USPS Short Paid Fee - All of the sudden showing up for no reason.
Hello - Is anyone else seeing "USPS Short Paid Fees" randomly showing up with their Ebay payments account? I ship primarily compact discs using media mail. Almost all of my packages are less that 1 pound so the total label cost is $3.65. In the last 3 weeks, I've received 4 USPS Short Paid Fees each for a total of $3.65. I'm frustrated in not getting an answer from USPS or Ebay as to what is going on here. A) these are simple, small packages - easy to weigh, and buy a media mail label through ebay and B) let's assume I did mis-weigh (which i absolutely did not) why would they be charging me the full amount of the original label?
I've been doing this for quite some time and this is the first time this has happened....and been 4 times in 3 weeks.
Any thoughts/shared experiences would be appreciated.
Thanks
Steve
kuddle22
·3 years agoYes. I just saw one on my eBay (transaction) account. Item delivered on 5/17. Charge from USPS was done on 6/28. eBay rep. stated I had to contact USPS to deal with issue. eBay only will help dispute or check into issues like this if it's with UPS or Fedex.
operasales
·3 years agoI know I am a bit late here but I retired from the Post Office and have seen the system from the other side. I will tell you that it is quite faulty. The packages go up a belt. Even if a small part of another package is on there when it gets to yours it will be overweight which is typically the case. I got hit with 18.00 last month and was short on mostly t-shirts under 8oz. I also weigh everything accurately. There is no fix and you need to fight hard to get your money. eBay brings in a lot of revenue for USPS and should be putting its foot down to make sure it is correct before charging and timely. The picture means nothing BTW. It could be taken at any facility it goes to and not where you were charged.
buyselljack2016
·3 years agoNot sure how eBay is going to "put their foot down" on a USPS automated process.
There are errors, but there are also some sellers that inadvertently short pay, and those that purposely short pay.
A poster here on the boards stated, for all the world to see, that all their labels were paid at the 4 oz 1st Class rate.................................... no matter the actual weight, playing "catch as catch can" to game the system
tools*
·3 years agoThis is one of many reasons why I don't buy postage through eBay.
rossco.az
·3 years agoYeah I just got notified about a supposedly short postage of mine too. Says I owe for a Flat Rate Medium Priority box. I don't currently do Priority. I don't even have priority boxes because I mail my books Media Mail exclusively. I hope this isn't going to become a huge problem.
buyselljack2016
·3 years ago@rossco.az
Hopefully an appeal of the charge will result in a "view the photos" review by USPS that will show them that your item was taking a ride on another package when scanned, and result in a refund.
melfre-92
·3 years agoI am also having the same issue. I upload the dimensions as well as ounces and always round up. I've been charged a short paid fee for five orders at this point in the last month. I sent in an email to USPS, now it's a waiting game. EBay referred me to USPS. Seems to be a glitch with eBay let's see if I get anywhere with USPS.
ctvintagethrifter
·3 years agoHi. I’m having the same problem with the Short fees. All of a sudden l’m getting all these charges that make no sense. Any advice? I would appreciate it. Thank you
newpolarity
·3 years agoI just found 5 transactions on April 12h , got charged an additional $25 approx. I just sent a dispute email , we will see what happens. I really beleive Ebay should send us notifications in our ebay message board. They did a few years ago
saradac27
·3 years agoYes! We have recently had issues we are trying to dispute.
Case #1, we shipped a less than 1oz tie pin in a #000 bubble mailer. I rounded up to 2oz and paid, then we were debited again the exact same amount we already paid. Shipped in December of last year, and we weren't even notified until February of this year. I tried to open a dispute, but Ebay had a "technical glitch" and can't locate my Rev Issue ID #, which USPS says they have to have for a dispute.
Case #2, a lightweight clothing item shipped in a poly mailer. My scale had it as 12oz, and we paid for that First Class postage. It's possible the scale was off enough to bump it into the 13oz category, but we were charged the Short Paid Fee of TOTAL original postage, not once, but TWICE! In the beginning of March, and at the end of March--for the same transaction. So we are out $16 total for shipping a First Class package unless they rule the dispute in our favor.
It's frustrating, because I've wasted hours with Ebay customer service, USPS customer service, asking in person at our PO, and combing through our transactions to see if there are any other unexpected fees I need to follow up on.
stainlessenginecovers
·3 years agoAre these Music CD's? (if not, can't go Media).
Anyway- Curious; a compact disc with jewel case in a 10x8 bubble manila , weighs 5 oz and ships USPS 1st Class Package in, what could be, 1/4 of the item (2 days vs up to 8 days) for 'up to $4.44' (depending on distance, this is from Far West Coast to Far East Coast)
so why not just ship them USPS 1st Class?
electricrecords6
OP3 years agoI wrap them in cardboard...and regardless what USPS says, single discs shipped like this do not go slower than first class. And for .80 more per order, it's a big difference for no gain. It's not always 1 disc, sometimes 2, 3+ - I can ship 4 for under 1 pound for $3.65 media mail. Been working great for years.
evry1nositswindy
·3 years agoThis is a glitch and it happened to me too. You will not find this on your overage/shortages on USPS because it is an eBay issue.
Read this post of mine and see if this is your same issue:
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Shipping/shipping-label-problem/td-p/33183320
electricrecords6
OP3 years agoHappened again this morning.....5th time in a matter of a month or two......ugh.....
I've done the steps above each time but haven't seen a picture of any package....or an explanation of why this is happening all of the sudden.
Thanks,
Steve
rfmtm
·3 years agoThere have been numerous reports of weight and dimension errors, even incorrect identification of the USPS box or envelope used. Worse is, sometimes the back charge and notice isn't sent until a month or two after the fact.
The problem seems to move for one sorting facility to another, so it appears things all run smoothly, until something goes wrong and there is a rash of problems, all from the same facility, but not elsewhere.
The APV system is suppose to take a picture when there is a mismatch and then supposedly a human makes the call. I doubt this always is the case, because they still often miss identifying the USPS box that was used. Some of this error a while ago was because the box manufacturer printed the wrong code on the box, but still a human would have certainly seen the difference.
You will have to hammer on USPS for resolution. Unfortunately they don't provide any photo proof they have, which would make it so much easier to resolve, and this needs to change.
electricrecords6
OP3 years agoUgh..yeah....seems dealing with any customer service these days is troublesome....USPS and Ebay. But I'll keep watching and spending an hour to get by $3.65 back...haha 🙂
rfmtm
·3 years agoIt does seem odd that the back charge was for the same amount as the original postage should be, as if the postage was missing from the package.
Anytime USPS scans a problem where the label doesn't match the package an automatic credit or debit is applied. A picture is also taken of the package. This also happens even it the scan itself is in error, which does happen. In that case you have to file a dispute to have a human look at the picture and determine the problem and how to resolve it.
To dispute a shipping label adjustment:
Contact USPS directly:
Phone: 844-819-5187 or
Email: verifypostagehelp@usps.gov
If you email USPS, include this information:
Tracking number
The USPS Adjustment ID. You can find this at the top of the adjustment receipt
Detailed reason for the dispute
Your contact information, including name and email
You have 60 days from the date of the notification of the adjustment to file a dispute for a given transaction. Most responses can be expected in 2-5 business days.
If USPS finds that you have been adjusted in error, USPS will notify you and then you should see a credit for the correction directly into your Payment account.
Learn more about filing a dispute on USPS’ website.
NOTE: USPS is way behind sorting through their errors, be prepared to resubmit your claim and/or call them repeatedly. This has nothing to do with ebay or the postage provider.
supercharger-parts
·3 years agoExcellent info. Years ago I had issues with being billed after the fact for small flat rate boxes I shipped, they were being flagged as medium flat rate boxes and I was billed for the difference. When I contacted them for the adjustment, they could see it was a small flat rate box. It happened often enough that I quit using them and moved onto padded flat rate envelopes. I have to wonder if it's a similar thing now, some error in their scanning/software process I would assume.