So, what is HipStamp to do about new USPS rates?
Clearly, the new postal rates will have a HUGE impact on international sales for US Sellers on sites like this. Per my understanding, to be compliant with the law, we must now mail ALL stamps to non-US addresses as First Class Package International, and we must use customs forms on all international shipments.
I just had to jack my postage rates to $15 for non-US buyers. That REALLY stinks!
What can HipStamp do to not lose international buyers? What new features can be offered? Allow for shopping carts to add up over time until critical mass is reached to finally check out?
Lord have mercy...
Doug
I just had to jack my postage rates to $15 for non-US buyers. That REALLY stinks!
What can HipStamp do to not lose international buyers? What new features can be offered? Allow for shopping carts to add up over time until critical mass is reached to finally check out?
Lord have mercy...
Doug
Comments
Stop charging fees on shipping charges! This is driving up cost and making shipping/handling charges more exorbitant as a result.
That still just irks the heck out of me, and now it's 10 times worse.
I disagree Mark should get involved. If he chose to send out an FYI at the time this was being proposed, fine. It's a sellers responsibility to be aware of laws, rules, regulations, etc. How many sellers sent emails "To the powers that be" when this was being proposed and comments were requested?
Do you want Mark to banish all sellers who list stamps from sanctioned countries? From what I can tell everyone seems happy with how that situation is handled. And, yes, selling stamps from these countries is a violation of Federal law.
So before we start throwing around words like "banishment", etc. let's all take a hard look at how we conduct our own affairs. You can't have it both ways!
Anyway, here is the breakdown of the sale:
stamps purchased = $1.28
flat rate shipping fee = $15.00
total paid by buyer = $16.28
My costs, not including materials and time, etc:
PayPal fee = $1.28
HipStamp fee = $1.31
Actual postage = 14.25
total fees paid by me = $16.84
This sale cost me more than what the buyer paid.
I also just had another international sale of about the exact same amount, so I lost money on that one too.
Accordingly, I have raised my flat rate shipping fees for international shipping, because the fees and postage rates are resulting in negative net sales for me. I may go back and raise the shipping fees even more to dissuade buyers from outside the US. I might just go back and remove all international sales. This is absolutely freaking ridiculous, especially with buyers who don't read the forums to keep abreast of what is going on. Not worth the hassle. This isn't fun anymore either.
And note to buyers: The shipping fees are not a secret. If you don't like them, then don't buy a couple of stamps for just a dollar. Either don't buy at all, or buy enough to make up for the shipping fee. Don't complain after you buy. It's your responsibility to read the terms BEFORE you click on the buy button.
International Buying and Selling
"Many of our Services are accessible to international sellers and buyers. We may offer certain programs, tools, and site experiences of particular interest to international sellers and buyers, such as estimated local currency conversion and international shipping calculation tools. Sellers and buyers are responsible for complying with all laws and regulations applicable to the international sale, purchase, and shipment of items."
I think the question should be, what is HipStamp going to do to enforce this rule so that it is an even (and legal) playing field for all sellers?
Continuing to do so not only skirts USPS rules (and revenue) but also affects the receiving country.
There ARE rules in place for some mailers - which is what Stamps.com is taking advantage of - much like the packet mail program from China.
Seems to me it is best to bite the bullet so you don't have to worry about Interpol, UPU, or Postal Inspectors knocking on your door. Charge a realistic postage amount and sleep at night.
Previously,to this new ruling, whenever I received a small order (a handful of stamps - nominal value) which would fit nicely in a "First Class Letter" size, I have been told by the postmaster at my PO I do not need a customs form. It doesn't fit on a First Class letter, anyway. If I received a larger order or a high dollar amount, I always used a larger - 6 x 9 envelope with a Customs Form. He explained that I am a known mailer of known goods and Customs does not want to bother with these types of nominal fee transactions. Who am I to argue with the Postmaster! His rules not mine.
So, my point was, because of these high fees the foreign country will now receive a portion of, US mail will be more closely watched in the International Community.
selling can be fun
when the auction's won
and the shippings done
Burma Shave
For me this is just a hobby, not means of financial support. I am retired and just started the process of selling off my accumulation as a new hobby. I will still have my collection, only now it will exist as a virtual collection on my computer hard drive as the pictures that have been scanned in of each of my stamps. Since this is a hobby, I want it to be an enjoyable consumption of time and not something to get upset about. So I set my international rates at an amount that will cover most of my shipping cost but not all. Since most of the stamps I am using as postage could be considered scrape postage and could only be sold in bulk at a deep discount from face, any infrequent sales that I do make will not cause me any financial hardship.
I only started listing items for sale in mid-November of 2017. By mid-December I was recording a bit less than one sale each day, with about half coming from outside of the United States. When I put the new shipping fees into place in late January, my international sales completely stopped. I did have one inquiry today from someone in Poland if I could reduce my shipping fees for them since they only wanted one stamp with a sale price of $1.50. I declined.
I may get a few international sales in the future once I get some of my better (higher value) material listed. Only when these higher shipping fees are relatively small percentage of the entire sale do I expect to see any international sales.
Sellers need to evaluate their business model and do what is right and lawful for their business. Faced with this new law, I had a choice to raise my shipping or keep my original shipping fees, use Shipping Easy or use USPS directly, or eliminate all International sales. How would the choices I made affect my bottom line.
First I contacted all my known International buyers. I explained the new law and the certain choices that were available. Overwhelmingly, the buyers did not want sales eliminated and would rather wait an extra week for an order than pay the exorbitant shipping fees.
International sales plays a large part of my business. Could I absorb some of the shipping fees to keep their business? Was it worth the effort financially? I decided to keep my original shipping fees for a trial six month period. What I found was I received enough large orders to keep my bottom line in the black despite losing money on shipping for each order.
So my conclusion for my business: keep International sales, use Shipping Easy, and absorb a portion of the shipping fees. I understand this will not work for all sellers. It's up to each seller to evaluate his business and decide what necessary changes must be made.
I've gone ahead and removed the feedback in question. If you have any issue in the future, just go ahead and Contact Us.
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.
- breach or circumvent any laws, third-party rights or ...
If some abide by the postal regulations, and others do not, is this a fair and level playing field? If you choose to disregard them, are you technically in violation of the site's terms as well?
Since the rule change, I have mailed about 20 international orders. This is the first one that has had customs issues.
I also agree, it is not fair that some (most) sellers are either not aware of the rule change or worse, ignoring it. It really creates an unfair advantage. I'm sure this customer will never buy from me again.
Bob
"I'm in Canada and over the years I've bought several stamps from you and it disappoints me that I'll have to pay a flat rate of $6.00 US for shipping (about $7.50) CDN.) for even one single stamp. It seems like many, many dealers in the US are jumping on the bandwagon of excessive shipping rates when it's not justified.
On the other hand, I just received in the mail today a padded envelope containing 13 baseball cards (I collect them also), from Delta, PA. and the metered rate on the envelope is $2. 50 US. I paid $2.75 US. for postage. And I'm sure 13 cards weigh a lot more than 1 stamp.
Guess I'll have to buy my stamps north of the border from here on in."
Since I am a member of the APS, I wanted to let him know that I was bound by a code of ethics of which # 2 applies.
"I agree to abide by all federal, state, and local laws relating to philatelic matters."
Looking further down the code of ethics at #11 it says:
"I agree to bring known examples of irresponsible or unethical tactics to the attention of the societies in which I hold membership and which embrace this code."
Does that mean I need to report anyone not using the current International Rates? I probably can't, I have to assume anyone not charging higher international rates is losing money on the shipping but I'm sure most are not.
Bob
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.
The impact is simple. If you are following the UPU rules for mailing merchandise to international destinations, your sales have been impacted. Buyers don't want to pay those high fees. If you stopped selling to international buyers, your sales are impacted.
For me, it's simple. I stopped selling to international addresses. My international sales used to be at least 1/3 of my sales. That is gone.
I would suspect that most people are going to chance it with the first class letter (weighs not over 3.5 ounces) or large envelope, at least for a while. Note that a First Class International Large Envelope can weigh up to 64 ounces. That is a long letter!
USPS will have to figure this one out when the mailer's associations start complaining.
"If you have any issues using this service, please call us at 877-782-6739":
Not exactly an encouraging statement -