USPS Cost Adjustment is out of control

[jbsound8o2e]

I have been selling on eBay for several years and have never had a single USPS cost adjustment. Now, in a span of two weeks I have had three. All three have been small flat rate boxes where the post office says the service on label was USPS Priority Mail Small Flat Rate Box but the actual service was USPS Priority Mail Service.

First of all, I don't use priority mail that often as I sell small stuff that usually goes first class, so I remember each of the three small flat rate boxes I sent out recently. It is hard to screw up a flat rate box. None of the packages were over a couple of pounds, so I was well within the weight limit for a small flat rate box. The only error I can think of is I put a flat rate label on one of my boxes. I didn't think I did that on the first package, and I know for a fact that I didn't do it on the second two.

After the first email stating I had automatically been charged an adjustment, I contact the post office and filed an appeal. I learned they actually take pictures of each package and would be able to see if I had made a mistake. A couple of days ago I got notification that my money the automatically took from my account had been refunded, so I guess I hadn't made a mistake after all. I will be filing a claim again on the second two packages because I am 100% sure I used small flat rate postage and packages on both of them.

It is just too coincidental that after years of not having this problem, I have had three in such a short span, all on the same kind of shipments. In fact, I am pretty sure I have only had three small flat rate boxes sent out over the last few weeks and 100% of them have been adjusted. My question to the community is are any of you having this issue or is it just me? Thanks in advance for any feedback or ideas.

[mg152]

I’ve never had an adjustment. Did you call your PO?

[jbsound8o2e]

I did on the first one and it was reversed after they investigated, but no communication from them. I assume they found I purchased the correct service. I tried this morning to call on the other two, but they are closed until Tuesday at this point.

[vettenoodle]

Dumb question maybe, but how do they notify you of a "cost adjustment"?   I don't think this has ever happened to me, I hope, just wondering if it is a notification thru email? Paypal?  Ebay?  Or?

[jbsound8o2e]

Two of the labels were purchased through eBay and I received an email from eBay stating the money had been taken from my PayPal account automatically. It included the tracking number, the item I sold and what the discrepancy was. The third was a PayPal invoice sell and the label was purchased through PayPal, not eBay. I also received an email from PayPal saying I owed money, but they didn't automatically take money from my account. However, I had to authorize a payment for the amount owed or I wasn't allowed to purchase additional postage through PayPal.

[penguins_dont_fly]

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@jbsound8o2e wrote:

I have been selling on eBay for several years and have never had a single USPS cost adjustment. Now, in a span of two weeks I have had three. All three have been small flat rate boxes where the post office says the service on label was USPS Priority Mail Small Flat Rate Box but the actual service was USPS Priority Mail Service.

First of all, I don't use priority mail that often as I sell small stuff that usually goes first class, so I remember each of the three small flat rate boxes I sent out recently. It is hard to screw up a flat rate box. None of the packages were over a couple of pounds, so I was well within the weight limit for a small flat rate box. The only error I can think of is I put a flat rate label on one of my boxes. I didn't think I did that on the first package, and I know for a fact that I didn't do it on the second two.

After the first email stating I had automatically been charged an adjustment, I contact the post office and filed an appeal. I learned they actually take pictures of each package and would be able to see if I had made a mistake. A couple of days ago I got notification that my money the automatically took from my account had been refunded, so I guess I hadn't made a mistake after all. I will be filing a claim again on the second two packages because I am 100% sure I used small flat rate postage and packages on both of them.

It is just too coincidental that after years of not having this problem, I have had three in such a short span, all on the same kind of shipments. In fact, I am pretty sure I have only had three small flat rate boxes sent out over the last few weeks and 100% of them have been adjusted. My question to the community is are any of you having this issue or is it just me? Thanks in advance for any feedback or ideas.

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I'm confused.

Did you purchase postage for "Small Flat Rate Box" or Regular Priority Mail by weight?

Make sure that if you did use "Small Flat Rate Box" when printing, that you are actually using the correct box 

USPS has a "Mailing Box" that is very easily confused with a SFRB ... and requires Calculate Priority Postage 

[penguins_dont_fly]

[jbsound8o2e]

Interesting and thank you very much for your reply. I did purchase "Small Flat Rate Box" postage as I can tell by the amount I paid and that is what the email stated I purchased. I didn't realize that the post office had two boxes almost exactly the same. I just checked my supply and they all say small flat rate box on them, but maybe there were a couple of the mailing boxes that had slipped in and I didn't notice. However, the first adjustment I had was already overturned by the post office so that one must have been correct. Guess we will see on these next two once I file the appeal.

Thanks again...great info on the boxes!

[penguins_dont_fly]

@jbsound8o2e 

The other thing to consider when using any "Flat Rate" Box or envelope .... They must be able to close, as intended,  with no modifications to the box/envelope. If the box is modified in any way, or bulges so that the flaps aren't folded correctly, they no longer qualify for "Flat Rate" postage.

Not saying that this is your issue, but do not "overstuff" flat rate boxes or cut them down.

[jbsound8o2e]

Thanks...I also didn't realize that. I don't think that was the case in any of these instances, but I very much appreciate the information.

[no_zero369]

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@penguins_dont_fly wrote:

@jbsound8o2e 

The other thing to consider when using any "Flat Rate" Box or envelope .... They must be able to close, as intended,  with no modifications to the box/envelope. If the box is modified in any way, or bulges so that the flaps aren't folded correctly, they no longer qualify for "Flat Rate" postage.

Not saying that this is your issue, but do not "overstuff" flat rate boxes or cut them down.

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Interestingly, I have shipped items that were "just" too thick to actually slide into an USPS PFRE.  So I cut down one long side of the envelop, shoved the item inside and then folded the edges back together.  There was ~1/4-in gap between the edges.  I took it to the local PO, handed it to a clerk, pointed out the gap, asked if it was OK and off it went.

Have done something similar with the SFRB with no issue too.

But trying to wrap something that doesn't fit by an inch or more probably won't fly.

[berserkerplanet]

>>where the post office says the service on label was USPS Priority Mail Small Flat Rate Box but
>>the actual service was USPS Priority Mail Service

I don't know what that means. Are you saying that the human readable service on the labels indicated a Flat Rate Service but that the encoded indicia that USPS reads indicated zoned Priority Mail postage was paid?

If so that would be a new and serious failure in the new eBay label flow.

There is/was a current issue where listings that specified PM flat rate services were coming up defaulting to zoned Priority Mail in the NEW shipping label flow.
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Shipping-Returns/I-m-purchasing-shipping-labels-that-should-be-flat-ra...

I only played with it and did not print a label, but I wonder if it is actually also messing up the labels internally if printed as USPS seems to be indicating?


Don't suppose you have copies of at least one of the labels in question?

I can decode the encoded info in the 2D data matrix barcode in the upper right of the label to see if what USPS is claiming is what happened (or if anyone has one where the new label flow glitched as described in that thread, and a PM label was printed and saved)

There may be a serious eBay new shipping label flow bug here, but without proof (copies of a label) and maybe a timeframe (I don't know when the PM/PM Flat rate new label flow glitch thing started, the dates you printed those labels, or if those timeframes overlap)

Unless someone want to fall on a grenade by creating/reprinting a PM Flat rate label using the new label flow where the glitch manifests and changes the service to PM zoned? Then save it as a PDF, void the label, and send the label PDF to me. Or save it as a good quality screenshot, and post it here with the tracking number, and buyer and seller names/addresses redacted (don't redact either of the barcodes - they contain the needed info about postage and services)

[jbsound8o2e]

Quick update. I filed a appeal against the second two cost adjustments and both were reversed today. I would double-check any cost adjustment you get from eBay or PayPal as all three of mine, the only three I have ever gotten, were in error.

[jbsound8o2e · Accepted solution]

Quick update to the update. Last week I got my fourth cost adjustment on a small flat rate box. Literally, every flat rate box I have sent out over the last month or two have been adjusted, with every one of them saying that the actual service used was priority mail package instead of small flat rate box. I know for a fact that I was correct as I was triple checking the latest flat rate package I sent out. I called the USPS customer care hotline to appeal and when I described my latest adjustment the representative explained that the post office produced a batch of small flat rate boxes with the wrong bar code on it. So, if you have small flat rate boxes with bar codes that end in 0022, they read in their automated system as priority mail boxes, not small flat rate boxes. At least I now know I have gotten to the bottom of this. Check your boxes!