eBay

clothedinglory · ‎11-17-2017

So I packed up a teddy bear in a large box, measured the length + girth and it came to 104" total, way under the 130" allowed for Parcel Select according to the USPS website. The total of my shipping was around $18.00 from LA to Dallas. It wold have been around $45 if I had shipped it PM.

However, just to be sure, I took it to the post office clerk. Big mistake, according to my daughter as the clerk informed me the box was too big and he would have to charge me a $22. 00 surcharge! He then told me I could go home and cut the box down and it would be fine. I didn't opt for that as it wasn't worth the extra hassle. Soo I relucantly paid the extra $22.

So, what I don't understand is why the eBay shipping system accepted all my measurements, plus weight, and yet there was no message telling me there was a surcharge! Cost for Parcel Selet showed $18.00 which I paid.

My daughter told me that she never takes a package up to the counter and that I should not have either. She said she has sent plenty of packages Parcel Post—in boxes bigger than mine—and they've never been sent back, nor has she (or buyer) ever been stuck for extra postage.

Is she correct? Did I blow it by taking it up to the counter? I just don't understand why we don't get told about this "surcharge" when we calculate the shipping!

lemarcheaupuces · ‎11-18-2017

@partial*eclipse wrote:
@lemarcheaupuces wrote:
@partial*eclipse wrote:
@clothedinglory wrote:
.... Plus it fit into the PS guidelines on the USPS web site.....
The maximum for Parcel Select is 130 inches. But for packages with a length-plus-girth over 108 inches there's an "Oversize" rate, and for 84+ to 108 inches, there's the Balloon rate which is apparently what your package was upgraded to at the PO.
i think it has to do with the weight.
i checked on the USPS website.
104 for a weight of 19 pounds.
says $41.18.
It's not the weight, it's the dimensions. Packages with a length-plus-girth of 84+ to 108 inches would pay the "balloon" rate, i.e., the 20-pound rate, for any package up to 20 pounds. So 104 inches to Zone 6 means $41.18 for any weight up to 20 pounds. That's why I mentioned this cost in post #8.