First class tracking?

[oldoswego]

I sell a lot of small thin items that can easily ship First Class in a business envelope very cheaply. Recently though, I've been dinged for sending those items with a stamp and no tracking. Is there a way to get the first class rate but also with tracking? Thanks.

[robbie31415]

No you can't.

Your item would need to either qualify for eBay standard envelope or ship Ground Advantage.

Only first class package had tracking and its been renamed and merged into Ground Advantage.

[buyselljack2016]

@oldoswego 

all that "ding" does is to make you possibly "not qualify" for TRS at some point.

Just be sure to mark them as shipped.

Some sellers use a second account for selling/shipping items without tracking so that they can stay TRS for the other items.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

Ebay Standard Envelope (ESE) is a service which is available for use in some categories.

It is Letter Mail which repurposes the routing bar code to provide limited tracking.

When it works it does exactly what you want.

Details are available in seller help.

There are restrictions, and it does not always work as intended.

[oldoswego]

But not being Top Rated also means a 10% reduction in my profit, correct?

[oldoswego]

Thank you. I need to look at ESE a bit closer. I have used it, but am not perfectly clear on what it included.

[nobody*s_perfect]

---

@oldoswego wrote:

But not being Top Rated also means a 10% reduction in my profit, correct?

---

No.  If you are a Top Rated seller, you can get a 10% credit on your final value fees for listings that meet the criteria for TR-Plus, including 1-day handling and 30-day free returns (i.e., seller pays for return shipping).

[nobody*s_perfect]

---

@oldoswego wrote:

Thank you. I need to look at ESE a bit closer. I have used it, but am not perfectly clear on what it included.

---

It's basically a letter with modified tracking that meets the eBay requirements. Here's more info, including the available categories:

https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/shipping/choosing-a-carrier-and-service/ebay-standard-envelope

[susanb1872]

To be Top Rated you must have tracking for at least 95% of your transactions uploaded within handling time and validated by carrier.  If not you will be rated Above Standard and no change to fee %. The 10% fee reduction would apply if you are now Top Rated PLUS. Not sure if you are this level or not.

[caldreamer]

If you are just Top Rated you do not get any discount.    You must be Top Rated PLUS and meet criteria (fast shipping, free returns, tracking#) then you get 10% off selling fees.

[m60driver]

---

@oldoswego wrote:

But not being Top Rated also means a 10% reduction in my profit, correct?

---

No, not in your profit.  It can reduce your fvf by 10% if you become TSR.   But that is sometimes offset by savings in postal costs.  In my case of selling lower ticket items the savings in postage using one stamp and no tracking was far more than the savings in the fvf.  These days I can use the ESE and get the best of both worlds.

[onefootflipper · Accepted solution]

Ebay expanded the categories available for standard envelope months ago with no announcement.  You should be able to find a functional category now for almost anything capable of making it through the automated postal system. 

Standard envelope orders seem to be this special case as far as top rate requirements. One of my accounts is 100 percent standard envelope and the only tiny ding on it was a single envelope that never got a scan. Everything that showed up late was removed automatically from the report.

I have examined top rated plus very carefully and find it to not be worth it. I am full time and top rated plus for me ended up being less than $3 per day, in exchange for free returns and 1 day handling time. It just isn't worth it. I can save more than $3 a day just being careful about my box sizes and weights. 

[brightlightbookseller]

Top Rated Plus is not a Seller Level, it's a listing designation.  Your listing must meet the criteria, and you must be Top Rated.  Many sellers will have some listings that are Top Rated Plus qualified, and some that are not (I suspect some of ours are not, actually, but I haven't checked).

[wastingtime101]

---

@onefootflipper wrote:

Ebay expanded the categories available for standard envelope months ago with no announcement. 

---

@onefootflipper 

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/eBay-standard-envelope-supports-more-categories-effectiv...

[onefootflipper]

Oh, they have expanded it way further than that since then. The spreadsheet that shows the categories lists hundreds of them now, and the "Terms and Conditions" of the program specify that the limitations are specifically ebay enabled categories with no text at all about what those items are.  That expansion to hundreds of categories was the one that seemed to come with no announcement. 

Although last time I checked the spreadsheet listed the video game category although they have since turned it off in the video game category (only worked with those razor thin Nintendo cartridges anyway).