I have been selling online and through mail since 1978. I am packaging about 10,000 stamps that I have not yet worked up for sale here and will be shipping them off to a dealer to buy. I'll be getting alot more than I would selling onezies and twozies at a time here. I still have other stamps to list here, but I'm going to take a good look at things, and decide if I still want to sell stamps in this manner.
As you stated, the cheap stuff is too expensive to sell. I may just find a minimum selling price that I want to charge for a stamp. Could be $1.00, $2.50, something like that. Anything that would normally be priced below my threshold will simply go in the trash, or I'll still list the cheap stuff, but at my minimum price threshold. If I do the latter, I would probably go with a $1.00 minimum price per listing.
I know I have been selling stamps since 1970 at shows, in a few stores around the Chicago area and finally online since 1998. I found out early that at shows you have limited space and you need to optimize that space with a minimum selling price. So the cheaper items go into lots and you focus on the more expensive items that way you are getting a better return on your time and time is money so you have to maximize your return on investment or ROI. You also have to enjoy what you are doing and realize what your time is worth. At shows that I used to do I had books and bargain boxes or lots. My books in the '70's started at $0.50 a page anything else went into bargain boxes or lots. The same concept can be used now a days but with inflation the minimum price is now $5.00 and everything else goes into lots starting at around $10.00 and both of those figures are delivered prices since shipping in the US and the "rent' you pay for being online is part of the cost now. How much you have to pay for selling online is a big difference. If you are paying a higher price then it better have the traffic other wise it is not worth it.
I agree. I don't do stamp shows anymore (I did regularly in upstate New York - Clayton, Syracuse), because there aren't any shows around here (Texas) that are affordable for table costs. I do several model railroad shows each year, and sell most weekends at flea markets. The venue has to be affordable, or else one must either quit or find something and/or somewhere else to sell.
Absolutely it has to be affordable. I used to run shows on the weekends in the Chicago area and my tables ran from $25 to $40 a table depending on what the cost for renting the room was. I have been out of it since I sold the business in '94 and I was fortunate to find a buyer. The primary reason I sold it was because the hotels I was running them at were becoming greedy and constantly raising the rent for the rooms and I knew the internet was going to change the whole landscape. I started raising the table prices and the sellers were declining. I don't know how much it is today for a table but I can just imagine.
So today's news is that the United States is threatening to pull out of the UPU because of the cost of delivering Chinese goods. It takes a year according to the treaty. I guess I won't have a 150th anniversary of the UPU stamp from the USA in 2024!
I knew it was coming. My first Neutral due to the cost of shipping and no stamps used on the envelope. Of course I address both issues in my shipping terms. Oh well...
Robert, Just a quick note - that's expressly against our feedback terms and conditions. Buyers are not allowed to leave neutral or negative feedback due to their own "Failure to read a clear item description", which includes your shipping costs, as long as your shipping costs are reasonable (also per our terms and conditions).
I've gone ahead and removed the feedback in question. If you have any issue in the future, just go ahead and Contact Us.
Some sellers need to get their heads out the ground. Paypal changed their user agreement on Nov 13,2018 along with the notification that they are now including on being able to print shipping labels which now gives the USPS the rights to collect postage due from the sellers for both domestic and international shipments. They have this also included in the new user agreement
In connection with your use of our websites, your PayPal account, the PayPal services, or in the course of your interactions with PayPal, other PayPal customers, or third parties, you must not:
Breach this user agreement, the PayPal Acceptable Use Policy, the Commercial Entity Agreements (if they apply to you), or any other agreement between you and PayPal; Violate any law, statute, ordinance, or regulation (for example, those governing financial services, consumer protections, unfair competition, anti-discrimination or false advertising);
.....
This what they can do to the sellers who do not follow the postal regulations
Actions We May Take if You Engage in Any Restricted Activities If we believe that you’ve engaged in any of these activities, we may take a number of actions to protect PayPal, its customers and others at any time in our sole discretion. The actions we make take include, but are not limited to, the following:
Terminate this user agreement, limit your PayPal account, and/or close or suspend your PayPal account, immediately and without penalty to us; Refuse to provide the PayPal services to you in the future; Limit your access to our websites, software, systems (including any networks and servers used to provide any of the PayPal services) operated by us or on our behalf, your PayPal account or any of the PayPal services, including limiting your ability to pay or send money with any of the payment methods linked to your PayPal account, restricting your ability to send money or make withdrawals; Hold your PayPal balance for up to 180 days if reasonably needed to protect against the risk of liability or if you have violated our Acceptable Use Policy; Suspend your eligibility for PayPal’s Purchase Protection program and/or PayPal’s Seller Protection program; Contact buyers who have purchased goods or services from you using PayPal, your bank or credit card issuer, other impacted third parties or law enforcement about your actions; Update inaccurate information you provided us; Take legal action against you; If you’ve violated our Acceptable Use Policy, then you’re also responsible for damages to PayPal caused by your violation of this policy; or If you are a seller and you violate the Acceptable Use Policy, then in addition to being subject to the above actions you will be liable to PayPal for the amount of PayPal's damages caused by your violation of the Acceptable Use Policy. You acknowledge and agree that $2,500.00 U.S. dollars per violation of the Acceptable Use Policy is presently a reasonable minimum estimate of PayPal's actual damages considering all currently existing circumstances, including the relationship of the sum to the range of harm to PayPal that reasonably could be anticipated because, due to the nature of the violations of the Acceptable Use Policy, actual damages would be impractical or extremely difficult to calculate. PayPal may deduct such damages directly from any existing PayPal balance in any PayPal account you control.
Any seller that should get that far and have their Paypal account suspended how are they going to be able to sell on Hipstamp? And since the regulations are UPU regulations and not USPS regulations how many of the international sellers will have this same problem? Hipstamp needs to get their sellers in line along with the sellers getting in line otherwise both may have some issues in the next year.
Understand that with the change on the selling labels it indicates that at least the USPS has already figured out a way to catch many of the shipments and they have already out HOW to figure out the postage due and also how to collect it. And also it also implies that they will be working with the other POs to help them also collect the postage due. It's coming within the next year. And how many sellers can Hipstamp afford to lose due to them getting their Paypal accounts attached with postage due,suspended accounts or in the worst case they no longer will be allowed to have a Paypal account?
Thanks for the reminder Michael, but isn't it sad that it takes a threat from PayPal to get some sellers to decide to "to the right thing" and simply follow the law. Not only that, it is just good business practice to abide by the rules, regulations, laws that are imposed on you. It doesn't matter if you are selling on HipStamp "just for fun" or running a full business enterprise: the responsibility is still out there. I raised my outside US rates with fear and trembling and the first months were rather stressful with questioning messages and emails which I carefully answered, but now I have international customers who pay the rate with no question, understanding that's the way it is in the US. No one should be afraid to charge what is fair and honest. No one should be expected to lose money just to accomodate a customer. Certainly no one should feel they have to chance "getting caught" by PayPal or the Postal Inspectors just because they are afraid to charge that honest price. If they do continue to ignore the rules they have no place on HipStamp as they pull down the rest of us (and HipStamp) with them.
I don't think that a seller being "afraid" to charge the correct postage rate has anything to do with this. It has nothing to do with being "afraid".
From what I have read from sellers' comments since the international postage rates went up last January, I believe it comes down to one, or a combination of, the following:
- blatant disregard for the new postage rates - undercutting other sellers who are charging the correct (and much higher postage rates) - putting the risk on the buyer ("it is your responsibility at the lower postage rate to assume any losses or added fees" [basically if the underpaid postage shipment is caught])
There are probably more reasons and excuses for some sellers not following the rules/laws.
For me, my international sales dropped from about 1/3 of my total sales to 0. I sustained criticism and abusive responses from a few buyers regarding my shipping rates. I thought that I was going to get negative feedback from them, but I think when they saw their order arrive, and added up the face value of the stamps on the parcel, they knew I wasn't pocketing the shipping fee. One buyer sent me a message stating that he was shocked at such an actual high postage rate just to ship a couple of ten cent stamps.
Still, I continue to get the question as to why do some sellers in the US ship at much lower rates? What should I tell those buyers? Should I tell them that it is because such sellers are unethical, or have chosen to disregard the law?
As a member of several philatelic associations, I have, with those memberships, agreed to abide by the ethical rules regarding conducting myself in the philatelic world. I am not professing to be an angel. I certainly am not, but I do not take advantage of situations like this to get an upper hand on fellow collectors and sellers just so I can make a few extra dollars while those who are doing the right thing are losing sales.
I agree that it would be nice if HipStamp management would take action on this situation. Even if it does, what then stops a seller from charging the higher postage fees, and then still shipping at the much lower letter rate?
In a recent Linn's, there was an article that explained the reasoning for the US's decision to withdraw from the UPU. It was the imposition of higher international postage rates of which the US is required to give the higher amounts to the receiving countries to which the international mail is sent. The US is currently trying to negotiate better terms regarding UPU international mailing rules in the hopes of not having to withdraw. At the same time, the US is negotiating international postage rates directly between certain countries just in case attempt of getting better rates from the UPU fail.
There are some sellers that are most likely are unaware of the changes. Those sellers at the minimum should be informed of the changes so they can make the decision of what they need to do at this time. Because this does NOT just affect the sellers but also Hipstamp.
Now as for this question for me it depends on the buyer comes across.
Still, I continue to get the question as to why do some sellers in the US ship at much lower rates? What should I tell those buyers? Should I tell them that it is because such sellers are unethical, or have chosen to disregard the law?
If the buyer comes across as being somewhat nasty about it and trying to accuse me of being a rip artist on the postage, I will be very blunt with them and tell then as it is. If the buyer comes as as just questioning why,I will try to work with them more on the explanation.
As far as the US may or may not pull out of the UPU it will change nothing for most of 2019. Until we know for sure comes there is not much else we can do this time.
Just a philosophical question for you Michael,If the buyer has been informed of the facts and that buyer still chooses to support the unethical sellers can you trust those buyers ethics as a seller yourself?
Here is an email I have when some one questions the high rates:
I completely understand your concern on the shipping rates outside of the United States. These are put in place because of the new rules set forth by the Universal Postal Union that says only documents can be sent by First Class Mail which we used to charge only $3.00 for this type of package to anywhere in the world. Anyone caught violating this rule is subject to a huge fine for both the sender and receiver of these items and I would end up losing my membership in the American Philatelic Society. That is one of the reasons that the US has notified the UPU that we will be dropping our membership in the organization unless they change this law. I also think that the Postal entities in the UK and other places that charge VAT did not want to go around collecting a small amount of money for small packets. It is a shame that they came up with this draconian ruling since stamp collectors more or less will have to be law breakers in order to put items in their collections and that the Chinese can send all of the e-Packets they want for less then $1.00 to anywhere in the world. I hope that this gets changed in a short period of time but it looks like the UPU is dragging their feet on this and the US will be out of the UPU and our Post Office can stop loosing money on the millions of e-Packets that come in from China.
"There are some sellers that are most likely are unaware of the changes. Those sellers at the minimum should be informed of the changes..."
If those sellers would read the Forums on this and most every other philatelic selling site, if those sellers would read Linn's, if those sellers would read the USPS notifications, if those sellers would do what they should to keep themselves informed regarding their retail practices and changes thereto...
What else do they need to be told? All of the information has been posted for them to read. That's their responsibility. If they chose not to do so, then they may have to face the ramifications for their laziness.
If they don't read it, that's their problem. What do you want to do? Send them an email that they won't read? Same thing. It's the seller's responsibility.
You're leaving out the fact that their is the matter of appearance. By sending an email to all the sellers it would look much better for Hipstamp in the long run as opposed to not doing anything even though they have known about for over a year. A simple attempt to address it is better in the long run then doing NOTHING at all.
And some of the sellers will read the email. (The number of people that use the forums is very limited. Some just don't use the forums and never will) Others won't read it and others will just ignore it. Nothing can be done about that and nothing more should be done about that. But the attempt should at minimum be done. It would reflect better on Hipstamp then a do nothing approach.
I completely understand your concern on the shipping rates outside of the United States. These are put in place because of the new rules set forth by the Universal Postal Union that says only documents can be sent by First Class Mail which we used to charge only $3.00 for this type of package to anywhere in the world. Anyone caught violating this rule is subject to a huge fine for both the sender and receiver of these items and I would end up losing my membership in the American Philatelic Society. That is one of the reasons that the US has notified the UPU that we will be dropping our membership in the organization unless they change this law. I also think that the Postal entities in the UK and other places that charge VAT did not want to go around collecting a small amount of money for small packets.
You do understand the rule changes WILL NOT change. The only thing that may come out of this is that they may change the remuneration for the cost of delivering overseas packages to the US. There other reasons that they changed the first class letter classification then JUST the merchandise being sent via first class letter rate. Part of the problem is that fact that lot of people were not using customs forms on first class letters,so those countries were not getting the taxes and fees that they are suppose to get (Customs forms have been required for items of ANY VALUE AT ALL for over 100 years. That is not something new) . Some of it is due to drugs being shipped. And they have the technology to determine whether those envelopes contain anything other than documents.
Most countries have a lower limit on when they start charging VAT,customs and duties. It's not worth the time,effort or cost for them to try to collect on $10 shipments. They don't do that.
For the past 40+ years when I sent merchandise by First class mail overseas and to Canada I always put a customs form on it because that was the rule and the safest way of sending merchandise to make sure it got there. When they quit allowing to do that it tells me that they did not want to foll with small packets any more period. If they do not like having to deal with the small change then they need to raise the value of the minimum price to charge VAT instead of hurting small businesses. The money grab will never change and there is nothing we can ever do about it.
The thing they changed back in January was that merchandise can no be sent via first class letter rate or the first flat rate. That only affected letters UNDER 3.5 ozs. and flats that fit within the dimensional rules that were put in place over 10 years ago. This did not affect sellers that were already having to ship many of their orders via parcel rates for the last 10 years under the dimensional rates as much.
For many sellers it actually simplified their shipping. For sellers such as myself that ship out covers and larger over sized and thicker items,it simplified how we need to package the shipments. It saves quite a bit of time . It also simplified our shipping charges so that I do not have to add a per item charge to cover the costs of the added items. For a seller like myself I had a flat rate charge of 2.50 to Canada and $3.25 outside the US. But because those rates were figured at shipments of less than 3.5 ozs. some orders would of course go over that rate and I ate the difference in the postage. Now with all shipments being parcels I can a shipping rate that is closer in line with the actual postage. To say that ALL small sellers are being hurt by this is just NOT true. On the other hand the sellers that were able to ship most of their items by first class letter and flat rate are getting affected greatly by this.
Part of the reason for having the customs forms on the parcels is so they know if the shipment should be passed through customs,duty and VAT free. If it comes through damaged and there is no invoice how do they figure out if duties and fees are to be collected? The US has a high limit but on the other hand Canada has a $20 Canadian dollar limit before charging taxes,duties and fees. (That was as of earlier this year)
Now for kicks and giggles I just checked what my international sales for this year were and lo and behold I found that if the year was to end to day I am only down 3% on my international sales for the entire year. I would be classified as a small business. To say that this would hurt all small sellers is incorrect on that basis also. That also includes that fact that I did not sell anything on Ebay this year so no international sales from there and also the fact that I no longer ship to other Italy or Russia. Not selling on Ebay or to Italy and Russia alone could account for the difference. alone. Changing the shipping regulations has had virtually NO EFFECT on my international sales even though my shipping rates at the USPS retail counter rate.
Michael Duehr: Just to conform then are using the First-Class Package rates or the First Class Mail International? I stopped shipping internationally earlier this year but I am thinking about adding it back in. Packages appear to cost $10;00 to Canada from the US and $14:25 to Australia if I am reading the correct tables? Thanks Mike
It's the first class international parcel rate that I am using. Be aware that USPS does have a rate change coming on January 26th 2019. (That one will affect US first class parcels under 1 lb as they are going to zone rates)
This being handicapped cr*p for well over a year now, and as such, still not done unpacking boxes from moving into a new home almost 10-months ago, I'm WAY behind in my collecting and selling pursuits. And just to top it off, my son gifted me a puppy for Christmas (what was he thinking ?!?), so now I may never catch up with life.
Anyway, much to my chagrin, I'm still not up to speed with my store's shipping costs. Fortunately, my international sales have been essentially non-existent, but I do need to get with the program, and yes, I know the 'road to hell is paved with good intentions.'
So, some more question...
1. A 1st class letter from the U.S. can be sent anywhere on the planet simply by affixing a Global $1.15 stamp upon the envelope. Is this the same situation when sending items out as a 1st class parcel with customs form attached ie is it a flat rate globally for, say, a 1-oz 'package' anywhere in the world?
2. What are you folks charging for international mailings? I'm not looking to make a killing here... I just want to charge enough so I don't take a beating.
3. I've always hand-written all my envelopes, and will continue to do so for national sales while using 'discount' postage stamps. If I use PayPal to print out a mailing label for international sales, does the customs form also come with it?
4. If memory serves, some or most of you are using a shipping service to reduce costs. Which one is best?
5. Can the international shipping fees for all the items in my store be adjusted at once to reflect the new fees, or will I need to change each listing manually (in which case, please kill me).
'Scusi if these questions have been answered before, but my life has been to crazy for me to be able to keep track.
Oh, and his name is 'Mouse'...gotta admit, he's adorable...
The best way to catch up is to start at page 1 of this thread.
1. As of January 21, 2018 you can no longer mail an envelope containing goods as a First Class International Letter. All must now go as an International Parcel regardless if it's one stamp or hundreds.
2. Charges vary. Depends on country, shipping vendor - considerable amount of variables here.
3. Yes, the Customs Form is part of the label.
4. I use Shipping Easy. Have not had a problem. It's free, shipping fees are reasonable and delivery times have been quite fast.
5. You can bulk edit your shipping fees.
6. Mouse, is adorable. I think you'll find your son made a good decision. Mouse will help you catch up with life.
Well I had nothing better to do this morning - two days after Christmas to read thru the forums. I knew there was a rate increase coming n January but did not know a thing about this international rate change. I have always just put my international sales of stamps in a small envelope and mailed it with the $1.15 stamp. They look like a small letter being mailed - you never knew there were stamps inside. So what I am reading is that I can no longer do that - if that is the case - I guess I will stop selling internationally in January because it is just not worth it time and money wise. The biggest loss for me will be my buyers in Canada - I already had limited my international sales over the past year due to a lot of loss shipments. If I am reading this wrong - let me know. If I limited my international sales to no more than 20 or so stamps - I guess I could continue getting away with it because it would still be a thin small envelope ? Thanks, Steve
Steven, I hear tell of clerks feeling along international envelopes to discern irregularities in thicknesss, indicating something other that a simple folded letter inside. While a cover with even 1 stamp inside may look like a letter, it will not feel like one.
Comments
I have been selling online and through mail since 1978. I am packaging about 10,000 stamps that I have not yet worked up for sale here and will be shipping them off to a dealer to buy. I'll be getting alot more than I would selling onezies and twozies at a time here. I still have other stamps to list here, but I'm going to take a good look at things, and decide if I still want to sell stamps in this manner.
As you stated, the cheap stuff is too expensive to sell. I may just find a minimum selling price that I want to charge for a stamp. Could be $1.00, $2.50, something like that. Anything that would normally be priced below my threshold will simply go in the trash, or I'll still list the cheap stuff, but at my minimum price threshold. If I do the latter, I would probably go with a $1.00 minimum price per listing.
I know I have been selling stamps since 1970 at shows, in a few stores around the Chicago area and finally online since 1998. I found out early that at shows you have limited space and you need to optimize that space with a minimum selling price. So the cheaper items go into lots and you focus on the more expensive items that way you are getting a better return on your time and time is money so you have to maximize your return on investment or ROI. You also have to enjoy what you are doing and realize what your time is worth.
At shows that I used to do I had books and bargain boxes or lots. My books in the '70's started at $0.50 a page anything else went into bargain boxes or lots. The same concept can be used now a days but with inflation the minimum price is now $5.00 and everything else goes into lots starting at around $10.00 and both of those figures are delivered prices since shipping in the US and the "rent' you pay for being online is part of the cost now. How much you have to pay for selling online is a big difference. If you are paying a higher price then it better have the traffic other wise it is not worth it.
I've gone ahead and removed the feedback in question. If you have any issue in the future, just go ahead and Contact Us.
https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/useragreement-full#restricted-activities
In connection with your use of our websites, your PayPal account, the PayPal services, or in the course of your interactions with PayPal, other PayPal customers, or third parties, you must not:
Breach this user agreement, the PayPal Acceptable Use Policy, the Commercial Entity Agreements (if they apply to you), or any other agreement between you and PayPal;
Violate any law, statute, ordinance, or regulation (for example, those governing financial services, consumer protections, unfair competition, anti-discrimination or false advertising);
.....
This what they can do to the sellers who do not follow the postal regulations
Actions We May Take if You Engage in Any Restricted Activities
If we believe that you’ve engaged in any of these activities, we may take a number of actions to protect PayPal, its customers and others at any time in our sole discretion. The actions we make take include, but are not limited to, the following:
Terminate this user agreement, limit your PayPal account, and/or close or suspend your PayPal account, immediately and without penalty to us;
Refuse to provide the PayPal services to you in the future;
Limit your access to our websites, software, systems (including any networks and servers used to provide any of the PayPal services) operated by us or on our behalf, your PayPal account or any of the PayPal services, including limiting your ability to pay or send money with any of the payment methods linked to your PayPal account, restricting your ability to send money or make withdrawals;
Hold your PayPal balance for up to 180 days if reasonably needed to protect against the risk of liability or if you have violated our Acceptable Use Policy;
Suspend your eligibility for PayPal’s Purchase Protection program and/or PayPal’s Seller Protection program;
Contact buyers who have purchased goods or services from you using PayPal, your bank or credit card issuer, other impacted third parties or law enforcement about your actions;
Update inaccurate information you provided us;
Take legal action against you;
If you’ve violated our Acceptable Use Policy, then you’re also responsible for damages to PayPal caused by your violation of this policy; or
If you are a seller and you violate the Acceptable Use Policy, then in addition to being subject to the above actions you will be liable to PayPal for the amount of PayPal's damages caused by your violation of the Acceptable Use Policy. You acknowledge and agree that $2,500.00 U.S. dollars per violation of the Acceptable Use Policy is presently a reasonable minimum estimate of PayPal's actual damages considering all currently existing circumstances, including the relationship of the sum to the range of harm to PayPal that reasonably could be anticipated because, due to the nature of the violations of the Acceptable Use Policy, actual damages would be impractical or extremely difficult to calculate. PayPal may deduct such damages directly from any existing PayPal balance in any PayPal account you control.
Any seller that should get that far and have their Paypal account suspended how are they going to be able to sell on Hipstamp? And since the regulations are UPU regulations and not USPS regulations how many of the international sellers will have this same problem? Hipstamp needs to get their sellers in line along with the sellers getting in line otherwise both may have some issues in the next year.
Understand that with the change on the selling labels it indicates that at least the USPS has already figured out a way to catch many of the shipments and they have already out HOW to figure out the postage due and also how to collect it. And also it also implies that they will be working with the other POs to help them also collect the postage due. It's coming within the next year. And how many sellers can Hipstamp afford to lose due to them getting their Paypal accounts attached with postage due,suspended accounts or in the worst case they no longer will be allowed to have a Paypal account?
Not only that, it is just good business practice to abide by the rules, regulations, laws that are imposed on you.
It doesn't matter if you are selling on HipStamp "just for fun" or running a full business enterprise: the responsibility is still out there.
I raised my outside US rates with fear and trembling and the first months were rather stressful with questioning messages and emails which I carefully answered, but now I have international customers who pay the rate with no question, understanding that's the way it is in the US.
No one should be afraid to charge what is fair and honest. No one should be expected to lose money just to accomodate a customer. Certainly no one should feel they have to chance "getting caught" by PayPal or the Postal Inspectors just because they are afraid to charge that honest price. If they do continue to ignore the rules they have no place on HipStamp as they pull down the rest of us (and HipStamp) with them.
From what I have read from sellers' comments since the international postage rates went up last January, I believe it comes down to one, or a combination of, the following:
- blatant disregard for the new postage rates
- undercutting other sellers who are charging the correct (and much higher postage rates)
- putting the risk on the buyer ("it is your responsibility at the lower postage rate to assume any losses or added fees" [basically if the underpaid postage shipment is caught])
There are probably more reasons and excuses for some sellers not following the rules/laws.
For me, my international sales dropped from about 1/3 of my total sales to 0. I sustained criticism and abusive responses from a few buyers regarding my shipping rates. I thought that I was going to get negative feedback from them, but I think when they saw their order arrive, and added up the face value of the stamps on the parcel, they knew I wasn't pocketing the shipping fee. One buyer sent me a message stating that he was shocked at such an actual high postage rate just to ship a couple of ten cent stamps.
Still, I continue to get the question as to why do some sellers in the US ship at much lower rates? What should I tell those buyers? Should I tell them that it is because such sellers are unethical, or have chosen to disregard the law?
As a member of several philatelic associations, I have, with those memberships, agreed to abide by the ethical rules regarding conducting myself in the philatelic world. I am not professing to be an angel. I certainly am not, but I do not take advantage of situations like this to get an upper hand on fellow collectors and sellers just so I can make a few extra dollars while those who are doing the right thing are losing sales.
I agree that it would be nice if HipStamp management would take action on this situation. Even if it does, what then stops a seller from charging the higher postage fees, and then still shipping at the much lower letter rate?
In a recent Linn's, there was an article that explained the reasoning for the US's decision to withdraw from the UPU. It was the imposition of higher international postage rates of which the US is required to give the higher amounts to the receiving countries to which the international mail is sent. The US is currently trying to negotiate better terms regarding UPU international mailing rules in the hopes of not having to withdraw. At the same time, the US is negotiating international postage rates directly between certain countries just in case attempt of getting better rates from the UPU fail.
Now as for this question for me it depends on the buyer comes across.
Still, I continue to get the question as to why do some sellers in the US ship at much lower rates? What should I tell those buyers? Should I tell them that it is because such sellers are unethical, or have chosen to disregard the law?
If the buyer comes across as being somewhat nasty about it and trying to accuse me of being a rip artist on the postage, I will be very blunt with them and tell then as it is. If the buyer comes as as just questioning why,I will try to work with them more on the explanation.
As far as the US may or may not pull out of the UPU it will change nothing for most of 2019. Until we know for sure comes there is not much else we can do this time.
I completely understand your concern on the shipping rates outside of the United States. These are put in place because of the new rules set forth by the Universal Postal Union that says only documents can be sent by First Class Mail which we used to charge only $3.00 for this type of package to anywhere in the world. Anyone caught violating this rule is subject to a huge fine for both the sender and receiver of these items and I would end up losing my membership in the American Philatelic Society.
That is one
of the reasons that the US has notified the UPU that we will be dropping our membership in the organization unless they change this law. I also think that the Postal entities in the UK and other places that charge VAT did not want to go around collecting a small amount of money for small packets.
It is a shame that they came up with this draconian ruling since stamp collectors more or less will have to be law breakers in order to put items in their collections and that the Chinese can send all of the e-Packets they want for less then $1.00 to anywhere in the world. I hope that this gets changed in a short period of time but it looks like the UPU is dragging their feet on this and the US will be out of the UPU and our Post Office can stop loosing money on the millions of e-Packets that come in from China.
Bill O'Malley
Bill O'Malley
If those sellers would read the Forums on this and most every other philatelic selling site, if those sellers would read Linn's, if those sellers would read the USPS notifications, if those sellers would do what they should to keep themselves informed regarding their retail practices and changes thereto...
What else do they need to be told? All of the information has been posted for them to read. That's their responsibility. If they chose not to do so, then they may have to face the ramifications for their laziness.
A simple attempt to address it is better in the long run then doing NOTHING at all.
And some of the sellers will read the email. (The number of people that use the forums is very limited. Some just don't use the forums and never will) Others won't read it and others will just ignore it. Nothing can be done about that and nothing more should be done about that. But the attempt should at minimum be done. It would reflect better on Hipstamp then a do nothing approach.
I completely understand your concern on the shipping rates outside of the United States. These are put in place because of the new rules set forth by the Universal Postal Union that says only documents can be sent by First Class Mail which we used to charge only $3.00 for this type of package to anywhere in the world. Anyone caught violating this rule is subject to a huge fine for both the sender and receiver of these items and I would end up losing my membership in the American Philatelic Society.
That is one
of the reasons that the US has notified the UPU that we will be dropping our membership in the organization unless they change this law. I also think that the Postal entities in the UK and other places that charge VAT did not want to go around collecting a small amount of money for small packets.
You do understand the rule changes WILL NOT change. The only thing that may come out of this is that they may change the remuneration for the cost of delivering overseas packages to the US. There other reasons that they changed the first class letter classification then JUST the merchandise being sent via first class letter rate. Part of the problem is that fact that lot of people were not using customs forms on first class letters,so those countries were not getting the taxes and fees that they are suppose to get (Customs forms have been required for items of ANY VALUE AT ALL for over 100 years. That is not something new) . Some of it is due to drugs being shipped. And they have the technology to determine whether those envelopes contain anything other than documents.
Most countries have a lower limit on when they start charging VAT,customs and duties. It's not worth the time,effort or cost for them to try to collect on $10 shipments. They don't do that.
The money grab will never change and there is nothing we can ever do about it.
For many sellers it actually simplified their shipping. For sellers such as myself that ship out covers and larger over sized and thicker items,it simplified how we need to package the shipments. It saves quite a bit of time . It also simplified our shipping charges so that I do not have to add a per item charge to cover the costs of the added items. For a seller like myself I had a flat rate charge of 2.50 to Canada and $3.25 outside the US. But because those rates were figured at shipments of less than 3.5 ozs. some orders would of course go over that rate and I ate the difference in the postage. Now with all shipments being parcels I can a shipping rate that is closer in line with the actual postage. To say that ALL small sellers are being hurt by this is just NOT true. On the other hand the sellers that were able to ship most of their items by first class letter and flat rate are getting affected greatly by this.
Part of the reason for having the customs forms on the parcels is so they know if the shipment should be passed through customs,duty and VAT free. If it comes through damaged and there is no invoice how do they figure out if duties and fees are to be collected? The US has a high limit but on the other hand Canada has a $20 Canadian dollar limit before charging taxes,duties and fees. (That was as of earlier this year)
Thanks
Mike
It's the first class international parcel rate that I am using. Be aware that USPS does have a rate change coming on January 26th 2019. (That one will affect US first class parcels under 1 lb as they are going to zone rates)
Anyway, much to my chagrin, I'm still not up to speed with my store's shipping costs. Fortunately, my international sales have been essentially non-existent, but I do need to get with the program, and yes, I know the 'road to hell is paved with good intentions.'
So, some more question...
1. A 1st class letter from the U.S. can be sent anywhere on the planet simply by affixing a Global $1.15 stamp upon the envelope. Is this the same situation when sending items out as a 1st class parcel with customs form attached ie is it a flat rate globally for, say, a 1-oz 'package' anywhere in the world?
2. What are you folks charging for international mailings? I'm not looking to make a killing here... I just want to charge enough so I don't take a beating.
3. I've always hand-written all my envelopes, and will continue to do so for national sales while using 'discount' postage stamps. If I use PayPal to print out a mailing label for international sales, does the customs form also come with it?
4. If memory serves, some or most of you are using a shipping service to reduce costs. Which one is best?
5. Can the international shipping fees for all the items in my store be adjusted at once to reflect the new fees, or will I need to change each listing manually (in which case, please kill me).
'Scusi if these questions have been answered before, but my life has been to crazy for me to be able to keep track.
Oh, and his name is 'Mouse'...gotta admit, he's adorable...
The best way to catch up is to start at page 1 of this thread.
1. As of January 21, 2018 you can no longer mail an envelope containing goods as a First Class International Letter. All must now go as an International Parcel regardless if it's one stamp or hundreds.
2. Charges vary. Depends on country, shipping vendor - considerable amount of variables here.
3. Yes, the Customs Form is part of the label.
4. I use Shipping Easy. Have not had a problem. It's free, shipping fees are reasonable and delivery times have been quite fast.
5. You can bulk edit your shipping fees.
6. Mouse, is adorable. I think you'll find your son made a good decision. Mouse will help you catch up with life.
Ted