So how are people managing shipping costs in the rapidly changing environment?

Luckily 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.  

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

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.

redbeard6. Yes perhaps a way ( also saves on success fees on shipping). However my gut instinct says buyer like certainly on delivery price and speed of delivery, which your method does not give. My gut feeling also suggests a fall in sales due to this.  Many of my items are large and long which most casual ticket buyers would struggle to get a ticket for as outside normal courier size. Also casual ticket sales prices are way higher in price than sellers can buy at with a courier account. Effectively making the total price more expensive and inconvenient to the buyer. No votes for it from my end 

I'm a casual seller, and I use NZ Post bags. I bought more bags of different sizes and economy tickets yesterday and asked if the prices for their tickets have increased because of the fuel issue - was told "no, not yet". 

That said, unless you have a contract with NZP where they can implement their variable prices rates (see link below), I can't see how they can hike the price of their economy / courier tickets for one-off purchases, or even books of 10 online before their annual increase. Will be watching with interest.

https://www.nzpost.co.nz/about-us/who-we-are/terms-of-business/variable-fuel-rates