Want to keep the recipient of your sale or trade happy? Here are some sports card shipping tips and tricks that will keep the receiving end of your deal happy.
In two earlier posts related to the shipping of sports cards we covered supplies and shipping services. Click on the links to read through those and start from the beginning of the series.
Below we are going to cover some tips and tricks for shipping your sports cards. These have been culled over a long period of failure and success when shipping and are meant to ease the process. A process that can be the difference between a buyer or trader singing your praises or warning others off of future deals.
We are going to start with some tips for services, specifically the USPS Ground Advantage and Standard Envelope, and follow it up with packaging tips. Without further ado, here we go….
Is it necessary to declare the shipping service level & cost ahead of time?
As a rule of thumb, don’t ever assume the shipping service level is an afterthought. There may be a case or two where you have no choice, but especially if you are selling an item via a platform that has no requirements, make sure people understand what to expect from your shipping before they buy the item. This makes two things clear:
- The recipient can determine if they feel confident with the shipping service you are offering before buying
- The recipient can determine whether the cost of the item and it’s shipping (if charged separate) are fair in terms of service level.
One huge rule of thumb; DO NOT CHARGE FOR ONE TIER AND SHIP AT ANOTHER!
If you choose to ship in plain white envelope, do not charge bubble mailer via USPS Ground Advantage prices. There is no greater wrath to face than that of a buyer who pays $4.50 expecting bubble mailer with all the fixings only to receive a top loaded card in a PWE. Even if it has “worked before” with no push back, it only takes once and it is unnecessary to cause a rift over a few bucks.
Regardless of how you decide to ship, make sure all details are declared up front. Better safe than sorry! Whether you are the buyer or the seller, verify first and then work from there. Services like eBay require it and post it on the listing. If you ship outside of what is advertised, it will cause trouble.
Is there a standard way to package a card?
We talked a lot about supplies and services, but we have not talked a lot about how to pack a card for shipping yet. We probably need to make a video for this (someday maybe?) but in the meantime, run a quick search on youtube and you will find a copious amount of video regarding shipping and packing.
The general steps:
- Penny sleeve and top load the card
- Place top loaded card in team bag and seal it
- Sandwich the card in between two pieces of cardboard
- Use painters tape to fasten the two pieces of cardboard (See tip about painters tape below)
- Slide card into bubble mailer and seal
- Print label and affix to bubble mailer
That’s about it!
A specific service that I would call out is the Ebay Standard Envelope or plain white envelope. It can get a bit fussy when it comes to packing. Here is a YouTube video I found helpful for this service level.
One thing I will say about pwe, and it may be my local post office, but I have followed this video and others to the letter, and still my cards get returned to me stating, “could not fit in rollers” stamped on envelope. This method of shipping , while suitable for low value cards, is dicey. When in doubt use USPS Ground Advantage or other comparable offerings via UPS or Fedex.
The little things…
Here is a list of the little things to do and or avoid:
- The preferred tape is painters tape. Using any other tape is cruel to the recipient and could cause a card to get damaged in the unpacking process. Wanna tape the top loader shut? Use painters Tape! Want to seal the cardboard sandwich you are making to protect the card? Painters Tape! Do not use Scotch tape, masking tape, or for god sake duct tape (Yes, I have seen it!)
***Bonus tip: Create a tab on the painters tape by folding one end. It makes the process of unpacking easier for the recipient. Do it like so:
If you take anything away from this post, make sure it is the previous tip and the bonus tip to go along with it. there have been countless words spilled on the topic of tape and its use in the packing of sports cards on various message boards and websites across the hobby. This little thing, this small tiny seemingly inconsequential act, is the sure fire sign that you are dealing with a veteran and not some rookie.
2) Do not pack the card excessively. What we mean by this is, if I can possibly do damage to the card, because of the methods needed to unpack it, we have gone too far! Pack it as stated above, but don’t make it Fort Knox. We should not have to get out knives and pick axe’s to unpack a card. Typically if I am chiseling or slicing anything, it’s too much.
3) Use team bags instead of painters tape to seal the top loader. Again, a small thing, but a nice touch. Team bags can be bought by the hundred fairly cheap.
4) Don’t be cheap. It’s one thing to save a few bucks and unnecessary to go nuts with packaging, it’s another thing to go the cheap route and put the condition of the card in peril. Buy the extras listed in the supplies post, it can save you in the long run.
5) Go the extra mile with communication. If the service you are using does not already do it, make sure to communicate tracking numbers, ship dates, etc. to your recipient. Communication is one of those things where a little goes a long way. If you are not going to do it, make sure your platform does. People shouldn’t have to guess when their shipment will arrive!
Conclusion:
Hopefully you have gained some insight into the process for shipping and packing cards. I sort of feel like we could have just said, “Use painters tape and common sense, the rest will handle itself”, but that’s probably not quite true. The shipping of cards can lead to some real headaches when we don’t have the process down. Use the tips in the three part series posted here at Cardboard Glory and watch some YouTube videos to guide you. Best of luck in your shipping adventures and leave a comment below if you have other tips and ideas, we would love to hear them!