Scam or Post Office Problem - It's a Problem Either Way

[midohioimports]

I just got a message from a buyer saying "This item was listed as free shipping and I had to go to the post office and pay $3 something for shipping...........what's up with that?"

Tracking says this: Your item was delivered at the front door or porch at 4:14 pm on May 22, 2017 in PLAQUEMINE, LA 70764

If they held the package, shouldn't it show on the tracking?

If they really did charge her it could be one of two things. First it was a 15 ounce first class  package and I've read about some post offices not wanting to honor that. Also, I'm on commercial plus so maybe they just think I underpaid.

So far I've called 5 times. The first time I was hung up on...the next 4 no answer. This particular post office has very low ratings also. Two stars on Google.

I mentioned the tracking and she said that she noticed that too...I offered to refund if she would send a copy of the receipt. Of course the garbage man JUST came.

[ersatz_sobriquet]

If you can figure out her other sellers, you might message them and find out she does this all the time. I would have reacted the same way you did. In this world everybody knows DUH, if you want to be reimbursed you keep the receipt. 

If you want to lie and steal a few bucks, you make up a somewhat believable story, and hope that ebay sellers are afraid of your great power. 

[moo*cow*corner]

Trust....but verify. Every single time. An honest buyer would have had no problem sending verification. If we can't find a receipt, we don't return. Hubby does most of the shopping, and he's been trained to put receipts in the bucket that sits on the counter by the door. Simple.

[springs_2013]

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@midohioimports wrote:

@thenobletuckylife

Hey Mr. C

I absolutely circumvented the priority rate. By printing my label online so I could go up to 15.9 ounces. I'm pretty shady like that 

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When purchasing a 16 ounce label from eBay, it automatically drop it down to 15.9 ounces.  Guess at exactly 16 ounces, the package cannot be shipped via first class.

[couldabeenworse]

Who would think of seeking reimbursement for anything without a receipt?

I have no problem with a seller failing to refund without the receipt, even though I think it's foolish and/or paranoid.  I also have no problem with a buyer leaving a negative feedback when they receive a Postage Due parcel.

So it seems to me that everybody should be happy by this outcome.

[midohioimports]

If there was postage due at all. The post office had nothing to authenticate that story. That is a big if. They said it needed to be picked up because there wasn't a safe place to leave it.

[dhbookds]

The PO lacks creditability in my opinion as their scan was incorrect to begin with.....

I can understand the scam theory, but I can also see an HONEST person being insulted because of an unspoken implcation that they are lying about  $3.......that she questioned (as far as I can see didn't demand a refund, just asked why the postage due) the charge because it was supposed to be free shipping.  I would probably do the same........

Did you ever try figuring out whether the $3.18 would have in fact been due if the PO had upped it to priority or whatever the problem was? 

[couldabeenworse]

They said it needed to be picked up because there wasn't a safe place to leave it.

The same guy that said that scanned the package as delivered, even though it wasn't.

Anyway, you aren't required to believe the buyer.  It just seems foolish to me to worry about a $3 "scam" when postage due on first class is not exactly a rare event.

[copper.boom]

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@dhbookds wrote:

Did you ever try figuring out whether the $3.18 would have in fact been due if the PO had upped it to priority or whatever the problem was? 

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That is one of the first things I would have done.

I see both sides of the coin here - can sympathize with the seller, but also see buyer's point of view if they were honest.

Speaking only for what I would do personally as a buyer - I would snap a quick photo of the receipt or package showing postage due. I would not expect a refund without that, even if it was only $1.00. To me it's common sense.

[plummer602]

I strongly agree, and I know that tracking can show delivered when its really not, package gets put on the truck then not delivered due to several reasons. If carrier was getting ready to deliver it to house, then looked at the package and thought the shipping paid was not enough, they might have took package back to PO so postage could be collected, but then maybe could not change the scan.

[midohioimports]

What she was referring to as the receipt was the slip left by the post office to pick it up. She said it said "Amy something". My name is Amy. The post office DID track down the record for that slip. It was not for postage due. It was "no secure location".

To answer the other question, no. I do not believe the difference from Eastern Ohio to Louisiana would only be $3.18 at counter rates. I would have to confirm this with my post office of course but I do a lot of shipping and Louisiana is over $8 (as I recall) for a 1-2 pound package even at commercial plus rates. 

As far as the comment about a seller "failing to refund" for postage due, it is only a failure with proof of there actually being postage due and so far there is absolutely no evidence of that. If by some chance that is what happened, it is a failure of the postal clerk who charged it and a failure of the buyer to keep a receipt.

[couldabeenworse]

a 1-2 pound package

I thought it was 15 oz?

[copper.boom]

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@couldabeenworse wrote:

a 1-2 pound package

I thought it was 15 oz?

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And if 15oz was bumped up by the PO to 16oz that would be the Priority rate for 1-2lb pkg.

A PO scale could easily be off by an ounce due to calibration, as could a seller's. 1oz can make that big of a difference.

[chrysylys]

Don't let'em get you down.

They do it ... just because. They have favorites and all you know.

[moo*cow*corner]

I would have done things the same way you did. I've asked buyers to give me a day or two to find out exactly what happened. I have called Post Offices all over everywhere to get answers for specific shipments. Sometimes PO workers need to be further educated. Some times they just mess up. They are human too.

The idea that a buyer might feel accused because I want to know exactly what the Post Office did or did not do....is....interesting.

I cannot control what a buyer feels. Not my job. My job is to find out all I can about my problem packages and determine what, if anything, needs to be fixed. If it's the buyer that needs fixing, well, that's beyond my paygrade.

[yuzuha]

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@copper.boom wrote:

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@couldabeenworse wrote:

a 1-2 pound package

I thought it was 15 oz?

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And if 15oz was bumped up by the PO to 16oz that would be the Priority rate for 1-2lb pkg.

A PO scale could easily be off by an ounce due to calibration, as could a seller's. 1oz can make that big of a difference.

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I've had this happen before... weighed something on my scale at home and it was one weight, but when I looked at the receipt I got from the PO, it said it weighed nearly an ounce more.  Everything else I weighed on my scale was accurate, so it was a case of the PO scale being off.  Fortunately it was delivered without issue, but ever since then I've started adding an extra ounce to my postage calculations just to ensure that there won't be any problems.