eBay

47acc_37 · ‎08-24-2022

2 weeks ago I had to pay $46 postage due on a box that arrived with a $5 media mail label on it. The contents were not eligible. Now I have a seller who has shipped what I know is a 2+ pound item with a first class label- when I immediately contacted them they gave me some excuse & sent it on anyway rather than voiding the label & buying a new one. If it arrives postage due I'm likely to refuse it, get a refund when they receive it back & leave a negative for them pulling this.

Why isn't this against eBay rules to use inadequate methods? They should buy a proper label instead of letting the hassle of dealing with it fall on the buyer. Because either I have to pay that postage due & seek reimbursement from the buyer(if they refuse I can file through Paypal) or refuse the package & have it sent back.

For that matter why is media mail even offered for categories that aren't eligible in the first place?

nobody*s_perfect · ‎08-24-2022

eBay tries not to allow sellers to purchase MM labels for ineligible items, but some categories do slip through.

Abuse of MM is detected by USPS staff when they inspect packages. Postage that is underpaid due to misrepresented weight or dimensions is usually caught by special equipment at sorting centers, and then any underpaid postage is automatically just charged to the sender's account.

https://link.usps.com/2017/10/05/what-is-apv/

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

So if that second package arrives without Postage Due, you should know that the seller is probably being billed for it automatically. If it does arrive with Postage Due, I agree that refusing it is the best strategy. Be sure to get proof that there was Postage Due, so you don't lose your protection under eBay's buyer protection policy, which they call the Money Back Guarantee:

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy...

jame234 · ‎08-24-2022

I have been shopping on eBay for over 10 years and have never received a package with insufficient postage. I am not sure why this is happening to you, but you can open an Item Not as Described Case which will teach the seller a lesson because they have to pay return shipping!

Assuming you do not want to return the item, message the seller and request a refund of under payment. eBay can't force the seller to pay the difference.

I am not an eBay employee. I'm a US eBay Community Mentor.

simba6 · ‎08-24-2022

Postage due is one of the few reasons you can refuse a package. In most cases, they back bill the sender. USPS seems to inspect almost every medial mail package too.

Such sellers need to be subject to a thick black vomitus ooze.

Anonymous · ‎08-24-2022

@jame234 wrote:
I have been shopping on eBay for over 10 years and have never received a package with insufficient postage. I am not sure why this is happening to you

I'm guessing the OP needs to be more selective regarding the sellers they are dealing with.

monster-deals · ‎08-24-2022

@47acc_37 wrote:
2 weeks ago I had to pay $46 postage due on a box that arrived with a $5 media mail label on it.

Who told you that you HAD TO PAY?

Whomever told you that lied to you.

whimsyonthewinetrail · ‎08-24-2022

and it is possible that ebay's system did not allow your seller to print a media label .... there are several other online places to print postage 🙂

some of my craft books i list under the "pattern" category which makes them ineligible (per ebay) for media .. i just go to paypal and print my media label .....

nobody*s_perfect · ‎08-24-2022

@whimsyonthewinetrail wrote: ... some of my craft books i list under the "pattern" category which makes them ineligible (per ebay) for media .. i just go to paypal and print my media label .....

eBay was probably referencing this USPS ruling: "Crossword puzzles, pattern books, poster books, iron-on transfer books, and cut-out books which do not consist of reading matter as well as publications containing advertising are not acceptable in the mails at the Media Mail rate of postage."

https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-064.htm

femmefan1946 · ‎08-24-2022

There is a post on eBayCanada at the moment, from a buyer whose purchase arrived COD.

It has been brought to the attention of the Canada Pinks.

devon@ebay

or refuse the package & have it sent back.

A Refused parcel is considered Undeliverable by eBay and the seller will not be required to refund anything in an eBay dispute.

Paypal requires that the buyer pay for return shipping to get a refund.

You may find the best satisfaction from the credit card you use to back your PP account.

nobody*s_perfect · ‎08-24-2022

@femmefan1946 wrote: ...
A Refused parcel is considered Undeliverable by eBay and the seller will not be required to refund anything in an eBay dispute....

The exception to that policy is packages that arrive with Postage Due. Here's the applicable section from the MBG:

Screen Shot 2022-08-24 at 1.35.19 PM.png

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy...

donsdetour · ‎08-24-2022

hi.

If this was done to you they also may be doing it to others.

File a fraud and theft with the postal service though their postal inspectors department.

house*of*paws · ‎08-24-2022

Hi @47acc_37

I'm so sorry this happened. Whether out of ignorance or deliberate cheating ... sellers sometimes put the wrong amount of postage on packages. The following is the method I use to keep the item ... without paying the 'postage due'. It has worked every time:

Handling a 'postage due' situation:

Ask your post office to hold onto the item while you attempt to obtain the money from your seller. [They have no problem doing this.]

Contact your seller and ask them for the postage due. Remind the seller that if they don't pay you ... the package will be returned to them, AND they'll be required to pay the money to their post office before they'll be given their package. [Once they realize this, they'll pay.]

Send the seller the phone number of your local post office so they can phone THEM if they have any questions about why postage is due. [Just about every seller blames the post office ... so they might as well deal DIRECTLY with the post office. Only the PO knows the reason anyway.]

The seller can use the ‘Send Money’ option in PayPal to supply the postage due. Once you receive the money … pick up the package or schedule a re-delivery.

1tuna · ‎08-24-2022

its not a good thing when this happens

many ebayers on this board know for a fact that when you refuse a package your MBG sort of ends

its a real catch 22. it woud burn me up for sure.obviously you dont have to pay but its a bad deal for the buyer if they wanted the item and had it sent back or refused it

@monster-deals

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nobody*s_perfect · ‎08-24-2022

@1tuna wrote: ...
many ebayers on this board know for a fact that when you refuse a package your MBG sort of ends ...

Not if you can show that there was Postage Due.

the_fancy_fox · ‎08-24-2022

@nobody*s_perfect wrote:
@whimsyonthewinetrail wrote: ... some of my craft books i list under the "pattern" category which makes them ineligible (per ebay) for media .. i just go to paypal and print my media label .....
eBay was probably referencing this USPS ruling: "Crossword puzzles, pattern books, poster books, iron-on transfer books, and cut-out books which do not consist of reading matter as well as publications containing advertising are not acceptable in the mails at the Media Mail rate of postage."

https://pe.usps.com/text/csr/PS-064.htm

I have lots of pattern books that have detailed reading, an example is a vintage crochet course for beginners. Tons of patterns but is definitely a regular book in a two book set.

its a fine line

The Race is over
The Rats won.