USPS Crackdown: Shipments Rejected as “Unpaid” Amid Stricter Postage Enforcement
Online sellers are reporting an uptick in packages being rejected at drop-off as “unpaid,” as USPS ramps up enforcement targeting counterfeit and unpaid labels.
A Postal Service Office of Inspector General (OIG) management alert issued earlier this month highlights the growing scale of the issue, with sharp increases in recent months as USPS continues to report significant quarterly losses.
While sections of the report are redacted, the size and scope of the problem are substantial: the Postal Service says it processed more than 10.7 million packages with unpaid postage tied to counterfeit labels between March 2025 and February 2026.
Between November 2025 and February 2026 alone, USPS identified an additional 8 million packages, representing a roughly 609% increase in volume in just four months. The surge began in November, when the volume of these shipments doubled month-over-month, and has continued climbing into 2026.
The financial impact is significant with the OIG estimating USPS lost approximately $46.3 million in revenue over that same four-month period, including ~$28.3 million in February alone.
According to the report, existing detection systems have struggled to keep pace with evolving label fraud, particularly once packages enter the mailstream. In response, USPS has been expanding its interception and verification efforts, with early testing in March 2026 identifying and seizing more than 100,000 suspicious packages.
That timeline aligns with when sellers began reporting issues at the retail counter, where packages are being flagged as “unpaid” when scanned.
For example, in late February, some eBay sellers reported USPS rejecting labels purchased through the platform as unpaid at drop-off. Similar reports have surfaced across other label providers and marketplaces, suggesting the issue is not isolated to a single platform.
Liz Morton
Shipping platforms have also begun adjusting guidance. Earlier this year, Shippo advised customers to wait at least 60 minutes after purchasing a label before dropping off packages, citing stricter USPS verification processes and the need for systems to fully sync before acceptance.
Additional reports from postal employees and users indicate that updated scanning systems may flag labels as unpaid if payment data has not yet fully propagated at the time of acceptance, particularly during phased rollouts of updated retail and handheld scanning systems.
According to the Management Alert, a broader rollout of enhanced detection systems is expected by June 30, 2026, suggesting that these checks - and the resulting shipment disruptions - are likely to continue in the near term.
As enforcement expands, sellers may need to adjust workflows, including building in additional time for label verification and ensuring postage sources are reliable, to avoid delays or rejected shipments.
