Shipping overcharge
I bought something and paid for shipping. The seller paid for ground shipping but used a flat rate priority box to ship. I had to pay $11.41 to pick it up from the post office. I would have refused it but my hubby picked it up and paid. The seller doesn’t think they should pay it. I’ve contacted eBay but they’ve closed my case without doing anything. Help! What’s my next course of action? At this point I’m thinking I’ll just eat the $11 but it doesn’t seem right.
42 comments
wastingtime101
·2 years agoThere's a lot going on in this discussion. I'm going to clear up some mis-information and if I'm repeating other posters that have already clarified things, consider this support to back up what they already said.
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Your PO should never have stepped in with postage due on this package. By taking matters into their own hands they are circumventing the APV system and charging more.
When the cost adjustment comes through APV, the seller is billed directly, removing this sticky situation your PO put you in. That's a discussion you may want to have with your post master.
In addition, by billing you instead of letting APV do its work, they billed a much higher rate than the seller would have been charged through APV.
APV would have charged the seller the eBay rate (I saw the pic, it was an eBay-generated label) for a med flat rate box instead of the retail rate that you paid.
PO should stick to postage due on items the APV system cannot catch, like the misuse of a Media Mail label on an item that does not qualify for the service.
APV system applies to all USPS labels purchased online. It is not eBay-exclusive.
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Hopefully you've discussed with your husband and let him know, next time take a pic of the package / postage due notice and bring that home while asking the PO to hold the package until you have a chance to contact the seller.
Send the seller a pic of the postage due notice and ask them to send you funds to cover that cost, preferably through a third party like PayPal or Venmo. If you accept postage due as a partial refund on your order, then you open the package and find a problem with the item, you've now lost that postage due when you return the item for a refund.
If the seller does not volunteer to send you funds for postage due, refuse the package. Per the eBay Money Back Guarantee, you are covered when you refuse a package because postage is due, and as another poster mentioned above, you will need proof from USPS to support your claim.
In your current situation, having already opened the package (I assume), if everything is OK with the item then a partial refund through eBay for postage due would be acceptable.
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Your feedback was removed automatically by the system because you lost the claim. Not sure what type of claim you filed. Was it an item not received claim?
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Someone mentioned filing a not as described return request. This probably will not help you. All that would happen is seller would have to provide a return shipping label and you'd return the item for a refund of your original purchase price. You would still be out the additional postage paid direct to USPS.
You went outside of eBay's procedure so you need to work with the seller, or resort to a payment dispute. Hopefully your husband brought home the receipt from USPS to support a payment dispute if you go that route.
Did you let the seller know if they don't send the funds you are going to consider returning for not as described, or filing a payment dispute for the additional postage amount to see if that might get them to cooperate?
You can try asking eBay CS for assistance (send a DM to one of their social media channels), but since you did not follow policy they may not be able to assist short of telling you to file a not as described claim. See above what will happen if you do that.
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This is a general statement on ship costs, ignoring the misuse of a Med Flat Rate Priority box with a Ground Advantage label:
I cannot find the post I read earlier, but @lani1752 said something to the effect of being upset they originally paid $8.50 for shipping & handling when the seller paid $6.99 for the shipping label. As a seller yourself, I hope you realize sellers pay fees on the total amount buyer pays, including shipping and sales tax.
If you paid $8.50, assuming a category with 13.25% fees, the seller took away $7.37 after fees which is only 38 cents more than the $6.99. All the packing tape, inside packing materials, printer ink and paper ... just saying $8.50 is not an over charge. If the seller used a plain brown box as they should have for a Ground Adv shipment, the box alone would typically cost more than 38 cents. There's a reason it's called "shipping & handling" and not "shipping label".
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To @argentsol , you said:
>>Now, if they took an indelible marker and marked out EVERYTHING on the box that indicates it's a Priority Mail Flat Rate box they can use it for ground shipping. I do that with some leftover Priority Mail padded mailers I have. EVERYTHING indicating it is a p-mail box has to be thoroughly covered up. I use a sharpue wide tip angled black marker for this. I reuse packaging materials, envelopes, and boxes and I mark out all the USPS labeling, scan bars, q-codes, weight specs, etc so that USPS doesn't mistake it for a more expensive shipping method.
This is 100% wrong. You cannot black out Priority Mail markings, reused packaging or not, and ship without paying Priority Mail rates. Please don't ever give others the advice to misuse Priority packaging as they can find themselves in postage due situations, or in hot water with USPS if they are repeat offenders.
https://pe.usps.com/cpim/ftp/manuals/DMM300/125.pdf
Priority Mail packaging provided by the USPS must be used only for Priority Mail. The mailer of any material mailed in USPS-provided Priority Mail packaging, regardless of how the packaging is reconfigured or how markings may be obliterated, is charged the appropriate Priority Mail price.
lani1752
OP2 years agoThank you for all this. One thing I want to mention is that, for all the reasons you said, I was NOT upset about paying $8.50 for shipping when the seller paid $6.99. I was merely making a statement. I sell items as well and figure in my cost for boxing and shipping as well so I know how that is. Was just (and still am) upset at the situation since it seems like such an obvious mistake on the seller’s part yet I have been fighting for a resolution for days. At this point I’ve given up as I’m exhausted and am resigned to the fact I won’t be getting a refund and won’t be doing business with this person again. Lesson learned.
lani1752
OP2 years agoAlso I’m confused when you say I went against policy. If you could tell me exactly I did that was against policy I’d appreciate it. Thanks.
wastingtime101
·2 years agoI remembered an exclamation mark when you discussed the $8.50 ship cost compared to a $6.99 label, but perhaps I misinterpreted what you said. I was working off memory of a post I don't see anymore.
I didn't say you violated any policies.
I said you didn't follow policy, meaning you did not follow eBay's process for buyer protections in line with the Money Back Guarantee policy.
Of course you can voluntarily pay postage due as your husband did, but you will not be reimbursed without the seller's cooperation or without resorting to a payment dispute.
eBay's MBG policy says what to do in this situation to maintain buyer protections which is refuse delivery when there's postage due and get a refund (as long as you have proof from the carrier). The policy does not say they will reimburse you if you voluntarily pay postage due.
https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy?id=4210#section2
The buyer refused delivery of the item
Covered:
The item arrived with shipping cost still owing because the seller didn't apply enough postage
Not covered:
The buyer refused delivery for any other reason
If a package arrives empty or was damaged in transit, the buyer should accept the delivery and report that the item doesn't match the listing.
lani1752
OP2 years agoOk I get it. So the fact that my husband paid cash when the postal worker brought it to the door was what went against policy? I’ve been selling on eBay since 2009 and this is the first I’ve seen of this. This has happened in the past but the seller always saw that they were in the wrong and reimbursed me. This is the first one that hasn’t. I’m not liking the process at all so lesson learned definitely.
kathiec
·2 years agoThey removed your feedback because your case was settled in the seller's favor. When that happens no feedback can be left.
lani1752
OP2 years agoDoes anyone know of a way to contact eBay and actually speak to a human being?
1786davycrockett
·2 years ago@lani1752
Did you actually open up a case against the buyer -- or simply contact eBay through the "Help & Contact" process?
If you did not actually open up a case, do so now -- a "not as described" case -- because the buyer did NOT send you the FULL value of what you had ordered (that is, the advertised item, plus the ACTUAL shipping charges advertised by the seller) -- and the seller has NOT made you "whole."
Instead, the seller has stuck you with an additional shipping charge, which was NOT advertised.
If eBay rejects the NAD case, dispute the additional charges through your credit card company.
But, one way or the other, this seller must learn to stop stealing from their buyers.
Good luck.
lani1752
OP2 years agoI opened up an actual case but because I said I wanted a refund and tracking shows I received it they came back a few days later saying the case was closed. When I tried to appeal it they said I couldn’t. ☹ï¸
1786davycrockett
·2 years ago@lani1752
And DEFINITELY provide VERY negative feedback for the seller.
Perhaps the seller will decide to refund you the excess shipping charges.
Good luck.
lani1752
OP2 years agoThanks. I just went on the sellers feedback page because I wanted to edit the negative feedback I had left to add pictures but my negative feedback has been removed!
lani1752
OP2 years agoThanks. I just went on the sellers feedback page because I wanted to see if I could add pictures but my negative feedback has been removed already!
janet9988
·2 years agoEbay removed the feedback because you lost the case. What case did you open?
lani1752
OP2 years agoI tried to open a case regarding the topic of these posts - charged extra for shipping because the seller used a priority box and shipped Ground so I had to pay the difference. This is ridiculous! How can they remove my feedback when it was all true and an Issue with the seller?
1786davycrockett
·2 years ago@lani1752
Try going to the eBay Facebook for Business site, here:
https://www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness
You should be able to discuss this with a human being who works for eBay, who may actually be able to get you your money back, or to take actions against the seller.
Good luck.
mtgraves7984
·2 years ago@lani1752
You opened the wrong case. You've opened an Item Not Received (INR) claim, when you should have opened a Return request, citing 'Not as Described' as the reason for your claim. You lost the INR because you did receive a package.
Go back to the item and open a Return request. Hopefully the seller will offer a refund of the postage due. Worst case, you may have to return the item for your full refund, but the seller will have to provide a label for that, anyway.
lani1752
OP2 years agoThanks. I just went on the sellers feedback page because I wanted to edit it to add pictures but my negative feedback has been removed!
mtgraves7984
·2 years ago@lani1752
Whoa... what exactly did it say? I've heard of removal, but boy howdy, they fast-tracked that one! 🤔
lani1752
OP2 years agoI merely gave a negative review and said I had to pay extra for shipping since the seller used a priority box and shipped it ground. I then just said the seller refused to refund my money. Nothing snarky or derogatory so I don’t get it!
jowa-509899
·1 year agoI purchased the pqpillio birkenstock for 97.49 total 107.00 the ticket amount I received was 164.63 on item 8023808831 whats going on with that price ?
janet9988
·2 years agoSince ebay now allows photos on feedback I would take the picture showing the priority box with the ground advantage label.
Make sure the negative feedback states the seller refused to refund you the difference for their mistake in trying to take advantage of the PO.
lani1752
OP2 years agoGood to know about the pictures on feedback.
argentsol
·2 years agoThe seller can't use Priority Mail shipping materials unless they have paid for Priority Mail shipping. The USPS doesn't allow it.
Now, if they took an indelible marker and marked out EVERYTHING on the box that indicates it's a Priority Mail Flat Rate box they can use it for ground shipping.
I do that with some leftover Priority Mail padded mailers I have. EVERYTHING indicating it is a p-mail box has to be thoroughly covered up. I use a sharpue wide tip angled black marker for this.
I reuse packaging materials, envelopes, and boxes and I mark out all the USPS labeling, scan bars, q-codes, weight specs, etc so that USPS doesn't mistake it for a more expensive shipping method.
All that said: you should notify eBay and they will help resolve the issue. You absolutely should NOT have been charged at the post office. The seller needs to reimburse you.
Good luck with this! I hope your seller reimburses you quickly!
kathiec
·2 years ago@lani1752
This thread has kind of veered away from your question. Sadly, at this point eBay has no way to force the seller to pay the postage due. Should this happen again you have the option to refuse the package and open an item not received case. Normally eBay doesn't cover refused packages, but their Money Back Guarantee has an exception if the package arrives postage due. You would need some kind of proof from USPS of the postage due.
This time I recommend the route of a carefully worded negative feedback. Don't mention contacting eBay. Just say something like "Paid $11.41 postage due when receiving package; seller refuses to reimburse". You also might try disputing the charge with your credit card. That's kind of a long shot, but many card issuers allow disputes for partial amounts. And it doesn't hurt to try.
One of the very few negs I've ever left was for someone trying to cheat the PO by putting a flat rate box inside a flat rate envelope. It was detected and I got stuck with the postage due. So I feel your pain.
argentsol
·2 years agoI learned about using usps p-mail boxes for ground service the hard way. I found out that USPS doesn't allow it and WILL charge the buyer at pickup for the difference in cost.
I quickly refunded my customer and apologized and it was a lesson well-learned. Lol.
Ebay should be notified about it if the seller is refusing to pay the extra shipping since the seller caused the issue.
lani1752
OP2 years agoI did notify eBay but because it was all automated subject matters there was nothing for a refund of just shipping. I said I wanted a refund and they said tracking shows it was delivered so case closed. I’d like to actually talk to someone. ðŸ™
glorybells
·2 years ago@lani1752 ,
try contacting eBay through social media:
www.facebook.com/eBayForBusiness
www.twitter.com/askeBay
they have superior customer service there. Leave them a PRIVATE message with your user name, contact information, and a brief description of the problem.
lani1752
OP2 years agoGreat idea! Thanks!!!
mr_lincoln
·2 years agoHi @lani1752
-Had the Seller purchased the label through eBay the APV system would have charged the Seller the additional postage. You have been scammed by that Seller.
-Sellers get away with this by buying the postage off eBay so it is just another package in the USPS system that has under paid postage, so the recipient gets the Postage due notice. The Seller's local post office "should" have stopped it at the counter or drop box but I recently learned USPS is letting this stuff go through. Our local Post Office asked me about a situation they had because I ship so much. They had a person from another zip code area drop off large packages (approx 20 x 20 x 12) in the drop off lane. When they scanned them in then looked up the package details the dimensions the shipper used for their label and found it was 5 x 5 x 5. The Seller was getting away with shipping a huge box for less than 10 bucks when it should have been more like $ 65 as they explained it to me. This happened several times and their upper management was given the person's name and address but they instructed the Local Post office to let the packages go through ... I was like WHAT??? THAT kind of attitude indirectly costs ME money.
nobody*s_perfect
·2 years agoThey are letting packages go through because the APV system works for ALL postage purchased online, not just through eBay. Local PO's have specifically been told to let the APV system handle packages with underpaid or overpaid online postage, rather than tying up the PO counter staff or the recipient's carrier. Especially at the PO counter, the staff would not have any effective way of figuring out how much postage was owed for that online-rate label. I wonder if the buyer's Post Office wasn't aware of this, and charged the package recipient even after the APV system had caught the error.
https://link.usps.com/2017/10/05/what-is-apv/
http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/ship-smart/ebay-shipping-partners/avoid-extra-postage-costs.html
mr_lincoln
·2 years ago@nobody*s_perfect
If Sellers buy their labels through eBay APV works, I know that from my own experience. If a Seller buys postage online and not through eBay how does eBay know that specific label is for an eBay shipment? If they do not have their postage purchasing site linked to an eBay account eBay would have no clue ... they could manually load the tracking number to the Sold file and eBay would never see the label or its cost. In that scenario USPS would indeed use the Postage due notice for the recipient.
But to your point, yes, I believe there are many local POs that have no clue about the APV system for eBay & USPS or they DO know but still try to get more postage.
nobody*s_perfect
·2 years agoNo, USPS (via APV) would still bill the sender, i.e, the individual who purchased the label. The APV system applies to ALL online postage purchases, not just those purchased through eBay. It's a basic part of the sorting center equipment. The charge for any underpaid label (or the credit for overpaid) would go through whichever provider was used to purchase the postage.
argentsol
·2 years agoThis. I under charged for postage once and USPS had ebay take the money out of my account. My Shipping is linked to ebay.
I did it once on click n ship outside of ebay and they did the same thing, except not through ebay. They charged the card I had on file.
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoI believe there are many local POs that have no clue about the APV system ........ or they DO know but still try to get more postage.
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It is SOP for any office to check the USPS intranet to see if the back charge has been done by the APV ................. , before marking postage due at the delivery office, and attempting to collect.
I suppose that it is possible, but for as many years as the APV system has been around I find it rather hard to accept that many have no clue about the APV
lani1752
OP2 years agoThis link is very helpful. That’s exactly what happened and I’m at a loss as to why the seller doesn’t think he owes me or why eBay isn’t reimbursing me. Does anyone have an actual phone number or a way to contact them? I sell enough to know not to use a priority box on ground shipping.
toomuchstuffagain35
·2 years agoHow did you pay? If you paid through PayPal you can open a case for postage due.
Or if you paid by cc you could contact your cc provider and see about a dispute for postage paid.
cardsforauction
·2 years agoI thought it would be a return to sender if postage is not correct? Could you just refuse to accept the package if postage is due and the package will be returned to the seller?
mr_lincoln
·2 years ago@cardsforauction
As it relates to eBay: If a Buyer "refuses" delivery and the package is returned to Sender the Buyer loses their eBay MBG.
The Post office will try to recover underpaid postage to complete a delivery.
airsheep
·2 years agoI had thought that one of the valid reasons a buyer could refuse a package was that it arrived 'postage due'...
kathiec
·2 years ago@mr_lincoln
This isn't always true. The MBG's section on refusals specifically states:
Covered:
mtgraves7984
·2 years agoWhat’s my next course of action?
@lani1752
You might consider carefully worded feedback. Sometimes bad sellers become a bit more accommodating after receiving a negative...
monica-sells
·2 years agothat's a little odd...in most cases, that underpayment would have been assessed to the sellers account...
not sure why that did not happen.....
unfortunately, i don't think there are many options for you, since you mentioned they 'colsed the case'....
maybe someone has an idea for you....