Third package in a month and a half that I got from ebay with postage due.
On two of the packages, the postage due was even more money than the items cost. One order I lost $16 on because the postman scanned it before telling me I owed $10 in postage. So it showed as delivered on the ebay tracking page though I had it returned it to the seller. The seller was dishonest and didn't refund my money when I filed for a refund and claimed I did get it.
Now I am getting paranoid about buying and been shopping on the site. 26 years here without this kind of thing happening. Anyone else running into a lot of this? It's smells fishy I don't know if they are trying to pass things off as media mail or what is going on. But that's pretty often for this to happen.
18 comments
deltilogical
·11 months agoUSPS website today says Cds with sound recordings are applicable for Media Mail.
"MEDIA MAIL SERVICE
Media Mail shipping is a cost-effective way to send educational materials. This service has restrictions on the type of media that can be shipped. Media Mail rates are limited to the items listed below:
Sound recordings and video recordings, such as CDs and DVDs."
However: "Media Mail packages may not contain advertising. Comic books do not meet this standard. Books may contain incidental announcements of other books and sound recordings may contain incidental announcements of other sound recordings."
It is possible it is a package thickness issue, but without pictures, can't say for sure.
krazzykats
·11 months agoIt's probably an older fixed shipping cost listing. Many sellers set a fixed shipping rate and then forget to update it or may not keep track of postal rate increases.
If the item was listed last year with a fixed shipping cost, it might no longer cover current rates, and the seller hasn’t updated the listing and is still shipping at the old rate.
á“šá˜á—¢
lsadowy
OP11 months agoOh you know a lot of sellers that do this?
soh.maryl
·11 months agoThere are some items that are larger than usual packages, longer, for instance-- like curtain rods -- and thus entail more postage. Perhaps those sellers didn't know that.
mamacassidy
·11 months agoThis is confusing to me too, @lsadowy
What kind of packages are these and what shipping method was used?
All of the packages I send are with labels I purchase on ebay. So if/ when there has a been a price discrepancy, my account is charged. I've never had a buyer tell me that they had to pay additional postage.
And I can't see someone buying a label at the post office and the clerk not charging them the appropriate shipping cost. Someone mentioned something about Media Mail, however, a few years ago I tried to send some cds with phamplets as media mail, and instead of sending them to the buyer, they were simply returned to me. (I thought cd and paper products counted as media mail, but I guess the pamphlets were considered advertising?)
I know some people use Pirate Ship or other online platforms to purchase postage, but I thought those would charge the original buyer's account the same way ebay does.
Or are these packages being sent from overseas, and you're being charged additional fees when they arrive?
lsadowy
OP11 months agoI spoke to someone at ebay and they think it is suspicious too. I never see the packages up close since I don't accept them. I am wondering if they are using drop shippers who are doing it and maybe the sellers are overseas.
Two of the sellers refunded my money instantly when I contacted them. Made me think they knew there was problems with some and didn't want me reporting to ebay. But I had one who lied and I lost my money. The postal carrier scanned it before telling me there was $10 due and so it showed as delivered. I had them return it to seller not thinking the seller would lie about it, but once ebay closed the case I was out my money on that one.
BTW I am a musiciain and CD's used to be media mail. Not sure when they changed that, but one day I was not allowed to send them that way anymore though I was taking them to the post office to mail since it was sporadic that I sold them and didn't need a postage machine.
mamacassidy
·11 months agoIn the case of all three of them, I'd leave negative feedback stating that they arrived with postage due. And I'd report the buyers to ebay as well. Even the ones who refunded you. This is a seriously shady business practice.
I would not try calling/ talking to customer service reps in the call center. I'd do everything through the automated system. The automated system uses the algorithm and might notice a pattern of bad behavior if enough people report it, but the call center reps can't/ won't do anything. (At least in my personal experience).
Since you already lost the money on that one, you just need to file a chargeback with your credit card company for Not As Described (because it was not the price described if you had to pay more money on arrival).
mudshark61369
·11 months ago@lsadowy ,
There has been an increase in the number of Postage Due complaints on these boards in the last month or so. Depending on they type of listing, some sellers may not have upgraded their item's shipping cost if they were auto relisted after July 15, this year when the USPS postage rate increase took effect.
Just yesterday afternoon I was weed whacking when my carrier came by. He had a standard small letter envelope 6.5" X 3.5" with a 2024 Forever stamp on it, that had a postage due .49¢ stamp on it. He pointed it out to me, and I said how can this be when the envelope and its contents weighed less than the 3.5oz. maximum. It's actual weight was .03 oz. including the small piece of bubble wrap protecting the item inside, which was a proof for a plasticized business card. He waved the cost but told me to report the issue to USPS, since he had seen this happen several times of late, with packages and letters.
" The seller was dishonest and didn't refund my money when I filed for a refund and claimed I did get it".
If you filed an item not received (INR) dispute after the Delivered scan was posted, ebay would have turned down the claim.
When you refuse a package because of postage due, you need to tell the postal carrier you are refusing it because of the postage.Then, contact eBay customer service to file an INR claim, providing the postal service's proof of postage due (probably a photo) to get your refund. The seller will have to pay the return postage to get the item back, so they will ultimately refund you.
If you did not follow the steps above that is why the seller did not refund you.
Think about it, any buyer who has buyer's remorse could refuse packages claiming postage due without proof of it, to get refunds if proof of postage due was not required.
bdmh-enterprises
·11 months agoFYI, putting bubble wrap in an envelope disqualifies it from being machined. The .49 postage due is the difference between regular stamp and non machinable stamp. Cool your mail guy canceled it, but it was in fact a legit charge.
lsadowy
OP11 months agoThanks I'm not really asking for a solution, but trying to find out if this some scammy thing is going on and a lot of others suddenly dealing with it and you mentioned that yes, they seem to be, so that answers my question. Your reponse is appreciated. I don't have time to be dealing with 3 sellers in a short time doing this. I mentioned it to people I know in the real world and they say they'd rather pay a little more at Amazon and avoid the hassle. I see their point.
Twice the postage due was more than the item too. Just a big PITA. Especially since I lost my $16 on the curtain rod. I went to Lowes and bought the others all there too which I would have bought from the seller. That was 5 sales an ebay seller missed out on thanks to that **bleep**
kathiec
·11 months ago@lsadowy
EBay's Money Back Guarantee allows you to refuse delivery of a package with postage due, then open an item not received case. The specific exclusion under "the buyer refused delivery" states:
Covered:
Just be sure you have proof of the postage due.
lsadowy
OP11 months agoNot the point I was making. Never in 26 years. What are these sellers doing?
soh.maryl
·11 months agoAs others here have pointed out to you, there was an increase in USPS postage costs, effective July 15th. Perhaps those sellers hadn't figured out their postage costs taking the increase into account?
ed8108
·11 months agoI suggest that you report the issue to ebay
For the present one way to deal with this to minimize disappointment ,may be to lower your expectations of a problem free happy buying experience
soh.maryl
·11 months agoSo when I make a purchase on eBay, I need to prepare myself for things not to go smoothly? Do you see how sad that is?
bonanza125
·11 months ago"Anyone else running into a lot of this? It's smells fishy I don't know if they are trying to pass things off as media mail or what is going on. But that's pretty often for this to happen."
Yes which is why you need to contact the seller first if you are interested in a listing which has shipping cost way under what the cost really should be. Yes some sellers will try to ship media mail to get cheap shipping to make a sale. The problem with that is exactly what you described it comes postage due. What exactly are you buying?
doc-holmes
·11 months agoI'd just avoid the sellers all together. A question like that would get the OP insta-blocked by a large number of sellers. A lot of sellers on eBay lose it when their methods dare to be questioned. Based on a lot of posts I read on here, a lot of sellers will automatically think they're getting "scammed" or "hacked."
lsadowy
OP11 months agoCurtain rods for one and computer hardware. I have been on here 26 years and also used to sell, so not a newbie. This never happened till recently. No something strange is going on. Even the ebay CSR thought so when we spoke on the phone.