USPS Priority Mail with Signature Confirmation

RickyHendersonSD

I recently sent an autographed photo in one of those USPS Priority Mail cardboard envelopes. Anyway, I printed the label online without postage which I paid at the Post Office. I wanted to mail it with Signature Confirmation so on the receipt for label I printed it said postage due was $4.05 and Signature Confirmation was an extra $1.35. Anyway I had several things to mail that day and and a few days after I mailed it I noticed that the Postal clerk only charged me $4.05. Since it says "Signature Confirmation" on the preprinted label is this going to be a problem since it's in the USPS system as Priority Mail with Signature Confirmation? Does anyone know if it will be returned to me for lack of fees since I only paid $4.05 instead of $5.40? Thanks.

jimq112

If the carrier scans it and signature confirmation was added, then the scanner beeps and requires a signature. He can't deliver it without. If the carrier notices the $4.05 shipping he can either deliver it anyway or bring it back to the office to get stamped for additional postage due and then deliver it tomorrow.

Usually if there is some postage and it gets caught it gets postage due and delivered. If there is no postage it gets returned to sender.
EXCEPTION - Government offices and most charities and rebate centers will not pay postage due so it automatically gets returned.

If the system did not pick up the sig confirmation request then it won't beep and it won't get signed for.

RickyHendersonSD

"If the carrier notices the $4.05 shipping he can either deliver it anyway or bring it back to the office to get stamped for additional postage due and then deliver it tomorrow.

Do you think most carriers even notice it because I would think this mistake is not that common? Isn't the USPS computer system smart enough to notice that "Signature Confirmation" was on the electronic label and only $4.05 postage was on the envelope?

I would think if this is a manual process done by the carrier he wouldn't notice it or won't bother since the receiving post office screwed up, but what do I know.

cravetopps

I have had problems in the past with my scale and consequently "underpaid" postage by as much as a couple of bucks and NEVER had anything returned to me. What I did do as a precaution was notify the adressee, in this case the winner of one of my auctions, that there may be a delay due to my error in applying the proper postage amount.

Now what is more common is that the postal carrier does not scan the signature or confirmation number into the system and you end up paying for a service which is never rendered.

RickyHendersonSD

"I have had problems in the past with my scale and consequently "underpaid" postage by as much as a couple of bucks and NEVER had anything returned to me"

Mark, my case was a little different since I was not charged for a service (Signature Confirmation) which I thought I paid for. With all the volume of mail the carriers handle I can't see them bringing back a piece of mail with $4.05 postage to the PO for stamping. After all the $4.05 postage sticker was put on by my local PO. I could see them adding postage due if someone mailed a heavy Priority Mail package with no postage at all which would stick out like a sore thumb.

jimq112, do the carriers ever hand write "Postage Due" instead of bringing it back to the PO for stamping?

jimq112

<< <i>"I have had problems in the past with my scale and consequently "underpaid" postage by as much as a couple of bucks and NEVER had anything returned to me"

Mark, my case was a little different since I was not charged for a service (Signature Confirmation) which I thought I paid for. With all the volume of mail the carriers handle I can't see them bringing back a piece of mail with $4.05 postage to the PO for stamping. After all the $4.05 postage sticker was put on by my local PO. I could see them adding postage due if someone mailed a heavy Priority Mail package with no postage at all which would stick out like a sore thumb.

jimq112, do the carriers ever hand write "Postage Due" instead of bringing it back to the PO for stamping? >>



We don't usually look at the postage amount on the printed-at-home labels but the clerks do at the smaller offices. My wife usually catches about $100 a month in underpaid postage. With 0 postage it lays on the shelf a long time and then gets sent back to the seller postage due. The seller has to pay the postage just to get it back, then pays postage to re-send it. Used to be a popular scam, not as much now.

We get a lot of volume but not really that many packages. I get between 50-200 a day depending on where I'm working. If I see something short on postage I bring it back. This past week when I collected mail to send in I spent about $20 to add postage for tax returns that were short. If it gets returned for postage by the IRS it is late by the time it gets back, so I spent the $$ to get it there on time. I get paid back at Christmas

I can't write postage due and collect while I'm out on the route, I don't have a scale and a chart so I don't know how much extra to charge, and if they let us do that some carriers would just keep the $$.

And yes we can miss signature confirmation on a black/white label. If it gets scanned (99.5% do get scanned) then it pops up and we have to get the signature.

RickyHendersonSD

"This past week when I collected mail to send in I spent about $20 to add postage for tax returns that were short. If it gets returned for postage by the IRS it is late by the time it gets back, so I spent the $$ to get it there on time. I get paid back at Christmas"

Thanks for your expertise on this subject. You sound like a saint of a letter carrier. I now dub you "Saint Postman"

EagleEyeKid

I'm glad we have guys like Jimq on here

RickyHendersonSD

jimq112, this is more a general question and doesn't really have to do with my situation. I have always wondered how often a letter or package gets weighed and postage checked on route to a destination. Is there technology for postage, i.e stamps, on mail to get scanned on route for correct postage? I would think so because if somebody stuck $2 worth of stamps on a small package which required $3 worth of postage and it didn't get weighed on arrival at the destination city how could the postal carrier know if it was under weight unless they carry a scale with them?

jimq112

<< <i>jimq112, this is more a general question and doesn't really have to do with my situation. I have always wondered how often a letter or package gets weighed and postage checked on route to a destination. Is there technology for postage, i.e stamps, on mail to get scanned on route for correct postage? I would think so because if somebody stuck $2 worth of stamps on a small package which required $3 worth of postage and it didn't get weighed on arrival at the destination city how could the postal carrier know if it was under weight unless they carry a scale with them? >>



Everything is supposed to get weighed at least once, but it doesn't happen like that. Sometimes they slip by. After it gets processed and sent to the office for delivery it's unlikely to get weighed again. Some clerks look at the weight or postage label when sorting parcels, some don't. Some carriers do, some are in such a hurry to get out for the day that they don't.

Putting stamps on parcels is a real bad idea. Especially any parcel weighing over a pound, using stamps for postage starts a BIG delay process. You can almost guarantee an extra 2-3 days by using only stamps, if the package weighs over a pound. Don't want to get into too many details but just don't do it!

I guess the answer is you can get away with it once in a while but with as cheap as it really is to send something under a pound it's not worth the risk of having usps catch it. You got paid for postage by the buyer, if you send less than it needs and risk a shipping delay you risk losing a customer.