Reverb and UPS - A shipping discrepancy

  • Thread starter Thread starter Meeotch
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Meeotch

Meeotch

Well-known member
Just thought I would share this short story:

I shipped an unloaded 4x12 cabinet through Reverb's discounted label system via UPS, and also purchased Reverb's shipping protection (an extra $12). There was no way I could weigh the package at home, so I took it to the UPS store where it measured 92lbs. That's some heft for an unloaded cabinet for sure, but so be it. Off it went.

A couple weeks later I get an email from Reverb saying that UPS had audited my package and the actual weight was 157 lbs! Reverb would be charging me the difference in my next statement. Um what? I did a chat with Reverb and they gave me their BS policy that they are unable to dispute audits. I explained that this was clearly a mistake, and Reverb agreed to give me a "one-time" credit for the amount of the charge. Props to Reverb for that, but what does this mean in the future?

Shouldn't Reverb have the ability to dispute? What prevents UPS from abusing their audit system?
 
Jesus Christ, there's no way that can be true. My OS Engl weighs like 110 lbs or something like that. The unloaded cab being 92 lbs is a stretch for me a little bit already (with the speakers that would be, by my very exact calculations, heavy as fuck), but it being 157? Absolutely not. UPS fucked up big time there.
 
So....UPS works off of a calculated "Billable Weight" which is somehow calculated between the package dimensions and the true weight of the item. The billable weight is always higher than the true weight when I process through UPS Worldshipm but I don't know exactly how it works. Either way, this should not have been audited by UPS mid-shipment, because your initial ship weight would have been accurate.
 
Bad.Seed":3uxlmgx7 said:
So....UPS works off of a calculated "Billable Weight" which is somehow calculated between the package dimensions and the true weight of the item. The billable weight is always higher than the true weight when I process through UPS Worldshipm but I don't know exactly how it works. Either way, this should not have been audited by UPS mid-shipment, because your initial ship weight would have been accurate.
Click to expand...

It's call volumetric weight and any shipping application should have billed/calculated based on that - if Reverb did not ask you to enter package dimensions then the fault is on them.
 
If the weight was wrong after the fact (after payment was tendered and package delivered) then that is on UPS. Not you. Not the receiver. Not Reverb. UPS messed up, they're fault, so they eat the cost. Transaction was done as far as you're concerned. Fuck 'em.
 
That is all interesting, and strange to me. Not sure I totally understand the volumetric weight. Is it possible that if some of the packing material shifted/ballooned inside the box, causing a dimension to increase, the driver could measure and discover a discrepancy, then report it? Sounds pretty far fetched, as I believe the drivers are under enormous pressure.

Yeah, fuck 'em!
 
It’s dimensional shipping weight. They rate the package as if it was heavier than actual because of the size (the “rated weight”... which has no bearing on actual weight). Its been standard operating procedure for awhile. Oversized boxes of equal dimensions will cost about the same regardless of weight because they’re basing it on how much space it takes up. It makes sense because if you had something the size of a cab but weighed only 10 pounds do you really think it’s fair to charge the same as a small box that weighs the same but takes up a fraction of the space in the truck.
 
Meeotch":ec3us8n3 said:
That is all interesting, and strange to me. Not sure I totally understand the volumetric weight. Is it possible that if some of the packing material shifted/ballooned inside the box, causing a dimension to increase, the driver could measure and discover a discrepancy, then report it? Sounds pretty far fetched, as I believe the drivers are under enormous pressure.

Yeah, fuck 'em!
Click to expand...

It will be because they accepted the shipment based on Physical Weight, if you drop ship or have a pickup done they can basically audit the shipment at any point in the process because you could enter any weight, versus to using a shipping counter where they will definately weigh and measure the package.

I say if you shipped through Reverb, it's their issue to take up with UPS...especially if they didn't collect pkg dimensions.
 
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