I noticed, but I hadn't seen an answer and figured since I could answer it, it would be polite to do so as others might be wondering too as I bought 2 items from the US last month and one had the customs charged via eBay check out through the international selling program, so if people prefer to pay the customs the "old way" they can skip those who offer through the international program.
eBay, etc. General Question/Answer Thread
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I noticed, but I hadn't seen an answer and figured since I could answer it, it would be polite to do so as others might be wondering too as I bought 2 items from the US last month and one had the customs charged via eBay check out through the international selling program, so if people prefer to pay the customs the "old way" they can skip those who offer through the international program.
eBay underpaid postage notice - I put 11oz and package was 14oz ( I guessed weight as my scale broke) an extra $1+ being charged to my account. Ok, so out of 20 packages, i guessed perfect on the other 19? Doubtful. Where is my refund for overage paid? I know I usually put in more #'s to be safe, but this was a shirt and I've never shipped a shirt before. Not holding my breath for that overpaid refund. Grr
I've gotten refunds for overpaid postage too, so it can happen.
USPS First Class Package Rates (these are the un-discounted amounts from my eBay postage printing screen).
1 - 4 oz $3.50
5 - 8 oz $3.75
9 oz $4.10
10 oz $4.45
11 oz $4.80
12 oz $5.15
13 oz $5.50
14 -16 oz $6.70
So you can see there is a big difference between 11 oz and 14 oz weights.
My strategy on First Class packages is, if in doubt, call it 15.9 oz. If it's less than 14 oz, you should get a refund. If it's over 16 oz, you can't use First Class anyway, so again, if in doubt, use Priority.
ETA: I don't know how small of a refund or extra charge they will process. If it's only $0.35, they might not do anything. I also don't know how they calculate the refund/charge. Do they factor in your eBay postage discount?
Adding on because I found the underpaid items on my dashboard (no overpayment lol) and the exact same shirt I said was 11oz and was charged for 14oz I sold again (different color) and put 14oz. this time ( because that is what they said the last one weighed)..they corrected that weight to 1# 4oz and charged $3+ for priority. Same shirt, same size, only different pattern. Same poly bag size etc. That 2nd shirt must have had about 6oz of lint on it or something. So I guess I'll take the rest to goodwill. It's costing more to ship than the shirts themselves.I've gotten refunds for overpaid postage too, so it can happen.
USPS First Class Package Rates (these are the un-discounted amounts from my eBay postage printing screen).
1 - 4 oz $3.50
5 - 8 oz $3.75
9 oz $4.10
10 oz $4.45
11 oz $4.80
12 oz $5.15
13 oz $5.50
14 -16 oz $6.70
So you can see there is a big difference between 11 oz and 14 oz weights.
My strategy on First Class packages is, if in doubt, call it 15.9 oz. If it's less than 14 oz, you should get a refund. If it's over 16 oz, you can't use First Class anyway, so again, if in doubt, use Priority.
ETA: I don't know how small of a refund or extra charge they will process. If it's only $0.35, they might not do anything. I also don't know how they calculate the refund/charge. Do they factor in your eBay postage discount?
I've gotten refunds for overpaid postage too, so it can happen.
USPS First Class Package Rates (these are the un-discounted amounts from my eBay postage printing screen).
1 - 4 oz $3.50
5 - 8 oz $3.75
9 oz $4.10
10 oz $4.45
11 oz $4.80
12 oz $5.15
13 oz $5.50
14 -16 oz $6.70
So you can see there is a big difference between 11 oz and 14 oz weights.
My strategy on First Class packages is, if in doubt, call it 15.9 oz. If it's less than 14 oz, you should get a refund. If it's over 16 oz, you can't use First Class anyway, so again, if in doubt, use Priority.
ETA: I don't know how small of a refund or extra charge they will process. If it's only $0.35, they might not do anything. I also don't know how they calculate the refund/charge. Do they factor in your eBay postage discount?
I ship through paypal so I don't know anything about underestimating weight other than to say that I'm guessing it's the post office that is charging them back and not ebay themselves.
I've never seen USPS refund for overpayments (items where you over-estimated the weight). I think their thinking is that as the seller, you're responsible for knowing the weight of your items and/or buying a scale so you can get it right.
Another suggestion I offer is that if the weight of the item is close to the oz. mark, i.e., 3.8 oz.) and you haven't taped the package closed or applied the shipping label, spring for the 5 oz. label (13-cents extra over 4 oz.) because it's likely that the shipping label and will add more than .2 oz and bump your package into the 4+ oz. bracket.
@Catbird9, prices are no longer the same in the 5-8 oz. range.
These are the discounted (ebay/PP) FIRST CLASS prices:
5 oz: $2.79
6 oz: $2.92
7 oz: $3.05
8 oz: $3.18
9 oz: $3.34
10 oz: $3.50
11 oz: $3.66
12 oz: $3.82
13 oz: $4.10
14 oz: $4.38
15 oz: $4.66
16 oz: $4.94
It's possible that you shipped by priority mail and even for a 2 oz. package, you have to pay the price it costs for 1 lb.
Again, I don't think it's ebay who is assessing the charges for overweight or underpaid packages. It's the post office who is charge ebay and ebay is charging the user who made the mistake.
Thanks for the tip about the tape
I actually shipped the one first class and put 14oz, but since they determined it weighed 1# 4oz, it was assessed the priority postage price since first class is only to 16oz. I was confused at first looking at the charge as it said something like service used doesn't match service paid for.
eBay is being charged by USPS for the underpayment as they are the account holder. They are passing the charge back to me. Which is why I wondered why I never see a refund for overpayment.
I disputed with USPS and the response was something like : if you don't hear from us it's because USPS is the contact/account holder so email back with reference number in 5 days requesting update. Lol we'll see.
I agree.
I researched my recent refund for a postage overpayment. eBay Shipping refunded $1.60, the difference between the price I actually paid ($4.94 for 15 oz, because I was unsure of the exact weight but was sure it was under 1 lb), and the price I should have paid ($3.34 for 9 oz).
Attachments
It seems to be a new thing.
"USPS Updates Postage Review System
The U.S. Postal Service is streamlining the way they check postage on shipments with a new automated system that detects overpayments and underpayments on postage.
The upgrade will:
- Align USPS with shipping and package carrier industry standards
- Reduce shipment delays and additional charges through awareness
- Improve the shipping experience for sellers and shoppers
https://pages.ebay.com/sellerinform...pping-partners/avoid-extra-postage-costs.html
I've never seen an over or under charge on my account. I often add an ounce just to be sure.I've gotten refunds for overpaid postage too, so it can happen.
USPS First Class Package Rates (these are the un-discounted amounts from my eBay postage printing screen).
1 - 4 oz $3.50
5 - 8 oz $3.75
9 oz $4.10
10 oz $4.45
11 oz $4.80
12 oz $5.15
13 oz $5.50
14 -16 oz $6.70
So you can see there is a big difference between 11 oz and 14 oz weights.
My strategy on First Class packages is, if in doubt, call it 15.9 oz. If it's less than 14 oz, you should get a refund. If it's over 16 oz, you can't use First Class anyway, so again, if in doubt, use Priority.
ETA: I don't know how small of a refund or extra charge they will process. If it's only $0.35, they might not do anything. I also don't know how they calculate the refund/charge. Do they factor in your eBay postage discount?
I use a scale so I know I don't underpay. However I do often add an ounce if an item is right on the edge but have never seen a credit either.
Ok, I have finally received my refund, after having to call eBay, open a case, wait two more business days, and THEN I got a refund that eBay had to force! A lot of the initial delay was due to me being inundated by family and not able to deal with it, but it seems ridiculous to me that I had to follow up on this so aggressively. Seems like if the seller cancels, the refund should pretty much be tied to that. At least it was only $33 and not more or I would have had a lot more anxiety over this!
In addition, I am no longer able to leave her feedback, which I did not consider. I think that really sucks that I can't leave that warning for other potential buyers!
You get a product that's junk. No where near as described. You do a product review stating it's junk and explain why.
If you do a Neg and refer to the product review, will the neg stick?
If you do a Neg and refer to the product review, will the neg stick?
I don't know but you have a better chance of having the neg stick if you just state your opinion in the comment. Let potential buyers do further research. (Ebay is inconsistent in removing feedbacks that refer to outside sites, reviews and the like.)
ETA: Isn't feedback supposed to refer to the transaction/seller? Wouldn't issues regarding the product be referred to the manufacturer? The seller didn't make the product; she just sold it.
Has anybody tried to attach pictures to a message recently? I've always been able to do it easily, but today I'm getting a server error. I read there were issues with pictures being dropped from listings, but is this related?