FedEx 2Day One Rate service added to eBay labels

[wastingtime101]

eBay added a new service to their label options. FedEx 2Day One Rate. It's a flat rate domestic service.

Saw this banner at the top of the label page:

Takes you to FAQs here:

https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/shipping/choosing-a-carrier-and-service/fedex-and-ebay-labels#faqs

Highlights:

- The flat rate is based solely on the package size and you pay the same rate for the selected package size, regardless of destination.

- Same rate to all continental domestic locations.

- Alaska/Hawaii excluded. FAQ does not specify contiguous US only, but the banner at the top of the label page says as much.

- Service is for items up to 50 lbs.

- Rate is determined based on cubic volume (package size LxWxH). Max size 2,200 cu in.

- $100 coverage included.

- Round tubes not eligible for the service (unless you stick them inside of a box).

- Can use your own packaging or FedEx packaging.

[wastingtime101]

I was looking up something on the eBay shipping calculator and noticed eBay finally added FedEx One Rate to the calculator.

In addition, One Rate has been added to the listing form options (and biz policies) which @the_backyard_bear  was asking about a couple days ago so sellers can now offer the service directly to buyers. For the past month the service has been available exclusively on the label purchase page and not on the listing form.

One Rate is based on package volume so make sure your package dimensions on the listing form are accurate if you're using calculated shipping. If you're passing carrier discounts to buyers through your shipping preferences, sellers will see the same problems with FedEx One Rate as we see with USPS cubic rates where any slight adjustment to package size when you buy the label can change the rate and multi-item shipments that require a larger box will result in buyers underpaying postage.

While I was on the shipping calculator I noticed a significant decrease in FedEx Ground / FedEx Home Delivery rates. I don't see any announcements from eBay, but the rates are definitely lower. Ballpark 30%-ish? Also looks like there's a very slight decrease in FedEx Ground Economy.

[buzzapparel]

I would be careful using FedEx, they up charge for everything you can think of, and things you can’t think of and are out of your control. 

[wastingtime101]

According to the FAQ @buzzapparel :

Will my One Rate shipment be subject to additional surcharges like fuel or delivery area surcharges?
No. FedEx One Rate pricing already includes any applicable fuel, residential and delivery area surcharges. There are additional value-added services, such as signature services and additional declared value over $100, which you can add for an additional charge.

So there shouldn't be surcharges unless the seller enters wrong dimensions when buying the label, or uses non-standard packaging, or uses FedEx's favorite "too much tape".

Note the word shouldn't, not won't. We (sellers) have seen both FedEx and UPS pad dimensions and apply erroneous surcharges.

Reminder to sellers: always use your package's outer dimensions. Size printed on a box sometimes refers to the inner dimensions. Always measure the exterior.

[wastingtime101]

Adding in links regarding cost adjustments:

eBay seller center page:

https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/shipping/preparing-your-shipment/packaging-and-measuring

FedEx service guide - see surcharge info starting pg 102.

https://www.fedex.com/content/dam/fedex/us-united-states/services/Service_Guide_2023.pdf

Since we're on the topic, might as well include UPS info:

UPS service guide - see surcharge info starting pg 126.

https://www.ups.com/assets/resources/webcontent/en_US/retail_rates.pdf

[robbie31415]

Interesting thanks for update.

Fedex ground seems quite expensive to me.

 

[wastingtime101]

It was astronomical before @robbie31415 . I don't have my shipping rates notebook in front of me, but I've been doing some comparisons across carriers and shipping label providers. By far FedEx was always the highest for packages under a cubic foot and under 20 lbs. I haven't compared the larger/heavier stuff recently.

[robbie31415]

Why cross it out with green number when it's higher than the retail price. Should be red.

[wastingtime101]

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@robbie31415 wrote:

Why cross it out with green number when it's higher than the retail price. Should be red.

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😂That's absolutely absurd!

kyle@ebay Can you send @robbie31415 's above screenshot to the shipping team and ask them why the "eBay discounted" FedEx Ground/Home Delivery rate is higher than the retail rate?

[kyle@ebay]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

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@robbie31415 wrote:

Why cross it out with green number when it's higher than the retail price. Should be red.

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😂That's absolutely absurd!

kyle@ebay Can you send @robbie31415 's above screenshot to the shipping team and ask them why the "eBay discounted" FedEx Ground/Home Delivery rate is higher than the retail rate?

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Hey @wastingtime101 thanks for sharing this!  I'll be glad to pass this along to our shipping team for review.

[wastingtime101]

Thank you, Kyle. Hopefully it's just a system issue they can quickly fix and not a situation where the eBay rate is actually higher than retail. 🙃

[jnwaite1]

I see that the FedEx One Rate is only good for the contiguous states. Why is that? 

I ship primarily used electronics and, as of a couple of years ago, LiPo batteries in used electronics can no longer be shipped via Priority Mail. Being in Juneau AK, there are no reasonable ground shipping options for me other than USPS Ground Advantage which goes by barge service to Seattle and can take an additional 10-14 days (which no buyer would be happy about). Therefore, Fed-Ex is my only option and I use them pretty much every day. I use my own separate account with FedEx and I get the same (or better) One Rate prices for all of my shipments from Alaska. I can continue to use my own account, but being able to purchase through eBay would be more convenient as I wouldn't have to manually create every label from scratch.

I am wondering if there is a plan to eventually add Alaska/Hawaii to the One Rate pricing plan.

[wastingtime101]

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@jnwaite1 wrote:

I am wondering if there is a plan to eventually add Alaska/Hawaii to the One Rate pricing plan.

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My guess is that's not likely. None of the FedEx and UPS services offered through eBay are eligible for locations outside of the 48 contiguous states. You're better off using your own FedEx account.

What would be great is if eBay let you sync your own FedEx account to your eBay account.

There are third party shipping platforms that do allow you to both sync your own FedEx (or UPS or USPS) account & rates with their platform, in addition to integrating your eBay orders. Perhaps using a bridge like that would be a good option for you.

[jnwaite1]

I can still use the UPS options offered through eBay from Alaska (even Ground, interestingly enough), and I used to be able to use the Fed-Ex options, but that disappeared as soon as they started offering the 2-Day One Rate.

Fed-Ex has a Shipping Manager application that does integrate with a lot of online marketplaces, most of which I've never heard of. However, eBay is not yet one of them. I wonder if perhaps eBay will never agree to something that moves users off any part of their platform.

It is a bit tedious to have to copy and paste every line of the address individually. Perhaps if enough people request it, Fed-Ex could implement something similar to PirateShip wherein you simply paste the entire address into a text box and their system automatically parses out the data into their respective fields (sender, state, zip, etc).