UPS continues to fraudulently over-charging sellers for packages
Summary: ghadders69 shared a frustrating experience with UPS, stating they've been charged for incorrect shipping adjustments, asserting that golf club boxes marked as 48x4x4 are being measured inaccurately by UPS. Other participants, like shire123, suggest that internal versus external dimensions might be the cause. bdmh-enterprises mentioned possible box damage as a factor for measurement discrepancies. dolcetreasures experienced a similar issue with extra charges. Several participants debated dimensional weight considerations and UPS's practices, with some preferring alternatives like FedEx or USPS. There's a strong sentiment against UPS's charge adjustments, perceived as unfair by multiple participants.
I'm experiencing a big problem with UPS fraudulently adjusting shipping adjustments, after the item has been received by the buyer. I'm shipping golf clubs in standard 48x4x4 boxes-- this is the normal size box for shipping golf clubs. The boxes are sold as 48x4x4, marked as 48x4x4 and measure 48x4x4. However, in each case, UPS intentionally mismeasures my box to be an inch larger than what it is (they either state that the box was 49 inches tall, a size that no one makes or 5 inches wide, again a size that doesn't exist for this type of box) and then they overcharge me 5 times the original mailing label cost because they then charge me for a 40 pound box whereas the boxes each weighed 2 pounds!! It's outright theft and fraud and then worse yet, eBay customer support has been worthless in getting me my money back. I'm not going to back down on getting this resolved. UPS has stolen over $250 from me and eBay needs to make it right. By the way, I stopped using UPS after this problem started occurring and neither FedEx nor USPS have ever made a "shipping adjustment" to my boxes.
playinwithpenguins
·2 weeks agoHas anyone looked into legal action regarding UPS fraudulent size and weight adjustments. Just got notified that my package which was commercially produced and labeled 18x18x112 was sized as 19x18x13 and was charged adjusted accordingly. I will not use ups any longer. I personally think they lost money with Amazon they are now trying to generate revenue by fraudulently charging and changing shipment weight by smashing boxes then readjusting size and weight.
shire123
·2 weeks ago · Edited@playinwithpenguins When a box is labeled with dimensions those are INTERIOR dimensions. The actual outside dimensions are always up to 1 inch higher. You MUST never use the printed dimensions for shipping.
Your box was at the break point for dimensional weight which carries a larger cost adjustment.
There is nothing illegal or unethical about what happened to you. I have for years used UPS with weekly shipments and have yet to get any additional charge because I know the rules.
In the real world example I had mentioned in a previous post I took an actual Uline box that was printed as 48x10x10 and taped the box flaps. When I actually measured that box the dimensions came out to 48.75x10.5x10.5
So in your example what UPS did was actually correct. If you had actually measured the box and rounded up when you were just over a printed number you would not have had a problem.
ryry-jj
·3 weeks agoIf it was printed 48 x 4 x 4 on the box, then there is no way the box OD is 48 x 4 x 4. The box would be at a minimum 49 x 5 x 5, which not only is dimensional weight in this case but also a extra charge going over 48". Printed size on the box is always the inside dimension....unless a bulk container used for freight, but then it will state it is OD
As far as consistency goes, these boxes, unless custom built, are die cut so each one is almost identical in panel size to the next. Glue up can cause width to increase as the only main fluctuation...but at a minimum 49 x 5 x 5 OD still. About 9# DW, then added length surcharge. The rest of the cost, no idea. Also note we do not receive eBay discounted rates on these added fees
ghadders69
OP3 weeks ago · EditedYou've obviously never bought or worked with this sort of box. The boxes come as a slab and you fold them into shape. Even if what you said were true, don't you realize that would have absolutely no affect on the height? None, whatsoever. So no, you're theory is 100% wrong as to the height of the boxes, which I've always measured as 48 inches and nothing more.
This is a UPS money grab, plain and simple.
shire123
·3 weeks ago · EditedYou must be using a different type of box than what is generally available to the public. There obviously are "boxes" that are available to some that are just a slab of cardboard that you shape to what you need.
The boxes that most people use come from a UPS type store, Home Depot type store, or box wholesaler like Uline. Uline is the largest supplier in my area with a warehouse that stocks about 1500 different sizes of boxes that come bundled in 10 or 25. I buy boxes from them several times a month.
These boxes are preglued and cut so that when you "pop" them open they form the box with 2 sides of flaps that you have to tape shut. There is no folding into shape. The above applies to all boxes I have ever seen from any source that is readily available to me.
All these boxes of which I am speaking about have preprinted dimensions on them. Those dimensions are the interior dimensions of the box. After the box is taped and ready to ship if you actually measure those dimensions, they are all a fraction of an inch larger than the printed dimensions. It's those actual dimensions that shippers use to determine their charges.
In the real world example I had mentioned in a previous post I took an actual Uline box that was printed as 48x10x10 and taped the box flaps. When I actually measured that box the dimensions came out to 48.75x10.5x10.5,
So for the boxes that most people use the height of the box is definitely greater than the printed dimension. And this is where lots of people get in trouble with the shippers. They rely on the printed dimensions which is not what the shipper sees.
ryry-jj
·3 weeks ago · EditedI make them for a living. Most often those boxes are actually 4 x 4 x 48, as a 48 x 4 x 4 is a very weakly constructed box. If it is a 48 x 4 x 4 then the depth most certainly is over 4 as the length when taped will crown upwards.
glenvonnie
·3 weeks agoA lot of people are assuming the weights or measurements were wrong.
The more likely reason is that both UPS and Fedex are encouraging, and maybe even rewarding their employees for finding ways to upcharge and increase revenue.
The same as health insurance companies reward their employees for finding reasons to deny claims.
ghadders69
OP3 weeks agoI agree with respect to UPS. FedEx has never pulled this nonsense on me and I've shipped 3 times as many boxes by FedEx.
glenvonnie
·2 weeks agoIf you read the comments here, there are many more complaints about FedEx than there are about UPS.
The USPS is trying to catch up with them.
They're all as crooked as snakes.
rfmtm
·3 weeks agoHaving your box right at 48" is very risky, as the smallest bulge or loose flap and the scanner will round it up. Best to angle the club in the box and shorten the box as much as possible. I do this all the time to avoid a problem, although sometimes with FedEx they still would mis-scan it. Never a problem with UPS or USPS.
lakefor94
·3 weeks ago@ghadders69
We see this a lot, same type of posts concerning golf clubs.
The boxes are usually labeled and sold with inside diameter on the measurements. The carrier measures the outside diameter.
These days, if you are a fraction of an inch over on the outside diameter, it goes to that next inch.
glenvonnie
·3 weeks agoI seldom use Fedex or UPS for this reason but if I have to, I take the package to them so they can't get back at me through eBay, I also pay cash.
lakefor94
·3 weeks agoI use PirateShip quite a lot for UPS. Cheaper pricing most of the time and it is easy to dispute a charge thru your own PirateShip account.
shire123
·3 weeks ago · EditedJust to illustrate. I use a box that is printed 48x10x10. When I actually measure the box after it has been prepared for shipping the dimensions are 48.75x10.5x10.5. Therefore when using this box for ebay I need to enter the dimensions 49x11x11
I am sure your situtation has the same issue. That change from 48 to the actual 49 is critical for determining charges. There is no fraudulent over-charging here.
I also just did a comparison data entry on an ebay sale to see the cost differential of UPS shipping given the quoted sizes. (note that costs may differ depending on distance traveled). My example would be for a box from Wisconsin to Utah.
a 4 pound box with entered dimensions of 48x4x4 was $17 for UPS. a 4 pound box with entered dimensions of 49x5x5 was $68. A 4times greater amount for just the one inch difference. As you can see that change from 48 to 49 is critical for costs.
ghadders69
OP3 weeks ago · EditedYou make false statements based upon false assumptions. I've measured the boxes multiple times and in NO instance did the box height measure anything other than 48 inches, which is the size that the manufacturer gives them and which is the same size as printed on the box.
What you said is factually wrong. If I actually increase the box measurement to 49 inches on FedEx, rather than the actual 48, the shipping price doesn't change whatsoever. Same price on FedEx. It's just the people at UPS that increase the price by 6 times for the extra inch. No one would state that their 48 inch box is 49 inches. What you also don't know is that the 3-6 times increase in the UPS shipping costs due to their fraudulent mis-measurement overcharges are due to the fact that they change the actual weight of the box (around 2 pounds) to 40 pounds whenever they claim a customer mis-measurement. Charging 40 pounds for a box that they know is 2 pounds is a fraudulent overcharge!
If I was clairvoyant and had known that UPS was going to make these fraudulent overcharges at the time that I bought the shipping label, I would have changed the box dimension to 49 inches but I didn't receive the overcharge notices for 2-4 weeks after the packages had been delivered. I will never use UPS again-- no honesty or integrity-- and they ignore eBay's dispute filings. Since I started using FedEx and USPS, I haven't received a single overcharge. Bottom line, avoid UPS.
It doesn't appear as if you ever sold a golf club so you have absolutely no experience or knowledge of this issue. Stick to selling your toys, rather than inserting your wrong opinion in reply to every post. Do you work for eBay or UPS? That's the only explanation that makes any sense on why you would spend your day inserting your opinion, disagreeing with every post.
dolcetreasures
·3 weeks agoSent a package UPS several weeks ago, less than a 4 pound package, not very large. I measured and even greatly rounded up. I was already paying $23.45 to send it from SoFlo to Pa. They sent me an additional charge of $18 stating “non-cubit” with no further explanation of any kind. I’m done with these scumbags. I feel your pain.
shire123
·3 weeks ago@dolcetreasures What were the actual dimensions of this package? And from the wording , non-cubit" I would guess the package was a poly bag of some sort?
Both FedEx and UPS often charge more for NON RECTANGULAR (non-cubit) packages. Those are considered "irregular"
bdmh-enterprises
·3 weeks ago · EditedLong narrow boxes crush easily in the middle. UPS and FedEx workers LOVE throwing, kicking and crushing boxes. When your box is crushed in the middle by 2" the sides bulge out an extra 2", but the height at the ends is unaffected. This is the measurement the machine will use and bill you for.
It is incredibly risky to send a package teetering on the edge of a surcharge through either of these companies.
ghadders69
OP3 weeks agoAs you said, if that were to happen, it doesn’t affect the height and in 5 of the 6 overcharges, UPS claimed that the height of the boxes were 1 inch higher than reality. After getting the 6 ridiculous fraudulent overcharges from UPS, I switched over to sending them by FedEx and I’ve had NO issues or overcharges from FedEx and I’ve sent 3 times the number of shipments with FedEx. This is clearly just a UPS overcharge problem.
shire123
·3 weeks agoAnd once you get over 48 inches you are probably dealing with something called "dimensional" weight which is always higher than the actual weight.
I would bet that had you entered 49x5x5 when you printed the label the cost would have been close to what UPS actually charged you.
shire123
·3 weeks agoI buy lots of boxes from various sources. If the printing on the box says it is 48x4x4 you can bet that is not accurate. Those dimensions are internal dimensions and not for the outside. If you actually measured those boxes the results would be at least 2 of the 3 would be a fraction of an inch over the printed dimension.
When I ship things I always go to the next inch over what is printed. I have never had a cost adjustment by doing this.
You golf clubs should have stated the box size as 49x5x5. You must round up.