Excessive charge for underpaid USPS postage
I received a $4.14 additional charge for underpaid postage where they claimed the actual wight was 1 pound 6 ounces vs 15 ounces i used to buy the label. I paid $8.46. Assuming the weight really WAS more than my scale showed, the charge for that package at 1 lb 6 would have been $8.65, a difference of $.19, not $4.14.
My question is, who is ripping me off, eBay or the USPS? I filed a dispute with the USPS, yet to be answered, but I was wondering if anyone else has been similarly overcharged for "underpaid" items. I don't recall having such a blatent situation in past adjustments but maybe I need to look.
19 comments
fm2000
·4 months agoAs long as your dimensions and weight were accurate, you are being overcharged. You did nothing wrong. Fight the adjustment. Follow the link and ask for a manual review. I have shipped jeans like that, accurate weight and dimensions and I never had an adjustment for using a polybag. This is a USPS mess-up, not eBay's, it is their lousy APV system that caused the issue.
Another package may have stuck to your package at some point, and that is why the weight was off. I had this happen about a year and a half ago. I requested a review and they removed the additional charge. Don't take it lying down, fight it. Worst they can do is say no.
The OP was just reusing used Amazon packaging. They were not misusing someone else's packaging.
cjmust30
·4 months agoI had the exact same thing happen. A few days ago I sent a Disney pin, via USPS Ground Advantage, in a small padded envelope. Then yesterday I get a charge of $10.33 on my account for an underpaid claim for an 6 pound package! This package was 2 ounces and very small. People are trying to break down and analyze why the USPS is doing this is a waste of time. They are just making mistakes with individual shippments and some catch them and some don't.
tomstoolsanddiecast
·4 months agoI have had that happen many times over the years. Probably happens to one in every 250 packages or so. It's usually an undercharge adjustment, but every once in awhile it will be an overcharge adjustment and I'll actually get a refund. I'm guess that it's something going on with the scale and the way it's positioned while sorting. Either way, I've never sorted out a method to easily fix it and I'm definitely not going to sink hours and hours into trying to get back $1-$5 when it happens maybe once every 3 or 4 months.
stephenmorgan
·4 months agoI received a Price Adjustment a while ago. You get charged the addition shipping fees but there is also a fee for sending you the Price Adjustment. I don't remember the exact cost but I believe it was between $3 and $4 for the fee plus the adjustment cost.
I my case I have all my items scanned by the USPS and get a receipt. I sent a copy of the receipt along with my dispute. I was refunded in about a week.
cyranojones
OP4 months agoThey should disclose any details like added fees, but I have had adjustments less than a dollar and a bit over a dollar in the past, so they are inconsistent if nothing else. I just hate to go to the post office since they are so understaffed the line is always long and slow.
stainlessenginecovers
·4 months agoI have NO idea where you got your figures from, but that is NOT correct.
for 1 of my orders- using USPS GA, no dimensional issues
15oz is $7.52
1lb 1 oz (to 1 lb 15 oz, does NOT matter) is $10.00
It is definitely NOT .19c
cyranojones
OP4 months agoThe amount charged is based on shipping zones. From southeast Texas to this buyer in Maine is zone 8, the maximum.
cyranojones
OP4 months agoIf I sent the same thing to the same buyer today using 1 pound 6 ounces, eBay would charge me $8.65 for the label.
albertabrightalberta
·4 months agoBut that's the reduced price per USPS agreement with ebay.
If you went to the post office to ship that 1 lb. 6 oz. package, it would cost what you were charged.
When you underpay, you don't get the benefit of the reduced price.
ifyouloveit
·4 months agoWas it a bigger box or package? It may be a dimensional weight charge, how big was your package?
yeswayrecords
·4 months agoThere is a USPS surcharge for packages going to certain zip codes which may have factored in as well.
cyranojones
OP4 months agoIt went to a PO box in a small town in Maine, but it is not on the surcharge list. If it was, it should have been figured by eBay's label calculations anyway.
kalyoth
·4 months agoWhen postage is charged like that - it goes direct counter price & not ebay price I believe for the difference.
cyranojones
OP4 months agoGoing to a direct counter price is unacceptable of course. It was NOT over the counter, still eBay regardless of the weight difference. Nothing changed in how they had to handle it.
kalyoth
·4 months agoIt's not unacceptable if you choose to ignore the rules. amazon has a contract for its packaging with the USPS. That doesn't mean its acceptable to reuse privately & not expect issues. I suspect you just hope it will work out vs. doing what the rest of us do & actually understand how things work. I suggest you educate yourself or just stop selling if you refuse to do so.
nyr134
·4 months agoThe dimensions of the package also figure into the shipping charge, not just the weight. What did you calculate and what did USPS say it was? Follow-up to that: what was in the package?
cyranojones
OP4 months agoIt was a pair of blue jeans in a heavy paper shipping envelope, reused Amazon packaging if I remember right, probably one that was 9x12x2. Like I have used MANY times before. The "underpaid" reason given was the weight diference.
nyr134
·4 months agoSounds like you may have been hit with a $4.00+ charge for an irregular package if it was considered lumpy or unbalanced.
kibble-net
·4 months agoYeah, your dimensional weight is going to be way higher due to it being an irregular package.
USPS will charge the difference based on COUNTER rates, not commercial rates.
In the future, this can be avoided by using a box instead of a polybag. You may think you are saving money reusing that Amazon packaging - but unless it's a box, you're not.