eBay Standard Envelope, and what to use above $20

What it is and what it costs

eBay Standard Envelope is a low cost shipping label eBay sells for small, flat items in a regular envelope. You buy it through eBay, print it on the envelope, and the price includes postage:

The rules an envelope has to meet

• The item has to cost less than $20.00. Shipping, handling and taxes don't count toward that.
• It is for eight kinds of items on eBay's US site: patches, stickers and decals, greeting cards, seeds, trading cards, coins and currency, postcards, and stamps. eBay's developer pages say only some trading card categories qualify.
• The envelope has to be at least 3 1/2 by 5 inches and at most 6 1/8 by 11 1/2 inches, weigh 3 ounces or less, and be no more than 1/4 inch thick, evenly.
• It can't have plastic, strings or closures, and the address has to run along the long side.
• You have to use the label eBay generates, and it has to go by USPS.

Those are close to USPS's own machinable letter rules, which is why a toploader in a #10 envelope usually fits and a bubble mailer doesn't.

What its tracking shows

eBay describes it as "integrated, limited tracking." The tracking is built into the label, and you and your buyer see it in My eBay, Seller Hub and the order's details, not on usps.com. eBay says no acceptance scan is needed, so you can drop it in any mailbox. Each shipment includes up to $20 of protection on a single item order and up to $50 on a combined order.

Like any letter tracking, its scans come from USPS's sorting machines, so a nonmachinable or hand sorted envelope can show few updates. Our guide to what each USPS scan means explains why.

Why you can't choose it

eBay offers it only when the order fits. The usual reasons it is missing are that the item costs $20 or more, that the item's category isn't one of the eligible ones, or that the envelope's weight or size in the listing is over its limits. It is also only on eBay's US site.

What to use above $20

For an order of $20 or more, the label eBay counts is a package label, such as USPS Ground Advantage, which costs $7.33 to $8.95 for up to 4 ounces at commercial prices. For a single card that is a big jump from an envelope, and many sellers decide case by case.

If you mail a $20 or more eBay order as a stamped letter, eBay treats it as untracked, so an item not received claim usually goes against you. eBay doesn't accept the number from a letter barcode service as valid tracking, and that includes PigeonTrail. What a barcode on a stamped letter does give you is the scans and a tracking page for your buyer, which can settle a "where is it" message before it becomes a claim.

Where PigeonTrail fits for eBay sellers

For eBay orders under $20 in an eligible category, use eBay Standard Envelope. It is cheaper than a stamp and eBay counts it. PigeonTrail is for the envelopes eBay Standard Envelope can't take, and for your sales on other marketplaces: it reads your eBay orders report, prints the envelope with a USPS barcode, and gives each letter a tracking page with your shop's name on it.