Stamps.com Overcharging 20 cents for First Class Packages

[gtgeveryday]

I noticed recently that my stamps.com software was overcharging first class packages by exactly 20 cents. At first I thought maybe the rate had changed but when I went to print a label with ebay it was 20 cents cheaper. I then checked the USPS rate table and sure enough all of my FCP were 20 cents more than the commercial rate.

I called them and they claimed to have no idea what was going on and had me restart the software and sure enough it was magically fixed. I restart the software everyday and even tried that before calling them. They then quickly offered a free month of service as compensation, but I've probably lost over $100 to this. I'm now waiting on a call from a supervisor about getting a refund.

After a quick google search and talking to a few people, it looks like this has happened to other people as well. It seems to have started sometime in June. Likely it started when we were forced to update the software after the priority mail rate changes. 

I don't know if they are trying to recover losses after they terminated their agreement with the USPS or if it's just a bug, but everyone who uses them should check their rates to ensure they're not being overcharged.

[texas_book_emporium]

Could you better define " restart : ? Not trying to be a jerk, but are you leaving the software on all the time ? Or are you reinstalling every morning ? or do you close the program and reopen it when you need the service ?

[gtgeveryday]

Yeah I close and reopen it everyday.

[richard1rst]

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@gtgeveryday wrote:

. At first I thought maybe the rate had changed but when I went to print a label with ebay it was 20 cents cheaper.

Just curious. If eBay is the same price as Stamps.com (when it is working correctly) and Stamps.com charges a monthly fee (which actually makes them more expensive than eBay) then why are you using them and not just printing on eBay?

[bigdeals.etc]

Whoa, good catch OP. It's the same thing with me too. I checked my history and have since made 758 FC postage since June 23, the day we were forced to update software. That's over $150 overcharge in 2.5 weeks!

I'll call them right now.

@richard1rst  Stamps.com is set up for high volume shipping much better than ebay. Ebay is way too slow for me... too many pages you have to click thru just for one postage.

[wastingtime101]

In mid-May I printed a FCP return label and noticed that stamps.com was quoting a price 20 cents higher than the Comm Base rate. After I purchased the label I viewed my history and I was charged the correct price, so it was probably some kind of display error.

About a month later I printed another return label and the same thing happened... it quoted a price 20 cents higher but I was not charged the extra 20 cents.

I haven't seen any discrepancies with outgoing packages and I've been watching the label rates very closely.

One big difference in my operation from those who posted here is that I use the web client, not the downloaded software.

[mam98031]

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@richard1rst wrote:

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@gtgeveryday wrote:

. At first I thought maybe the rate had changed but when I went to print a label with ebay it was 20 cents cheaper.

Just curious. If eBay is the same price as Stamps.com (when it is working correctly) and Stamps.com charges a monthly fee (which actually makes them more expensive than eBay) then why are you using them and not just printing on eBay?

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They have free accounts for Ebay sellers.

[berserkerplanet]

I postulate that you had the "irregular" box checked (or the software glitched and checked it or phantom checked it), and that it cleared when you restarted the software.

First-Class Package Service Commercial—Parcels
3. Parcels are subject to a $0.20 surcharge if they are irregularly shaped, such as rolls, tubes, and triangles.

[bigdeals.etc]

Okay so I called stamps.com. Btw, their technical support guys are AWESOME. I can talk with them straight out (no need to repeat myself because they are misinterpreting my issues) and use remote access to prove my points and they never second guess me or question my competence. Their billing dept is a different story hahaha.

Anyway, so here's the rundown. They confirmed that I was being overcharged 20 cents, like the OP said. I prepared examples showing the FC price discrepancy for the same address using the software and Pirateship.com. I didn't use eBay.com because many are aware that eBay may give lower pricing depending on seller level (although we know this is only true with international or expedited services, not FC). You can also use the stamps.com website label creating for reference too, it doesn't have this 20 cent glitch.

Basically he just updated my software version and it fixed the problem. Stamps rolled out another version after the June 23 postal rate changes. It got tough after that as I was transferred to billing dept. They needed a list of affected postages so they will know how to credit me. Apparently I think the glitch hit me at around 7/8, and not 6/23 when I installed the new version at the time. So I had to cross reference the paid price for a few old prints to make sure if it was affected by the glitch or not. I then generated a csv report of the affected prints from 7/8 - 7/11 and emailed it to the girl in the billing dept. She says I'll get an email of how they plan to credit me in a few days. 

[mam98031]

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@bigdeals.etc wrote:

Okay so I called stamps.com. Btw, their technical support guys are AWESOME. I can talk with them straight out (no need to repeat myself because they are misinterpreting my issues) and use remote access to prove my points and they never second guess me or question my competence. Their billing dept is a different story hahaha.

Anyway, so here's the rundown. They confirmed that I was being overcharged 20 cents, like the OP said. I prepared examples showing the FC price discrepancy for the same address using the software and Pirateship.com. I didn't use eBay.com because many are aware that eBay may give lower pricing depending on seller level (although we know this is only true with international or expedited services, not FC). You can also use the stamps.com website label creating for reference too, it doesn't have this 20 cent glitch.

Basically he just updated my software version and it fixed the problem. Stamps rolled out another version after the June 23 postal rate changes. It got tough after that as I was transferred to billing dept. They needed a list of affected postages so they will know how to credit me. Apparently I think the glitch hit me at around 7/8, and not 6/23 when I installed the new version at the time. So I had to cross reference the paid price for a few old prints to make sure if it was affected by the glitch or not. I then generated a csv report of the affected prints from 7/8 - 7/11 and emailed it to the girl in the billing dept. She says I'll get an email of how they plan to credit me in a few days. 

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FCP [first class parcel] domestic is the SAME price on Ebay as it is on every single other on line site.  That includes stamp.com, Amazon, Etsy, PP etc.  You will NOT find an online site with a cheaper FCP Domestic rate than Ebay.  And the FCP Domestic rate that Ebay offers is to ALL sellers no matter their size.

[bigdeals.etc]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@bigdeals.etc wrote:

Okay so I called stamps.com. Btw, their technical support guys are AWESOME. I can talk with them straight out (no need to repeat myself because they are misinterpreting my issues) and use remote access to prove my points and they never second guess me or question my competence. Their billing dept is a different story hahaha.

Anyway, so here's the rundown. They confirmed that I was being overcharged 20 cents, like the OP said. I prepared examples showing the FC price discrepancy for the same address using the software and Pirateship.com. I didn't use eBay.com because many are aware that eBay may give lower pricing depending on seller level (although we know this is only true with international or expedited services, not FC). You can also use the stamps.com website label creating for reference too, it doesn't have this 20 cent glitch.

Basically he just updated my software version and it fixed the problem. Stamps rolled out another version after the June 23 postal rate changes. It got tough after that as I was transferred to billing dept. They needed a list of affected postages so they will know how to credit me. Apparently I think the glitch hit me at around 7/8, and not 6/23 when I installed the new version at the time. So I had to cross reference the paid price for a few old prints to make sure if it was affected by the glitch or not. I then generated a csv report of the affected prints from 7/8 - 7/11 and emailed it to the girl in the billing dept. She says I'll get an email of how they plan to credit me in a few days. 

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FCP [first class parcel] domestic is the SAME price on Ebay as it is on every single other on line site.  That includes stamp.com, Amazon, Etsy, PP etc.  You will NOT find an online site with a cheaper FCP Domestic rate than Ebay.  And the FCP Domestic rate that Ebay offers is to ALL sellers no matter their size.

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Yes, sorry if I was unclear but that is basically what I said. The issue is not everyone knows this (such as the stamps.com tech support guy) and believe eBay lowers prices across the board for certain sellers. He didn't know FC domestic stays the same and is never lower.