Postage Due - Be Responsible

[katester44]

Just a friendly heads up/reminder to all members that if you send your end of the trade and it ends up being postage due for the recipient - YOU are responsible for reimbursing the recipient.

As postage costs increase, we are all trying to find ways to keep costs down. But please remember, that you must send a package safely and packed responsibly and pay the appropriate postage amount. No one wants to get damaged cards or pay for the postage on both ends of a trade.

The amount of reports and messages has been on the rise lately. None of the moderators want to be the bad guy, but if we have to, we definitely won't hesitate to. You will have one chance to make it right and than you will be handed a suspension until you do make it right. This is the warning.

 

[7timecy]

Great post!! I have definitely seen the postage dues on the rise. My local PO told that the regional hubs are cracking down. I got 3 envelopes from different parts of the country and they were all 1 card top loader trades and 1 got hit with a postage due because they didn't use non-machinable stamp but the other 2 didn't get hit. So they are very inconsistent .

 

[key2win]

Good post as a reminder. Luckily I have never been hit with an additional postage due on either end of a trade in last 20 years. I tend to get these more on EBAY purchases oddly enough since seller would charge $2-3 for shipping then throw everything in envelope with only one stamp.

Thanks for posting this.

 

[anglinomics]

It seems to happen when a person uses a regular stamp to send a single card. My PO adds a charge to bring it up to a non-machinable stamp. If the envelope is floppy, they can't run it through a machine. And if you put cardboard backing to firm up the envelope, it weighs more. Thanks for the post.

 

[gwynn_fan]

Hi A couple of hints from someone who spent 44 years in San Diego PO.

1 I bought an electric scale to make sure of the correct weight and postage.

2 If you're going to be doing this for a good while, stock up on forever stamps and the forever additional ounce stamps. There's also the 2 ounce forever stamp if youre mailing a lot of those.

3 As a follow up to the first comment. Never ever mail your letter envelopes over the counter! Even if you have one semi rigid card, the clerk will try and up charge you!
Use the drop stamped envevope here slot. I think i have had 1 envelope returned from in the last 5 years.
Bob

 

[bigwallastyle]

@anglinomics:

Not true. I have been using the USPS printing service from their website and having all kinds of issues. I was the one that was flagged in 7timecy's post despite sending him other packages of the same exact size and weight earlier in the year with the same postage and having it go through.

After talking to the people at my post office and also at the 1-800 number, it is apparent that no one knows what the actual rules are. And to make it worse, the website is incorrectly applying postage even though you click the correct weight and dimensions (the lady on the phone told me that their own web site can't be trusted and she even verified everything on my shipment to Dewayne- it was measured and weighed correctly but the price the website gave me wasn't enough- I swear this is 100% true even though I sound like I'm crazy).

At this point, the USPS is just a game of Russian Roulette. You send the exact same packages on different days and one gets flagged- the next goes through. It's the part of the hobby that drives me crazy. I don't care about paying whatever for a package but when I send 10 just fine and the 11th comes back with no explanation and the amount I owe is way more than being off by an ounce, it drives me crazy.

The craziest thing is I used to take my postage to the town over to mail and have never had one returned from there. It's always the stuff I mail from my mailbox so it has to be someone involved on that route. I'm going to start mailing in the town over again and see what happens. My last six packages have been returned for more postage; even though I mailed them through the website and the previous 40 or so mailers (mailed the exact same way) went through fine.

 

[STLSHOEMAN]

I believe I'm the reason this thread was started. I made a trade with someone. I used Pirate Ship . I sent a 6x9 inch padded envelope weighing 4oz. I paid $5.07 to ship the cards. The person on the other end of the trade also used a 6x9 padded envelope. He put $1.32 stamp on it. When I finally got it, I had to go to the PO to pick it up because I owed $6.63 overdue postage. The person refused to reimburse me which is why he was banned.

 

[anglinomics]

@anglinomics:

Not true. I have been using the USPS printing service from their website and having all kinds of issues. I was the one that was flagged in 7timecy's post despite sending him other packages of the same exact size and weight earlier in the year with the same postage and having it go through.

After talking to the people at my post office and also at the 1-800 number, it is apparent that no one knows what the actual rules are. And to make it worse, the website is incorrectly applying postage even though you click the correct weight and dimensions (the lady on the phone told me that their own web site can't be trusted and she even verified everything on my shipment to Dewayne- it was measured and weighed correctly but the price the website gave me wasn't enough- I swear this is 100% true even though I sound like I'm crazy).

At this point, the USPS is just a game of Russian Roulette. You send the exact same packages on different days and one gets flagged- the next goes through. It's the part of the hobby that drives me crazy. I don't care about paying whatever for a package but when I send 10 just fine and the 11th comes back with no explanation and the amount I owe is way more than being off by an ounce, it drives me crazy.

The craziest thing is I used to take my postage to the town over to mail and have never had one returned from there. It's always the stuff I mail from my mailbox so it has to be someone involved on that route. I'm going to start mailing in the town over again and see what happens. My last six packages have been returned for more postage; even though I mailed them through the website and the previous 40 or so mailers (mailed the exact same way) went through fine.

I'm not sure what you are saying is not true. I wasn't talking about using online postage. I was talking about my direct experiences with my local post office. I agree that they are terribly inconsistent. My postmaster once questioned if using a non-machinable stamp actually guaranteed that it would be handled by hand. Also, I am talking about pwe mailings.

 

[gwynn_fan]

I'm not sure what you are saying is not true. I wasn't talking about using online postage. I was talking about my direct experiences with my local post office. I agree that they are terribly inconsistent. My postmaster once questioned if using a non-machinable stamp actually guaranteed that it would be handled by hand. Also, I am talking about pwe mailings.

Hi As I said on PWE don't give them to a person, just put them through the stamp envelope slot.or. street box. If it comes back your dealing with a Zealot!

 

[dragonslayer913]

I believe I'm the reason this thread was started. I made a trade with someone. I used Pirate Ship . I sent a 6x9 inch padded envelope weighing 4oz. I paid $5.07 to ship the cards. The person on the other end of the trade also used a 6x9 padded envelope. He put $1.32 stamp on it. When I finally got it, I had to go to the PO to pick it up because I owed $6.63 overdue postage. The person refused to reimburse me which is why he was banned.

I know who it is won't mention name but what cracks me up why the USPS forwarded the pkg to you they should have returned it to him and I made a trade with them before they were banned and received my end they put 4 stamps on the envelope were 1 stamp and an extra stamp would have been enough but for them not to reimburse you is well you know

 

[bblair_2002]

It should have been returned to the sender with insufficient postage and made to send again correcting the issue.

I don't think the USPS has a standard way of doing anything anymore.

 

[bigwallastyle]

I'm not sure what you are saying is not true. I wasn't talking about using online postage. I was talking about my direct experiences with my local post office. I agree that they are terribly inconsistent. My postmaster once questioned if using a non-machinable stamp actually guaranteed that it would be handled by hand. Also, I am talking about pwe mailings.

I was saying it was happening with stamps primarily. Its happening with my printed postage too. Sorry to be unclear.