPS rural Area
 

But once they refit the plane, that refit stays...no? Or was it clear that the seats were removable to change back to cargo plane?

Re: USPS rural Area
 

Do they give everyone a tie down strap to use as a seatbelt?


https://external-preview.redd.it/the...=webp&4733224b

Re: USPS rural Area
 

when they return the planes ,they are converted back to cargo planes.
There was a time may be 20 years ago,some outfit which delivered documents to London will solicit individuals to carry these documents on a plane,drop them off at the office and get free meals and one day at the local hotel.

Re: USPS rural Area
 

Finding it hard to believe an airline would be able to convert a cargo plane to a passenger plane for 2 days of passenger service. Not saying you're wrong.. maybe I'm not picking up what you're putting down. Do you have a source?

Re: USPS rural Area
 

Exactly phaz - it's very odd for 2 days worth of service - source was requested but agent gave a personal experience...

Re: USPS rural Area
 

Those are Fed Exp cargo planes.they did it,and it is just a few hours,from New Orleans to Cancun Mexico or some Carribean islands.
If you work with airplane interiors,you know how to do it.
I flew on one of them,the price is right,plane,hotel and meals for the weekend

Re: USPS rural Area
 

Oh I see what they did, they took the change from 0-4 ounces etc and applied a general fee so if its 1 ounce or 15 ounces its the same price. What a scam! I hate USPS so much. I need to figure out a solution to this because I was thinking about this more recently, if any other aspect of my business saw a 10-20% fee increase every year I would be very worried, yet have not been with USPS. Why? No idea.

Rates have gone up now about 240% for some cases. Something that would cost $2.50 now is $8.50 with this new policy. Yet none of their customer service has improved to justify these multi year increases. Once they increase it again at the holiday season some of these rural areas will indeed cost more than $10+ even if you're shipping 1 ounce!

Re: USPS rural Area
 

How were you shipping anything for $2.50? Flats with no tracking?


I'm telling ya, and you can take it or leave it.. Fedex Ground Economy is the solution. It's built into eBay shipping and is a dollar cheaper for these rural shipments. The only difference is you have to find a Fedex dropbox instead of a post office.

Re: USPS rural Area
 

My father a postmaster for USPS. $2.50 even he doesn't get that lol we get no discounts at all over here. That was back in early 2000s. yes just think in ten more years $10.00 will be the new norm.

Re: USPS rural Area
 

I can already tell you the mistake I would make...Putting FedEx packages in USPS Dropbox.

Re: USPS rural Area
 

I almost did the same thing.. luckily I saw the notice from eBay. I think with UPS Surepost/Ground Saver you can drop them off at UPS or at a post office. Fortunately Fedex has a dropbox a quarter mile away from the post office in my town.


https://i.ibb.co/Jjcrth8f/fasdr.png

Re: USPS rural Area
 

Pretty wild that that mistake can happen - I admit that I don't too much about setup in the USA

Re: USPS rural Area
 

I learned today that I can drop those Fedex shipments off at Walgreens on Saturdays. They don't get picked up and start moving until the following Monday but the Walgreens employees have a scanner that validates the shipping labels and shows "dropped off at a non Fedex location" on the tracking.


Almost had to stop offering same day handling for Saturdays until I found this little workaround. Since shipments sit in the Fedex dropboxes in my area all weekend. :/

Re: USPS rural Area
 

Office Depot,Office Staples also offer similar service,

Re: USPS rural Area
 

dont derail :focus: hah

Re: USPS rural Area
 

Back in 2015 when I started taking this game seriously first class mail for low weight packages was around $2.50s lowest range to about $4. I would actually make profit on my shipping because back then I charged a flat fee. Now, I offer it free to simplify book keeping.

Funny enough I found this out as well for Fedex. I went to a Duanes Reade, they just scan at checkout. Fedex isn't that reliable for a main shipping service to use IMO. UPS is the best but not good for all areas in USA.

Re: USPS rural Area
 

Careful sharing what you know :FF:

Re: USPS rural Area
 

If eBay truly cared about its new seller protection, it would integrate a rural fee directly into the buyer instead of making the seller eat it. This would balance the market and make it fair. The whole market shouldn't risk being punished over a few sellers and USPS jacking fees. When I say fee, I mean the average cost was 5 dollars anywhere in the zones for under 16oz, with the tacked-on 3-4 dollars being eaten by the buyer because of their location and demand.

Also, I'm sure the board of directors loves the UPS ex-CEO since he is closing the deficit that they created at the cost of small businesses that have fed them for years.

Re: USPS rural Area
 

$2.50 FIRST CLASS has no tracking,what were you selling then?
Have anyone try DHL,I think at one time,they are trying to compete vs Fed Exp and UPS

Re: USPS rural Area
 

It's probably coming. They just lost all of Puerto Rico thanks to that extra $2 on postage and that's a huge market for eBay. All they would have to do is add some kind of built in charge for addresses that USPS says are rural.

Re: USPS rural Area
 

FedEx is the closest competitor in the ounces-to-1-pound market that I've noticed. DHL is WAY out of the price range and really only viable for long-range shipments.

Re: USPS rural Area
 

It’s on their website in archives 2015 for 4 ounces it was $2.54 this same weight is roughly $5-$6. 100%+ increase in 10 years.

Re: USPS rural Area
 

Inflation is a lot worse than they say it is.

Re: USPS rural Area
 

Do you know you can bargain with a DHL dealer,like if it costs $100 to ship,he will give you a discount just to win your business in the future.
Most people do not realise,USPS overseas express is taken over by Fed Exp,and it is cheaper than going to Fed Exp.
You must go to a USPS designated post office,and Fed Exp will come and pick up the package at the end of the day

Re: USPS rural Area
 

Tell it to Bessent,he said he is so fed up with people complaining about inflation and that only the rich 10% or 20% can afford to splurge,everyone is doing fine and enjoying all the perks !

Re: USPS rural Area
 

Did you see Puerto Ricans lining up for water?

Re: USPS rural Area
 

I did not. But I have had no less than a dozen Puerto Rican buyers message me in the last few weeks asking me why PR is now an excluded location on my listings.


They were at least 10% of my orders but I can't justify selling at a loss to keep their business. I'm hoping eBay finds some way to work around this new postage update.

Re: USPS rural Area
 

:focus: you're getting all over the place on this thread hah

Re: USPS rural Area
 

I dont think Ebay will bother,But INEXPRESS ,may be you can look into it.
With some ethnic community eg Vietnamese,they have ways to forward your $$ to your family in Vietnam without going to a bank,there is also a way to ship goods to Japan by going thru a company which combine shipping.
Maybe there is one similar for PR.
Or may be ask your PR buyer if they have relatives or friends on mainland who can accept their packages and reroute to them,say someone is going to PR,or consolidate multiple shipments into one.

Re: USPS rural Area
 

Forwarding services are already super common but I don't think it could ever be worth it with PR having a US zip code. It's not the same as having an order forwarded to Peru.

Re: USPS rural Area
 

I use Fedex now for 1-2 pound items that get shipped across the country. Actually do this with UPS also. DHL is only useful to me for international packages and now I do sea frieght so even that isn't needed.

I save about $4 on average vs USPS ground advantage. Adds up over time.