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USPS send back to me, wrong postage help?

Hello, i am a seller, just recent sold a plushie i package it came out to 15oz printed the label it cost me $5.53 first class with 40% off ebay, drop it off at USPS (did not go to the teller) 5 days later it gets return to me. During those 5 days no updates on the tracking when it got back to me the tracking read "because it could not be delivered as addressed." the package had a purple sticker "label 424" and other sticker white with red stamp postage $8.95. Just want to know where did the problem come from me or the buyer? Is USPS saying they want $8.95 for the package? how when ebay charge me $5 something , 40% off from $ 8.95 is $5 something or the seller had a bad address? i contact the seller and he asked me was i gonna reship it or ask for a refund i told him ill reship but you have to repay for the shipping again ( no answer yet i live in the east his from the west) if i reship how do i do it without having this problem again

thank you

Message 1 of 37
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USPS send back to me, wrong postage help?

@lja440 

 

Do you also get informed if it was caught by the APV system to be billed back to the purchaser?

 

I thought the APV was supposed to eliminate the need for Postage Due collections.  Could there be double dipping?

Message 31 of 37
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USPS send back to me, wrong postage help?

Is this a misapplication of Label 424; isn't Label 424 for PME and not this?

Message 32 of 37
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USPS send back to me, wrong postage help?


@lintbrush* wrote:

@lja440 

 

Do you also get informed if it was caught by the APV system to be billed back to the purchaser?

 

I thought the APV was supposed to eliminate the need for Postage Due collections.  Could there be double dipping?


Carriers (at least not here) don't get informed of any APV activity.  There is no alert on the packages if the wrong postage has already been caught.  Also (here) clerks are not informed either - the clerks in POs I work at are instructed not to charge postage due for issues that would be processed through the APV program.  Such as weight, dimension, wrong class, etc. 

 

Postage due has not been eliminated.  There are still issues that must be processed by humans - misuse of priority supplies (covering up with paper, eg), misuse of media rate, etc.

 

Yes, if a carrier is taking it upon herself (or himself) to assess postage due on packages without knowing if the APV has already caught the error, then double dipping is happening.

 

Message 33 of 37
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USPS send back to me, wrong postage help?

>>You are WRONG. I have been a mail carrier since 2000, and on eBay since 2004.
>>I find short paid packages almost daily. Stealth postage doesn't matter. We can pull up what has
>> been paid and figurer the difference to collect.

That was a typo: I meant to say postage paid for 13oz (12.01oz) to 15.99oz (the 13oz to 15.99oz FCP postage tier), and we are only talking about First Class Package in the context of this thread. (not

It shouldn't (and has not in practice) matter what the visible weight on the label is if the postage paid is correct for that pkg weight, size, and product. A label that says 13oz with $5.53 postage, can weigh up to 15.99oz and be valid.
Message 34 of 37
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USPS send back to me, wrong postage help?

Maybe assume it became a (retail?) Priority shipment (the default?) when the postage paid couldn't be read (stealthed and mangled 2D barcode), so assumption becomes no postage was paid and full priority postage is due.

 

(still doesn't explain why a PME only? label was used)



This along with lja440's "We can pull up what has been paid and figurer the difference" raises the question about WHAT exactly the PO systems can pull up.

The original label creation data (weight, postage paid, etc) should all be there buried in the databases, but the question arises as to whether frontline systems (carrier scanners? PO terminals, etc) can access that, or if only what is physically scanned from the label is available.

I still can't figure out what the $8.95 amount is though - doesn't correspond to any listed PM amount, and also doesn't correspond to the difference between any listed PM amount and the FCP postage ($5.53 for 15oz to Z8) that was paid (if that paid amount was able to be determined by whoever scribbled $8.95 on the pkg)

$8.95 IS however the 1 pound, zone 8 USPS Retail Ground rate. Which makes no sense. I thought Priority Mail is supposed to be the goto product for underpaid pkgs. In that scenario, carrier/clerk determined no postage paid (2D barcode unreadable, postage stealthed, PO systems can NOT determine the amount from databases), and decided it was a 1lb Retail Ground shipment?

Oh...... minor lightbulb moment..... If it was determined no postage was paid, then there is no free return shipping, and that $8.95 amount isn't postage due for the original delivery, but is postage due for the return to sender leg of the package trip. (but wasn't collected when it was returned?)

Message 35 of 37
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USPS send back to me, wrong postage help?


@muttlymob wrote:

@lintbrush* wrote:

@lja440 

 

Do you also get informed if it was caught by the APV system to be billed back to the purchaser?

 

I thought the APV was supposed to eliminate the need for Postage Due collections.  Could there be double dipping?


Carriers (at least not here) don't get informed of any APV activity.  There is no alert on the packages if the wrong postage has already been caught.  Also (here) clerks are not informed either - the clerks in POs I work at are instructed not to charge postage due for issues that would be processed through the APV program.  Such as weight, dimension, wrong class, etc. 

 

Postage due has not been eliminated.  There are still issues that must be processed by humans - misuse of priority supplies (covering up with paper, eg), misuse of media rate, etc.

 

Yes, if a carrier is taking it upon herself (or himself) to assess postage due on packages without knowing if the APV has already caught the error, then double dipping is happening.

 


I don't assess postage due. We just take the package to the Postmaster and he assesses it. When he runs the info on the package he can see if it was caught by the APV or not. 

 

In my experience the APV isn't catching much, I'd say only 1 in 10 and these are simple weight differences like the OP's. 

 

I would LOVE it if packages that the APV catches had some sort of marking applied, it would save me some time.

Message 36 of 37
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USPS send back to me, wrong postage help?


@berserkerplanet wrote:

Maybe assume it became a (retail?) Priority shipment (the default?) when the postage paid couldn't be read (stealthed and mangled 2D barcode), so assumption becomes no postage was paid and full priority postage is due.

 

(still doesn't explain why a PME only? label was used)



This along with lja440's "We can pull up what has been paid and figurer the difference" raises the question about WHAT exactly the PO systems can pull up.

The original label creation data (weight, postage paid, etc) should all be there buried in the databases, but the question arises as to whether frontline systems (carrier scanners? PO terminals, etc) can access that, or if only what is physically scanned from the label is available.

I still can't figure out what the $8.95 amount is though - doesn't correspond to any listed PM amount, and also doesn't correspond to the difference between any listed PM amount and the FCP postage ($5.53 for 15oz to Z8) that was paid (if that paid amount was able to be determined by whoever scribbled $8.95 on the pkg)

$8.95 IS however the 1 pound, zone 8 USPS Retail Ground rate. Which makes no sense. I thought Priority Mail is supposed to be the goto product for underpaid pkgs. In that scenario, carrier/clerk determined no postage paid (2D barcode unreadable, postage stealthed, PO systems can NOT determine the amount from databases), and decided it was a 1lb Retail Ground shipment?

Oh...... minor lightbulb moment..... If it was determined no postage was paid, then there is no free return shipping, and that $8.95 amount isn't postage due for the original delivery, but is postage due for the return to sender leg of the package trip. (but wasn't collected when it was returned?)


It may have something to do with the system the assessing PO is on. Some systems haven't been upgraded. I know the one in our retail office can't get into the APV system info, nor does it show the amount paid when tracking is checked like comes up at the main PO so there maybe some human error involved with this amount.

Message 37 of 37
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