Hi @Seller_mhoyjq7H3qn77,

I can help clarify both the VTR exemption and payment timing for your envelope shipments.

For VTR exemption, your $9.99 shipment can qualify. In the "Exemptions from VTR calculation" section at Valid tracking rate (VTR), it states that domestic shipments are exempt when they:

• Cost less than $10 (including shipping)
• Ship via USPS
• Use either "USPS Standard Mail envelopes" or "USPS First Class Mail envelopes" as the shipping service in Seller Central

Regarding payment timing: Since you won't have tracking, Amazon will use the estimated delivery date (EDD) plus a 7-day reserve period before releasing funds. You can find this in the "How long are funds reserved?" section at Payments based on delivery date. You'll be able to monitor these pending payments under "Deferred transactions" in your Payments dashboard.

Just a friendly heads-up: While this shipping method is perfectly acceptable under the VTR exemption, shipping without tracking does mean you'll have less protection if issues arise. The help page Manage Orders FAQ notes that you would automatically lose any "Order not received" A-to-z claims, and it might be harder to investigate if a package goes missing.

Hope this helps explain everything! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Best regards, Michael