Hoping at some point sellers will wake up to the fact that eBay now offers an option for tracked shipping for ~$0.75, thus making low value cards a lot more affordable. Here is a great example:$1 card, $4.15 shipping.
www.ebay.com/itm/Wobbuffet-V-191-202-Full-Art-Holo-Ultra-Rare-Pokemon-Sword-and-Shield-NM-NEW/384075415239?hash=item596cadbec7:g:ReYAAOSwCfBgZ6rg
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yes, but this is always gonna be the case. it takes a while for people to realize how to use the new updated shipping system. if it’s a card you really want, try to reach out to sellers and have them update the listing. i’ve had luck on a few things i bought recently. i’ve definitely had sellers not use the system correctly and had their orders returned to them. it’s a work in progress for sure. hahaha.
My experience with this system so far has been a mixed bag. None of the post offices in my area are able to scan the envelopes, tracking is shoddy, and most of the time my cards end up delivered without any updates. In theory I love this idea but I think it has a long way to go.
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He’s a zero rated, brand new, eBayer. Easy to understand how newbies make mistakes like that.
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If there’s a card someone wants, then they should just message the seller to ship it in a stamped PWE or using eBay’s service for a reduced cost. The inexperienced seller learns something while the buyer pays less. It’s a win win.
I’ve had very similar issues. I’ve lost about 10 sales due to the shipment getting stuck, the buyer opening a request, and eBay siding with the buyer on the spot.
Then 2 days later the item shows delivered and nothing I can do about it. Thankfully all these orders were under $20, obviously, so not much lost
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Maybe message them on ebay and let them know about the new ways to ship?
Just a thought instead of calling them out like that…
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Sorry, this was not meant to be a “calling out” of anybody in particular, but to provide a live example of many listings on eBay where the shipping charge is 2-4X the card price, which makes little sense as a seller to pitch to a buyer.
eBay low cost tracking does seem to work, but not perfectly for sure. I have received a fair number shipped this way, and have yet to have one not delivered … from a buyer perspective. For low value cards, I use it just as a conformation that the card was indeed shipped. However, I can see how a dishonest buyer can totally take advantage of this situation.
“This Service is meant only for Parcels shipped from and delivered to locations within the United States”
This idea sounded really good when I first heard about it but sadly the majority of ebay users can’t even use it.
There’s plenty of sellers that do that intentionally. They want $5 for the card, and put a bulk of the price in the shipping hoping people just click buy. I’ve messaged quite a few people just to have them basically tell me to f off cause they want more for the card.
Haven’t updated myself with it yet since i don’t sell much under 20$. Is it basicly pwe thru ebay or can you actually ship under 20$ cards in a small bubble mailer for that ammount?
Heh. I actually got some really good deals on auction from the same seller because they were charging $5 shipping and allowed me to combine shipping. Most of the cards I was bidding on are under $15, so the $5 shipping cost was definitely a turn-off for buyers. I, however, was able to leverage myself and win a ton of auctions for well under market price, and only pay shipping once. Shipping is just an expense and if it means the difference between getting a card I want or losing out on it, I’ll pay the shipping. I do see how shipping costs can be extreme if the shipping is worth more than the card, though.
It’s PWE + Tracking.
I wanna start selling, does anyone have any good youtube links for a newb?
This shipping option is COMPLETE DOG SHIT. You’d have a better chance of having your card delivered if you tied it to a random duck.
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Long post: TL;DR - eBay standard envelope is not a reliable service for tracking, but it’s probably not a big risk. For me, IDCare if they don’t use ebay standard. If I want the card tracked, I want to pay the $4.
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I’ve shipped and received several hundred orders the last few years. (My PO knows my PO BOX. lol) So, I’m pretty confident when I say, cards going out, through the midwest, often don’t get scanned via ebay standard Emv. Cards going through Los Angeles, regularly are not scanned. In fact, I would bet that a card going through LA, Will NOT be scanned if I use eBay standard Envelope. It’s the nature of the beast. I offer it to my buyers, but I also let them know, it’s not a reliable tracking method. I’ve found about a 20% failure rate in tracking at some point along the route. As a former QA guy, that would normally be an grossly unacceptable margin. BUT if you don’t care so much, it’s still relatively cheap, and there IS a good chance the tracking will work. 
For my personal cards, I’d rather they save the few cents, or upcharge me for reliable tracking.
Sold a large handful of cards using ebay standard envelope. Only 50% actually scan as delivered. The other 50% last scanned at my local facility. Haven’t had any complaints of buyers not receiving cards, however tracking doesn’t show as delivered. Could be a problem if you run into a dishonest buyer who actually received the card but sees the tracking shows as still in transit a few weeks after delivery.
The good news is that is 50% more delivered scans than you would have using stamps. I would say about 90% of mine show as delivered properly. Sometimes there are scans that the item was delivered before actually delivery which freaks out some buyers. But it usually arrives the next day or later the same day. Overall, I am a huge fan of the new card delivery program. I believe I have transitioned from about 40% of all orders including tracking to about 96%. It is also cheaper than a stamp and pairing these labels with my thermal printer saves me a TON of time.
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I think one important part about the new program that is being overlooked is that Ebay doesn’t ding you for using this shipping method. Before, shipping in a PWE with no tracking would hinder your ebay account from achieving TRS or any ebay seller status. Now, even if the tracking is dog, Ebay doesn’t mark you down for otherwise shipping in a PWE. It’s also 4 cents cheaper if ur into that.
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DO NOT USE THIS FOR SHIPPING CARDS… If you want to send a card in a bubble mailer and the card is worth 15 bucks then you can not use this because a bubble mailer is considered a package. My post office said I would need to use a plain envelope for shipping cards, which is the worst idea ever…
Even if a 1 dollar card, do you want it shipped in a standard envelope? Asking for damage…