When using eBay Standard Envelope to mail a coin, do not bring envelope to the retail counter. The retail clerk may notice there is a rigid object and process your envelope as a Non-Machineable letter, which may not receive any tracking scans, AND may arrive as Postage Due to your buyer.
eBay Standard Envelopes are classified as Commercial Mail. When mailing a coin in an eBay Standard Envelope, USPS uses Domestic mail Manual (DMM) regulation 201.3.10:
"Rigid items (e.g., pens, pencils, keys, bottle caps) are prohibited within
mailpieces. Reasonably flexible items (e.g., credit cards) are permitted. Subject
to 3.12, odd-shaped items (e.g., coins and tokens) are permitted if firmly affixed
to and wrapped within the contents of the mailpiece and envelope to streamline
the shape of the mailpiece for automated processing."
If you bring it to the retail counter, make sure the retail clerk knows this is a Commercial Letter, not a Retail letter, and do not mark it Non-Machineable and process it with the non-machineable letters. It should simply be accepted and processed the same as any other machineable letter. The retail clerk is trained to check retail mail for non-machineable letters and process them manually. When processed manually, as a non-machineable letter, they might not get scanned at all; And the buyer may be charge an extra 39-cents postage due for the non-machineable surcharge.
The regulations are different for Retail Letters. When mailing a coin or key or something rigid at the retail counter, USPS uses Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) regulation 101.2.1d:
"Contains items such as pens, pencils, keys, or coins that cause the
thickness of the mailpiece to be uneven; or loose keys or coins or similar
objects not affixed to the contents within the mailpiece. Loose items may
cause a letter to be nonmailable when mailed in paper envelopes (see
601.3.3)."
The best advice for a properly packages eBay Standard envelope is to drop it in the blue collection box with all of the other letters. When **bleep** gets to the USPS Processing and Distribution Center (PDC), the barcode will be scanned and tracking will show the acceptance scan. If you notice that your eBay Standard Envelopes are not receiving any USPS scans, you should talk with you local post office and try to figure out why the letters are not getting scanned at the USPS processing and distribution centers.
