News broke this week that shipping giant UPS contacted dozens of retailers informing them that it plans to put an end to the discounts on oversized packages this holiday season. For some of these retailers, the termination of this discount won’t be just for the holiday season but will remain all year long. What does this mean for business and consumers? It means that this is a big red flag alerting us to rising shipping prices.
Items that will be affected are larger boxes measuring more than 130 inches in combined length plus girth. An oversized package triggers a flat fee of $57.50 and automatically bumps up the weight for which a customer is charged to a minimum of 90 pounds.
Some retailers and online shops that have popular discounts on those extra charges are quite concerned about the additional expenses they will soon either have to take on or tack onto the consumer this holiday season. Although UPS hasn’t publicly confirmed the action, the buzz from the Wall Street Journal’s article has many businesses partnering with third party shipping refund services, like Refund Logistics.
