selling magazines first class mail

[keziak]

I have plenty of specialized train magazines. No luck when I tried selling them in complete years in a Priority envelope.  Before I get rid of them I might try listing singly and playing up the specific railroad covered by the issue, see if any people want only one issue pertinent to their interests. 

If you sell single issues of magazines what sort of packaging works for you? I am thinking either bubble  mailers or manila envelopes stiffened with cardboard as long as the package comes in under 1 lb so I can use first class. The cost of bubble mailers will add up fast.  I have a couple of boxes of manila envelopes, are they OK with stiffening and tape around all the edges?

thanks

[wastingtime101]

Magazine sandwiched between sturdy cardboard (best if each piece has the corrugation going in opposite directions) generally works.

You may refund a few for damage if a box falls on them or a carrier decides to fold in half to stick in a mailbox, but that loss should be very low. I think you'll be fine if you can keep it under a pound.

 @mr_lincoln does a lot with trains - might have some tips for you with selling train mags and/or the demand?

[Anonymous]

I sandwich loose comics between cardboard. Same thing would work for your mags.

[rfmtm]

The only short coming of manila envelopes for this is water damage, depending on the value of the item.  Otherwise they should be fine with cardboard on both sides of the magazine.

Rather than bubble, consider much cheaper poly or Tyvek mailers, since you are putting in cardboard stiffeners anyway.

[1786davycrockett]

For my own magazine sales, I first enclose the magazine in a plastic magazine bag (or some type of transparent plastic enclosure), taping the exterior SECURELY against shifting while it is in the mail.

Secondly, I wafer the magazine between two pieces of cardboard.  I would suggest a thicker cardboard, rather than the thinner cardboard used by USPS for its Priority boxes (which should only be used for USPS Priority, anyway, unless they are used Priority boxes).

Third, I wrap the magazine inside a double-thickness of newsprint, allowing plenty of folded over, taped down overlay at the long ends (for more security during the mailing process).

Finally, I wrap the end result inside a grocery bag, which I precut to size (I get two shipments per bag), and tape securely at all corners & edges.

Sure -- it looks almost like a mummy when I finish -- but I've also firsthand seen the beating that our packages take during the mailing process, and a simple kraft envelope is just too thin to take that kind of beating all the time.

And the only complaints I've ever received (all of 3 during the last 11 years!), is that some buyers thought my packages were too hard to open -- despite the fact that no damage had happened to their items, due to my packaging procedures.

I learned this procedure back in the 1960s from a used book seller in Florida.  Thanks, Buccaneer Books!

[wastingtime101]

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@rfmtm wrote:

The only short coming of manila envelopes for this is water damage, depending on the value of the item.  Otherwise they should be fine with cardboard on both sides of the magazine.

Rather than bubble, consider much cheaper poly or Tyvek mailers, since you are putting in cardboard stiffeners anyway.

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Solved by using plastic wrap. The kind you have in your kitchen for food. Wrap the mag in plastic, fold over the ends so it's easy for the buyer to unwrap. Sandwich between cardboard then stick in the manila.

[chapeau-noir]

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@rfmtm wrote:

The only short coming of manila envelopes for this is water damage, depending on the value of the item.  Otherwise they should be fine with cardboard on both sides of the magazine.

Rather than bubble, consider much cheaper poly or Tyvek mailers, since you are putting in cardboard stiffeners anyway.

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I would do this ^^ just use poly envelopes.  I live in a wet climate and most stuff in manila envelopes are wet by the time they arrive. Taping around the edges doesn't do much. Alternatively, you can use a plastic bag inside the manila envelope, but this is an added layer of expense. Plain poly/tyvek and cardboard would be cheaper than bubblers but still protective.

[evry1nositswindy]

@wastingtime101  I too was going to mention @mr_lincoln !

[keziak]

With all that packaging does it still come under a pound? Weighing more would require the Priority envelope and sure that's a deal killer for most magazines when up against people using media mail. 

[keziak]

That's a good tip, thanks! I have some poly bags the wrong size which I would use to package small, slender books in an effort to cut costs. I don't even remember to do that any more. 

Guess I need to go measure the magazines to find out the right size and order some poly bags to try. At least if I list under Railroadiana I can run auctions for free which will help in this experiment. I have no place for single issues of magazines sitting around in my store. 

I get cardboard by cutting up boxes with a sturdy weight. I never use kind of weight in Priority shipping supplies.

[m60driver]

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@keziak wrote:If you sell single issues of magazines what sort of packaging works for you?

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I just use one piece of stiff cardboard and a poly mailer.  If it is over a 1 lb then I just put the above into a Priority envelope.  By the way, I have listed some RR magazines and they sold pretty well around the $20 range which is enough to cover the Priority envelope and still make a small profit.

[keziak]

I probably don't have the right magazines though they are  kinda specialized.

[lepke1979]

Place in clear (or whatever you have available) poly bag. Place between cardboard in a non-clear poly bag or use a flat cardboard mailer (similar to the USPS Priority Flat Rate Envelopes.

[mr_lincoln]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

Magazine sandwiched between sturdy cardboard (best if each piece has the corrugation going in opposite directions) generally works.

You may refund a few for damage if a box falls on them or a carrier decides to fold in half to stick in a mailbox, but that loss should be very low. I think you'll be fine if you can keep it under a pound.

 @mr_lincoln does a lot with trains - might have some tips for you with selling train mags and/or the demand?

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Thanks for the tag @wastingtime101 and perfect timing, just finished with an online train auction.

and with regard to train ephemera @keziak unless they are rare or perhaps really old they are slow movers.  I've had some train books in excellent condition that have sat for up to a year.  

My wife sells a lot of books and I occasionally sell some train ephemera ... books go in a box that I make but thin paper back stuff I simply wrap in one layer of bubble wrap then fold a piece of corrugated over it and tape three sides.  I make sure the cardboard is at least 1 to 2 inches larger all around than the printed material.  We have never had any complaints and a few items went coast to coast.

Regards,

Mr. L

[mr_lincoln]

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@evry1nositswindy wrote:

@wastingtime101  I too was going to mention @mr_lincoln !

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@evry1nositswindy   I heard the call!!!!

Mr. L