Continued Issues With FedEx Shipping Overcharges

[netsatwork]

I am getting so tired of FedEx "fixing" their shipping rate and charging ridiculously high shipping rates. Most recently, they have said that the bag I shipped to CA weighs LESS and is SMALLER than I purchased the label for, and therefore, they are charging an additional $32.13 for a 2.20 lbs item. Their online rates for full price aren't even close to that. Can't eBay do anything about this scam they are participating in? The only one winning here is FedEx.

[chevymontecarlo88]

Did you take the package into the Fed Ex store/location and have it scanned? Would any scan show the weight at the time and/or dimensions? I don't use Fed Ex and don't know but after reading all of these posts about up charges, i am hesitant to use them.

Besides having a Fed Ex counter person signing an affidavit stating the weight and dimensions, what else can you do? (sarcastic)

[orangehound]

@netsatwork 

The additional charges that you are seeing are not because of scale weight or dimensions of your package.  They are additional charges and surcharges.  FedEx and UPS are business-oriented shipping companies, and they do not operate like the USPS.

To ship with FedEx, you should be aware of all the shipping fees and surcharges that (a) will be, and (b) may be added to the base rate that eBay quotes to you.  These are detailed beginning on page 124 of the 2024 FedEx Service Guide.

For clarity, when eBay quotes a FedEx price, it includes ONLY the base transport charges.  There are upwards of a dozen other fees, costs, and surcharges that can be added onto your package. 

If I had to guess, most of that $32 in additional charges might be an additional handling surcharge because the package was not in a plain cardboard box sealed with packing tape.  If that is true, you would be assessed a $24 penalty (page 125).

I haven't shipped with FedEx in a while, but a while back a seller could see a breakdown of the surcharges and fees when you click on the price on the postage label page.

[netsatwork]

Thanks for the link to see more details on the label. It doesn't give me a clear idea of why there was the large "additional handling" fee, but I can see that the initial $17.06 rate would never have been the actual price anyway. I think this one **bleep** me off more than the others since the whole reason the buyer bought the item was because of the cheaper rates through FedEx, so at the end of the day, all he did was inadvertently pass the shipping costs off to me and make me lose money on the sale. I would have been better off to donate the bag in the first place.

If eBay and FedEx can't give sellers a realistic shipping quote without them going to page 124 of a shipping agreement, then they should stop acting like they are giving buyers and sellers a deal. 

[orangehound · Accepted solution]

@netsatwork 

It doesn't give me a clear idea of why there was the large "additional handling" fee

The $28.45 additional handling fee:

1. It has an improper packaging fee of $25, based on shipping to zones 7+  (see page 125 on the 2024 FedEx Service Guide) ... most eBay sellers get this because they ship in mylar, flex packaging or seal with duct tape.  Both are OK with USPS, but forbidden by FedEx. 
   I'm guessing this is for the suitcase/duffel bag you sold, and you packaged it either in a mylar bag or some other odd shaped packaging.
2. It includes a $3.45 "demand" fee that FedEx has been imposing since 2/5/2025 ... basically, this means that FedEx is understaffed for the packaging volume they are receiving, so they impose an additional penalty because your shipment is adding to the problem.  You can see this on the FedEx Demand Surcharges page.

If eBay and FedEx can't give sellers a realistic shipping quote without them going to page 124 of a shipping agreement, then they should stop acting like they are giving buyers and sellers a deal.

The deception, in my opinion, is not FedEx  ... they communicate all their fees through their website, although it is extremely complex to figure it all out.

The real problem, as you note, is with eBay suggesting that FedEx is going to be cheaper than USPS without any any realistic warnings about surcharges and additional fees.  All they would need to do is put a simple sentence or two to warn sellers, like:

This is the FedEx base price using the weight and dimensions that you provided.  There will be additional surcharges added to this base price based on (a) current fuel rates, (b) the value of your shipment if it is over $100, (c) the delivery zip code if it is in a rural area, (d) oversize or overweight packaging, and (e) packaging and labeling that does not conform to FedEx requirements (e.g., shipping in something other than a plain, rectangular cardboard box sealed with packaging tape).  Consult the FedEx website for more details.

If eBay would just put that simple disclaimer on their shipping page, it would save so many headaches ... but they don't ... I don't know why ... probably some sort of agreement with FedEx or they are scared of a lawsuit.