Some astute sellers discovered the USPS’s decision to roll out Ground Advantage is having an impact on the availability and cost of bubblewrap and certain other shipping supplies, which could impact sellers of fragile goods that must be carefully packaged before shipping.
Vickie and Mark of Avante Avenue sell on multiple venues including eBay, Mercari, and Poshmark. On Monday, they published a video describing the changes they were seeing – they could no longer purchase the quantities of bubblewrap and air pillows they had carefully researched as having the best value for their needs. Honeycomb Mailer Machine
Vickie discovered that some suppliers who previously shipped large packages of lightweight bubblewrap via USPS First Class Package Service (FCPS) and who must now ship them USPS Ground Advantage were making adjustments because of the higher costs of Dim Weight pricing. (Parcels smaller than one cubic foot – the equivalent of 12x12x12 – are immune from Dim Weight pricing.)
Dim Weight pricing did not apply to FCPS, but on July 9th, the USPS consolidated FCPS, Parcel Select, and USPS Retail Ground into one offering called Ground Advantage, where Dim Weight applies.
Note that this is not the first time USPS changes to Dim Weight pricing impacted shipping supplies – in 2019, the US Postal Service expanded Dim Weight to all Priority Mail zones and expanded Dim Weight to Priority Mail Express and Parcel Select Ground – and it changed the Dim Weight divisor from 194 to 166 – meaning higher rates.
We checked in today with Jason Archambault of Fastpack Packaging Inc., who confirmed he had to make some adjustments when Ground Advantage rolled out last month.
“We used to be able to ship smaller 100 ft rolls of bubble wrap and 2 cu ft bags of peanuts via First Class mail, (to name a few) as they were both under 1 lb and did not trigger any size or dimensional surcharges. When Ground Advantage rolled out, we did have to resize some items, to find the best shipping rate possible, as these products became very expensive to ship based on their size.”
Archambault explained he resized his 100-foot rolls of bubblewrap to 70-foot rolls (and lowered the price accordingly) to stay under the new Ground Advantage size restrictions. “We also had to cut our 2 cu-ft bags of peanuts, and was able to leave the 1 & 1.5 cu ft bags.”
He said he offers a 3.5 cu-ft bag of peanuts but it ships via Fedex, so it wasn’t affected by the USPS ground Advantage changes.
Archambault also noted that he has seen the cost of supplies themselves going down in price as the market gets more competitive. “For example, we are able to currently offer many Shipping Supply items at prices not seen in 5+ years, I would guess.” But he said the continual rise in shipping costs from all of the major carriers does make it tough for all suppliers.
In the comments section of the Avante Avenue YouTube video, sellers discussed equipment that allowed them to make their own air pillows and other tips. (Note that Avante Avenue includes affiliate links to some of the products they mention.)
If you purchase lightweight packaging material that is delivered in large packages, let us know what you’re seeing and feel free to share your own tips.
I’ve been buying more and more supplies including bubble mailers from Temu. I get packing materials from Temu. I try not to ship “breakables” via USPS. They break my stuff everytime.
I also found out this week that if an item is undeliverable for any reason and a return to sender is processed by the USPS, that the sender/seller will have to pay return postage for Ground Advantage shipments. This is not true for Priority Mail, only Ground Advantage. I paid $8.95 to ship and USPS wanted a ransom of almost $12 to get my product back. Still no explanation on why it wasn’t able to be delivered in the first place.
U-haul moving / rental store sells 100′ x 12″ big-bubble wrap or 150′ x 12″ small bubble wrap
At $20 (at least in NC) per box it comes in a nice dispenser-style box.
Here is my tip: I get free bubble wrap in great condition.
One day at my hair salon/spa, I noticed they received a shipment with bubble wrap, and I asked if I could have it. I explained that I ship as part of my business and could use all sizes. They were happy to see it recycled, and now they save it for me and call every couple of weeks when they have a bag full. I occasionally bring treats for the staff to show my appreciation. I’ve received so much that I am able to share it with other sellers I know.
Plastic Bag Making Machine It doesn’t have to be a hair salon. Check with any local business that regularly receives shipments. One person I know was able to get bubble wrap from a car dealership, for example.