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good mailer to use for Standard Envelope option
I've been buying sports cards on eBay since 1999 and am finally going to take the plunge and do a bit of selling, to get rid of a lot of duplicate singles.
Can someone suggest a good mailer for the Standard Envelope option? I'd like to use something a little sturdier than a PWE if there's something out there that meets requirements. If anyone can suggest a product that they've had success with, I'd very much appreciate it. (Preferably something produced here in the USA, but I know that's not always possible these days.)
Thanks very much for reading this.
10 comments
byamrcn
OP2 years agoThank you all for the help! Really appreciate your sharing your experience and information.
I can certainly round up enough thin cardboard to make this work, or alternatively use a few index cards cut to size. If regular envelopes work then that's good news, will save me having to buy separate packaging.
The only thing that makes me a little nervous is not using a toploader. Understandable why not, though. Might try one of the card-saver things that's more flexible and can bend more.
I did try the first one and it went fine...and experience is the best teacher so I'll keep on slowly with some more. Thanks again!
goodnu9
·2 years agoI use a soft sleeve, toploader sealed in a team bag. I would not ship a card without a toploader. I am a retired letter carrier and know what happens with letter mail that can easily be damaged by machines, containers, trays, inside letter carriers satchels, etc. Buyers appreciate sellers using toploaders and will leave positive feedback most of the time.
solidguitar1961
·2 years agoI live in the country and don't have a metered mail box and haven't had a problem leaving them in my mailbox or handing them to the counter person at the USPS branch.
1786davycrockett
·2 years ago@solidguitar1961
"I live in the country and don't have a metered mail box and haven't had a problem leaving them in my mailbox or handing them to the counter person at the USPS branch."
You and I are amongst the lucky ones, then -- other eBay sellers have opened threads reporting that the USPS employees at their post offices continually demand additional postage, or outright refuse to accept the ESEs at all.
1786davycrockett
·2 years ago@byamrcn
Most of the "mailers" are too stiff to rapidly pass through the high speed (32,000 envelopes an hour!) USPS roller system -- the envelopes need to bend nearly in half to easily pass through the system.
The eBay Standard Envelope (ESE) is intended for individual items valued at $20.00 or less, or multiple items valued at no more than $50.00 total -- so that may limit which cards you may choose to ship using the ESE. And the total weight needs to be 3 ounces or less.
Similar to other responses which you have received, I also use a #6 envelope, into which I insert two pieces of carton material from either cereal boxes or 12-packs of soda (the inserts should fit snugly inside at all sides). Between the two inserts, I place a trading card (in a penny sleeve -- nothing thicker & nothing less flexible) or a stamp (in a simple glassine envelope). Print the ESE label and trim to fit the #6 envelope -- seal with tape on all sides -- and mail in the "Metered Mail" slot in the post office lobby.
IMPORTANT NOTE!!! Do NOT hand the ESE to the USPS counter workers, or to your USPS delivery drivers -- the ESE is business metered mail, and can NOT be scanned by the USPS employees -- the ESE is machine-scanned at the USPS Distribution Centers (and NOT at your local post office). If you hand the ESE to a USPS employee, they will probably demand additional postage.
It is probably also NOT a good idea to mail the ESEs from your own home mail box, or the USPS "blue" boxes," as your initial "Accepted" scan from USPS may be delayed, or never get scanned at all -- and you ABSOLUTELY need that initial "Accepted" scan to be covered by eBay insurance for any losses. (Please note: this is eBay insurance, and NOT insurance through USPS.)
Your initial scan may be delayed by a day or two, since that scan happens at the next USPS Distribution Center, which is often in another city, or even another county. And if you mail the ESE on a Friday, it may not receive the initial "Accepted" scan until the following Monday -- or even later, if a three-day USPS holiday is involved.
In addition, the final "Delivered" scan ONLY means that the ESE has been received at the post office matching the ZIP Code on the buyer's address -- the ESE will probably be delivered a day or so later, unless the "Delivered" scan was made on a Friday -- and then the residential delivery may not be made until the following Monday or Tuesday -- unless a three-day USPS holiday intervenes again.
Yeah, I know -- it all sounds really complicated, doesn't it? And not as easy as just sticking a First Class stamp on an envelope, and sending it off.
But quite a few of us have been using the ESE for years, and we have learned the hard way about what works -- and what doesn't!
So try out a few ESEs on your own -- and eventually you'll get the hang of it, too.
Good luck!
collecting_lotsa_stuff
·1 year agohey 1786davycrockett
this is so helpful. just wanted to say thank you.
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoStandard envelope needs something like a thin card that fits in all four corners of the envelope...look at a greeting card and envelope...that's what you basically are looking for to insert a trading card.
I do it for selling stamps...at .68 or 1.55 International. I lost nothing last year. And my items arrive 4-5 days coast to coast. Do I need tracking?...I didn't lose anything last year and the 10 % discount on fees on being A TRS seller doesn't really excite me. With tracking that I use for expensive items its takes sometimes a long time for a buyer to receive it.
Selling the same items..."repeat buyers"....plus fast shipping is my business plan.
I usually have "repeat buyers" buy a few items every darn week.
Good luck.
worldcoinauctions
·2 years agoI use a self sealing security business envelope, the card goes in a penny sleeve and then is tucked into the folded packing slip. Don't use a top loader and if you use a cardboard mailer break it a bit so it will curve around a 10" diameter drum easily. Anything rigid will cause you problems.
wastingtime101
·2 years agoI've been using these:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/256274542375
Essentially it's a PWE with divider slots and a flexible cardstock insert.
solidguitar1961
·2 years agoI use a #6 envelope with a cardstock liner for postcards . If I'm shipping a tobacco card I use the same but put the tobacco card in a small plastic bag and tape the bag to the liner .