Printing 1st class with tracking (NOT USPS Ground Advantage). How!!!

[overstockdistribution]

Personally I find it absurd that it seems I can't ship a thin tiny rubber o-ring part without paying $4+ for USPS Ground Advantage when I can order small packages for $0.99 from China.. but maybe I've been wrong all along and you really can print 1st Class shipping with tracking numbers somehow!

Do you know how to print shipping labels with tracking numbers for $0.69 on 1 ounce, 0.97 for 2oz, etc, like "eBay Standard envelope" rates when the item is NOT a sports card or coin? (THERE HAS TO BE A WAY).

I believe programs like ShipStation do NOT include the tracking number if you try to print 1st class shipping labels there, even if cards, so that's not the solution.

When I sell a $6.99 item and put 9x6x0.25, eBay tells me I can't use eBay Standard Envelope based on my product category.

However, some how a seller who had an item listed under the category of a freaking TOOL BOX was able to use these labels that I thought were only for sports cards and coins. Sure it wasn't a tool box, but how is he able to print these when clearly that category should not work! Unfortunately his responses aren't clear and seem to imply every item under 3oz and 0.25 thickness is able to print them which isn't true.

[wastingtime101]

First Class Letter is an untracked service. Even with eBay Standard Envelope (eSE) it's not traditional tracking - PO/carrier can't scan it. It's metered mail so it only gets scans from sorting machines.

You can buy tracking with Letter-Track (which is also metered mail) although eBay doesn't recognize that tracking. Metered mail scans (other than eSE) are not integrated to the platform. Most sellers use Letter-Track just to appease buyers and have a link they can show to prove they shipped it. It won't count if the buyer files a non-receipt claim and it won't count for seller performance measures.

[overstockdistribution]

Thank you. I've been wondering if metered mail was a solution. I understand ESE tracking is horrendous, but like how it maintains Top Rated Seller status and can reduce false claims of items not received (although it also seems to incentivize claims of item not received when it occasionally does not show a delivery scan).

I guess there's not really a great option at this time. I just wish I knew how this seller did it. I thought eBay listings show on the listing page if the item is listed in 2 categories, but maybe they only show the 1st category and the "secret" is he's listing the items with the second category as a sports card and that's why it lets him print the labels. 

[wastingtime101]

I'd have to see the listing to offer more info - if you want to PM the listing number I can check it out and offer you more insight.

[fm2000]

Here is a workaround. List your O rings under Everything Else:Every Other Thing. This category will allow you to use ESE. This will let you keep your TRS status, give you limited tracking, and you save a little to boot.

There is a spreadsheet of all categories eBay offers ESE in on the ESE information page. There are over 1000 categories ESE is available in (look at the second column of the spreadsheet, not the first column.)

[1786davycrockett]

@fm2000 

Your suggestion to the OP is incorrect, since  "a thin tiny rubber o-ring part" is not even close to any of the categories permitted for the ESE --

Eligible categories

As of Nov 2023, four additional categories are now eligible to use eBay standard envelope, expanding the service to eight categories. See the full list of category paths.

• Patches
• Stickers & Decals
• Greeting Cards
• Seeds
• Trading Cards
• Coins & Currency
• Postcards
• Stamps

Just because the expanded list of category paths may seem to include "Everything Else:  Every Other Thing," does not suggest that eBay sellers may simply send ANYTHING using the ESE as a workaround to the stated eBay categories.

If the "thin tiny o-ring part" is actually that small and light-weight, the OP may be better off simply using a Forever stamp and a plain white envelope.