Shipping low value cards

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Journeyman

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I’ve been wanting to sell and trade some lower value cards recently, but shipping in a bubble mailer typically costs $4+. I looked at the rigid flat cardboard mailers and it seemed that prices to ship in those can vary based on the person working at the post office as I’ve noticed sometimes they ship as an envelope and sometimes they ship as a package. Do any of you have any tips/tricks to keep shipping costs down? I appreciate any advice.
 
using bubble mailers and printing all your labels from home via pay pal....from 1 to 4 ounces the cost is the same then has a sliding per-ounce scale....prices vary by distance , but the 1 to 4 ounce rate begins at 2.74 and includes tracking at no charge....the highest rate by distance within the US runs just under 3.30....much better cost than mailing from a PO...



just did a quick check....on the nearest zone packages , the rate is 2.74 for 1 to 4 ounces , 3.23 for 5 to 8 ounces , and 3.91 for 9 onces ...(i stopped there , ut assuming it's another flat rate for each four ounce level up to one pound)...i believe the starting rate for a cross-country package is currently 3.18 and would likely have the same increases per 4-ounce tier....
 
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If they're cheap singles, you can always ship in a PWE. It's not ideal, but as long as you mark it as non-machinable and secure the card and toploader with painter's tape or masking tape, shouldn't be a problem.

If you're selling on eBay, and you put the shipping cost as free or anything around $1, most everybody knows it's arriving in a PWE.

And you don't want to take bubble envelopes to the post office. If you do, use the self-serve machine. They almost always automatically ship bubbles as parcel rate, instead of flats, because they're "too thick." Yet Stamps.com, and the self-serve machine have no such restrictions.
 
For cheap cards I would use a pwe. Only once have I had a problem and that is when I tried to use thicker cardboard to keep it firm. It was too thick and it got shred to pieces. The card was ok though because it was tapped to the inside of an envelope. So I only use a top loader taped inside of the pwe. I have never had a problem with that configuration.I do have trouble shipping boxes that weigh more than a pound. I had to ship to California yesterday and it cost more that $12 bucks. I thought the $8 I charged for postage so $4 came off an already cheap price.
 
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If they're cheap singles, you can always ship in a PWE. It's not ideal, but as long as you mark it as non-machinable and secure the card and toploader with painter's tape or masking tape, shouldn't be a problem.

If you're selling on eBay, and you put the shipping cost as free or anything around $1, most everybody knows it's arriving in a PWE.

And you don't want to take bubble envelopes to the post office. If you do, use the self-serve machine. They almost always automatically ship bubbles as parcel rate, instead of flats, because they're "too thick." Yet Stamps.com, and the self-serve machine have no such restrictions.

Steve:

Not a personal attack on you, but just marking the PWE as non-machinable does not make it “non-machinable”. There is an extra charge of 15 or 20 cents in order for the PWE to move to its destination as non-machinable.

Luis
 
I've been selling a lot of stuff on eBay lately and anything that I know will sell for less than $10 I've been sending in a pwe and paying $.70 for non-machinable. The only exception I use with this is game used cards. I won't ever send a game used card in a pwe. They have a tendency to get damaged in a pwe.

I haven't had any issues with this so far.
 
Steve:

Not a personal attack on you, but just marking the PWE as non-machinable does not make it “non-machinable”. There is an extra charge of 15 or 20 cents in order for the PWE to move to its destination as non-machinable.

Luis

Luis,

You are right. If you just put a regular stamp on it and mark it non-machinable they still put it though the machine because you didn't pay the correct postage for non-machinable. The surcharge for non- machinable is $.15 which brings to cost to $.70
 
Steve:

Not a personal attack on you, but just marking the PWE as non-machinable does not make it “non-machinable”. There is an extra charge of 15 or 20 cents in order for the PWE to move to its destination as non-machinable.

Luis

I've been selling a lot of stuff on eBay lately and anything that I know will sell for less than $10 I've been sending in a pwe and paying $.70 for non-machinable. The only exception I use with this is game used cards. I won't ever send a game used card in a pwe. They have a tendency to get damaged in a pwe.

I haven't had any issues with this so far.

Luis,

You are right. If you just put a regular stamp on it and mark it non-machinable they still put it though the machine because you didn't pay the correct postage for non-machinable. The surcharge for non- machinable is $.15 which brings to cost to $.70

Agree - never send thicker cards or GU'd cards in a PWE - they will get damaged.

For PWE - have to pay the surcharge to get non-machinable. Will be either .70 or .85 total, depending on weight/number of cards. It is a great way to send "cheaper" cards - just make sure to package them properly. Secure the card/cards in a toploader and include some type of barrier/stabilizer to further protect the cards.
 
Thanks for the advice! I am going to use paypal when possible and continue with PWE as I can.
Appreciate all the thoughts.
 
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