Here's why:
Situation A, Law Enforcement:
Buyer places order, vendor prints label and provides tracking. Buyer can immediately see when it was printed, where it was dropped, and when USPS picks up and when it arrives at the sorting center. Providing tracking CONFIRMS that it is a drug package.
IF the buyer is law enforcement they can now go to the sorting center and grab ALL the packs that have the same return address. If the packages are large (think marijuana), requiring the vendor to drop at a post office, they can see exactly where. Not all PO's have security cameras but if they do, there is time for Law Enforcement to check the footage and try to identify the person dropping.
Thanks to the mail cover program, Law Enforcement now also has a list of more previous drug packages via the return address.
Situation B, Stupid Buyer:
Buyer places order, vendor prints label and provides tracking. For whatever reason, package is delayed. Buyer starts a dispute, and foolishly provides tracking in cleartext. When the messages are inevitably leaked (see AB, AB again, DHL, etc.) it is contained in the database and anyone can view the tracking. This now links the buyer and vendor to a known drug package. If it was a large order, Law Enforcement now knows exactly who received what and when, allowing them to begin surveillance.
Situation C, Canadians & Bartards:
Buyer places order, vendor prints label and provides tracking. Vendor ships a large number of packages at once days later, giving the buyers time to congregate in /r/whateverxanaxsub and talk freely about what was shipped when and how long it's been taking. Vendor is very high-profile and ships from a known drug-hub. Law Enforcement now knows when to take a closer look at packages matching the packaging profile originating from a certain location and can profile/seize a large number of packages. Information can quickly be passed down the law enforcement chain, potentially leading to controlled deliveries or at LEAST assembling a list of known drug buyers.
The information gathered can be used again - if a new drug package bearing one of the known buyer addresses is inspected, they can look at the return address and AGAIN profile/seize a large number of packages.
Summary:
Providing tracking CONFIRMS that it is a drug package. MyUSPS does NOT provide the same level of confirmation, especially if the shipping location is not previously known.
Tracking allows for easier profiling and seizure of packages.
Postal records are PERMANENT (see mail cover program).
Buyers are OFTEN stupid. This doesn't even always placate the buyer, who may send follow-up messages asking why it's been at Hub A for 2 days, or why it took a day to update. DUDE IS MY PACKAGE SEIZED?!?!?!????
None of these situations even take into account poor packaging/postage methods on the vendor's end.
/METH
how high are you? smart vendors aren't tracable to their tracking or give it out. they don't make all their drops at the same time. they don't make drops under security cameras. LOL they sure as fuck don't use the same return address.