Postage Due
Summary: heiness purchased lamps and received them with a postage due notice. monroe67 clarified that if no additional postage was paid, the buyer has no further obligation, and the seller might be billed. Discussions highlighted that if an item is delivered with a postage due note, buyers typically decide whether to pay or refuse delivery. Comments mentioned that sellers on eBay have been charged additional postage after delivery. heiness confirmed not paying extra, and it was noted sellers cannot leave negative feedback for buyers on eBay. Ultimately, heiness faced no further issues, as eBay doesn’t require the buyer to address the postage due.
I purchased some lamps recently and paid the shipping fee. The package arrived (and was delivered) with a postage due amount. Apparently the shipper did not calculate the shipping charges properly and they will be billed for additional postage due. Has this happened to anyone else and what is protocol for this type of situation? It's a first for me. Thank you for any guidance.
mam98031
·1 week agoHumans make mistakes sometimes.
house*of*paws
·1 week ago · EditedHi @heiness
If the lamps have been delivered to you already … then what type of protocol are you asking about? 🤔
You have nothing more to do as the buyer.
gosimus
·1 week ago@heiness
< what is protocol for this type of situation >
In a follow up posting, you explained that you did receive the lamps and did not pay extra postage. You're done, no further action is needed. Enjoy your lamps.
christworks
·1 week ago@heiness Generally when carriers leave a package with a postage due note, it is expected that you will leave the money in your mailbox for the mailman. I think the postage due note is actually an envelope. Is that still the case?
They have no way to know it is an eBay seller and their account can be charged through eBay.
heiness
OP1 week agoThey do know because of the shipping label. They wouldn’t leave a package without payment.
grand-and-glorious-purpose
·1 week agoArrival with postage due is one of the few reasons a buyer can refuse a package and still be covered under the MBG so the protocol depends.
If you really don't want to lose those lamps...you pay it.
If you don't want to pay it, you don't pay it.
You can ask the seller to reimburse you, the courier will attempt to collect several times before it gets sent back. The seller may or may not and if you try to extort them with bad feedback, you are the one that will get in the most trouble.
After refusal they are sent back to the seller and the seller would have to pay the postage due in order to take possession of the lamps again, go that route you may never see them again...so I guess how rare and fantastic are those lamps dictates how you handle it.
heiness
OP1 week agoI didn't pay anything extra and I have the lamps. Seller will be charged for the postage due and not me (the buyer).
grand-and-glorious-purpose
·1 week ago · EditedIf it arrived postage due and it wasn't collected from you it likely won't be collected from the seller either. I have had several packages where the carrier just didn't bother to collect. Most of them RTS Media Mail that I shipped myself and I was never charged.
That would have already happened and you would never have been wise to it.
thriftyfiftyfifty
·1 week agoI've had this happen recently on one of my eBay Orders. Tracking was crazy including indications it was sent back before reaching me, then it came back to me, and then an "Unable to Deliver" caveat and finally when "Out For Delivery" a "Returned To Sender" final entry. Opened an Item Not Received because of the tracking shenanigans. To my surprise the item was actually in my Mailbox, same day as the Returned To Sender entry. Saw the Postage Due Stamp with a Dollar Value written in it, but wasn't on my dime otherwise I wouldn't have it in my box. Just assumed they possibly levied the charge on the Seller after all electronically or just did a forego write-off. Had they not, my Protocol is to Refuse it or Return To Sender...not gonna pay for a Sellers mistake. I can only assume the postage due issue was caused by the fact they sent in a "Legal" Priority Flat Rate Envelope but paid for the smaller Priority Envelope Label. Hard to tell on this one really.
msha3839
·1 week agoSo item was delivered despite postage due? Not sure if seller can be charged after delivery completed…as a policy mail person taking package back to postal office until extra delivery fee paid in full..
kensgiftshop
·1 week ago"Not sure if seller can be charged after delivery completed…"
We see post here all the time where the seller was charged more from the carrier after delivery.
albertabrightalberta
·1 week agoBut it's never (that I recall) been stated that the package was held pending payment by the seller or pending the charge to the seller's account.
monroe67
·1 week agoCan you clarify a couple of details?
You were/are the buyer, correct?
You say: "The package arrived (and was delivered) with a postage due amount."
Were you asked or required to pay any additional money to the US Postal Service (or FedEx or UPS, if either of those companies delivered the lamps)?
If you did pay the postage due, then the transaction is complete. You have the lamps you purchased. In that situation, you agreed to pay any postage due.
If you did not pay the postage due, and the lamps were still delivered to you, congratulations. The transaction is complete in that scenario also, and apparently -- as your post states -- the shipper/eBay seller will be charged for the additional postage.
IF it ever happens again that you purchase something and are asked to pay additional postage, you have to make the decision: To Pay or Not To Pay.
How badly do you need or want the thing(s) you purchased?
Badly enough to pay more money to take possession of the thing(s) you purchased?
If you do pay the postage due, you must understand that the seller is not legally required to reimburse you.
If you decide not to pay the postage due, you can instruct your local post office to mark the item "Refused", and it will be returned to the seller. HE will have to pay the postage due.
Then, as soon as possible, you should file an Item Not Received (INR) claim through eBay's Money Back Guarantee (MBG). Mark the reason as Postage Due.
eBay considers Postage Due as a valid reason for a buyer to refuse delivery, and eBay will refund you in full.
heiness
OP1 week agoI did not pay any additional postage and I have the lamps. I believe USPS will come after the seller for the additional postage. That's according to Gemini anyway. The postage due is $113 which is unreal. Unfortunately, the seller didn't know the first thing about shipping and this will be a hard lesson for them. I know in the past if I haven't paid enough postage, USPS will bill me and not the buyer. If you're selling on eBay, you best learn how to do it and offer a few methods of shipping so your buyers can pick the cheapest one. I don't plan on helping the seller with any of the postage. I just don't want them to ding me for it in the feedback.
monroe67
·1 week agoYou are the eBay buyer.
eBay sellers cannot leave negative or neutral feedback for eBay buyers.
eBay buyers receive only positive feedback or none.
You had your lamps delivered with some sort of note that <somebody> still owed $113 to the post office, but it is not you.
YOU are smelling like a rose!
Smile and sleep well tonight!