Sellers underpaying postage is not theft
Question asked:
“Sellers cheaping out on postage to retain more income is a tale as old as time. But definitely theft.”
Summary
Sellers who use insufficient or counterfeit postage are violating postal regulations and may be committing fraud, but the act is not legally defined as theft. The USPS can collect the missing postage and impose penalties, but it is treated as a postage‑due issue rather than criminal theft.
Sources 60 searched
- Postage Due and Handling Costs for Processing Mail With Insufficient Postage Are Not Being Recovered | U.S. GAO
U.S. Government Accountability Office · No summary is currently available
- Counterfeit Postage – United States Postal Inspection Service
Counterfeit Postage Reporting System (CPRS) and select the Counterfeit Postage option. What to Report • Sale of counterfeit labels or stamps • Intentional use of counterfeit labels or stamps • Defrauding the USPS with a revenue fraud scheme ... Are you seeing sellers offering deep discounts on postage stamps or labels online?
- U.S. Postal Inspection Service Warns Consumers About Counterfeit Postage – United States Postal Inspection Service
Under federal law, Title 18 United States Code 501, it is unlawful for an individual to use, sell, or deposit packages and/or letters affixed with counterfeit postage or stamps in the U.S. Mail. If engaged in this fraudulent criminal activity, an individual may be liable for criminal and/or ...
- Deterring Fraud by Detecting Fraud | Office of Inspector General OIG
We found one suspect conspired to submit more than 1,000 claims to the Postal Service for reimbursement of lost or damaged packages. He and his conspirators made the claims using 40 different names and falsely said that the packages contained ...
sellercentral.amazon.com- Underpaid Postage--What Would You Do?
Just received a 1-pound net weight item from a FBM seller and noticed it was First Class Mail. When I weighed it at home it registered 1 pound 2 ounces. What is troubling (fraudulent), is the label shows a weight of 4 ounces. The seller only has less than 10 feedbacks.
- unpaid postage
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- Underpaid postage - The eBay Community
refusal to pick up a package at the PO is negated if postage is due I think. you might not come out perfect if a claim pops up.if the seller owes money its the sellers problem if the package is being held at the post office · Germantown proud Germantown strong up the whiskey hickon moving right along 19144 ... I am surprised it went that far.... Are you not supposed to get "overpay" or "underpay" charges directly to your PayPal account?
- Insufficient postage - The eBay Community
https://link.usps.com/2017/10/05/what-is-apv/ http://pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/ship-smart/ebay-shipping-partners/avoid-extra-postage-costs....
- Avoid Extra Postage Costs
If a postage discrepancy is detected, the USPS will automatically collect for underpaid postage, or refund for overpaid postage.
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