Postal Letter

Why did USPS charge me for receiving a package?

I wasn't able to pick up my package when the mail person came, so s/he left a note at my door. It says the parcel is at the post office. And at the Article Requiring Payment section, Postage Due is checked with $19.10 written on there. For the Sender's Name, s/he wrote a zip code 48186. I looked it up and it's in Michigan. I'm in California. Why was I charged? How come it's so expensive?

Public Comments

1. If you want the package, pay for the postage that the sender didn't put on it. It costs so much due to the weight and distance traveled. If you don't know the person who sent it, or what it could be, don't bother paying for it.
2. You can simply refuse the Postage Due and the package will be sent back for the additional postage. The reasons could be many, but some common reasons are; Sender used USPS provided packaging material for Priority Mail or Express Mail, but did not send by either of those services. Sender paid the rate for 1 pound, or less, using an online postage provider and the package weighs more than one pound. These are very common ways that the public tries to cheat the USPS out of postage, hoping they won't get caught. Did you recently purchase something from an online venue such as Ebay?