How does a seller get away with first class postage when item weighs more than 1 pound?

[emptyemmascloset]

I've been noticing this more and more lately.

Packages I've purchased arrive with first class postage when they actually weigh more than 1 pound.  How does the seller get away with it?  Does their post office not weigh the package?  It's obviously a great way to save money...

[sam9876]

Luck.

[monster-deals]

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@emptyemmascloset wrote:

I've been noticing this more and more lately.

Packages I've purchased arrive with first class postage when they actually weigh more than 1 pound.  How does the seller get away with it?  Does their post office not weigh the package?  It's obviously a great way to save money...

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Volume. They probably drop pre-paids off and the clerks scan them later.

All systems, no matter how good will let some through the cracks.

If they are printing from ebay they will get billed for some/most of them unless they obscure the little QR code thingy that the PO uses for revenue assurance.

[missjen831]

How do you know they are getting away with it? USPS has an automated postage verification system. If the seller is buying the label online and the PO catches the underpaid, they charge the seller.

[missjen831]

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@monster-deals wrote:

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@emptyemmascloset wrote:

I've been noticing this more and more lately.

Packages I've purchased arrive with first class postage when they actually weigh more than 1 pound.  How does the seller get away with it?  Does their post office not weigh the package?  It's obviously a great way to save money...

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Volume. They probably drop pre-paids off and the clerks scan them later.

All systems, no matter how good will let some through the cracks.

If they are printing from ebay they will get billed for some/most of them unless they obscure the little QR code thingy that the PO uses for revenue assurance.

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If they are buying the labels anywhere online, they can and will be billed. It’s not just eBay labels.

[nobody*s_perfect]

As noted in the other posts, a buyer can't know whether or not the seller is getting away with it. Last year, USPS introduced the Automated Package Verification system at their sorting centers. It detects underpaid postage by comparing the package weight and dimensions against the information stored in the label's code, and will automatically bill the account of the seller who purchased the label.

https://www.usps.com/business/verify-postage.htm

http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/ship-smart/ebay-shipping-partners/avoid-extra-postage-costs....

[orangehound]

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@missjen831 wrote:

How do you know they are getting away with it? USPS has an automated postage verification system. If the seller is buying the label online and the PO catches the underpaid, they charge the seller.

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The USPS says that "every" package goes through APV, but there was a seller abusing the system earlier this year (much like the OP said), and APV wasn't catching any of the over-weight items. 

I don't think APV is fully rolled out across the entire USPS system ... it is not just the technology, but there are apparently some management disagreements about its implementation.  I think it might be in a testing phase or maybe being implemented different ways around the country to develop some "lessons learned".  I say this because in the USPS Fall 2017 report to congress, the report suggested that there are a lot of problems with it, and the report recommended additional controls be put in place to identify shortpaid packages.

[richard1rst]

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@missjen831 wrote:

How do you know they are getting away with it? USPS has an automated postage verification system. If the seller is buying the label online and the PO catches the underpaid, they charge the seller.

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It works both ways. I actually gor a credit/refund once for overstating the weight.

[mansons2005]

I have gotten reimbursements for over-paid postage as well.

On another note, I do not believe that 1st class packages are checked - wasn't there a posting somewhere from a USPS employee who mentioned it?

[nobody*s_perfect]

Items sent as First Class letters and flats don't go through the APV system. So the system wouldn't have a chance to caatch an item sent as a flat (AKA Large envelope) that should have been sent as a package.

I'm pretty sure that FC packages do go through, I have seen reports about postage credits for overstated weights on FC packages.  See post #72 on this thread, " I got one refund. 4 oz 1st shipped with 8 oz label as it cost more to redo."

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Archive-Shipping-Returns/USPS-Label-Cost-Adjustment-SCAM-chargeback/td...

[mansons2005]

So sorry! I was confusing my flats with my packages................and let Freud do what he will with THAT statement.....................

[monster-deals]

Thanks for agreeing with me.

[bargains4me4u]

When I take my preprinted Ebay Pitney Bowes Label items to the Post

Office I stand in lilne to get a receipt for my safety in shipping and tracking

They ALWAYS weigh my 1st class items and check to make sure they

are [proper...At times when I have several packages to ship I have taken 

them to the drop off area and didn't wait in line so I am unsure as to

whether they weight is checked or not.....I did overpay once on a larger

package and I was issued

a refund by the P.O. through Paypal.... a couple of weeeks or so later........so some are being checked.... Honesty is the best policy!!

[muttlymob]

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@orangehound wrote:

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The USPS says that "every" package goes through APV, but there was a seller abusing the system earlier this year (much like the OP said), and APV wasn't catching any of the over-weight items. 

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How do you know the APV didn't catch any of them?

[emptyemmascloset]

In the past I received a rare package with postage due.  The mail carrier knocked on my door and wouldn't release the item until I paid the difference. Are you saying this no longer happens...?  I admit that it's been a very long v since I've seen a postage due package.