TCGplayer's packing slips now carry a USPS tracking barcode, so a lot of sellers are watching letter scans for the first time and wondering what's normal. Here's what we saw across 3,698 letters mailed by 74 TCGHaulTracker sellers from August to October 2026.
TCGplayer's slips and tracked PWEs use the same barcode
A tracked plain white envelope carries a USPS Intelligent Mail barcode, the row of tall and short bars in the address area. Each USPS sorting machine that reads it records a scan. TCGplayer's tracked packing slips use the same kind of barcode, so these numbers apply whether your barcode comes from TCGplayer, from us or from another tool.
What a letter doesn't get is a delivery scan. Carriers don't scan letters at the mailbox the way they scan packages, so letter tracking shows how far USPS's machines followed the envelope, not the moment it arrived. For more on what each scan means, see How to Read Letter Tracking.
What to expect after you mail it
Calendar days from the mail date the seller entered to the scan date, for 1,626 letters whose sellers set the mail date themselves.
About 1 in 7 letters never shows a scan
15% of letters got no USPS scans at all. That doesn't mean they were lost. A letter can travel the whole way without a machine ever reading its barcode: the barcode was partly hidden, printed too light, or the envelope was pulled off the machines because it was stiff or lumpy. One envelope in a batch with no scans is normal. A whole batch with none is worth a look at how you print and mail (see below).
Distance matters less than you'd think
| How far it went | Got a scan | First scan | Last scan, typical | Last scan, 90% by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nearby (USPS zones 1–2) | 89% | 1 day | 3 days | 4 days |
| Regional (zones 3–5) | 81% | 1 day | 4 days | 7 days |
| Cross-country (zones 6–9) | 85% | 1 day | 4 days | 7 days |
Nearby mail finished about a day sooner. Past that, a letter going a few states over and one going coast to coast looked about the same.
When to start looking into it
These numbers line up with the timeline in How to Read Letter Tracking (counted in business days after mailing):
- No scan yet, 1–2 days: nothing unusual. Most letters get their first scan the next day, but not all.
- No scan after 5 days: its barcode probably isn't being read. Check how it was printed and packed. For TCGplayer tracked slips, TCGplayer says to contact their Seller Support.
- Scans stopped far from the buyer: the one most worth watching, especially if the buyer says it hasn't arrived.
- Not arrived after 10 days: follow your marketplace's process for a missing order.
How to get more of your letters scanned
- Make sure the whole barcode shows. In a window envelope, hold it up to the light. The full row of bars has to show in the window; a slip folded the other way or slid down hides it.
- Print at actual size (100%). "Fit to page" or "shrink to fit" scales the barcode, and a scaled barcode often won't read.
- Keep it flat and flexible. Rigid or lumpy envelopes, like several toploaders or a bulge, get pulled off the machines that read barcodes.
- Keep the barcode clear. Tape, a stamp, a label edge or marker over it stops it reading, and so does faint or streaky printing. On thermal labels, check the print is dark and the label isn't wrapped over an edge.
- Use the letter slot inside the post office, not an outdoor blue box, and don't hand it over at the counter.
Sellers who marked their batches as mailed also saw more scans: 88%, against 81% for batches never marked. Part of that is simple. An unmarked batch is more likely to include envelopes that went out late or didn't go out. For the full list of what keeps a barcode from reading, see Why Isn't My Barcode Getting Scanned?
Common questions
How long until a PWE gets its first USPS scan?
Usually the day after it's mailed. 80% of letters were scanned by the next day and 90% within 3 days.
Does every tracked envelope get scanned?
No. About 85% got at least one USPS scan. A letter with no scans isn't necessarily lost: its barcode may never have been read.
Do these numbers apply to TCGplayer's tracked packing slips?
Yes. They use the same USPS barcode and go in a windowed #10 envelope. Across 2,170 windowed #10 letters here, about 9 in 10 showed a scan. See TCGplayer's tracked slips vs. TCGHaulTracker for what their slip covers.
Does letter tracking show delivery?
No. Letters don't get a delivery scan. Tracking shows how far USPS's sorting machines followed the envelope; for 93% of scanned letters, the last scan was in the buyer's state.
Track every envelope, however you ship.
TCGplayer, eBay, Mana Pool and CollX orders, with address checks, postage and labels in one place. 25 free orders, no credit card.
- 3,698 letters from 74 TCGHaulTracker sellers, orders made from early August to October 31, 2026.
- Letters only: barcoded envelopes and labels, not packages. Deleted, replaced and test orders are left out, and so are letters from our own accounts.
- "Got a scan" means at least one USPS scan of the letter's barcode. Timing comes from the 1,626 letters in batches whose sellers entered the mail date themselves.
- Every figure here comes from at least 50 letters and 5 sellers. Your own results will vary with how and where you mail.
TCGHaulTracker is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by TCGplayer, eBay, Mana Pool or CollX. TCGplayer is a trademark of TCGplayer, Inc., an eBay company.