eBay standard envelope shipping trading card x4

[tazgma311]

so got a quick question for any one who sell tradiing cards like baseball or any type of trading cards.  

Just had had my post office return a eBay standard envelope shipping package(envelopes)  i send out that has 4 cards in it 

Normal ship out 1 card protected by top loader and trading card penny sleeves. and last few weeks been listing sets of 4

Now i have question how many toploaders can you put into envelope and ship it out?  is 4 okay? 

note also had other one that is in shipping now with no problems and it has 4  cards in top loaders

[wastingtime101]

I wouldn't put 4 top loaders in an envelope. Even when spaced out you'll probably have a couple overlapping. In some regions the sorting machinery has trouble with a single top loader. Overly sensitive machines kick them out as too rigid.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

Trading cards

• No more than 15 raw cards per package per envelope
• No more than 2 trading cards with top loaders
• No graded trading cards

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/shipping-items/setting-shipping-options/ebay-standard-envelope?id=...

Many sellers find that even one top loader is too many,

Many post offices are refusing any ESEs which they view as non-machinable to reduce jamming of equipment and to maximize revenue.

I view the Ebay suggested limits as "optimistic". After a test run, I decided not to use ESE.

[rickrottman]

To use eBay standard envelope effectively, the envelope must be flexible. It cannot be rigid. It has to be able to run through the automated sorting machines. The type of barcode used with eBay standard envelope is called The Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb). The only scanner that can read IMd is in automated mail sorters. Hand scanners will not read IMb barcodes. If the envelope is rigid, it cannot go through the sorting machines. 

Personally, I think eBay needs to rewrite the guidelines on eBay standard envelope. There's too much confusion surrounding it. I've lost track of how many sports card related YouTube channels say incorrect things about eBay standard envelope. For example, many of them tell their viewers that if you pay for 3 oz when the envelope only weighs 1 oz, it will be hand-sorted, not machine-sorted. That's completely false. 

[wastingtime101]

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@rickrottman wrote:

I've lost track of how many sports card related YouTube channels say incorrect things about eBay standard envelope. For example, many of them tell their viewers that if you pay for 3 oz when the envelope only weighs 1 oz, it will be hand-sorted, not machine-sorted. That's completely false. 

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If that's what they're saying then you are correct, they are wrong. It sounds like a misinterpretation of why some sellers pay the 3 oz rate for 1 oz envelopes.

If the 1 oz envelope is too rigid and is kicked out as non-machinable, the 3oz rate is high enough to cover the cost difference of 1 oz plus the non-machinable surcharge, so the envelope will still make its way to the buyer (without scans) and be delivered without postage due. At least that was the case before July 14th - I haven't checked the new rates to see if the difference in 1 oz and 3 oz rates is enough to cover the current non-machinable surcharge.

[1786davycrockett]

@tazgma311 

Even one top loader is one too many -- those ESEs need to bend over and across numerous automatic, high-speed USPS rolling systems -- and if the ESE is too rigid, the ESE will jam up in the rollers, requiring it be removed as "non-machinable," which will either be returned to the sender marked "Insufficient Postage" -- or (worst case scenario!) sent on to your buyer, marked "Postage Due."

I totally agree with @rickrottman  -- eBay needs to re-evaluate the conditions under which the ESE can be effectually used, as too many sellers are misunderstanding how USPS processes envelopes -- and eBay clearly doesn't understand, either.

[tazgma311]

that what the note said on the envelope  but even one top loader is too much for? with out top loader card will get bend up and ruin? I have 1 card that worth at else 15 dollars. i am send is with no protection with ESE?

[1786davycrockett]

@tazgma311 

If the card which you are sending is worth $15.00, why take the chance of having it ruined by shipping it in an ESE?!?

Just because the ESE dollar limitation is $20.00 doesn't mean that you MUST use the ESE to ship it!

Common sense would dictate that a wise eBay seller would choose to send that $15.00 card (inside a top loader) within a stiff mailer, with USPS Ground Advantage and USPS tracking -- and don't take the chance that your $15.00 card will be sacrificed to the USPS high-speed rolling machines.

Or you can go to your post office counter, and purchase a "non-machinable" stamp for an additional 46 cents (plus your USPS First Class stamp), and mail the card (with top loader) inside a #6 or #10 plain white envelope.  But no tracking is provided.

The point is -- eBay did not comprehend the issues involved with the rigid nature of top-loaders, or that rigidity was not adequately explained to eBay when eBay designed the ESE program.

But, just because eBay was ignorant does NOT mean that eBay sellers need to be ignorant.

If it's a low value card (or stamp, or postcard, or coin, or seeds, or sticker, or decal, or patch, or greeting card), then go ahead and use the ESE.  But -- if it's a high-grade (but under $20.00) item, and you are concerned about the item being damaged in the USPS high-speed roller combinations -- then DON'T use the ESE:  use one of the other options available.

It just makes common sense -- so use it.