Buy/Sell/Trade Forum

Just wanted to share a quick story of a recent transaction.  In a recent TCDb trade, I exchanged about 19 cards with a fellow trader and we both used PWEs (plain white envelopes) to send our cards to each other.    After about 3 weeks of waiting, i received the evelope, but the cards were not inside, and the envelope looked like it had a very rough journey through the USPS.  Here is what it looked like when I got it:  https://imgur.com/a/99FofRJ    The lost cards included some nice rookies and a numbered /250 card.  Overall a real bummer.  

I dont fault the sender.  I use PWEs to send cards for trades all the time.  While some dont like them, they are without a doubt the cheapest and most convient way to send a small quantity of cards.  If packaged well and with proper postage, they are a good option for sending cards.  Obviously this particular result represents the worst case scenario.   

So with that in mind, here are some quick thoughts or reminders on using PWEs to send cards.

-Always protect the cards with a couple layers.  I prefer 9-pocket pages or toploaders (depending on quantity) followd by a layer of cardboard on either side that is large enough to protect all the corners of the cards.  Any cardboard works, I use cereal boxes most often.

-Try to make sure the protective cardboard completely fills the envelope.  Cut it to the correct shape.  Leaving flimsy parts of the envelope is just askfing for it to get caught up somewhere and ripped.    

-Try to use enough postage.  A 'normal' PWE with cardboard protection is going to be between 1 and 2 oz.  This translates to about $1.10 at minimum so use enough postage.  Even a single "Non-machinable" stamp is not always enough.

-A post office worker once told me that writing "DO NOT BEND" or "PHOTOS INSIDE" means next to nothing.  The system is entirely automated and its going to go through the machine regardless. 

-If the PWE its too thick for the machine, it will be automatically ejected and at that point if theres not enough postage for it to be hand stamped, it will be sent back to the sender or the recevier will be required to pay the difference.  

-Based on my recent experience, I will be taping the edges of all my PWEs from now on to help protect it from snags during the journey.  

Anyway, just thought I could use a sour expereince to help prevent more like it in the future.   Feel free to add your own thoughts.  Happy trading.  

While you are correc that writing "do not bend" ammounts to nothing, you can specifically ask them to stamp it "non machinable" so it will be hand processed.  It costs about 30 cents extra for this but it assures that you wont have that happen to the envilope.

And a slightly off topic question, does anyone know what the post office does with the baseball cards or other items it "loses" in cases like this?  Are their auctions online for random content?

All very good points.  I think the overall consideration is making the PWE able to go through automation without getting snagged.  A snug fit of the secured contents into the envelope and the taping of the edges of the flap that seals the envelope will make this more likely.  I have done the latter for quite some time as I often saw that paper separation on the corners after I had sealed it with the normal envelope seal.

I did have one recently that arrived to the recipient that had been cut open on the edge but then resealed.  No doubt Customs was doing a random check of contents.  I am fine with that. All the cards that were in the PWE arrived to the recipient.

@lildog7 - I think what you are referring to is using a "Non-Machineable" stamp.  This is a specific stamp that costs about $0.30 more than the normal 1 oz stamp.  Is that correct?  Even the "Non-Machineable" stamp is no garuntee.  Its effectively just a higher cost stamp.  Theres no worker back in the sorting room looking for Mon-Machinable stamps to sort them seperately.  The PWE will still get sorted by the machine and, if its kicked out of the machine, it needs the extra postage to be hand processed.  At least this is what the post office clerk told me once...

My best friend just retired from USPS and his primary job was sorting mail. He said with the post office atmosphere geared more to speed they wouldn't separate non-machinable because it slowed down the process. (And this is at this specific Texas location - certainly not painting with a broad brush, but I see machining marks on those marked to avoid that.)

I have yet to receive an envelope marked "non-machinable" that did not have machine marks on it. If it's thin enough to go through the machines, it does, no matter what is stamped on the envelope.

A card that is SN250 should never go PWE.

That said, all the prizes I am about to send out will be going PWE.

I have had numerous PWEs received that were hand cancelled without machine bar codes on them.  The process does work, although hit and miss.  I give all of my PWEs to my wife who works as a carrier to take them to our clerk.  She says they hand cancel everything that I send but I do wonder how many actually are non-machined.

This is why I tape the edges on all of mine. I think out of probably 450+ trades with PWEs, I have only had one issue (that I know of) and of course it was one of the few autos I've ever sent out (a common, but still). The card was in a card saver and still got destroyed in the machine (did not live up to its name). I've also had one that seems to have gotten lost since it was mailed last summer (sorry Bruno, your replacement envelope will be going out soon). 

I agree, there needs to be some kind of protection to provide semi-rigidity in the envelope. I have used cereal box material that is shorter than the envelope but I try to tape it down inside the envelope so it can't move.

thanks for sharing the pics

we all have to make the choices we are comfortable with in regards to value of cards vs cost of PWE or cost of bubble mailer, along with the risk factors of each

mark

All good points and I created a video on this explaining everything that I do.  I am up to 130 completed PWE's with no incidence other than one coming back to me with insufficient postage when I was seeing how far I could go.  I let them go through the machines and prepare the envelope for that.

https://youtu.be/_Jixfugb0xo