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saberhavermale
Posts: 2
Joined: Nov 2016
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| Friday, October 7, 2022 6:28 AM | |
I'm getting back into collecting and want to be an active trader, but as a kid I never actually completed any trades (mostly cuz I never actually had any money to pay for shipping :)). How should I ship cards? I ordered some penny sleeves and top loaders, but other than that is there any other procedures?
Thanks
Edited on: Oct 7, 2022 - 6:30AM
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RonEaston
Posts: 967
Joined: Nov 2019
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| Friday, October 7, 2022 7:05 AM | |
Great question! Here is a link from a veteran trader which most of us refer to...
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I'm mostly organizing over adding right now.
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BSwagger
Posts: 1,487
Joined: Jul 2017
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| Friday, October 7, 2022 8:09 AM | |
Most of my trades are small PWE trades and I put my cards into a 9 pocket sheet and fold the open ends in and stuff it into an envelope. So far I have never heard of any issues with this method. It's quick and simple as well.
I should add that I will also pay the added postage for non-machineable. There are several discussions on here about if that really makes a difference but that is the way I send my side out.
Edited on: Oct 7, 2022 - 10:59AM
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Drudpwn99
Posts: 144
Joined: Aug 2020
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| Friday, October 7, 2022 10:19 AM | |
I think a key is putting the cards in whatever form in between some decent pieces of cardboard that provides some cushion and strength from any pressure, ot allows it to be applied evenly over the entire surface instead of focused on a particular point that will then bend the card. I had no idea something like that would work but it is apparently very good.
Also, a lot of cards tightly packed together makes it incredibly strong, like a complete set in a box that fits well. Its good protection on its own.
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RichardSinFWTX
Posts: 143
Joined: Jan 2021
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| Friday, October 7, 2022 11:15 AM | |
If I'm dealing with just one or two cards I put them in top-loaders and sandwich them between pieces of cardboard then do PWE.
Up to about 10 cards I use padded mailers. Any more than that (and I don't do a whole lot of those) I use a small box.
That's just how I roll though. 
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cynicalbuddha
Posts: 527
Joined: Aug 2009
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| Friday, October 7, 2022 11:29 AM | |
There are a bunch of great videos on youtube made by some of our very own TCDBers! How you ship really depends on what and how much you are shipping in the trade. You can resonably ship about 18 cards PWE, using a 9 pocket page with 2 cards per slot folded and in a #10 envelope. I would recommend picking up some extra ounce stamps from the post office. You can also order stamps online from the post office. An extra ounce stamp cost 24 cents (at least for now) vs another forever stamp at 60 cents. No reason to over pay for postage. Of course you can alway just go to the PO. For bulkier or more expensive cards (like autos and relics) I would ship Bubble Mailer with Tracking (BMWT or just BMT). If you have a computer or printer you can print your own postage at home using paypal or pirateship.com. I would recommend a food scale to help weight packages.
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dsorek
Posts: 634
Joined: Mar 2014
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| Friday, October 7, 2022 11:55 AM | |
I use EcoSwift 6.5 x 4.5 Rigid Photo Mailers Stay Flats White Cardboard Self Seal Envelopes. You can add 2 top loaders in there or more Card Saver style sleeves and ship fairly safely. Please use nothing but painters tape when taping things and bend one side over to use as a pull tab for easy removal. Also, write the transaction # somewhere inside to match with the transaction for very active traders. Lastly, please use a cheap digital food scale and measure all mailings to ensure proper postage. Get a roll of additional ounce stamps for anything over 1.0 ounces. Saving 25 cents is not worth negative feedback for postage due.
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bbcards
Posts: 348
Joined: Feb 2017
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| Friday, October 7, 2022 12:27 PM | |
Puttng my 2¢ in. I use PWE's a lot and haven't had a tremendous amount of negative feedback. But, the feedback I've had is that the card was shipped between 2 pieces of flimsy cardboard which caused damage. In my defense this is what I do. If it's one to three cards I put those cards sandwitched between 2 cards that aren't part of the cards purchased. In otherwards between a FREE card on top and a FREE card on the bottom and secure it with blue tape. If it's more than 3 cards then I will put them in a 9 pocket page fill the rest of the pockets with cards I no longer want thus giving away FREE cards, folding the top part inwards to prevent the cards from falling out and the bottom part in, put the packing slip in between all of that and put that in between 2 pieces of cardboard and put it in a envelope. All that usually costs me about $1.00 shipping. Now this causes 1 problem. Since I don''t have use of Ebay's shipping of 57¢ here and the customer didn't pay for tracking some customers say they didn't receive their shipment. Did they or didn't they? Seeing that the "customer is always right" (some aren't) it leaves me with having to refund since I couldn't prove I shipped. NOW, what I do is take a picture of every order I send out hopefully elminating that problem.
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sandyrusty
Posts: 4,512
Joined: Dec 2014
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| Friday, October 7, 2022 1:26 PM | |
I will add on to the scale idea especially if making medium to large trades. You can get a digital one from Staples for about $20. Mine has saved me way more than that (and benefited some traders as I can add cards to where the weight is just under the next pricing level). Along with the scale, print out the postal rates and use that to package so that you don't have that extra gram that doubles the cost to ship. The scale is extremely accurate; when I go in to the PO on the Base, they chuckle because I tell them the weight and the cost before it goes on the scale. I also do as much of my own postage as I can online to avoid rogue posties.
And do look for the postal clerk who will charge you accroding to their own rates, not interpret the rules making it more to ship. A PWE is not a package that needs a customs declaration coming to Canada.
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Bruno -------- Check my Profile page to see my 2023 Goals and my Lists of sets near completion (5 cards or less) or sets getting close (less than 100 cards missing and 75% complete). https://www.tcdb.com/Forum.cfm/Page/B/ID/0/?MODE=VIEW&ThreadID=25745&C=0
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brodiescomics
Posts: 451
Joined: Oct 2019
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| Friday, October 7, 2022 1:36 PM | |
This is me as well. 9 or 18 cards in a 9 pocket page. 9 gets a single stamp, 18 gets the extra ounce stamp. I will also send 2 PWEs at the same time iup to 36-40 cards. Still cheaper than a package.
I have had a few damaged cards shipping like this, but it is rare.
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I post videos on YouTube of my trades and my collection, busting packs, etc. Take a look and leave some feedback! https://youtube.com/user/brodiescomics https://leagueofcomicgeeks.com/profile/brodiescomics
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