So how are people managing shipping costs in the rapidly changing environment?
Just wondering what peoples thoughts are on shipping. Fuel prices sky high. So FAF (fuel adjustment factor) changing fast. Typically freight and courier companies changed FAF monthly with a 2 month lag. Now companies are rapidly changing to adjusting FAF weekly with no lag. Some courier companies have stated they will bring the annual price rise forward by 2-3 months as well. Just today one of my couriers lifted prices 7.1%, and with weekly adjustment they may rise each week with present volatility. So how is a trader supposed to keep up with shipping options on listings? Suck it up? or change prices weekly, an almost impossible and very time consuming task. A trader can rapidly fall into deficit on shipping
Any thoughts out there guys?
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Callum Community SuperuserEditedLuckily NZPost is still relying on the 2 month lag at this stage, so no affect until May1. I'm expecting they MIGHT revisit that though if things keep escalating. As I buy prepaid tickets and bags in advance, it has no affect on me, apart from that I am stocking up now in anticipation of a rise in May.
If you are using shipping templates, it's actually pretty easy to adjust everything. It happens automatically across all listings that use that particular template. But yes, the changes only happen after an item has closed or sold and been relisted, rather than on live auctions.
This is with My Products. I guess things differ depending which listing tool, if any, you use.
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Agree the templates ( I use tradevine which will likely by similar to my products) help changing. But I would probably have nearly 180 templates. Each template has 6 shipping options. If there was a tweek that could increase shipping by a certain % on all templates that may help, but unfortunately not a feature. It is complicated more in that as I use a combination of 6 carriers, a % tweak would only work for one and not the others. So its not just my concern about rising shipping prices ( we have to adjust annually for the carriers annual rise anyway but that one change takes me many hours to do), but its more the question if we get a series of substantial rises, you could end up changing numerous times up, and then when prices settle ( that may take 9 months), you may then have to lower shipping prices again
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There is a way around this - just don’t offer shipping. Make all your auctions buyer must pick up.
What you offer instead is a free packing service, so that way the buyers can organise the couriers themselves from their end and pay the couriers themselves, we have found that it really doesn’t hurt sales, and it takes away all the dramas of dealing with the couriers ourselves or the accusations of overcharging etc.
Give it a go for a few items, if it doesn’t work for you then it doesn’t work, no harm done, however it might really suit and change your life. Don’t know if you don’t try.0
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