eBay Sellers Confused By New USPS Rates As Ground Advantage OZ-Based Tiers Vary By Zip Code
eBay sellers are struggling to make sense of new USPS rates as new rules for ounce-based Ground Advantage pricing vary by zip code.
The new rates went into effect July 12, as part of the regular changes USPS institutes several times a year.
Liz Morton
As part of that update, USPS announced they will be doing away with ounce-based rate differentiation for published Commercial USPS Ground Advantage prices, but there was still some question about whether marketplaces like eBay would retain the previous ounce-based tiered pricing.
eBay posted a USPS shipping update in their new community forum last week, advising sellers of the upcoming rate adjustments and initially saying that the ounce-based tiers would still apply for Ground Advantage packages under 1 lb.
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The United States Postal Service has announced rate and service updates effective July 12, 2026. We’ve highlighted the updates to eBay Labels below.
Updates to USPS Mail & Shipping Service PricingGround Advantage: although USPS is changing how it prices packages under 1 lb, the good news is eBay Labels will continue to offer the same four weight tiers with no rate increases at this time. Rates for packages over 1 lb are also unchanged.Media Mail rates are decreasing by an average of 1.8%.Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express have no rate changes.
eBay Standard Envelope updated rates are:1 oz $0.782 oz $1.073 oz $1.36
But in a follow up post in the shipping section of the forum, eBay staff clarified that the rates will depend on location with rural zip codes and areas outside the lower 48 states being treated differently than contiguous, non-rural addresses.
devonebay
For eBay Labels Ground Advantage shipments under 1 lb to rural zip codes, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and military addresses, USPS will charge the same rate within each zone regardless of weight in ounces.
For the continental United States, the tiered-weight structure remains in place.
That part about rural zip codes seems to be the source of confusion amongst sellers today.
Essentially, some shipments to one area in a state may be more expensive than to other parts of the same state, simply because whether or not USPS considers the zip code to be rural now determines whether the rate is still ounce-based or rounded up to 1 lb when purchasing labels through eBay.
USPS first introduced this zip code-based pricing, rather than purely zone-based pricing, back in 2024 and it has caused frustration for online sellers ever since.
Liz Morton
This update also comes as marketplaces and label providers have been providing surprisingly steeply discounted rates from Ground Advantage packages in the 3-5 lb range, leading some sellers to look for creative ways to try to pad their shipping weights for savings.
Liz Morton
And to add to the confusion, some sellers are reporting that other sources for purchasing USPS labels, like Pirate Ship, are not applying the zip code-based exceptions to Ground Advantage packages under 1 lb at this time, so some shipments may be cheaper if you don't use eBay labels.
Let us know in the comments below what rates you're seeing on eBay today and whether you're looking elsewhere to purchase your labels.
