Pricing for USPS is no longer the best pricing available

  • Zambu

    (@thomasw98)


    3 months, 1 week ago

    Pricing for USPS is no longer the best pricing available. Previously this plugin offered pricing that was the same as the other “commercial discount rates” offered by Shippo, PirateShipping, etc. Recently this has changed. The rates for USPS from this plugin are now about 7% higher than the others.

    I contacted their support about this was their answer: “Platforms like Pirateship and Shippo may offer lower figures on some shipments because they automatically compare weight-based and cubic pricing for each package and apply whichever is cheaper, and because they aggregate volume across all their merchants to access deeper rate tiers.”

    “This is not a price increase or a bug on our end. The gap reflects a structural difference in how each platform accesses USPS rates.”

    This is false information. The pricing has always been exactly the same as the others. They have definitely made an adjustment, i.e. added on more profit margin for the plugin. I should also note that this has nothing to do with cubic pricing as they falsely claim.. The other sites are not using cubic pricing when I compare rates.

    Guess it’s time to move on from this one.

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
  • Plugin Support Alex a11n

    (@alessandromonteiro)

    3 months ago

    Hello,

    Thank you for sharing this, we appreciate your feedback.

    There are two separate factors regarding the pricing difference you noticed:

    1. USPS pricing framework change (April 2026) USPS recently updated how it classifies and discounts rates for shipping platforms. This change reduced the commercial discount tier available through many third-party integrations, including WooCommerce Shipping. This is a USPS-side pricing decision and affects the base rates we’re able to offer. It’s not something that can be changed on the plugin side.

    2. Cubic rate comparison Some competing platforms automatically compare the standard weight-based Ground Advantage rate against the Ground Advantage Cubic rate, which is a dimension-based pricing tier that can be cheaper for small, dense packages (≤ 0.5 cubic feet, ≤ 20 lbs). WooCommerce Shipping currently returns the weight-based rate only and does not perform this comparison. For compact, heavier items, this can result in a noticeable price difference.

    We’re aware of both of these factors and they’re being tracked by our team. We understand this impacts merchants who rely on competitive shipping rates, and we take that seriously.

    In the meantime, if your shipments frequently involve small, dense packages where cubic pricing would apply, you may want to compare rates across platforms for those specific shipments to ensure you’re getting the best price.

    Thanks again for raising this, feedback like yours helps us prioritize improvements.

    Thread Starter Zambu

    (@thomasw98)

    3 months ago

    In summary, WooCommerce Shipping no longer offers the best pricing available.

    usty00

    (@usty00)

    2 months, 3 weeks ago

    I noticed this about a week ago. Unfortunately, a convenient shipping feature built into Woo commerce will no longer be used by us. It was a game changer when it came into play. Now it’s irritating and costly. I’m back to using another service for shipping like I was prior to this functionality. Clumsy, but cost effective.

    Thread Starter Zambu

    (@thomasw98)

    2 months, 3 weeks ago

    pirate ship works well and rates are the best. You can set it up so that it imports your orders from woo. I use it for usps and ups now instead of woo ship. I use easyship for rare dhl shipments.

    usty00

    (@usty00)

    2 months, 3 weeks ago

    Understood. I’m probably going to integrate all the platforms I sell on into ShipStation. This situation is pushing me into it. Will cost $40/mo for me but will gain a lot of convenience.

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)

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