it looks like there has been a change in the way fedex checks the packages. due to the cost of the items we have shipped, we almost always use fedex or ups. this sounds really scary, and the only way that you can definitely ensure against the weight surcharge is if you bring it in person to a fedex office. i realize some of you cannot, so that isn't an option. but for those who can... they will put it onto the scale in order to print a receipt. at that point, you have 2 means to verify...
the first is to find out what their scales say the weight is as you stand there, and if you have a discrepancy, you would be able to not ship right then -- as others have said, the label you print on ebay for fedex is NOT charged to you unless the package actually goes through their system. so, even tho you have printed the label, if you don't ship, there is no charge.
the second and most important thing for verification is that the receipt you get for a drop-off has that weight printed right there on the receipt. when you drop off a pre-printed ebay fedex label, they don't do the dimensions...but, the weight is automatically printed because the package is sitting on the scale when they do it. always check your receipt to verify the weight, and if you agree with the weight, then you will have PROOF of the weight in that receipt!!
one note... i don't believe we have ever dropped off multiple fedex packages, and if so, i don't know if they would show the weight of each individual package. you would have to ask if you ever have that situation. but for one package, a receipt would solve any weight issue.
i remember when they changed their system to dimensional weight, the first couple of months, the charges were indeed out of whack -- but that showed up on our ebay forms before we shipped...i didn't have any surprises. however, that spooked me a bit because it was showing things like a 5-lb package costing 125 dollars. huh? but, it settled down after a couple of months. even so, that weirdness must still be in their system when you jump weights or dimensions as others here have explained.
the trouble is... we've had multiple usps packages either lost or misplaced for days or weeks en route, and the usps can never help us because their tracking isn't detailed enough. one of my worst experiences was when purchasing an item on ebay, and about midway in transit, it just disappeared completely from their tracking. the seller and i tried to get some answers for over a month, and my post office just closed the case when there was nothing else they could find out. i guess they assumed we would just file for a lost-mail claim. the problem was that it was a typical ebay one-of-a-kind vintage item, so the seller and i didn't want to give up. finally...after going to the regional postmaster, we were told the package was lost in a long-haul truck fire. why didn't any of the post offices we were working with have that info? i don't know... don't know if it was real or not because i didn't see any big increase in lost package info on ebay discussions at the time. but, NONE of the offices had that info and apparently couldn't get it.
we've also had several usps packages rerouted around the country for days or weeks at a time before they were delivered. this happened multiple times already -- including one next-day overnight package that they just sort of took an extra day to get there because the pickup time when they handed it to the truck was after 5pm that day. there have been several ebay community posts about that from other people, too. so, i don't trust the usps either. sorry.
