> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tryhoard.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Order Tracking (TCGTracking)

> See USPS scan status on your plain-envelope orders, right inside Hoard.

Cards under about \$50 usually ship in a plain white envelope (PWE) with no tracking. That's cheap, but it leaves you blind: when a buyer says "I never got it," you have nothing to check and nothing to show.

[TCGTracking](https://tcgtracking.com) gives those small orders a free USPS scan trail. Connect it once and the delivery status shows up on your orders inside Hoard, so you can answer "where's my order?" without opening another tab.

## What you get

Once you connect TCGTracking, eligible orders show a tracking badge in two places:

* the **Orders** tab, next to each order, and
* the **customer panel**, in that buyer's order history.

The badge tells you where the package is at a glance: Awaiting scan, Accepted, In transit, Out for delivery, or Delivered. Hoard refreshes it quietly in the background, so you read the latest status from Hoard instead of logging into TCGTracking.

The practical payoff: when a buyer claims a package never arrived, you can see whether it actually shows delivered, is still moving, or genuinely stalled, and respond accordingly. Most "where's my order?" messages resolve themselves once the buyer knows you can see the scans.

## Open it, or send the buyer the link

Click any tracking badge and it opens TCGTracking's public tracking page for that order, with the full scan history. That same page is the link you send the buyer.

This is how most sellers actually use it: a buyer asks where their order is, you copy the link from the badge (or the address bar after clicking it), and reply with something like "good news, here's the tracking, it shows it reached your local post office." The buyer can open it themselves with no login. The barcode number on its own is no help to a buyer, since USPS.com won't recognize it, so the link is the thing to send.

## Two honest caveats

Read these before you rely on it.

* **TCGplayer does not accept TCGTracking as valid tracking.** It will not win a dispute or satisfy a marketplace tracking requirement on its own. Treat it as visibility and deterrence, not a dispute shield.
* **Hoard never bills you for this.** You pay TCGTracking directly for any labels or insurance you buy from them. Hoard only stores your key and reads the status.

## How the tracking actually works

TCGTracking prints a USPS Intelligent Mail Barcode on your envelope. As the letter moves through USPS sorting machines, those machines scan the barcode, the same scans that power Informed Delivery. Those scans are your tracking.

This is passive, which is why it is free, and it explains two things you'll notice:

* There is usually a gap before the first scan. Across the TCGTracking network the average is about two days, so an order sitting on **Awaiting scan** for a day or two is normal, not broken.
* A plain letter has no guaranteed final "delivered" scan the way a parcel does. Most get one, some don't.

## Connect TCGTracking

You do this once, in **Settings → Integrations**.

Before you start, you need a TCGTracking account **with a payment method on file**. TCGTracking will not generate an API key until a card is added, because that card is how they bill labels and insurance. (Again, Hoard never charges you for this.)

1. Sign in to [TCGTracking](https://tcgtracking.com), or create a free account.
2. Add a payment method if you don't have one yet. This is required before you can generate a key.
3. Open the **API / developer** settings in your TCGTracking dashboard.
4. Generate your **API key**, and note your **shipper number** (your account ID).
5. Back in Hoard, open **Settings → Integrations**, paste your shipper number and API key, and click **Save & test connection**.

The connection test runs in the background and can take up to a minute, because the TCGTracking API is slow. When it finishes you'll see **Connected**, or a message telling you the credentials didn't work so you can fix them.

## Which orders show a badge

Hoard only shows tracking for the kind of order TCGTracking covers, so you won't see badges on everything. An order gets a badge when:

* it ships as a plain envelope or tracked letter (not Expedited),
* it has been marked shipped, or shows shipped on TCGplayer,
* it was placed within the last 21 days, and
* you've connected TCGTracking.

A few things worth knowing about the refresh:

* **It's driven by you looking.** Hoard fetches fresh status in the background when you open an order, not on a constant schedule. Orders nobody looks at aren't fetched.
* **Delivered orders stop refreshing.** Once a package is delivered there's nothing left to check.
* **First look may be blank.** The very first time you view an order's tracking there may be no badge yet while Hoard fetches it for the first time. It will be there on your next look, and instant from then on.

## Reading the badge

| Badge                | What it means                                                               |
| -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Awaiting scan**    | Label created, USPS hasn't scanned it yet. Normal for the first day or two. |
| **Accepted**         | USPS has taken possession.                                                  |
| **In transit**       | Moving through the USPS network.                                            |
| **Out for delivery** | On the delivery truck.                                                      |
| **Delivered**        | Scanned as delivered.                                                       |

## Disconnecting

In **Settings → Integrations**, click **Disconnect TCGTracking**. Your stored key is removed and the badges stop appearing. You can reconnect any time by pasting your credentials again.