Extra short paid shipping fees

[greenhousefoliage]

For the past several months, I have been getting charged a lot of short paid shipping fees.

Most of them have been an extra $2-$3 per package and some of them have been pretty drastic too. For example, I shipped a package in February and then this month I got charged an extra $11.21 for a small package I had already paid $11.69 to ship. The adjusted details on that package were exactly the same as the details on the original shipping label, same service, exact same package dimensions and exact same weight yet they charged me an extra $11.21 (I am currently disputing that extra charge with the post office). 

This morning, I got an email from Ebay telling me I was getting charged an extra $3.11 for a package I shipped earlier this month.

I don't understand what has been going wrong.

I only ship USPS Priority Mail, I always use the USPS Priority Mail boxes supplied by USPS, I have a postal weight scale and I print out my shipping labels through Ebay and the other online venue I sell on (it has been happening on both).

After I first got charged $5.00 extra on two packages back in November, I checked the accuracy of my postal scale and it is accurate, I used a tape measure and checked the dimensions of all of the USPS Priority Mail boxes I have and they are correct. I have been double and triple checking the shipping information I am putting into my listings to calculate shipping charges and when I print shipping labels. I even had the post office check the last few packages I dropped off to make sure they were correct and I am now getting charged an extra $3.11 on one of them?

Before last November, I have NEVER had a short paid shipping charge. Most of the packages I ship are small and weight less than 1 pound.

I have been selling plants online for the past year and I also had sold them online for a long time many years ago (There was really only Ebay back then). So this is NOT new to me.

I would appreciate any insights or suggestions

[nobody*s_perfect]

$11.69 + $11.21 = $22.90

$11.69 is the online postage cost to ship 2 pounds to Zone 8.

$22.90 is the online postage cost to ship a Regional B box to Zone 8.

So USPS apparently believes that you put a weight-based label on a Regional B box. A few years ago there were some boxes produced with the wrong barcode on them, which resulted in postage surcharge errors.  Maybe you got a bad batch.  One easy remedy would be to get some of the free Priority Mail stickers and put one over the barcode on those boxes.

Another possibility is that the eBay gremlins might have changed the "Shipping from" ZIP Code that is on your label prep pages.  If this doesn't match the ZIP Code for your return address, then the calculated postage will be off.

There is no need to be particularly accurate when entering the package dimensions for the free Priority Mail boxes.  Dimensions affect Priority Mail postage only if the package is over 1 cubic foot, and that's not the case with any of the current free Priority Mail packaging.

For packages that weigh 15.99 ounces or less, you can avoid this dilemma (and save you and your buyer some $$) by using First Class package shipping rather than Priority Mail.

[greenhousefoliage]

I have tried using First Class shipping but the actual shipping time (not the shipping time the USPS promises) was not acceptable. I sell live plants and to have them arrive as healthy as possible, I need them to get to the buyers sooner than First Class was actually delivering them.

The problem has been happening with at least 2 different Priority Mail box sizes. I was thinking that I should throw out all the boxes I currently have and get all new ones. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

Or just cover the barcodes on the boxes, so they will be evaluated based on their actual scanned dimensions rather than on the information in a potentially erroneous barcode.

And next time you purchase a label, be sure to double-check the separate "shipping from" ZIP Code just in case that's the problem.

[flipsideweb.com]

WHY SHOULD I USE EBAY SHIPPING IF THIS IS THE WAY THEY ARE TREATING US?

I'm a pro shipper of used goods. Been selling records, CD's, etc on the internet for a good 25 years. I make very few mistakes. I am not happy about eBay debiting my account for short paid shipping fees. I know that it's supposedly USPS doing it, but this does not happen when I sell on Amazon or Discogs.com-never happened yet. Something's wrong here. Maybe it's eBay or maybe USPS is being hypervigilant about eBay shipments and over-compensating. I can print my own shipping with my postal meter, or buy shipping on Pirate Ship or USPS. And I think that's what I'll have to do going forward. NOT HAPPY ABOUT BEING DEBITED. 

[richard1rst]

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@flipsideweb.com wrote:

WHY SHOULD I USE EBAY SHIPPING IF THIS IS THE WAY THEY ARE TREATING US?

I'm a pro shipper of used goods. Been selling records, CD's, etc on the internet for a good 25 years. I make very few mistakes. I am not happy about eBay debiting my account for short paid shipping fees. I know that it's supposedly USPS doing it, but this does not happen when I sell on Amazon or Discogs.com-never happened yet. Something's wrong here. Maybe it's eBay or maybe USPS is being hypervigilant about eBay shipments and over-compensating. I can print my own shipping with my postal meter, or buy shipping on Pirate Ship or USPS. And I think that's what I'll have to do going forward. NOT HAPPY ABOUT BEING DEBITED. 

---

I use Pirateship and I do get an occasional back charge from the USPS. So it is not eBay. PS has an easy appeals process and generally all of my appeals have been approved and reversed. So it is not USPS being hypervigilant so much as it is the USPS making mistakes.

[jamhuritech]

I got hit today with a $500+ USPS SHORT PAID FEE even for FedEx packages....so it is not generally related to USPS...it might actually be an eBay technical issue because the CS I was talking to could not make sense of why FedEx shipments were being classified as USPS SHORT Paid Fee clients.... Has anyone disputed and gotten an answer for this issue. Thanks in advance 

[rivertown-pickers]

I just had the same thing happen today for FedEx.  It says USPS short fee but all the labels are for FEDEX packages I shipped (and was already billed for) in Q4.  It's about 15 packages and around $300 total.

[dhemen]

Same thing just happened to me this morning. I got hit for $89 in fees on 6 packages. Those labels were paid for last month! I'm currently trying to figure out how to dispute them. Any idea?

[rivertown-pickers]

I imagine they have gotten quite a few complaints already, especially if it's a widespread issue.  I'll probably call in after I get home from work, unless I see they are working on fixing it.

[dhemen]

I have contacted eBay support and was informed that this has been reported numerous times today and they are looking into the situation. That's all I got. They did inform me that they would "prioritize" my inquiry... whatever they mean by that. lol. 

[redlinear]

They are trying to tell me it's because I used SmartPost (which is FedEx and USPS). I have NEVER used SmartPost. 40 packages today, most all BIG FedEx shipments.  USPS knows nothing about this. 

[zone5tacair]

I got hit for over $600 for 30+ shipments, all for FedEx and NOT usps. Tracking even shows they were delivered by Fedex truck. They have now since charged my Visa. I need to call them today. I noticed today theyve updated their "Payments" section to say: "

Some FedEx label fees incorrectly titled as USPS Short Paid Fee

Though they were misnamed, the description under this title reflected the correct FedEx tracking number and charge. Label fee titles are now displaying correctly. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused."

So are they saying they meant to say "FedEx Short Paid Fee"?!? So confusing....

[dhemen]

I have no idea of their explanation. It's more confusing than the actual f'ing charges! I guess I'll just take the hit... 

I was basically charged double on the shipping. One item cost $17.44 to ship and the fee for that item originally (and these were items sold & shipped in DECEMBER 2021) was $17.44 to ship via FedEx. 

[239rodney]

Yes me too.  Someone needs to post the complaint address for ebay in California to follow up with Phillipines customer service.   Problem is Fedex equipment could have been broken or not calibrated at a center.     Shippers are not dumb we know dimmed weights and dimensions.  Triple checking and adding (purchasing) a few extra pounds these days is not enough.     Will be winding down ebay sales to a close soon