Using Media mail incorrectly
Summary: doodledog8 raised concerns about sellers using Media Mail for non-eligible items on eBay, questioning the consequences when USPS catches such shipments. Other participants noted that Media Mail misuse can lead to postage due notifications, impacting buyers or sellers, depending on the situation. kensgiftshop and puremichigand discussed how sellers circumvent eBay restrictions by purchasing labels elsewhere. While some participants expressed frustration over this practice, noting its impact on shipping costs, others saw it as a minor issue in the larger postal system's challenges. Solutions and ethical considerations were debated, with some suggesting that using incorrect shipping can result in sanctions for sellers.
I've been a seller & a buyer here on ebay for more than 25 years, so I've been here a while. It used to be that if you had 'Media - books, cds, dvds, and you didn't care how long it took to ship to your buyer, you would use Media Mail. But now, I am seeing sellers selling clothes & candles and they are offering their buyers Media Mail as an option which many will chose as it's much cheaper. My question is, what happened to the safety switch that ebay used to have where on categories so that you couldn't use the Media mail option ?
And should a buyer use that option for an article of clothing and USPS opens it (as they clearly state they can if they suspect it's not being shipped in the correct category) , finds it's a pair of pants or a candle, does the buyer pay the extra shipping fee or does USPS return it to the seller for incorrect postage??
christworks
·2 weeks ago@doodledog8 Sellers can show any shipping option for any category. They may not be able to actually select that shipping option when they attempt to purchase the label through eBay. As others have said, nothing stops them from buying the label elsewhere.
We see this happen often with eBay Standard Envelope. Sometime lists an item that easily fits into a standard envelope, but they list in a category that does not support it. eBay's system still allows a seller to offer it, so they naturally think they can buy the ESE label. The seller does not find out until the back end of the sale when they realize they can only purchase a label with traditional tracking. The bad part is you cannot go buy a ESE label anywhere else, so the only option is to stick a stamp on the envelope and hope for the best.
As far as whether someone should abuse the Media Mail, I don't see it as my business. People look for ways to save on shipping costs, whether it is doing what you describe, using free Priority Mail packaging materials and not paying for that service, using the same shipping label on a single order that was split into two boxes, and more. While this type of abuse does contribute to the overall revenue losses USPS experiences each year, the impact is minor. In fact, if nobody abused Media Mail shipping we would actually see an even larger increase in the cost of the Ground Advantage services than what we currently have. This is because the demand for those services would go up as would the operational costs.
As it stands, USPS has lowered the costs to ship Media Mail, which indicates the demand for Media Mail services has gone down, not up.
If someone gets caught for Media Mail abuse, the item could be returned to the seller, the buyer could be stuck with a bill, or they could send the charge back to eBay to bill it from the seller's account. It is highly unlikely USPS would ever persue any type of civil or criminal penalties unless someone had been repeatedly warned and it was clear their entire operation was set up to abuse Media Mail shipping.
magicjohnsonsvariety
·2 weeks agoJust because a seller shows Media Mail as an option doesn't mean they are actually shipping Media...
I've known several sellers in the past who liked to use the Media option as a way to show a lower shipping price to the buyer...then upgrade to Parcel or Priority.
It's sort of a middle ground "Free Shipping".
Plus the item shows up way eariler than the expected Media Mail ETA... and buyers are always happy about that...
But these days clothing shouldn't even show a Media option at all... so idk...
monroe67
·2 weeks ago · Edited"And should a buyer use that option for an article of clothing and USPS opens it (as they clearly state they can if they suspect it's not being shipped in the correct category) , finds it's a pair of pants or a candle, does the buyer pay the extra shipping fee or does USPS return it to the seller for incorrect postage??"
In that case, the USPS marks the item "Postage Due" and sends a note to the addressee -- the buyer.
If the addressee pays that postage due, then the transaction is considered complete.
The seller is not legally required to reimburse the buyer for that postage due --
because the buyer/addressee paid the "postage due" of his own free will.
Morally, ethically, yes, I think the seller should definitely reimburse the buyer.
But legally, no.
Of course, however, the addressee is allowed to refuse to pay the postage due.
eBay does allow buyers to refuse delivery due to "Postage Due".
The addressee/buyer instructs the postage office to mark the item "Refused."
Only then will the USPS return the item to the seller, and HE will have to pay the postage due.
The buyer should immediately file an Item Not Received (INR) claim through eBay's Money Back Guarantee (MBG), marking the reason as "Postage Due."
eBay will refund the buyer completely. (It may take a few days for any sales tax refund.)
And the seller earns a defect on his selling record.
eBay keeps track of seller defects; enough of them, and the seller can be suspended.
puremichigand
·2 weeks agoThey can't stop sellers from using Media Mail. They can stop the sellers from buying the labels through eBay, but sellers can just go to the post office to buy the labels or go through PirateShip or similar.
I'm never upset by a seller using MM on what doesn't qualify - it really isn't my business. It is just a different class of service, and one that enables a lot of sales that wouldn't occur without it. If seller gets caught, not my problem, but I do admit that I've knowingly bought items that would be shipped via MM.
albertabrightalberta
·2 weeks agoI feel differently. I'm ALWAYS bothered by a seller who cheats the system because WE ALL pay for the miscreants. Sellers pay when shipping rates rise and buyers pay when sellers have to charge more because of rising prices.
doodledog8
OP2 weeks agoI totally agree Alberta
puremichigand
·2 weeks ago · EditedJust run the numbers - make some simple assumptions. The misuse of media mail or use of Priority shipping supplies for GA or MM just isn't a problem. Theoretically, yes - but it is a drop in the bucket of the problems that the USPS has. It is a non-issue in the grand scheme of things.
kensgiftshop
·2 weeks agoSometimes it makes it to the buyer with postage due, sometimes they'll charge the seller and they might return it.
Probably depends on where they catch it and what mood the clerk in that day.
I thought they were supposed to fix it so it couldn't be selected in categories that didn't qualify.
I've seen it a lot in auto parts.
grand-and-glorious-purpose
·2 weeks agoI haven't sold any manga in a long time but ebay had incorrectly disallowed media mail for manga comic tradepaperbacks.
With the amount of dumb and glitch this places sees on the reg I would bet that it isn't fixed.
fm2000
·2 weeks agoIt hasn't. Still have to buy MM labels on pirate ship for them. They qualify, the DMM explicitly says they do, but eBay won't change it.
fm2000
·2 weeks agoYou can just buy a MM for anything on Pirate Ship or such, it is easy to work around regardless of whether the item qualifies or not, which makes the whole gating shipping services by category silly and ultimately pointless, but I believe the USPS forced them to do it years ago.