shipping item to a buyer, i paid full costs shipping, they say there's C.O.D. at post office?

[atvguy]

Buyer is demanding i give him $4.00, he says the post office says there's C.O.D, i sent the item which was a liscense plate, i paid $2.61 for first class which i print label at home. I don't believe i am the one who should eat the C.O.D money. what should i say/do? thanks

[missjen831]

Its not C.O.D, its postage due. And yes it is your responsibility to pay it.  You underpaid for postage I believe. $2.61 IIRC is for up to 4oz and a license plate alone, without the shipping materials, weighs more than 4oz. So you need to send the buyer $4 via paypal.

[atvguy]

The total weight of package was 4 ounce with packaging, today isn't my first day iv'e had sales on ebay since 1998! Never had an issue with not enough postage, first class you can send up to 4 ounces for $2.61.

[buyselljack2016]

@atvguy

What was used for a shipping container?

[chung-lee-2]

I just weighed a licence plate , it was 4oz bare no packing , I would suggest you check your scale .

[atvguy]

This isnt any normal liscense plate, it is a cheap chinese 2oz plate made for ac delco, it was sold at big lots, not a thick real lisnce plate but a cheap, chinese made one.

[atvguy]

wrapped in paper, tape weighed maybe 1.2 oz of container weight and 2 oz plate. total weight less than 4 oz.

[missjen831]

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@atvguy wrote:

wrapped in paper, tape weighed maybe 1.2 oz of container weight and 2 oz plate. total weight less than 4 oz.

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Well it appears the PO is charging the priority rate so the plate had to weigh more than 2oz. It had to be at least 4 ounces, thats minimum weight of a license plate. So you should have paid the 6oz rate.

[green-night]

Well it appears the PO is charging the priority rate so the plate had to weigh more than 2oz. It had to be at least 4 ounces, thats minimum weight of a license plate. So you should have paid the 6oz rate.

I think the problem has to do with rigidity and the flatness (unde 1/4 inch or something like that)  of the package.    I got hit with something like this once too.   The post office people here could probably explain better. 

[green-night]

Items I ship that are flat and rigid I always toss in some type of packaging that makes it uneven.  Otherwise, the PO will upgrade it to Priority since it is considered a 'flat'?  

[partial*eclipse]

Either rigid or uneven would make it a packge rather than a flat.

But perhaps you ran into one of the dinosaurs who is still insisting that a piece must be over 3/4 inch thick in order to be a FC package.  That error could explain the apparent upgrade to Priority.

[missjen831]

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@green-night wrote:

Well it appears the PO is charging the priority rate so the plate had to weigh more than 2oz. It had to be at least 4 ounces, thats minimum weight of a license plate. So you should have paid the 6oz rate.

I think the problem has to do with rigidity and the flatness (unde 1/4 inch or something like that)  of the package.    I got hit with something like this once too.   The post office people here could probably explain better. 

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I think you hit the nail on the head. I think some POs believe a package has to be 3/4" thick to be considered a package and the OP's wasn't so they nailed him. I forgot all about that, I've been busy helping sellers who have been caught trying to cheat the PO by shipping clothing & purses internationally via "first class flat" for $4, those don't qualify obviously and I was thinking of OP's package as the same lumpy envelope for some reason.

[buyselljack2016]

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@atvguy wrote:

wrapped in paper, tape weighed maybe 1.2 oz of container weight and 2 oz plate. total weight less than 4 oz.

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OK, thought perhaps it was stiffened with, or may have had some USPS Priority materials used in the packaging.

[duchess-at-speakeasy]

USPS no longer collects "postage due" on packages bearing an online prepaid label.  Instead, they bill the short-paid amount back to the sender.  However, the dollar amount will be at the retail level, not the original commercial rate.

In this case, however, I think the receiving PO is totally wrong.  You sent a package.  It cannot be a letter because it weighs more than 3.5 oz.  It cannot be a flat (aka "large envelope") because it contains a rigid object.  The only thing left is a First Class package at the correct commercial rate for 4 oz. -- with no reason to upgrade to Priority Mail and collect postage due.

Could it be that the buyer is feeding you a line?  Have you seen the actual "postage due" notice?  If not, I suggest you contact the buyer's PO and find out if they messed up or if the buyer is fibbing.

~~C~~

[bashamauctions · Accepted solution]

I always print shipping labels through eBay and had a postage due issue this past weekend. The buyer sent a picture of the notice and the receipt so I'm sure he wasn't pulling my leg.  He could not remember the exact weight the package was alleged to be (we had a 5 pound Priority Mail label on it) but it cost us an extra $4.25, which I reimbursed immediately.  It'll be interesting to see if the PO ends up double dipping!

-C