Customer requesting postage due,,HELP!!

[bgsroom]

I sold an item.  I took item to USPS to mail it out.  They weight and stamp the item.  The buyer is saying he had to pay for extra postage on item delivered to him because what I paid wasn't enough so he is requesting that supposedly extra $$ on postage he saying he paid to be reumburse to him.

So, I went to post office and they told me ussualy if there is not enough postage they return the item to the sender for more postage.

I need some help on how to handle this,,please.  Thanks

[swenson8781]

If the amount isn't too large, they will usually send the item to the buyer, with a note that there is postage due.  How much are they asking for?

Just have the buyer send you a photo through eBay messages of the label/form that is requesting the postage with the date and amount.  The label should be right on their package.  Then you can verify that they are telling the truth.  If they send the photo, and they did have to pay postage, you should simply send them the extra amount through Paypal.

[dtexley3]

Did you have tracking on the item?  Check the USPS site for the tracking information and see if there are any comments.  You can also take the tracking number to the PO and ask for a detailed shipping printout, it should show if additional postage was required.  If there was no additional postage due, get a hard copy and keep it for the soon-to-come SNAD.

[castlemagicmemories]

Don't want to dispute your PO but I concur with the previous poster who said that they send it on to the buyer, and to ask for a picture of the additional postage due message on the box.

I had this experience when an item I ordered came with over three dollars due.

It was marked on the box by the PO.  I was flustered, but snatched up three dollars and change, and apologized to the postman at my door.

I messaged the seller as I was not happy with this, and the seller was aghast.  She was a seasoned seller.  The clerk said she owed more, but the seller explained why, according to PO rules, she did not owe more.  Clerk took the package but added the request for additional funds after seller left.  I sent pics on my own of the note on the box, and she refunded the difference with profuse apologies.  She stopped using that particular PO after that, as she said her customers were too important to her for someone else to add postage due to her packages after the fact when the postage was not due.

[cb-boards]

I would first look at the FB they have left for others.  If they appear to leave a lot of negative FB it might be an indication that they are trying to work you (and all their other sellers) over for a partial refund with the unspoken implication that if you don't fork over a little extra money via a partial refund or directly thru paypal etc that there will be negative consequences.

Of course they could be telling the truth but it seems quite strange that they made a mistake like this at the USPS.  I think most of these mistakes probably occur when someone ships something from home using eBay's postage platform or stamps.com etc and don't weigh something accurately.

[bgsroom]

Thank You for replying.

It's not much $2.00, but this can be just a buyer trying to get extra money from sellers. I am willing to give the money, that's not a problem. He already gave me a bad feedback because of the postage which was done at post office anyways.

[jason_incognito]

I had someone send something media mail cross country. It wasn't media mail and came postage due of alot (like $10) 

I refused it and emailed the seller. I got attitude on top of attitude. She insisted you can send anything media mail. 

Then she got it and she not only had to pay the amount the PO tried to get me to pay, they also charged her return postage. She blamed that on me too.

[bgsroom]

My mistake was not getting the tracking number. But I am buying postage from Ebay now so that will help me in the future.

Thanks very much

[bubbleman2010]

It was shipped as 1st class somewhere along the line they caught the thickness and changed it to first class package. Since they've already negged you over the transaction I'd just delete their request...

[swenson8781]

That's hard about the neg fb.  At this point, I would send a message to the buyer asking for photo to confirm postage due, apologize to them, let them know you will send the amount via Paypal and that you didn't know about the difference between 1st class letter, vs 1st class package.  And then ask them if they would be willing to revise their fb after you make it right.

[bubbleman2010]

If you continue to sell those packages of DE with free shipping they need to ship at the package rate not the letter rate your P.O. worker should have known that,but most don't...

[sockmonkeydave]

@bgsroom 

Two bucks sounds about right if it got changed to package.

I would have sent the money and said sorry.

I know a neg stings, but you can I think leave a follow up to her FB ?

ie postal error, refunded the overage.

Some will say that just makes you a target, but it would not stop me from buying from you.

[iart]

Did the post office print the postage out or did you use the ebay system.

If the PO did it you should have been fine.

If you used the ebay system, did you include the postage cost on the label (there is an option to not show how much you paid)?

If you printed the postage cost on the label, and ebay gave you a discount, the PO wouldn't recognize the the discount.

I think.

[partial*eclipse]

When a package has Postage Due, it is returned to the sender if the shortage is discovered while the item is still in the sender's region; otherwise, it's delivered with Postage Due.  

Each piece of USPS First Class mail is categorized as a letter, flat, or package depending on factors like weight, dimensions (including thickness), flexibility, etc.  Apparently the clerk at your PO and somebody at your buyer's PO have a difference of opinion about those definitions even though the manual has very clear explanations. It is even possible that your envelope was thin and flexible enough to be considered a letter or flat (AKA Large envelope) when you mailed it, but then your soft powdery product shifted inside the envelope which made it over 3/4 inch thick or too irregular to be mailed as a flat so it was upgraded to Package.

https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/101.htm#ep1002686

If you are now printing your postage through eBay, it's for a First Calss package, so your concern should shift to being certain that your item is indeed a package; making it over 3/4 inch thick, OR over 1/4 inch thick and rigid or lumpy, will sufice.

The buyer's haste in leaving negative feedback is certainly would certainly discourage me from issuing a refund to cover the postage, even though he COULD revise the feedback if you sent him a formal revision request (after sending the partial refund).

[penguins_dont_fly]

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@iart wrote:

Did the post office print the postage out or did you use the ebay system.

If the PO did it you should have been fine.

If you used the ebay system, did you include the postage cost on the label (there is an option to not show how much you paid)?

If you printed the postage cost on the label, and ebay gave you a discount, the PO wouldn't recognize the the discount.

I think.

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There is no "eBay discount" ... that is a complete misnomer 😞

The rate that non-TRS sellers get is Commercial Base

The rate that TRS sellers get is Commercial Plus

Both are USPS discounts for volume shippers. Since eBay is the account of record, that volume discount is available to all eBay sellers who use eBay labels.

The rate is clearly marked on the label when it is printed (whether or not you "stealth" the postage) along with the weight and class of mail.

USPS recognizes it's own discount 🙂 And the rates are published in USPS Notice 123.

https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/notice123.htm