@kardboardink2
USPS treats the ESE as standard "metered mail" -- exactly like the hundreds of thousands of other pieces of metered mail that it receives on a daily basis.
Thus, there is absolutely nothing "special" about the ESE -- it is simply a contracted service between eBay and USPS to receive a shipping discount on business mail -- exactly identical to other metered "snail" mail that many of us still receive every day.
If the ESEs are dropped off in the "METERED MAIL" slots in the post office lobby, the ESEs will eventually receive their first automatic machine scans at the next USPS Distribution Center -- most often in another city and/or county, and sometimes several days after the initial mailing.
The final "delivered" scan is made when the ESE arrives at the post office matching the ZIP Code on the front of the envelope -- and NOT the home address of the buyer. Actual delivery to the buyer usually requires at least one additional day, or several days if a weekend and/or holiday intervenes.
(Note: It is not a good idea to hand the ESEs to a postal employee at the post office counters; or to drop the ESEs off in the "STAMPED MAIL" slot in the post office lobby; or to hand the ESEs to a USPS delivery driver; or to mail the ESEs in the USPS "blue boxes" or a personal residential or business mailbox -- as these methods may NOT provide the initial scan which is essential for eBay's "tracking" purposes, particularly for insurance claims, and may actually slow down the delivery process to the USPS Distribution Center.)
I'm not sure why you were told that there was an issue regarding a "delivered" scan, since that would seem to be a USPS issue; but it seems more likely that your ESEs may not have been getting the initial acknowledgement scan at the USPS Distribution Centers.
Have you been mailing your ESEs by using the "METERED MAIL" slots in the post office lobby? If not, your ESEs may have been mixed in with other mail; and, during this extremely busy holiday season, many post offices have been "cutting corners" by skipping normal USPS mailing steps (including "scans" of ANY type), in order to process deliveries faster.
So, even though your buyers may have actually received their ESEs, it is possible that your ESEs simply never received ANY "scans" -- and there is no way for eBay or USPS to confirm either initial shipment or delivery.
I've been using the ESEs for the last several years, each time dropping them into the "METERED MAIL" slot in the post office lobby; and ALL have received at least one acknowledgement "scan," and all have eventually reached their destinations, without a whimper or whine from any buyers.
Check it out -- it might help your performance ratings!
