Seller says Free Shipping, Post Office comes to my door to collect!

lulu212121

O.G.
Jan 1, 2007
2,368
2,862
:cursing::mad:

I won a denim jacket. Ebay seller listed the item as free shipping. Today the item comes, but my husband refuses because the Postman wants to collect $6.50. He says the item was mailed in a small box, 1st class & weight was marked as 6oz.

Now, I have been having this happen a lot lately with ebay. In fact this is my 4th time since November '11 because seller did not weigh properly. I can understand an ounce or two, but this is absurd.

The postman said that when it exceeds a certain amount they have to collect the money right then or refuse & they send it back.

I feel this seller did this on purpose. I mean really, how could a ladies denim jacket only weigh 6oz? The seller had to type this in thru either ebay or paypal shipping.

I haven't contacted the seller yet. Will this be difficult if I have to go thru ebay because of the so called free shipping? I can't ding the stars now.
 
That's really odd. Maybe it's where/how you ship it, but when I've shipped packages that weighted differently and required more postage, it was checked at my local PO and sent back to me.
 
Perhaps it was an honest mistake. If the seller had various listings ending on the same day and printed out several labels, I could see how that could've happened. :shrugs: Then again, the seller could've been trying to cheat the USPS and pocketing the extra postage for himself/herself. I guess it's hard to say without contacting the seller and seeing if it was just an innocent, careless mistake, or if that person was just being dishonest from the get-go. :tdown:
 
This has happened to me a fair bit recently too.
And I've had very similar responses from sellers when I contact them- they say they paid the correct postage and it must be the post office's fault. One even claimed they stamp must have fallen off- which is impossible as everything is done by sticker now.
I think people are just trying to make a bit more on their stuff by charging for postage then just dropping it in the post box rather than actually paying it.
Good luck!
 
Well that sucks!

Was it a newer seller? I have had so many mishaps printing my own postage through Ebay. Some of them I didn't catch until too late and was sick with worry until fb was left. Never anything that bad though! :nogood:
 
No. Not a new seller. They only had a few auctions listed at that time.

I'm off to contact seller.

I was just concerned how it would be handled by ebay since it was free shipping (LOL) & refused.
 
As a seller, I had this happen to me once. The buyer had to pay an extra $4.00. I was upset because I had weighed it before I sent it and I was sure I bought the correct postage. Then the other day, my daughter took something to the post office for me and she had to pay an extra 20 cents. It turned out that my scale wasn't quite accurate, so now I add a few ounces to every package I send. On the other hand, I have gotten quite a few packages where the seller bought the shipping for the small flat rate box and then applied it to a much larger box. It bothered me that they got away with that.
 
As a seller, I had this happen to me once. The buyer had to pay an extra $4.00. I was upset because I had weighed it before I sent it and I was sure I bought the correct postage. Then the other day, my daughter took something to the post office for me and she had to pay an extra 20 cents. It turned out that my scale wasn't quite accurate, so now I add a few ounces to every package I send. On the other hand, I have gotten quite a few packages where the seller bought the shipping for the small flat rate box and then applied it to a much larger box. It bothered me that they got away with that.



This has happened to me many times, too --- very frustrating!!
 
Update:

I contacted seller explained what happened. Seller tried to make it sound as if it was the P.O.'s fault. Seller did have to type in the weight & see the final price on PP.:shrugs:

Seller said they would ship it back to me as soon as they receive it. I do hope so because I actually want it.

Will the PO charge the seller for the original shipping that I would not pay?
 
Update:

I contacted seller explained what happened. Seller tried to make it sound as if it was the P.O.'s fault. Seller did have to type in the weight & see the final price on PP.:shrugs:

Seller said they would ship it back to me as soon as they receive it. I do hope so because I actually want it.

Will the PO charge the seller for the original shipping that I would not pay?

I'm surprised it didn't come back to her from the post office prior to it making its journey to you.

I hope you get your jacket soon.

:love:
 
I'm surprised it didn't come back to her from the post office prior to it making its journey to you.

I'm curious about that too -- rather than try to collect from the recipient, why aren't these packages returned to sender for insufficient postage? Isn't that how it works with regular mail that doesn't have enough postage?
 
I'm curious about that too -- rather than try to collect from the recipient, why aren't these packages returned to sender for insufficient postage? Isn't that how it works with regular mail that doesn't have enough postage?

No, if the shortage isn't caught when the package is dropped off the recipient gets charged the postage due. Once it has reached it's destination post office it's not sent back unless the recipient refuses to pay the extra.