New eBay Standard Envelop Tracking

[cardinal78234]

While I welcome the new method by which those of us that sell trading cards can ship using a PWE with the added benefit of tracking and it being insured, there is one slight problem that I am facing (and possibly other sellers may be facing this issue as well) is that unfortunately there is no way for these items to be scanned in at the retail counter like the first class packages that have a familiar bar code which can be scanned in.  I have had several buyers contact me to find out if the item had shipped since there was no tracking information available to prove that I had in fact shipped their item.  Ever since experiencing a first class package that had somehow been missed when I shipped it, there was no tracking information on the item.  It ultimately arrived and when I check there tracking status, the periodic updates of where the item was was missing the only thing it showed was that it had been delivered.  Ever since then I have had items scanned in and was provided a hard copy receipt to validate that item had in deed been shipped.  With this new method, that first level of having it scanned  in when it is dropped off is not there and so, I have to trust that it will be scanned in somewhere down the line.  In most cases it is, but I would hope that there would be a way to improve upon this new method so to provide that added level piece of mind that the item has been accepted by the USPS and that there would be a way to have some sort of proof that the item has in fact been shipped.  T

Additionally, I know that due to the pandemic the USPS is handling a much higher volume of items being shipped, but for some reason it seems like there has been a longer delay in items arriving at their destinations beyond what I was observing even just a few months ago.  It would put buyers (and us sellers) minds at ease if there was any information as to the recent increase in delivery times, even if we had to pass that information on to our buyers so they could understand as well.

[bimm_corp]

I asked a similar question a while back. Check it out here,

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Shipping-Returns/Standard-Envelope-tracking-as-proof-of-delivery/td-p/...

[postcardcountry]

This came up on Wednesday's Chat with Staff....if the link doesn't get to the correct discussion, there is one that explains what is going on

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Weekly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/Community-Chat-March-10-1-00-pm-PT-General...

[jcaterstore]

The ebay standard envelope uses whats known as an Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) that is printed above the address line.  This IMB has been in use by the post office for many years and appears on almost all envelopes sent through US mail.  If it doesnt have a preprinted IMB, then it prints one on there.  Just look at the envelopes you receive and you'll see a barcode usually along the bottom of the envelope.

What the IMB does is allow the USPS to send your envelope to the correct location. THat barcode tells the sorting machines what part of the country your envelope is going to, what state, city, and which carrier route its going on.  That barcode cannot be scanned by hand at the post office or by the postal carrier and is only scanned as it goes through the sorting machines in the post office system.  

What stinks is that the envelope shows up as "delivered" which is incorrect as its impossible for them to scan the envelope on delivery.  So their computer program is making a guess on when its actually being delivered based on the last scan which is usually in a regional sorting center.

The "tracking" is nothing like regular USPS tracking.  It cant be scanned.  Its all scanned automatically.  What ebay did with EasySHip was devise a computer program that takes the information from the IMB as its scanned and creates a "tracking" service for you to follow along where your card is.

[khwtwo]

With all that being said you just paid for a .51 stamp , I got 80 not mailed on time strikes , maybe 15 not received  cases open I had to refund so far . Maybe 50 % have never shown a scan ever , I got away from that and went back to first class sales did nt change