Curing the Top 5 Worst Habits of Mailing Cards

This is my follow-up post to the Top 5 Worst Habits of Mailing Cards. Each can be solved with very little effort. Read on gentle reader, read on.

Curing the Top 5 Worst Habits of Mailing Cards

1. The “White Envelope” – This is by far the easiest to solve. Just start using Bubble Mailers. They can be purchased cheaply in packages of 10 or 20 and come in a variety of sizes. Looking to save money? Read on.

2. The “Creative Toploader” - Solution: Two pieces of Cardboard at least 1.5 inches (4cm) larger in width and height than the card being sent + 2 fake inserts (you can find these in packs of UD). Center the trade card on one piece of cardboard. Cut the fake inserts in half and put them on either side of the card and to the top and tape them in place. The idea is that they should stop the trade card from reaching the edge of the cardboard or the tape. Place the second piece of cardboard over top the first sandwiching the trade card and the dummy cards. Now, tape the two pieces of cardboard together tightly on the edges (4 thick pieces of tape, one for each edge). This will help keep the trade card immobile. To open the package, someone can slice the edge pieces of tape and at worst, harm the dummy cards.

3. The “Tape Salesman” – Tape only needs to go in three well placed areas. 1. Two pieces of tape on either side of your stack of top loaders. Over the top is not necessary! If the tape is too tight, this tape can pinch the cards. 2. Once you’ve placed your cards in a team bag, close the bag & if your seal isn’t sticky, tape the bag shut. 3. Seal your envelope with tape (even if the envelope has a sticky seal on it already as these can be easily removed without evidence of it being tampered with)

4. The “Illegal Entry” – Most people don’t fill out customs forms for two reasons: Time and to save on duties. If you’re pressed for time, you can fill out and print your forms online:
USA to Canada & <$400: http://webapps.usps.com/customsforms/sender_recipient.jsp
Canada to USA: http://www.canadapost.ca/personal/tools/cst/intro-e.asp
The USA to Canada is much better than the Canada to US, but at least both are online. In terms of saving duties, well, not much can be done there. Shipping from Canada to the USA, there is an argument that these products were produced in the USA (ie: country of origin). USA to Canada, well, Canadians are just going to have to pay their taxes. Think of it as your OHIP contribution.

5. The “Internal Tapper” – Just remove the tape right? Hold on, we have to remember why people put tape in the envelope. They're worried about their cards moving around during transit and becoming banged up. The solution to this is a little more involved. You can start by trimming your envelopes so that cards will fit more snugly in the envelope which will stop them from moving around, but not so snug that they are hard to get in and out of the envelope. Its also possible to tape two top loaders side by side so that they are larger. A larger card is less likely to move around in the package. Really, if you've packaged your cards with top loaders, decoys and team bags, they can bang around all they like on the inside because they're already well protected.

The Best Way
Truth be told, there is no “best way” to ship your cards, but most shippers would benefit from a dollop of common sense. Before putting your cards in the envelope, shake them vigorously. Do they move too much or fall out of the top loaders? Try again! Does your envelope look like it could be mistaken for a three year old’s class project? Please re-wrap!
My preferred way of packing is the sandwich method, which provides strength and economy. Basically, for every 3 cards, put two in a top loader and sandwich the third (or, if you have 5 cards, put 3 in top loaders and made a Double-Decker sandwich). For each packet of cards, put them in a team bag. Seal the bag, then stick em’ in a bubble mailer and away they go! If you’re extra nervous, add some stiff cardboard like the dummy cards they include in packs to discourage pack searching.

Cheers!

The Top 5 Worst Habits of Mailing Cards

I’ll be discussing some of the ways that I’ve seen cards packaged the wrong way. If you find yourself in one of these categories, never fear, My next scheduled post will include potential ways to ship your cards to ensure their safe arrival every time.

Top 5 Worst Habits of Mailing Cards

1. The “White Envelope” – Even though the government seems like a slow bureaucratic behemoth, the mail  service has adapted to the mechanized world. The post office assumes that all white envelopes: a) contain paper and b) are flexible. This means that they can be passed through machines at high speed via rollers and past computer scanners to “read” addresses and postal codes or sorted by size and shape. While placing a card in a top loader does lend it some strength, against the crushing power of a sorting machine, say hello to unsightly creases and a ruined card. Yes, some cards get through unscathed, but a significant amount end up ruined.

2. The “Creative Toploader” – This goes out mostly to people who have over large cards. You can find top loaders for 5x7 and other strange sized, but they get rather flimsy at that size. Often, most people can't by such materials easily or cheaply. Inevitably, the trader resorts to using an office folder or a plastic film like saran wrap. This isn’t enough . The best solution I ever saw was balsa wood, but a stiff cardboard is usually enough..

3. The “Tape Salesman” – Whoever sends these cards must be putting the tape salesman’s child through college or be the tape company spokesperson. If it takes you more than 10 seconds to tape up your trade cards, you’re used too much tape! Too much tape is an issue for the person who receives the cards as well. They are trying their best not to ruin their cards, but when you have to bring in the kitchen paring knife to slice out your cards, the sweat begins to form and one day a mistake will cost you a beauty. Finally, if you’re packaged your cards in top loaders and a team bag securely enough, no tape is necessary on the inside and only a small piece needs to be used on the outside!

4. The “Illegal Entry” – This is one of those ‘victimless’ crimes where you can negotiate with your trader what’s declared on the customs forms in order to avoid paying taxes. If you knowing enter false information in a customs form you are defrauding the government! This means you can’t put a ‘support the troops’ sticker anywhere on your car.

5. The “Internal Taper” – I have to admit that I’m struggling to find #5, but I finally settled on this one. I find that I'm becoming the victim of this more frequently. People place tape on the inside of their bubble mailers are probably worried about their card falling out of the package for some reason. However, tape can get very sticky during transit and be hard to remove when it finally reaches its destination. At best it stops the card from shaking about. At worst, it makes it a pain for the person receiving the card to take it out of the envelope without damaging it. Just imagine if the card had to be inspected by customs? Do you think that a customs agent will be that gentle in trying to get something out of an envelope?

How to Ship on a Budget

If you're not careful, shipping can take up a large amount of your hockey card budget. In Dec 09, I made 20 trades, and I probably paid at least 30$ for just the postage. If I had bought new bubble mailers and materials for shipping every time, the cost for shipping can rise quickly. There are several things that you can do to save when shipping your cards.

First, always re-use your bubble mailers. When trading, you get one bubble mailer going out and one coming in. You can re-use that bubble mailer for the next trade. I usually cover the old address with a recycled piece of paper.

Thin out your packages. As long as your package is thinner than 2 cm (3/4 inch in the US), you can ship using the "oversized envelope" option (large letter in US). Don't let the postal clerk tell you otherwise. If they get huffy, don't confront, just ask for how much postage you need and put it on yourself and mail away.

Finally, be sure to lighten up your packages. In Canada, there are price hikes at 100g, 200g, 250 g, and 500g. If you are in this hobby for the long term you could save a lot of money by buying digital scale. I bought one for 20$ shipped over 2 years ago and it paid for itself in 4 months.

Its always a good idea to get become familiar with the postal office's pricing and restrictions. I can't speak much for the US, but in Canada you can ship paper like objects like photos or cards without a declaration form as over-sized letter mail. Don't let the postal clerk tell you otherwise. Just say that the package contains photos or paper products. This is fine for smaller cost items, but be sure to declare more expensive items, or even ship them via a trackable method. You can get a guide from the local post office with a handy table for figuring out the postage you'll owe. I've included a series of tables below from the Canada Post website which has costs for the different weights.

Here are some handy tips on how to accomplish all of the above:

• Anything thicker than a 10 ct card box is thicker than 2 cm when placed in a bubble mailer. If its thicker than 2 cm, then you can't mail it as an over sized letter.
• With adequate protection it IS possible to ship 100 cards in an oversized letter mail. More than that is pushing it.
• The bubble mailer needs to be only big enough to hold the cards. Cut off excess paper and bubble and tape the side shut if you are near the cutoff. This can save you a couple of grams if you need it.
• Re-use old bubble mailers. Tape a sheet of used paper to the front.
• Make smart trades if you need supplies. Run out of game used top loaders? Trade for some game used cards.
• Run out of team bags? Team bags are fancy speak for "plastic bag + taped shut". Here are some alternatives: Re-used team-bags, the bags that 100 ct penny sleeves come in, the bag that the team bags come in, old pack wrappers (as long as they can fit a top loader in the interior)
• Sandwich your cards. For 9 cards (or equivalent thickness), here's a cheap way to send securely every time: two decoys, three top loaders, 5 penny sleeves and 1 team bag. Take the three highest value cards put them in penny sleeves and top loaders. In the last two penny sleeves, place three cards in each (be careful when inserting). Sandwhich the cards as follows and place them all in a team bag: Decoy - Top Loader - 3 in sleeve - Top Loader - 3 in sleeve - top loader - decoy. Then tape the team bag securely shut so that none of the cards can move. You just protected the corners of 9 cards. If you use thin, but stong decoys, you can get up to 15 cards this way, but its a push.
  

All the best in your hockey trading!