@no_zero369
Here's an update on yesterday's experiment with this shipping.
The typical package-like "received" and "departed" scans from my Lewiston, NY post office did not show up in the eBay sold item tracking. However, the next step, "In transit" at Buffalo NY does show up. This is consistent with my conjecture, with your assistance, that this process is machine scan tracking only since the local PO is not going to have that machine--that's a distribution center process. I'll be surprised if there is "out for delivery" or "delivered" scans at the back end. While the absence of a "delivered" scan does present a risk, my view of human nature is not so dim as to suggest scammers are common. They do exist but my life experience says they are pretty uncommon.
It was a drop off right at 5:00 PM and out the door from Buffalo to Nashville at 8:28 PM, pretty darn good. At that speed I don't need tracking on the prior steps. The only problem is the tracking shows the label was printed at 9:22 PM, which a buyer might find confusing. I know I do. The link you provided shows more information than the eBay sold record--the "in transit to Nashville" bit of information with a "Delivery within 1-3 Days" notation at that link does not show up in the sold record tracking.
I can tell you the label is quite distinctive. It prints "eBay Standard Envelope" or some such across the top and prints the seller's eBay user name in the return address, something First Class does not do. I'm less concerned about pilferage knowing now that the first distribution center scan produces tracking. The opportunity to steal would be at the drop off PO where "never got it" is a plausible excuse. But you're right--who's gonna risk their civil service pay, benefits and pension for that?
I didn't see the 150 post thread but I have read and posted others on the matter and the responses have not been particularly helpful. For instance, I couldn't get an answer to the question of the difference between mailers advertised as cardboard vs. paperboard mailers, whether the former processed through or whether they are too think or rigid. The lack of a hand scan bar code never came up as people carped about tracking failures.
From what I've read, I can't help but think some percentage of delivery failures is seller error. In fact, I suspect it is a high percentage. The packaging instructions are very specific on thickness, rigidity, aspect ratio and label orientation. I saw one guy carping about how a PO counter clerk told him a 6x6 mailer wouldn't work. I'm guess he didn't know what "aspect ratio" meant. The counter clerk was right. If he threw it in a mailbox who knows what would happen to it when it wouldn't go through the sorting machine. I saw one guy who appeared to be a high volume seller complaining about buyer messages about tracking who said, "Why would I buyer think I know more than what the tracking shows?" Well, he probably was not aware of the link you provided, as I was not aware, which does show more info. One more link for the desk top.
My big beef is with eBay selling sellers on this service more than describing the nuts and bolts, never mentioning that machine scanning is the only scanning you'll get, which I presume is the case until I see that with my own eyes on my first shipment. This is a common phenomenon in eBay help as well. You can look long and hard for step-by-step instructions and you won't find them. You follow along and when you get to the end the punch line is missing. See if you can figure out how local pickup payments are supposed to work if the buyer does not pay until inspection and does not have the phone app or pays cash. And don't get me started on my other recent hobby horse--seeing the UPS Ground discount rate range for a listing before you list it! I betcha a lot of sellers of heavier/larger packages don't know it exists.
