Printed shipping label for item but my box is a bit big

[beautifulthings000]

So my package is about 16x15x5 

There's no boxes created that fit this, so my box is 16x16x17. I print the shipping label that I purchased through ebay go to the post office and I ask her, and show her the label she says "Yes the box is fine", then she asks me if it's heavy and I said no, it's just a toy. It's the only close box I could find. 

I said "I have my shipping label" and she says "Let me weigh it, oh they might charge you more on your account because it's 26 dollars to ship".

Will they charge your account? I had the measurments of the item, just not the box, it's how Ebay caculated the shipping cost. 

[simba6]

Shipping goes by both box weight and size. A box that is too big can lead to higher shipping charges. There is a shipping calculator on the USPS web site. You can enter size and weight to see what it will cost.  The postal service might bill you if the shipping is higher than what you paid for with the label.  Some get by and some do get caught.

[comics-scifi-collectibles]

@beautifulthings000   

I cut boxes down when I have one that is that far from the correct size.  If you didn't go ahead and ship it then you should take it back home and cut it down.  

Make sure you buy a label based on the box dimensions and weight  If not the correct box size then you have to void the label and buy a new one.

Any box over 1 cubic foot is charged a dimensional weight surcharge.    

[civicwagonparts]

Yes, they will back-charge you for the overage.

You will see a charge on you account, and usually they will send you a confirmation email with the exact charges, and give you the opportunity to contest the charge. 

Sometime it takes up to a month after the shipment to see the back-charge.

In your case, it should only be a couple bucks. If its a small amount, sometimes the USPS does even worry about it,  and sometimes they back-charge .83cents.

If they already got you for $26, I doubt there will be a back-charge.

It does not affect your account standing, unless it happens with every shipment.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@beautifulthings000 wrote:

So my package is about 16x15x5 

There's no boxes created that fit this, so my box is 16x16x17.  .... Will they charge your account? I had the measurments of the item, just not the box, it's how Ebay caculated the shipping cost. 

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Yes, if you underpaid for the label the the USPS's APV system will probably catch it and will charge the postage due to your eBay account.  In this case, the difference between $26 and whatever you paid for the eBay label. Your package isn't 16x15x5, it's 16x16x17.

When you set up the shipping calculator, you need to use the dimensions of the package (i.e., the box) that you will be shipping, not the dimensions of the item that's inside the package. In most cases, this means you need to have an appropriate box before you list the item. Even for smaller items, the box weight can affect the total weight that you enter in the shipping calculator.

In this particular case, if you had cut down the box to 6 inches, it would have been under the threshold for charging extra for the box size.