Cost adjustment usps
USPS hit me up with a 10 dollar charge on a 5 oz package. I shipped a dvd and used media mail. Theyre saying I used a priority flat rate box. Flat out false. I appealed. Then eBay deducted the funds. What in the world is this scam? They don’t even prove anything with their investigation?!?
34 comments
evry1nositswindy
·2 years ago@norskmediashop It isn't rigged. The USPS is the one who scans packages as they go through. It actually has nothing to do with eBay. They can go back to the picture and credit if need be. It isn't a perfect system. No need to try to make a conspiracy out of it.
yuzuha
·2 years agoExactly. Like I said, I had one with a label I had purchased through Shipstation via PayPal (someone's Priority Flat Rate Envelope had ended up on top of my Ground Advantage box when it was scanned). I followed the instructions they gave me in the email alerting me of the cost adjustment and sent USPS the email with the requested information and got my money back in less than two weeks.
Incredibly simple, takes less than three minutes to do and they won't even try to fight you on it.
evry1nositswindy
·2 years agoDid you use the cardboard from a flat rate box inside the packaging by chance? Sometimes buyers will report that and you will be charged for using it.
tobaccocardyahoo
·2 years agoReceived packages from Ebay sellers who did exactly this.
Media mail is more likely to be caught because media mail packages can be opened for inspection. So no buyer report would be necessary.
evry1nositswindy
·2 years agoThis is visible on the eBay shipping labels page:
Some of your shipping labels have cost adjustments.
If you think these adjustments are incorrect, you can contact USPS Customer Care at 1-844-819-5187 or verifypostagehelp@usps.gov to open a dispute. Make sure you have the IMPB and Revenue Assurance ID below to identify the adjustment. USPS will respond within 5-15 business days.
norskmediashop
·2 years agoThat is a lost cause, you do all the work they require through that email system and get nowhere, same with the phone line. Complete rigged joke. And that's just one of the reasons why we refuse to use ebay for shipping. pirateship and maybe others you don't have to deal with it that way.
1786davycrockett
·2 years ago@kasp182
This happens more often than might be understood, and generally occurs when a smaller package (yours) becomes attached to a larger package (somebody else's). The high-speed automatic sorting machines scan YOUR package, and assume that YOU have underpaid for the LARGER package.
I received a similar email message from USPS through my eBay email account several years ago, concerning a small 8 ounce Media Mail package which USPS declared was actually a package weighing nearly 3 pounds. I phoned the contact number listed on the email which I had received, and actually talked with a REAL HUMAN BEING!!!
She assured me that what had happened was common, and described how it had probably occurred (as I detailed earlier). She opened up a claim for me, based on my eBay email address, and told me that the USPS inspectors would examine the filmed recording of the incident, and that my account would be refunded by USPS if the film showed a "piggyback" package.
And, a few days later, my account was refunded. No problems.
So -- check that email, and make the phone call.
And, by the way, this happens with EVERY type of shipping label -- not just those purchased through eBay.
Good luck.
inhawaii
·2 years agoSometimes the USPS gives me back money that I overpaid.
It's all a big scam I tell ya.
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoSometimes going to a post office can keep from getting overcharged.
And although many here say well, you can ask for a refund and get a refund....how long does it take to get that refund?...and does it go as a credit for future shipping or a direct refund?
Guess you might need extra cash sometimes when you get overcharged...but hey, the refund will eventually come.
wastingtime101
·2 years agoIn my experience the refund hits my original form of payment (credit card) within 2 weeks in most cases.
OP was charged $10. If someone can't float $10 for a couple of weeks, what are they going to do if a buyer files a return? Anybody actively selling needs to have some cash reserves to cover incidentals.
wastingtime101
·2 years ago@kasp182 This happens to me all the time. It's a pain in the ass, but it's easy to appeal. Send USPS an email verifypostagehelp@usps.gov with the following details:
In order for USPS to investigate your dispute they must have the following information:
I generally describe the problem, as well. Shipped 8 oz t-shirt in plain white polymailer with eBay logo, was up charged based on a Priority Flat Rate Envelope packaging which was not used.
Educated guess: packages sometimes get stuck together or are too close together when going through the sorting machinery so the scans are reading a different package. When you file an appeal, USPS will look at the actual photos taken during sorting and they will see the package and grant the refund.
USPS sends the refund to your original source of payment (credit card, bank, paypal, eBay funds, etc).
https://www.ebay.com/ship/lmng
https://faq.usps.com/s/article/Automated-Package-Verification-Program
albertabrightalberta
·2 years agoWhy is this not working for the many sellers who (in March) were backcharged for voided and never-used labels from December?
wastingtime101
·2 years agoThat's like comparing apples and a bucket of mud @albertabrightalberta .
OP's situation is a basic everyday APV error that can be credited on appeal.
The void-recharge issue is fraud on USPS's side. Reports came from sellers using multiple shipping providers for USPS, not just eBay. eBay is stepping in and doing the right thing, saying they will refund sellers, even if it is taking a while for them to sort out the situation (presumably with USPS). I don't know what the other shipping platforms are doing, if anything, to take care of sellers.
inhawaii
·2 years agoWhy do you call it a scam?
Do you really think the USPS purposely rips off customers to make additional revenue?
Not everyone is out to get you.
itscalledapostingid
·2 years agoThe USPS Revenue Assurance Program is automated:
A camera snaps a photo as the package moves over a scale. The software bills for under and refunds for over payment.
Mistakes happen. Your package was probably riding on a Priority mail box when it went under the cam.
You appeal. Someone at USPS looks at the photo and you're refunded. It happens.
Happened to me a couple times over the years and they made it right.
In the last 3 years I've only received refunds for packages where I paid too much when buying labels.
tools*
·2 years agoThis is why I use Pirateship.
norskmediashop
·2 years agoThis, we never use ebay for shipping because of this problem, there is no way to dispute when through other channels there is, same problem with amazon too no way to dispute it these platforms just take whatever they want when they want.
itscalledapostingid
·2 years ago@norskmediashop
Every time I was wrongly billed for underpayment on an ebay label I appealed and was refunded.
There's a link to dispute/appeal right in the ebay message.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoThis, we never use ebay for shipping because of this problem, there is no way to dispute when through other channels there is, same problem with amazon too no way to dispute it these platforms just take whatever they want when they want.
One, among many reasons I also quit using eBay to buy and print shipping labels. I utilize Pirate Ship which has the same, sometimes better, discounted rates than eBay. I also pay for those on a cash back credit card which reduces the shipping cost a bit further.
Pirate Ship provides some shipper protection against surcharges. However, they do not have FedEx available only USPS and UPS. I have never bit hit with a surcharge using Pirate Ship.
itscalledapostingid
·2 years agoDoes pirate ship refund when you over pay?
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoDoes pirate ship refund when you over pay?
Never been an issue but I take all my packages to the PO or UPS and have them weighed, occasionally measured, and scanned into the system. During the process the PO clerk would let me know if there was an overage or underage on the postage.
The only time I had an issue was when the clerk could not tell the difference between a medium mailing box and a medium flat rate box. Since the interface with USPS is the same as eBay's I would guess that they do but maybe somebody else that uses Pirate Ship can validate/verify that.
ittybitnot
·2 years agoDoes pirate ship refund when you over pay?
@itscalledapostingid
Yes, I have had two refunds. One UPS, and one USPS.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoDoes pirate ship refund when you over pay?
@itscalledapostingid
Yes, I have had two refunds. One UPS, and one USPS.
Thank you for the confirmation. It makes sense logically since neither eBay or Pirate Ship is the actual carrier they are just the broker for the service.
rosszonebricks
·2 years agoWhy is Pirateship any different? Use eBay to print a USPS label vs Priateship to print a USPS label?
Trust me, if you goof and put the wrong weight/type etc, Pirateship WILL charge you the difference (and then some, in my experience...)
norskmediashop
·2 years agoBecause using pirateship your in charge, not ebay. Plus it doesn't have to come out of the ridiculous funds setup on here which is nothing but a headache anymore. Pirateship you can charge it to yourself, be in charge of the shipment and transaction, if there is a problem it can be handled easier and easy to dispute if necessary. Plus their insurance configurations are so much easier to work with. And they have actual customer service that is top notch.
itscalledapostingid
·2 years agoApparently Pirate Ship does charge your account when USPS Revenue Assurance Program catches under payment. I looked it up:
https://support.pirateship.com/en/articles/4143742
UPS surcharges are billed to your Pirate Ship account too.
I don't know why some people online keep claiming they don't.
norskmediashop
·2 years agoI know they do, the point was you can dispute it easier and more simple than on ebay if needed. And you don't have worry about funds in ebay as much which has become a bigtime headache the way this works anymore since they got rid of paypal.
itscalledapostingid
·2 years agoI've never had to deal with ebay customer support over a shipping under payment issue.
I just followed the appeal link in the ebay message about the adjustment. Fill out the short form and submit. That goes right to USPS. The first time a USPS postmaster from the destination post office called me the next day and initiated the refund after she viewed the image. The other two times they just refunded me. Nobody called or anything. I'm not sure it could be any easier than that.
However I do use Pirate Ship sometimes but never had a reason to contact their CS for anything so I can't comment on their CS.
dbfolks166mt
·2 years agoI know they do, the point was you can dispute it easier and more simple than on ebay if needed. And you don't have worry about funds in ebay as much which has become a bigtime headache the way this works anymore since they got rid of paypal.
I should have done a better job of wording my responses. Yes Pirate Ship will charge you for shipper adjustments if your package is different than what you stated it to be when you bought the label. The biggest difference I have found with Pirate Ship when I ship with UPS, which is seldom, is it factors in all of the surcharges when you buy the label. EBay does not.
It took one UPS surcharge on a eBay purchased label to switch me over to Pirate Ship where I discovered Priority Mail Cubic and now Ground Advantage Cubic LONG before eBay incorporated those into their shipping options. But the other + is I pay for the labels on Pirate ship with a cash back credit card which usually returns $100-$200 a year and I am not a major seller.
norskmediashop
·2 years agoYes I agree, I seldom use UPS but in the past the surcharge stuff is just crazy, I just feel like through pirateship its safer and easier to dispute and get it a positive outcome,,ebay its like winning the lotto and then they just take whatever they choose from your funds, another problem. But I get what your saying.
yuzuha
·2 years agoI've had it happen on a Shipstation label I bought through PayPal.
toomuchstuffagain35
·2 years agoYou can dispute an additional charge with usps.
mtgraves7984
·2 years agoIt's never happened to me, but if USPS charged you, isn't your issue with USPS? I don't know how eBay could investigate it.
ittybitnot
·2 years ago@kasp182
eBay apparently automatically passes all such "upcharges" to the seller without question or recourse. It includes FedEx and UPS as well. That is likely why many users have found it prudent to use other shipping serviced to purchase labels.