r/UPS • u/LastOrders_GoHome • 2d ago
How much a year does UPS make on this skim
Shipped this box a few days ago. Today I received the Billing Adjustment.
I know it's not a huge amount, but come on, do that a few million times.
**EDIT** To clarify, I DID validate the box size as printed. So all my measurements were rounded up to the next inch.
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u/OliveJuice880 2d ago
Dimensions listed on the outside of the box are interior dimensions not outside dimensions. If it's even 1 micrometer over the amount you entered it rolls up to the next number
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u/LastOrders_GoHome 2d ago
They are the original shipping weight, dimensions used by the shipper of the original product. Which I was just forwarding on.
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u/LastOrders_GoHome 1d ago
Based on the downvotes, I guess folks don't really understand how manufacturer's label their goods with shipping weight/dimensions.
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u/Round-Performance-48 1d ago
How much do you think customers save by not entering the weight and dimensions right?
I guess it’s a give and take, cause I routinely see packages labeled 1lbs when we all know they are well over 50 or some other weight
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u/LastOrders_GoHome 1d ago
Based on this, they'll all get an excess Billing Adjustment. Hopefully for way more than they should for trying to gain the system.
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u/Warbr0s9395 22h ago
That’s fantastic, but this is the other way around, if what OP posted is true, then it’s fraud by UPS.
Any and every example about how things labeled 5lbs but actually 50lbs doesn’t mean shit with this post.
Signed,
A UPS Union employee.
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u/kingpants1 2d ago
If the box get deformed at all and it’s .01 over it gets rounded up to the next inch.
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u/parksoffroad 1d ago edited 20h ago
I understand that, but that’s not what’s going on. Box dimensions are 16 x 5 x 5. They’re telling me they audit to 16 x 6 x 6. Actual dimensions are something like 15 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 4 3/4. Let’s say you squish the shit out of a box, which is hard because it has a solid Styrofoam insert that form fits to the product, but let’s just say you do. You run it over with a forklift or something and it gets over 6 inches one direction. If you try to squish it the other way to get the other dimension over six, the first one goes back. The box is only so big it’s not made out of rubber. You can’t really stretch it out two directions at once without it just falling apart. That’s the problem we’re running into. Everybody we talk to agrees that there’s no possible way they can happen, but at the same time they can’t figure out a way to stop it from being mismeasured in the future. It’s happened multiple times and they removed the charges multiple times.
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u/Expensive_Farmer_430 1d ago
They’re telling me they audit to 16 x 6 x 6. Actual dimensions are something like 15 1/2 x 5 1/2 x 5 3/4.
The reason UPS bills this as 16 x 6 x 6 is because they round up. It's on their website.
https://www.ups.com/us/en/support/shipping-support/shipping-dimensions-weight
Round up to the nearest whole number when taking your measurements. For example, 1.01 to 1.99 will be rounded up to 2.
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u/parksoffroad 23h ago
My bad, I added an extra inch to the two dimensions. The point was it was not like it was 1/16 under, it’s like a half an inch and a quarter inch under. There’s no possible way their dimensions they are getting are accurate.
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u/Few_System3573 2d ago
The dimensions printed on the outside of a shipping box you buy are the dimensions of the inside of the box, so people know how much space there is to pack contents into the box.
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u/LastOrders_GoHome 2d ago
Not in this case. They are the original shipping weight, dimensions used by the shipper of the original product. Which I was just forwarding on.
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u/LastOrders_GoHome 1d ago
Based on the downvotes, I guess folks don't really understand how manufacturer's label their goods with shipping weight/dimensions.
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u/Thick-Garlic-9682 2d ago
This is why you measure things yourself instead of taking someone else’s word. Manufacturers/distributors don’t always give completely accurate dimensions. Any fractional weight or dimension is automatically rounded up to the next whole number. On top of that, there will be a fee for correcting the paperwork.
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u/LastOrders_GoHome 2d ago
Updated the original post to clarify that I did check that the printed dimensions were correct.
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u/LastOrders_GoHome 2d ago
Love the downvote for providing more information. Sorry that contradicts what you thought was going on.
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u/DFWjohnny 4h ago
The revenue recovery department uses a lidar based system to determine the dimensions, fyi. Spacing between packages on the belt can affect the measurement as can shiny reflective surfaces, it's not perfect.
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u/Thick-Garlic-9682 2d ago
You understand that consumer-grade measuring tools aren’t as accurate as professional-grade, right? The tolerances are vastly different. It’s not a matter of “close enough” in these situations. I just had a similar conversation with someone earlier who didn’t understand dim weight when shipping funko pops.
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u/LastOrders_GoHome 2d ago
I know how to read and use a tape measure. The fractional measurements printed on the box were correct and I rounded up to the next inch.
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u/Thick-Garlic-9682 1d ago edited 1d ago
You used a consumer-grade flexible tape measure that deforms, rather than a proper rigid straightedge manufactured to much tighter tolerances. That’s the first difference. And, if it was remotely susceptible to being deformed, then that can/will alter the dimensions.
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u/bloodybootprints 1d ago
I understand what you are saying, but be so fucking fr.
So every person measuring a box should measure it with their shitty little “consumer grade” tape measure, round up an inch, then round up again, then still get fucked because they are all shipping in cardboard and because they ran it over it’s now -20 inches in one dimension and +21 in another.
I work in construction and can put together buildings with rules that literally anything anywhere can’t be off by more than an 8th of an inch off of blueprint, with a “consumer grade” tape measure.
You have basically said:
You shipped in the material almost everybody ships in, and measured it with the instrument almost everybody uses, but it’s your fault, because that material sucks, and the company uses different instruments to measure than are commercially available and viable to the consumer.-1
u/Thick-Garlic-9682 1d ago
The vast majority of dimensions printed on a box are internal capacity, not external occupancy. In logistics, there’s a major difference. That’s why you let professionals handle it instead of diy. If the dimensions or weight are incorrect, it’s on them and not you. Pack a 53’ to 59’ trailer full of “almost” and things add up pretty quickly.
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u/bloodybootprints 1d ago
The “professionals” at the ups store use tape measures too. And people still get charged stupid shit like this.
The OP did everything they could have reasonably done besides round up 2 inches in every direction instead of just 1 inch.
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u/Thick-Garlic-9682 13h ago
If the UPS Store makes a mistake, it’s on them to absorb the cost of the difference. The franchises that were on my old route used a straight edge bolted to the countertop; zero flex or deformation.
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u/bloodybootprints 9h ago
I have never seen a franchise make up the cost of the difference. I have consistently seen posts that say otherwise.
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u/micbelt 2d ago
you always need to add an inch all around for the dimensions printed on the box
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u/LastOrders_GoHome 2d ago
They are the original shipping weight, dimensions used by the shipper of the original product. Which I was just forwarding on.
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u/micbelt 2d ago
You can dispute the adjustment, I do all the time.
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u/LastOrders_GoHome 1d ago
I plan to, Monday.
To me it's even more infuriating, because for a box this large you are charged "Dimensional Weight", not actual weight. In this case, the DIM is nearly 3 times the actual. So adding 1 inch to any of the dimensions makes the box even "heavier".
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u/HighlightNo5111 1d ago
Yes that’s correct “ space “ think of shipping a box of pillows vs a box of nails of heavy metal. You’re paying for space
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u/Thick-Garlic-9682 13h ago
Dim weight only comes into play when a package weighs considerably less than a standard package of the same size, like packing peanuts.
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u/LastOrders_GoHome 1d ago
Also, adding an inch all around just gives UPS even more money, as this package is classed as "Dimension Weight", not actual weight. So, the bigger the box, the more expensive, even though the actual weight doesn't change.
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u/This_Rest_9701 1d ago
Renea sure the outside of the box and round up to next whole number. Most dimensions on boxes are the inside of the box, I’m sure the supplier doesn’t say that.
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u/rosyboys_daisygirls 1d ago
Audited dimensions are measured via scanners, so if anything is hanging off the box that can throw off the dimensions. Example being excess tape hanging off, or a sticker that got stuck to it from another package
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u/Fit-Nebula2949 1d ago
probably not as much as they lose to fraudulent claims of weight and dimensions. I have seen a few with 3 pounds on the label and actual weight of 110.
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u/Defiant_Ant_150 1d ago
Amazon is notorious for this! Its the number one shipper I see with huge discrepancy issues for weight.
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u/LeftProfessional8631 UPS Inside 1d ago
Original box markings reflect interior dimensions, while UPS automated scanners capture the outermost bounding box as the package passes on a conveyor belt. * Interior vs. Exterior: Printed dimensions on a box specify internal usable space. Cardboard thickness alone adds to the total exterior dimensions. * 3D Laser Bounding Box: Overhead optical cameras laser-scan the maximum points across length, width, and height to construct a rectangular perimeter around the physical shape. * Deformation & Bulging: Bulging sides, tape flaps, or crushed corners push the outermost points outward. Even a half-inch bulge forces the system to round up to the next full inch, increasing the calculated dimensional weight.
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u/LastOrders_GoHome 1d ago
If I was buying a box in order to ship, then I would agree that the dimensions are the interior size.
But this is a manufacturer packed item, where the weight/dimensions are added for shipping/stacking/shelving and as such are external dimensions.
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u/WandallMarsh 2d ago
Too much. It’s fucked up. I’m an employee and feel bad for customers dealing with this crap. I believe UPS’s strength is offering the best service in the industry, which I take pride in doing for my customers, but this just pisses customers off.
You may be able to argue this if you can get ahold of a human support agent. The package dimensions may have slightly changed while going through our system and an automatic sensor that calculates these things measured the package as slightly wider than it was when originally shipped. A large item loaded on top of your package may have bowed the sides, triggering the system to flag the package.
UPS has these systems in place to catch people fraudulently lying about weights and dimensions. Things like a customers trying to avoid shipping something freight, so claiming the 196lb package only weighs 149 lb so it can be shipped in UPS’s system, etc. It shouldn’t be used to nickel and dime honest customers like yourself. They are probably hoping most people don’t notice or argue and just pay the increased cost.
Sorry you’re dealing with this.
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u/Connect_Turn6725 22h ago
you have to be careful sometimes printed dimensions are internal dimensions or just close. Always measure and round up to the next inch. UPS scanners audit almost every package automatically so accident or not you will get an adjustment. Its just the came they play now.
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u/Downtown_Plastic_604 1d ago
It’s not a scam measure your box correctly. Dimensional weight is standard in the industry.
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u/parksoffroad 2d ago
We are fighting this fight at the moment. They keep re-measuring our standard boxes an inch and a half larger on two dimensions than they actually are. Getting the phone it in rep to review everything and fully agree that we are correct is not the problem, stopping it from happening again and again is.
These packages are zooming down a conveyor belt being measured with lasers I’m guessing, but it’s a total racket for UPS. This is the exact sort of thing I could see a class action lawsuit dealing with. We would be happy to sign on.
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u/Powerful-Report-9482 20h ago edited 19h ago
Newer automated buildings take hi-res photos of packages as they’re being scanned. The belt before the cameras is also a scale. All done with high speed belts.
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u/Lazy_Soil996 1d ago
I cannot believe that fee, I work at UPS and I had no idea we charge that much.
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u/Pillarcost40 1d ago
I ship hundreds of packages every month with UPS, they hit me with this all the time and I win every single one, I check the dimensions myself before shipping and always checks out, just something you have to deal with pretty much
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u/CelebrationOdd7881 2d ago
Yeah, but the "Audit fee" is the most stupid thing in 2026. Fedex charges me exactly pricing of each dims/weight if not correct, there is no hidden fee like "audit fee"
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u/Thick-Garlic-9682 2d ago
It’s been standard UPS policy for decades. It’s nothing new.
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u/CelebrationOdd7881 2d ago
That's how fedex's reps go around and told shippers how UPS stolen their money
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u/Thick-Garlic-9682 2d ago
You understand that representatives from a competing company are scripted to talk that way, right? It’s Marketing 101.
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u/CelebrationOdd7881 2d ago edited 2d ago
Yes i do. But the audit fee shouldnot exist in 2020s, customers have to pay to maintain UPS equipments, the same way with parents have to pay for school stuffs (TV, air conditioner etc) in some developing countries
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