How to package your cards (Page 2 of 2)

Does having a bigger bubble mailer change the price, type of shipping, or anything?

I've done the same thing.  I actually opened an envelope in front of the USPS worker, crumpled up a brochure and sealed it back to make it thick enough for parcel post.  I got some weird looks, but saved a little bit on postage. 

Something else to keep in mind, if youre using PWEs, then your envelopes are going to go through this.  And it doesn't see to matter if you mark it non-machinable.  Look at that guy loading the machine, he doesn't care.  And this is a video from the company that makes the machines and is trying to sell them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxtkYBN5kJg

Last edited by gumgodMTG (2013-11-05 19:19:38)

You can buy something similar to those too.  They are called "team bags".

This is a great guide.  I totally agree with not using packaging tape to close top loaders...grrrr.

One note about taping the cards to the envelope: I've had one envelope get ripped open in transit.  The cards stayed in the envelope, but I now use a single piece of scotch tape to secure the top loader to the envelope in case that ever happens again.  I don't know if that annoys others.

Last edited by Timber (2014-05-06 19:55:31)

One note about sending more than one top loader in an envelope.  I can get 12 cards in a PWE without it feeling thick.  Three cards are placed in a penny sleeve which is inverted in a top loader, three more secured to the outside of that top loader in a penny sleeve (either put them in a team bag or use strips of paper to avoid taping sleeves to toploaders, because that's obnoxious).  This gives you a pile of six cards that is thinner than two top loaders laid on top of one another.  Then put a second set beside the first.  I will secure these in a piece of printer paper that has been tri-folded and creased well (so the envelope is not puffy) then I write the person's name and address on this piece of paper to make sure it actually gets to them.  They are taped in place so they can't overlap while in transit, so the envelope should stay flat, because it doesn't seem to matter when I write non-machinable.

See the photo and it will make sense.

Yes, that would be fine. 

I had this same conversation with someone at my post office.  His exact words were "It's going to go through rollers even if you write that on there."  But this is also why I focus on having the envelope no more than two top loaders thick.  The only envelope I've had ripped open (that I sent) was one that was using one of those wider mouth top loaders.  It was less than 1/4" thick but still more than the "rollers" could handle.  I've also had one ripped open that was sent to me, but thankfully the cards were still taped to the envelope (which was placed in those sorry we screwed up your package envelopes).

"Non-machinable" probably means that it goes through one of these new fangled sorting machines that has super technology to "reduce double picks" and handle thicker envelopes.  Look how easy it is to remove jams on this one...
http://youtu.be/vxtkYBN5kJg?t=56s

Last edited by gumgodMTG (2014-05-13 02:34:08)

A bubble mailer should be just fine for 30-50 cards. I would just put the cards in a plastic baggie taped shut around them and then tape them between 2 toploaders. Just make sure you go to the PO so they can give you the right postage for the weight otherwise its going to either going to get set back to you with insufficent postage OR actually sent to the other person and then they would need to pay the postage.

Another option would be to just send in a 500 count box as a package. Either way works.

This is only a solution if the trade meets very specific criteria:  expensive enough to justify the $1 stamp, few enough cards to not be too thick and low enough value that it doesn't require tracking.

Edit: However I will say that I agree with everything he says about putting the card into the top loader and avoiding putting tape over the opening.  I still prefer to trade with the 70 cent stamps if trading within the US and using a PWE, and I use PayPal for anything that needs tracking.

Last edited by gumgodMTG (2015-03-01 00:24:38)

It can't.  You either pay $1, which is cheap but has no tracking or you pay something closer to $15... International mail is lame like that.  However shipping to a few countries (including Canada) you can fill out a customs form, and the customs number can be used for tracking.  But the number of countries that do this is still pretty small.

edit: so I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's less convenient and can be more expensive to trade internationally if you have to ship as a package.  If you can get away with sending cards as a letter, then sometimes it's not that bad.

Last edited by gumgodMTG (2015-03-02 13:46:29)