Tracking post cards

[dawh_4705]

I am a new seller on ebay and am starting off with many old postcards found in great grandparents attic.  I have just sold my first and mailed to buyer, it cost me $4 to pay for tracking.  Do most sellers add tracking for items like this ?  Thanks 

[postcardcountry]

There is no "most" response for your questions.  Some sellers offer no tracking, some sellers use eBay's new standard envelope for tracking, others using first class parcel and get tracking.

The standard envelope has it's own challenges since it is not scanned on acceptance and not scanned upon delivery.  Many sellers are successful with this.  Many tried and ran into problems.

I have done first class parcel since eBay has made tracking practically a requirement.  It works fine for me, I am somewhat cautious and after the delays of last year, at least I can see if/when/maybe my item will be delivered.

Some sellers use regular first class mail and have little or no problems.  I did find one seller who used this method, had a great deal of problems last year with items not getting delivered and ended up with a sub-standard rating.  And is now shipping first class parcel with tracking.

[dawh_4705]

Thanks so much for your response. I think I will just add the $4 in the price of my postcards and send them with tracking to be safe. Thanks again.

[muttlymob]

I've mailed thousands of postcards, photos, other paper ephemera over the years.  Usually mailed in 6x9 inch rigid mailers as nonmachinable letters (currently $1.03 for 2 ounce).  In all those years I have maybe had 4 or 5 claims of nonreceipt. 

I rarely send postcards as parcels (you can't just add tracking to a letter, it must meet physical standards of a parcel), only if value is high enough - for me the tolerance level is at least $50 or more. 

Postcards are a low risk, often low value market.  Each seller must balance the loss of sales due to high shipping cost compared to item value, with the potential for actual loss due to claims of nonreceipt.