Online sellers, brace yourselves – holiday surcharges are coming from shipping carriers soon, even before the beginning of the busy holiday shopping season.
FedEx will increase its Additional Handling Surcharge on September 5th, calling it a “Peak” surcharge, which seems absurdly early. The surcharge applies to FedEx Express Package and US and International Ground services, and it will rise yet again on October 3, lasting through January 15, 2023. The same is true for its Oversize Charge.
FedEx provided an indication of its expected volume changes in its Peak Surcharge tranches for Ground Economy Package Service that show the busiest period during the holiday season likely to fall between November 28 and December 11th:
Oct. 31, 2022–Nov. 27, 2022: $1.50
Nov. 28, 2022–Dec 11. 2022: $2.50
Dec. 12, 2022–Jan. 15, 2023: $1.50
Black Friday falls on November 25, Cyber Monday on November 28, and Christmas falls on Sunday, December 25.
Following the tumultuous holiday shipping period in 2020 when Covid had put enormous strain on logistics, retailers appeared to have been successful in getting out the message to consumers to shop early in 2021.
This year remains uncharted territory, and it’s uncertain whether people will do their holiday shopping early this year. But the fact that FedEx is dropping one of its peak surcharge to a lower tranche during the final two weeks before Christmas Day is noteworthy.
Even when buyers pay for shipping, sellers pay payment-processing costs (and on eBay and Etsy, a commission fee) on the total transaction amount, including shipping – so seller margins can decline during what for many are their best sales period of the year.
