How To Ship Trading Cards?

[collectorofcollectibles94]

Hi everyone, I'm looking for your expertise on listing & selling trading cards. I've been a little intimidated at the idea mainly due to confusion on how the shipping would work. I've heard that bubble mailers should be used over envelopes, as you can place shipping labels on them & receive tracking/proof of delivery. But when it comes to calculating the shipping price, how does it work for bubble mailers? I've always sold items in boxes, so I know it's calculated by the weight & box dimensions. How do you know what to put for the dimensions for the bubble mailer? Lastly, how do you guys recommend I go about packing the cards as safely as possible? I've heard they should be put in protective sleeves like penny sleeves, placed in a hard toploader, and then tape the top of said toploader. Thank you all for your assistance and time!

[jack_bucks_ghost]

I ship pretty much all cards I sell as a First Class parcel service (package/thick envelope option). as my sales are usually for single cards to 5-10 card lots, they usually weigh 8-10 ounces.  Cost for shipping (always using bubble mailers) runs somewhere between $3.30 and $4.30--tracking included. For packaging, I penny sleeve and top-loader, then put in a team bag, wrap in cardboard, then put that in a graded card bag.  It's a bit overkill on the protection, but buyers do seem to appreciate it (and it gives me peace of mind that things won't get damaged in the shipping process). I do buy my shipping through PayPal for now.  That's my process...hope it helps.  Best of luck to you in the card selling world--it's been a crazy few months!!!

[nobody*s_perfect]

Dimensions only matter if your package is over 1 cubic foot (1728 cubic inches) and going by Priority Mail, Parcel Select, or Retail Ground.  Just enter 1 inch as the thickness for your envelope.

[m60driver]

You only need to enter dimensions shipping over 1lb.  That would be  a lot of cards that would probably be best sent in a small box.  If the package weighs 16 oz or less then it is just a matter of weight.  If it is just one or two inexpensive cards I would just put them in an envelope with a stamp.

[luckythewinner]

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@collectorofcollectibles94 wrote:

How do you know what to put for the dimensions for the bubble mailer? 

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If the bubble mailer is about 5 inches by 7 inches by 1 inch thick, list the dimensions as 5 inches by 7 inches by 1 inch. 

If the bubble mailer is about 7 inches by 9 inches by 1 inch thick, list the dimensions as 7 inches by 9 inches by 1 inch. 

If the bubble mailer is about 9 inches by 12 inches by 1 inch thick, list the dimensions as 9 inches by 12 inches by 1 inch. 

All it takes is a ruler. 

[inhawaii]

I'm no expert on shipping baseball cards but i ship similar things all the time. 

I woud sandwich it between 2 ridgid pieces of cardboard then slip it in a 6" X 9" manila envelope.

Ship it First Class Mail with tracking for $3.19.

[murphy71605]

Shipping cards is very simple and no need to feel intimidated. Bubble mailers are mainly used for cards over a certain dollar amount. Many sellers use PWE for low dollar cards... a general rule would be if the card is worth less than the cost of shipping. A single card in a bubble mailer is usually around 1 -2 ounces and I have never had to add dimensions. Place the card in a penny sleeve and a top loader and seal the toploader. I personally hate when people use tape to seal the card unless it is a small piece of blue painters tape or magic tape with an end folded over. Team bags are a great option for sealing cards as mentioned. You can add cardboard to each side and tape it or use some type of stiffener for extra protection. Check youtube for more tips if still unsure.

[cynthealee2]

I ship Garbage Pail Kids all the time (most of my sales)  I charge a flat rate of 3.50 if they buy 1 card or if they buy 400 cards in 11 different orders ( I just refund the shipping on the other orders).

Here's how I ship them:

each card gets it's own penny sleeve

then they get sandwiched between to thick brown pieces of cardboard (cut up pieces of wal-mart gallon water boxes)

wrap the sandwich with bubble wrap (half sheets bubble in so they don't catch on the mylar)

throw that in a mylar envelope

get the weight

print a label

slap it on the envelope

drop it off at the PO

Other than the 200+ orders it doesn't go over a lb so I don't enter dimensions.

Buyers like it, no complaints yet.

With out tracking you run a very high risk of "I didn't get my item" and having to refund (my average was 6-7 out of 10 INR but with bracelets its 1/600 see the difference?)

[onlinecentral]

1: bubble mailers should be used over
2: envelopes, including mylar or other
3: penny sleeves
4: placed in a hard toploader
5: team bag
6: wrap in cardboard
7: graded card bag
8: wrap the sandwich with bubble wrap
I am not a card seller and don't know what some of these packaging materials are.
Perhaps someone could do an analysis of the material and labor cost and compare it with a 6x4x2 cardboard box at $0.22 cents in quantity.
That is my most commonly sent box and the labor is applying tape.

[cynthealee2]

I get the mylar bags free with the shipping coupon thingy from eBay, before that I used bubble mailers till I realized that taking a regular 9x11 manila envelope and cutting it half was cheaper (.08 vrs .16).

Cardboard boxes are a waste of space for under 100 cards in fact the smallest card box (cardboard) for cards I think is 250 cards.   a card rattling around in a 6x4x2 box would arrive banged up and damaged.

[onlinecentral]

Q: A card rattling around in a 6x4x2 box would arrive banged up and damaged.
A: It is implied that some crumpled up newspaper or shopping bags are stuffed into the box to prevent rattling. The boxes weigh 0.9 ounces and ship for $2.74 to $3.18 depending on distance.

[cynthealee2]

Unless you tape the card to the box its gonna move around,  its why we make the 'sandwiches'.

Card boxes are designed so the corners don't get damaged:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/100-Count-Cardboard-Card-Storage-Box-Holds-125-Standard-or-200-Gaming-Cards...

Now I can get boxes like these for .50 at my local hobby shop and usually do when I have the bigger orders to ship.. but you have to fold the label over 2 sides so I often just pack them in the boxes then put the box in the mylar envelopes and then ship.

90% of my orders ship under 3.50 coast to coast with at least 75% of them being under 3.00.

[inhawaii]

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@cynthealee2 wrote:

Here's how I ship them:

each card gets it's own penny sleeve

then they get sandwiched between to thick brown pieces of cardboard (cut up pieces of wal-mart gallon water boxes)

wrap the sandwich with bubble wrap (half sheets bubble in so they don't catch on the mylar)

throw that in a mylar envelope

get the weight

print a label

slap it on the envelope

drop it off at the PO

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I'd buy from you.  😃

[van1p_74]

Several years ago I shipped trading cards very simple, wrap in the paper, put in the letter and ship. But, I am not a pro seller, and the cards already wasn't in the perfect state.

[collectorofcollectibles94]

I really appreciate everyone taking the time out to answer my question, thank you! I'm going to try the method of placing the card in the sleeve, then toploader, taping it shut, sandwiching it between cardboard, wrapping it in bubble wrap, and placing it in a mylar envelope or bubble mailer. Thank you all for clearing up my confusion!