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.

[wastingtime101]

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@onefootflipper wrote:

Oh, they have expanded it way further than that since then. The spreadsheet that shows the categories lists hundreds of them now, [...]  That expansion to hundreds of categories was the one that seemed to come with no announcement. 

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That expansion to hundreds of sub-categories was part of the announcement link I posted. Providing the downloadable list is what came later, and that was after a bunch of us pushed eBay to provide a list. But those categories were eligible at the time of the expansion on Nov 1st and were all part of those main qualifiers (patches, stickers & decals, greeting cards, seeds).

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Shipping/eBay-standard-envelope-categories-expanded/td-p/34078992

[duffy4444]

   You may continue using a stamp or two without tracking, as long as you mark the item as shipped in your Seller Hub. Any "dings" you receive for doing so will never, by itself,  drop you below above standard. It may keep you out of TRS, but there are a lot of long-term sellers, myself included, who don't see the bottom-line benefits of TRS when compared to the cost savings of using USPS First Class Envelope and Large Envelope.

   You have a lot of items that can continue to be sent via USPS First Class with a stamp or two. Make a value judgment as to what you can save as opposed to having to use USPS Ground Advantage, and compare it to any benefits you may receive by having TRS. By the way, a lot of buyers don't care a whit about a seller having TRS. I had TRS a few times in the distant past, and when I lost it due to using First Class with a stamp or two, there was NO difference in my sales. My shipping cost savings, particularly the last few years, has been enormous.

   Just be sure to follow the easy-to-understand USPS guidelines as to size, weight, thickness and flexibility.

Cheers, Duffy

[onefootflipper]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

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@onefootflipper wrote:

Oh, they have expanded it way further than that since then. The spreadsheet that shows the categories lists hundreds of them now, [...]  That expansion to hundreds of categories was the one that seemed to come with no announcement. 

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That expansion to hundreds of sub-categories was part of the announcement link I posted. Providing the downloadable list is what came later, and that was after a bunch of us pushed eBay to provide a list. But those categories were eligible at the time of the expansion on Nov 1st and were all part of those main qualifiers (patches, stickers & decals, greeting cards, seeds).

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Shipping/eBay-standard-envelope-categories-expanded/td-p/34078992

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The ACTUAL LEGAL terms and conditions however do not include those main wide qualifiers, it simply states that it is limited by category and the weight/dimensions/flexibility of the envelope. 

Someone recently tried to ship me a hot wheels car standard envelope. Somehow made it all the way to my local post office getting scans the entire way and I got the "postage due" notice in my mailbox.

[oldoswego]

Thanks Duffy,

I just can't bring myself to charge $4.50 for something I could send for less than a dollar. I appreciate your view point.

David

[mission2911reentry]

By the list I have seen, most makeup is now an option via standard envelope too.  Has anyone had luck shipping it that way?

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@mission2911reentry wrote:

By the list I have seen, most makeup is now an option via standard envelope too.  Has anyone had luck shipping it that way?

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@mission2911reentry   Please provide a link to that list.  The posts above include links to several eBay help pages with lists of eligible categories, which do not include makeup.  Also, as noted, ESE envelopes must be flexible and not over 1/4 inch thick, so most makeup wouldn't suit those limitations.

[onefootflipper]

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@mission2911reentry wrote:

By the list I have seen, most makeup is now an option via standard envelope too.  Has anyone had luck shipping it that way?

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I can't think of any makeup that would make it through the system, it is all too thick and most of it too strangely shaped.