list of countries that USPS offers tracking to.

[fineasjwhoopie]

Can anyone point me to a current list of countries that the USPS offers full tracking to? A customs label number is not good enough. I sold an item to a person from France a couple of months ago and when I went to ship it via USPS I was told full tracking was not offered to France. I was suprised by this and asked where I could find a list of countries they do offer full tracking to. They could not provide one. They told me something like they are in transition and a lot of things are changing. My concern is that I don't want to offer shipping to a country unless I know for sure I can get tracking.  I'm sure that by asking this question I will seem like I'm not well versed in the ins and outs of proffesional level shipping and I'm doing it all wrong. I already know that I have a lot to learn about shipping but that is why I am bringing my questions here. Thanks in advance for your kind replies.

[duchess-at-speakeasy]

France is on the list of e-DelCon countries:

https://pe.usps.com/text/imm/immc2_022.htm

But e-DelCon means electronic delivery confirmation. That is, the service is available for First Class Package Service using online prepaid postage. (The Priority Mail small FRB and the various FRE's are lumped into this category, too.) It is NOT available at the retail level -- which is why your local PO does not provide the service.

Full tracking is available for all other Priority Mail packages as well as Priority Express Mail.

~~C~~

[sam9876]

What do you mean by "full tracking"?

[fineasjwhoopie]

What I mean by full tracking is other than a customs label that only follows the item to the point where it leaves the US. A customs label # in my experience does not confirm delivery.

Good point. I am actually looking for a list of countries that offer tracking at the counter. I will learn all about online shipping services as soon as I get a postal scale.

[green-night]

 A customs label # in my experience does not confirm delivery.

A customs label number for an e-delcon country suffices as proof of delivery for ebay provided the item  shows as delivered  (e-delcon is only for label printed online).      Whether or not the same holds true for Paypal I have no idea. 

If you want tracking for international delivery at the counter you need a minimum of Priority Mail (not including small flat rate boxes or envelopes - those don't count).   For regular Priority including med. & large FRB's you should get tracking to many countries that way, but might not with others.   There really is no exact answer to your question, just generalizations. 

[portieradesigns]

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@fineasjwhoopie wrote:

Can anyone point me to a current list of countries that the USPS offers full tracking to? A customs label number is not good enough. I sold an item to a person from France a couple of months ago and when I went to ship it via USPS I was told full tracking was not offered to France. I was suprised by this and asked where I could find a list of countries they do offer full tracking to. They could not provide one. They told me something like they are in transition and a lot of things are changing. My concern is that I don't want to offer shipping to a country unless I know for sure I can get tracking.  I'm sure that by asking this question I will seem like I'm not well versed in the ins and outs of proffesional level shipping and I'm doing it all wrong. I already know that I have a lot to learn about shipping but that is why I am bringing my questions here. Thanks in advance for your kind replies.

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Is there a reason for this?  The tracking for countries on the e-delcon list stops when it leaves the US, and then picks up in the receiving country, but usually only as a delivery confirmation that is sent back to USPS.  I don't use Priority Mail for International, so I have not seen what that tracking looks like. 

IMO, you should own a scale long before you ship anything internationally.  The savings in the postage alone, nevermind the ability to track First Class International packages with online labels, will pay for the scale.  The whole customs form thing is so much simpler with online labels too.  Try it, you'll like it.

[fineasjwhoopie]

Thanks for the replies. It seems a list like I am looking for does not exist. So do most of you package and weigh your items prior to creating your listing and using the on line shipping services? I list collectibles from my personal collection and so have not been packing until an item sells because they take a while to sell which is fine with me because I have a minimum I have to clear on an item or I'm fine with keeping it. I get that improving the way I offer shipping will help that. That's why I'm here. I’ve never aspired to be a high volume seller and my approach to shipping has been working for me until I bumped into a country that I was told tracking is not available. I get that I need a scale and then the on-line system will open up to me.

The answer to your question portieradesigns, is that I have been shipping my packages with services offered at USPS counters. I didn’t realize there were services offered on line that the on site employees wouldn’t tell me about. I need to be sure that I can properly track the package and have proof of shipping, so getting to the counter to find tracking is not available to the country I just sold to would be a mistake and a huge risk. No one at the post office has been offering the information that tracking might only be available through on line products. When I tell them I need tracking they just say it’s not available to certain countries and no list of those countries is available. I realize it is my responsibility to know what is available regardless of how I may be mislead. I’m working on it. Thanks again.

[berserkerplanet]

I package almost everything before listing so I'll know exactly what it weighs and measures to be able to choose and set shipping options and prices with no surprises later.

Additionally, having the items packaged protects them from damage and dust (after I've cleaned something to photograph it I don't want to have to do it again, or reinspect for dings, cracks, wrinkles, etc)

Finally, when something I've already packaged sells at 4:40pm I can just locate it, pull the id/info note off it, tape/seal it shut (after a quick last check), print an eBay shipping label (already populated with weight and dimensions) and a packing slip, and get in in the Blue Box 100 feet out back for a 5pm pickup.

[fineasjwhoopie]

Thanks. I guess I just need to get used to part of my collection being packed and ready to go. Any advice on the best deal and most value on a postal scale?

[berserkerplanet]

Depends on what your stuff is.

If they are similar diecast cars or figurines (or whatever), you can figure out how they will be packed in dry runs, prep some packaging for them, and leave them out in your collection. (My stuff sits in a corner of a crowded warehouse, gets shuffled and dusty, and is mostly OOAK gig and small, so the prepacking is needed in my case)

Scale choice depends again on what your collection is. If you collect bags of wheat, you might want a commercial platform scale like the 150# one I use on rare occasion. If your stuff is 1-75# a "My Weigh" scale is a great value and they are decent cheap Chinese import scales. (I have a My Weigh 75 I use for bigger stuff)

As I have the 75# scale, when my My Weigh 30 zotted out after over a decade of use I replaced it with a Soehnle 65055 Kitchen 9# scale. Handles 80% of my weighing needs. About $21 3 years ago. Discontinued but might be avail here. 9 pound max, 0.05 oz accuracy. Uses 1 3V CR2430 button battery that lasts about a year. Other currently avail Soehnle's might work too (I chose it for accuracy and price.)

[berserkerplanet]

Soehnle 65105 is currently about $25-$30 with 11# cap in 0.04 oz increments. Good shipping scale layout for smaller items (similar to the 65055).

All that matters really is max cap and decent accuracy (I'd avoid some of the super cheap Chinese imports - they won't last and are really iffy accuracy)

[fineasjwhoopie]

Ok great. Thanks!

[duchess-at-speakeasy]

No, of course I don't package items before I have a paid sale! In fact, once I have photographed the product, it goes right back into storage. However, common sense dictates weighing the product (upon acquisition) and recording this information in an inventory database. I also know in advance what my packaging options are and how much the materials are likely to weigh. Yes, it helps that I've been mailing packages (domestic and international) since 1953 and have been doing mail order since 1987, long before eBay existed. For a long time, via my website, I accepted special orders for books and had to quote a price and receive the money before placing the order with my distributor or a publisher. Generally, I relied on the publisher's stats for weight and size, but often I just weighed a similar book from my personal library to determine the cost and packaging. I use a vintage 1950's kitchen scale (up to 25 lbs., purchased for $12 in 1989) and a 1974 desktop postal scale (up to 2 lbs., purchased new for about $2.98). ~~C~~