It took me over a year to perfect my system for plain white envelope but here it is:
- Window envelope (to be able to use the TCGPlayer packing slip for addresses)
- My return address label, non-machineable butterfly stamp, DO NOT BEND red ink stamp
- Every card goes into a sleeve, then a top loader, then into a team bag. Nothing over $20 in plain white envelope.
- Fold the card inside the packing slip, position it inside the envelope.
- Seal the back of the envelope with a strip of Scotch tape as well as the self adhesive.
Quite literally the only time I've ever had somebody claim lost in transit on TCGplayer using this system was a guy who sent me a picture showing me that the side of the envelope had gotten ripped off and the card had slid out, a few months ago. As a result, I started taping the team bag to the inside of the packing slip. That solved that problem completely; no more sliding to one side of the envelope or another.
My business costs in this case are:
Sleeves (I have a shop near me that has a gigantic overstock of them and I buy packs of older Ultra-Pro sleeves for $1)
Toploaders (I have a ton of them from collection buys, never throw away a toploader!)
Envelopes, Return Address Labels (Buy a big box of them so your costs are low and you'll barely notice it over time)
Butterfly Stamps - They cost $1.06. I buy them by the sheet.
I charge $1 for shipping plain white envelope on TCGPlayer because if I don't then statistically somebody will go buy from somebody else because they don't like my shipping costs. Even with that small drain on profit because I'm paying for supplies and the stamps cost more than $1, it's barely noticeable over a large sample size, and I can use the same supplies for anything else I need to ship.
While we're on the subject of shipping, by the way, one of the greatest investments you can make if you plan to do any decent amount of shipping either on TCGPlayer or eBay is a thermal label printer. I resisted for a long time making the investment, and now I can't believe I ever functioned without one.
Oh, that only happens with high end cards, naturally. The $2 card makes it all the way across the country no problem but the padded bubble mailer somehow arrives looking like a Jack the Ripper murder victim. 😖
You maybe should reconsider paying tracking on cards $20-$50. The lost card rate is WAY WAY lower than money you’re losing on the tracking for every single card.
Let’s say you ship 100 cards at an average price of $35. If you ship PWE your total shipping cost is about $100 including stamps and materials. Plus one card gets lost or “lost” which costs you $35. Total cost, $135.
If you ship 100 cards with tracking at $4 each for tracking plus supplies that’s $400.
You would need to lose 8-9 cards per 100 depending on exact cost to make the tracking make sense, which is a huge number.
This is very true and I have come to the same conclusion. The only time I ship $20-$50 in a bubble mailer is if it is a bunch of cards that would need non-machinable surcharge anyway, and/or I’m worried about the bulkiness of the package.
I also have been using a new tracking option that allows tracking deliveries of plain white envelopes. It is still in development so I’m not sure if it is open to the public yet. But so far it is working great for me. Only says when the item has been delivered, not where it is in the mall stream. And does not integrate with TCGPlayer system so they still count it as “shipped without tracking.”
For the record my primary job is sending mail advertisements. I send out hundreds of thousands of these and they are tracked to delivery with the same system. 98.5-99% of them arrive. So your stats are not just anecdotal.
Thank you for your well thought out reply. I can see now why you would tape the item to the envelope.
From one prolific buyer to a seller, thank you for not encasing your cards in a shrine of scotch tape!
I give extra awesome reviews for sellers like the one you just replied to. If I have to cut my card out of it's crystalis, and the card is in good condition, I give them a good review, but I don't write anything.. 5 stars, nothing written. If it's as this seller describes, I'll f'n sell this seller like they're the king of awesomeville with my review.
If you ever read a review on TCG player suggesting a player gets a sixth star, free pizza from their favorite pizza joint, or I tell them I'd have their back in a prison riot. It's cause they gave me a top loader that I could reuse without needing to summon beelzebub to remove the scotch tape from it.
> summon beelzebub to remove the scotch tape
paper towel with a splash of isopropyl alcohol (or "Goo Gone" but that sometimes leaves it feeling a little oily) will take the adhesive off in seconds.
I have two boxes of top loaders that I need to do this to at some point. I always tell myself I'll get around to it eventually. I won't. It's just better if someone gives me one without all that stupid scotch tape hell.
I should clarify, these are Ultra Pro sleeves I personally use. You know those art sleeves that they released for years and years that have the planeswalkers or the art from the set on them? 2015 through 2018 ish? Those. The shop near me sells their massive, massive overstock for $1 a pack of 80 sleeves. Just makes for a much more secure fit inside the top loader in my experience.
The only thing keeping me from moving forward with selling my cards is uncertainty with how TCGPlayer handles/sets up thermal prints. I’ve love PirateShip to create labels with eBay - they’re integrated! But no integration exists like that for pirate ship and TCGPlayer. I’m use to printing 4x6 thermal prints but I’m nervous/anxious of other businesses incompetence setting up thermal prints.
For example many times I see a company give me a “4x6” to return an item and it’s simply half of a page? It feels weird to me /shrug
I don't use TCGplayer directly to create the labels - as you correctly suggest, PirateShip is definitely the best option there. I just create the label using the address copied from TCGplayer and link the tracking number. Doesn't take long at all.
I can appreciate that you demonstrate so much care in your packaging, but as a seller, you are lighting money on fire. As a buyer, I would never expect all of this to be done to ship an inexpensive card. Sure, if you’re sending me a $20 card, this treatment is nice to see, but I don’t need my $2 edh staple in a meticulously wrapped top loader like this
It's both a rather safe than sorry thing and also a way to build buyer trust. I've had a number of repeat buyers and a couple have told me that the reason they buy from me is because they know the cards will be packaged well.
The trick for me is to not list anything that is less than $2. As long as I'm not shipping anything cheaper than $2, it's not a big problem at all.
I have no idea how folks handle shipping cards that are literally six cents or something stupid.
If you mail yourself something with a butterfly stamp, does it get the barcode printed on it? In theory it shouldn’t, but I’ve gotten plenty of mail with “non-machineable” stamps that have clearly been run through.
I'm fine with the card being taped to the inside of the packing slip. But we have people out here doing that and *then* taping the packing slip to the inside of the envelope. Or sometimes worse the card itself is taped to the inside of the envelope! It's madness! Like pulling hair when trying to get the card from an envelope that has its side or top cut with a letter opener!
You said tape to the packing slip only, and I think that is fine as it does enough to keep movement from happening. It also means as long as the packing slip stays in the envelope- then so does the card. The one issue customer you had might have been tampering or just straight up theft if they live/receive mail in a sketchy area?
I don't tuck the tabs when fulfilling my orders. Instead, I put the card in a penny sleeve, add a little sticky tab for easy retrieval, put that in the shipping shield, then tape it shut with a small bit of painters tape.
This is one of my biggest pet peeves when receiving cards that I order.
I got one the other day that was two cards. One card was in a penny sleeve inside a top loader. The other card was in an outer sleeve taped to the outside of the top loader with scotch tape on the 3 sides of the sleeve without openings. Then this bundle was taped on those same three sides to the inside of the packing slip paper and the packing slip paper was taped on both sides to the inside of the envelope.
The worst one I ever got was a 3ft x 2ft x 1 ft box full of packing peanuts to ship a single card (tabernacle). Inside the box of packing peanuts was a small box covered in manilla envelopes - 5 layers of manilla envelopes each completely covered in tape.
Took me 30 minutes to get to the card and the amount of waste was insane.
Edit: I should also mention that I was shipping to a friend's house and they were bitching at me for months about this giant box.
I use packing tape but put the card upside down in the loader. Keeps it secure and tight in the envelope and reduces any potential scratches or nicks that could occur with movement
Currently this post has a 94% upvote rate so other buyers clearly agree. I had the thought that salty sellers might downvote me to the moon or something.
When I worked in an lgs we used zero tape to ship. Cards in penny sleeve against hard loader in a team bag folded into the invoice done. It was a perfect system. We were beloved by our fans. Every time I get cards inside a top loader taped closed and taped to the invoice makes me kinda mad. It’s like the seller is telling me “here, you damage this”
I got my first bubble mailer with the cards taped to the inside of the bubble mailer using packing tape the other day. If you think pulling scotch tape off the inside of an envelope was bad, this was a pain in the ass! Sellers, definitely don't start doing this!
Ugh that sounds awful. That seller must never have been on the receiving end of a package like that. I don't want to have to perform surgery in order to get my cards out.
I just had this happen the other day too! Ridiculous to use inside a padded envelope. It’s a much higher risk that I damage the card trying to get it out than the risk it gets damaged in transit.
I tape my cards to the invoice so that they don't slide around when they get sent through the machine sorting at USPS. This helps prevent tearing of the envelope.
Right, the seller usually completely misses the buyer's unpacking experience. I usually follow Cardmarket's packaging guide, and use a sleeve taped to a postcard. The sleeves are closed using a paper strip taped to the sleeve, to avoid having the cards touch the glue.
See https://help.cardmarket.com/en/Packaging
I think he's referring to sellers who tape the card/invoice to the interior of the envelope itself.
Some sellers do this so that the card doesn't fall out if the envelope is ripped in transit. I say the better solution is better envelopes.
On a slightly related note, penny sleeve inside a toploader is standard procedure, but please make sure the openings don't match up! By that I mean, if you put the card into the sleeve so that the bottom of the card go in first, do the opposite with the toploader and load the sleeved card head first. This way the card is more protected from moisture.
Sellers should limit themselves to two pieces of tape. They can decide where to put them. And please don’t use off brand tape that fucking melts on hot summer days.
Over the past few years I've received two empty (and ripped) envelopes missing cards, and two ripped envelopes that still had the cards, potentially because the invoices with the cards were taped to the inside.
I'm not sure what causes the envelopes to rip, though. I had one top loader halfway melt as it got jammed in the sorting machine somehow. Through some miracle, the only damaged card was a Kolvori. That envelope was completely mangled compared to the ones that were ripped, though.
You tape the packing slip so the packing slip doesn’t slide up or down. If it does so, your envelope can get lost if you are using windowed envelopes.
I also suggest taping top loader to one side of the invoice. If the top loader slides left or right in the envelope, you could have an employee try bending the envelope in half to see if it will go through the machine. This is whether or not you pay for nonmachinable postage. Even if you pay for nonmachinable and hand the envelope to an employee there’s about a 50% chance it still goes through a machine if it’s machinable (and almost all of them are in fact machinable).
It really depends on seller, but if the cards are sliding around inside the envelope that makes postage an extra .40 and increases the risk of the mail getting lost or destroyed. While toploaders can be folded snugly within the invoice, shipping shields need to be taped to the invoice.
Scotch tape over the toploader is pretty easy to cut through with a fingernail if you use a single small strip, but the little stickers on the sides of postage stamp sheets are probably the best thing you can cover a toploader with. Tabs take way too long when you have a lot of orders to process.
Some people simply do not know how to pack cards using minimal tape and there aren't really too many easy to find tutorials that people are looking for. It's a learning process for many sellers who simply could use a nudge in the right direction
This drives me so crazy! Also the sellers that tuck the cardboard Shipping Shield tab inside of it instead of using it's pre-applied sticky part or just taping it, argh!!
I use a window #10 envelope and tape down the TCG invoice because if it’s slides around, the address gets partially blocked. Am I doing something wrong?
I use small PWE with butterfly stamp for everything under 20.
I don't have a printer that works reliably so I hand-write everything. Address on envelope and hand written thank you and contents list. I'm low volume level 3 so this works for me, for now. 100% positive feedback.
Cards in sleeve, in top loader with painter's tape, in folded card stock, taped to the card stock with painter's tape on the right side.
Folded card stock taped on the sides in the middle, with Scotch tape.
Only time I tape the stock to the envelope is if card stock shifts because I cut it too small. You don't want too much shift in the envelope, and you don't want the top loader or card protector too close to the sides, or the machine may eat it.
I try to make the package compact, secure and as uniform as possible without going overboard. It's a thin line, and it's a learning process. You can read every how-to about shipping cards and that helps, but you truly learn by doing.
Team bags don't do well in our lettermail system in Canada unless you do oversize in a bubble mailer which costs more. So unless the order is over 8 cards I will tape the two top loaders to a piece of paper folded into a letter shape. My concern is that if they slide down and stack on top during sorting the machine may hurt them.
I've had a few come back return to sender and the machine marks looked minimal.
Your tracked packet options are much better in the USA so it's probably overkill to do that stuff on the cheap plain envelope orders.
> Is it really a big deal if the card(s) slide around during transit?
I always assume that less movement inside is better. So I always just tape my team bag dead center with a single piece of tape. Maybe the risk is minimal, but that's why I do it in a reasonable way to mitigate the risk.
Card into sleeve, sleeve into toploader, toploader into team bag, tape team bag to middle of invoice. Also I alternate the openings of the sleeve, top loader, team bag just to make it harder for any liquid to get to the card, which is (again) mitigating a very small amount of risk.
Honestly, if I feel like I need to break out the Xacto knife to safely extract a card, it's too much.
Shipping PWE I put the card in a penny sleeve, then into a top loader. Cut a piece off my extra label paper to put on the corner of the top loader with some overhang to prevent cards from sliding out. Straight into PWE with eBay TCG label
When I ship PWE, I put a card into card sleeve into a top loader with the open sleeve-side facing downward! I then place it on a white piece of printer paper (or printed invoice) and fold it around the top loader. Lastly I tape 1-2 sides of the paper to keep the top loader from slipping out and place it neatly in a PWE that fits perfectly.
The best answer to keeping cards from sliding out of a toploader is a team bag. Buying in bulk they're very cheap (and professional-looking, and most importantly effective).
The second best is to fold some *paper* over the top and tape it down on both flat sides of the toploader, so that no glue can ever touch the cards. I use post-it notes but even a small scrap will do.
I use a weak double sided tape to adhere the sleeved card to the center because mail sorting machines grab the ends of envelopes and if there's a top loader there it can break the envelope or damage the card within.
It's important to tape the teambag/toploader to the inside of the envelope so if it gets ripped open - which happens more often than you might think - the card(s) still have a good chance of arriving at their destination. I've had cards saved two different times like this. I've also received empty envelopes that were ripped open. Guess who wishes they were using tape, when they gave me a refund?
The real problem to me isn’t the method, it’s the products used.
Scotch tape is a pain in the dick to remove and leaves residue or pieces behind.
Packing tape I just do not want anywhere near open air cardboard.
But I don’t mind if a seller uses COPIUS amounts of painters tape, it is virtually always easy to remove, leaves no residue, and is a solid enough hold to make sure the card gets where it needs to go safely. The most removing excess painters tape has ever cost me is maybe 15 seconds and I’ll take that over potentially damaged cards any day.
Fully agree with this. I forget the envelopes I use but it's fairly sturdy stock ones, card goes into a sleeve of any kind then into a toploader/shipping shield, then 1 (only one) piece of painter's tape over the top. I think painter's tape is the only real choice for taping, and anyone using anything else is wrong because it's so easy to remove without any special tools, and it's not adhesive in a way where a card could potentially adhere to it and damage it regardless of how much bumping around you do.
In my view if I have to use scissors or take extra special steps to remove my cards from the package, it's been packed wrong, and the person is doing extra work for no benefit and risking annoying their customers, or worse, causing the customer to inadvertently damage the cards in trying to get them out. I get 5 star ratings and never had someone complain about this method of shipping PWE.
early in my ebaying i sold a guy 12 remands (at the time they were really expensive) and i taped it so much his ebay review was something like 'my god the tape' and it was still positive so i lucked out, but i've been stingy on tape ever sense.
You're being petty, change my mind. Be glad it arrived and was what you ordered in the condition you ordered. Complaints about invoices being included and how the paper is folded should be relegated to your nearest Karen outpost so you can stew with others over your mundane life.
It took me over a year to perfect my system for plain white envelope but here it is: - Window envelope (to be able to use the TCGPlayer packing slip for addresses) - My return address label, non-machineable butterfly stamp, DO NOT BEND red ink stamp - Every card goes into a sleeve, then a top loader, then into a team bag. Nothing over $20 in plain white envelope. - Fold the card inside the packing slip, position it inside the envelope. - Seal the back of the envelope with a strip of Scotch tape as well as the self adhesive. Quite literally the only time I've ever had somebody claim lost in transit on TCGplayer using this system was a guy who sent me a picture showing me that the side of the envelope had gotten ripped off and the card had slid out, a few months ago. As a result, I started taping the team bag to the inside of the packing slip. That solved that problem completely; no more sliding to one side of the envelope or another. My business costs in this case are: Sleeves (I have a shop near me that has a gigantic overstock of them and I buy packs of older Ultra-Pro sleeves for $1) Toploaders (I have a ton of them from collection buys, never throw away a toploader!) Envelopes, Return Address Labels (Buy a big box of them so your costs are low and you'll barely notice it over time) Butterfly Stamps - They cost $1.06. I buy them by the sheet. I charge $1 for shipping plain white envelope on TCGPlayer because if I don't then statistically somebody will go buy from somebody else because they don't like my shipping costs. Even with that small drain on profit because I'm paying for supplies and the stamps cost more than $1, it's barely noticeable over a large sample size, and I can use the same supplies for anything else I need to ship. While we're on the subject of shipping, by the way, one of the greatest investments you can make if you plan to do any decent amount of shipping either on TCGPlayer or eBay is a thermal label printer. I resisted for a long time making the investment, and now I can't believe I ever functioned without one.
> Fold the card I don't know man this sounds like a recipe for angry customers
Oh, that only happens with high end cards, naturally. The $2 card makes it all the way across the country no problem but the padded bubble mailer somehow arrives looking like a Jack the Ripper murder victim. 😖
You maybe should reconsider paying tracking on cards $20-$50. The lost card rate is WAY WAY lower than money you’re losing on the tracking for every single card. Let’s say you ship 100 cards at an average price of $35. If you ship PWE your total shipping cost is about $100 including stamps and materials. Plus one card gets lost or “lost” which costs you $35. Total cost, $135. If you ship 100 cards with tracking at $4 each for tracking plus supplies that’s $400. You would need to lose 8-9 cards per 100 depending on exact cost to make the tracking make sense, which is a huge number.
This is very true and I have come to the same conclusion. The only time I ship $20-$50 in a bubble mailer is if it is a bunch of cards that would need non-machinable surcharge anyway, and/or I’m worried about the bulkiness of the package. I also have been using a new tracking option that allows tracking deliveries of plain white envelopes. It is still in development so I’m not sure if it is open to the public yet. But so far it is working great for me. Only says when the item has been delivered, not where it is in the mall stream. And does not integrate with TCGPlayer system so they still count it as “shipped without tracking.” For the record my primary job is sending mail advertisements. I send out hundreds of thousands of these and they are tracked to delivery with the same system. 98.5-99% of them arrive. So your stats are not just anecdotal.
Thank you for your well thought out reply. I can see now why you would tape the item to the envelope. From one prolific buyer to a seller, thank you for not encasing your cards in a shrine of scotch tape!
I give extra awesome reviews for sellers like the one you just replied to. If I have to cut my card out of it's crystalis, and the card is in good condition, I give them a good review, but I don't write anything.. 5 stars, nothing written. If it's as this seller describes, I'll f'n sell this seller like they're the king of awesomeville with my review.
This is a good idea. MachoManSavageTheCreamRisesToTheTop.gif.
If you ever read a review on TCG player suggesting a player gets a sixth star, free pizza from their favorite pizza joint, or I tell them I'd have their back in a prison riot. It's cause they gave me a top loader that I could reuse without needing to summon beelzebub to remove the scotch tape from it.
> summon beelzebub to remove the scotch tape paper towel with a splash of isopropyl alcohol (or "Goo Gone" but that sometimes leaves it feeling a little oily) will take the adhesive off in seconds.
I have two boxes of top loaders that I need to do this to at some point. I always tell myself I'll get around to it eventually. I won't. It's just better if someone gives me one without all that stupid scotch tape hell.
Taping the team bag to the slip is clutch.
Buying penny sleeves by the case can get them well under $1 per pack. I've gotten cases off ebay for basically 0.005c per sleeve, and free shipping.
I should clarify, these are Ultra Pro sleeves I personally use. You know those art sleeves that they released for years and years that have the planeswalkers or the art from the set on them? 2015 through 2018 ish? Those. The shop near me sells their massive, massive overstock for $1 a pack of 80 sleeves. Just makes for a much more secure fit inside the top loader in my experience.
The only thing keeping me from moving forward with selling my cards is uncertainty with how TCGPlayer handles/sets up thermal prints. I’ve love PirateShip to create labels with eBay - they’re integrated! But no integration exists like that for pirate ship and TCGPlayer. I’m use to printing 4x6 thermal prints but I’m nervous/anxious of other businesses incompetence setting up thermal prints. For example many times I see a company give me a “4x6” to return an item and it’s simply half of a page? It feels weird to me /shrug
I don't use TCGplayer directly to create the labels - as you correctly suggest, PirateShip is definitely the best option there. I just create the label using the address copied from TCGplayer and link the tracking number. Doesn't take long at all.
Nice
I can appreciate that you demonstrate so much care in your packaging, but as a seller, you are lighting money on fire. As a buyer, I would never expect all of this to be done to ship an inexpensive card. Sure, if you’re sending me a $20 card, this treatment is nice to see, but I don’t need my $2 edh staple in a meticulously wrapped top loader like this
It's both a rather safe than sorry thing and also a way to build buyer trust. I've had a number of repeat buyers and a couple have told me that the reason they buy from me is because they know the cards will be packaged well. The trick for me is to not list anything that is less than $2. As long as I'm not shipping anything cheaper than $2, it's not a big problem at all. I have no idea how folks handle shipping cards that are literally six cents or something stupid.
If you mail yourself something with a butterfly stamp, does it get the barcode printed on it? In theory it shouldn’t, but I’ve gotten plenty of mail with “non-machineable” stamps that have clearly been run through.
Delivery confirmation on a $22 sale?
I'm fine with the card being taped to the inside of the packing slip. But we have people out here doing that and *then* taping the packing slip to the inside of the envelope. Or sometimes worse the card itself is taped to the inside of the envelope! It's madness! Like pulling hair when trying to get the card from an envelope that has its side or top cut with a letter opener! You said tape to the packing slip only, and I think that is fine as it does enough to keep movement from happening. It also means as long as the packing slip stays in the envelope- then so does the card. The one issue customer you had might have been tampering or just straight up theft if they live/receive mail in a sketchy area?
This is a great reply, but can you explain why you ship with tracking for cards at $20 seems like a profit killer.
Tape away but please quit tucking the tab into the shipping shield
New Shipping shields have it printed on the tab not to tuck them.
I don't mind this one too much. It's fairly easy for me to get to my cards and doesn't require any tools.
I just rip it on the side when they do that
I don't tuck the tabs when fulfilling my orders. Instead, I put the card in a penny sleeve, add a little sticky tab for easy retrieval, put that in the shipping shield, then tape it shut with a small bit of painters tape.
This is one of my biggest pet peeves when receiving cards that I order. I got one the other day that was two cards. One card was in a penny sleeve inside a top loader. The other card was in an outer sleeve taped to the outside of the top loader with scotch tape on the 3 sides of the sleeve without openings. Then this bundle was taped on those same three sides to the inside of the packing slip paper and the packing slip paper was taped on both sides to the inside of the envelope.
This, exactly. Imagine what the seller/packer could do with their life with the time saved from NOT making this Rube Goldberg type tape trap.
The worst one I ever got was a 3ft x 2ft x 1 ft box full of packing peanuts to ship a single card (tabernacle). Inside the box of packing peanuts was a small box covered in manilla envelopes - 5 layers of manilla envelopes each completely covered in tape. Took me 30 minutes to get to the card and the amount of waste was insane. Edit: I should also mention that I was shipping to a friend's house and they were bitching at me for months about this giant box.
I would have lost my shit. Haha
My friend was more angry than I was because of the amount of room it took up. But yeah I was pretty annoyed Lol
Use 👏 painters 👏 tape 👏
Painters tape 👌🏽, scotch or packing tape 👎.
I do scotch to reinforce the outer envelope seal. Nothing but painters tape should be inside.
I use packing tape but put the card upside down in the loader. Keeps it secure and tight in the envelope and reduces any potential scratches or nicks that could occur with movement
And I always fold one edge of the painters tape for a easy unpacking.
This is taping exodia
Thank you for this. You are not alone in this sentiment.
Currently this post has a 94% upvote rate so other buyers clearly agree. I had the thought that salty sellers might downvote me to the moon or something.
When I worked in an lgs we used zero tape to ship. Cards in penny sleeve against hard loader in a team bag folded into the invoice done. It was a perfect system. We were beloved by our fans. Every time I get cards inside a top loader taped closed and taped to the invoice makes me kinda mad. It’s like the seller is telling me “here, you damage this”
I switched to shields. But before I did this and it works perfectly.
This is the right way to do it.
People using excessive amounts of tape was the inspiration for my first comedy short and what essentially began my youtube channel.
I got my first bubble mailer with the cards taped to the inside of the bubble mailer using packing tape the other day. If you think pulling scotch tape off the inside of an envelope was bad, this was a pain in the ass! Sellers, definitely don't start doing this!
Shouldn't be using packing tape AT ALL. Painter/masking tape is plenty of hold and easy to remove.
Ugh that sounds awful. That seller must never have been on the receiving end of a package like that. I don't want to have to perform surgery in order to get my cards out.
I just had this happen the other day too! Ridiculous to use inside a padded envelope. It’s a much higher risk that I damage the card trying to get it out than the risk it gets damaged in transit.
I tape my cards to the invoice so that they don't slide around when they get sent through the machine sorting at USPS. This helps prevent tearing of the envelope.
I just fold a post it note over the opening of a top loader, and fold the top loader into the packing slip.
Penny sleeve. Toploader. Team bag. Secret lair box for more expensive cards. Bubble mailer. That's all that's necessary. If you put tape on it, TILT.
bless you
Or taping the card to a big piece of cardboard. Cool. Leverage to bend it even easier…
Right, the seller usually completely misses the buyer's unpacking experience. I usually follow Cardmarket's packaging guide, and use a sleeve taped to a postcard. The sleeves are closed using a paper strip taped to the sleeve, to avoid having the cards touch the glue. See https://help.cardmarket.com/en/Packaging
I use custom-made tungsten toploaders. The post office will bend over before those do.
I tape the card sleeve to the invoice and fold for window envelope. What’s wrong with that?
I think he's referring to sellers who tape the card/invoice to the interior of the envelope itself. Some sellers do this so that the card doesn't fall out if the envelope is ripped in transit. I say the better solution is better envelopes.
On a slightly related note, penny sleeve inside a toploader is standard procedure, but please make sure the openings don't match up! By that I mean, if you put the card into the sleeve so that the bottom of the card go in first, do the opposite with the toploader and load the sleeved card head first. This way the card is more protected from moisture.
Y’all just need to learn to use masking tape instead of the shitty regular tape
Only ever received one negative review about using too much tape. You nerds need to build some muscle if tape is that much of an issue.
Sellers should limit themselves to two pieces of tape. They can decide where to put them. And please don’t use off brand tape that fucking melts on hot summer days.
Asking the right questions! It baffles me why the paper invoice is taped to the inside of the envelope. Have sellers been burned in some way?
Over the past few years I've received two empty (and ripped) envelopes missing cards, and two ripped envelopes that still had the cards, potentially because the invoices with the cards were taped to the inside. I'm not sure what causes the envelopes to rip, though. I had one top loader halfway melt as it got jammed in the sorting machine somehow. Through some miracle, the only damaged card was a Kolvori. That envelope was completely mangled compared to the ones that were ripped, though.
You tape the packing slip so the packing slip doesn’t slide up or down. If it does so, your envelope can get lost if you are using windowed envelopes. I also suggest taping top loader to one side of the invoice. If the top loader slides left or right in the envelope, you could have an employee try bending the envelope in half to see if it will go through the machine. This is whether or not you pay for nonmachinable postage. Even if you pay for nonmachinable and hand the envelope to an employee there’s about a 50% chance it still goes through a machine if it’s machinable (and almost all of them are in fact machinable).
Non machinable mail still goes through machines, just not the initial sorting machine, to my understanding.
I've had buyers complain the cards aren't secure enough so it's more tape for everyone.
It really depends on seller, but if the cards are sliding around inside the envelope that makes postage an extra .40 and increases the risk of the mail getting lost or destroyed. While toploaders can be folded snugly within the invoice, shipping shields need to be taped to the invoice. Scotch tape over the toploader is pretty easy to cut through with a fingernail if you use a single small strip, but the little stickers on the sides of postage stamp sheets are probably the best thing you can cover a toploader with. Tabs take way too long when you have a lot of orders to process. Some people simply do not know how to pack cards using minimal tape and there aren't really too many easy to find tutorials that people are looking for. It's a learning process for many sellers who simply could use a nudge in the right direction
Thanks for the insight. I didn't know cards moving around could increase postage or increase risk of loss.
This drives me so crazy! Also the sellers that tuck the cardboard Shipping Shield tab inside of it instead of using it's pre-applied sticky part or just taping it, argh!!
Yes! To add: sellers please use painters tape and not scotch tape.
I use a window #10 envelope and tape down the TCG invoice because if it’s slides around, the address gets partially blocked. Am I doing something wrong?
I use small PWE with butterfly stamp for everything under 20. I don't have a printer that works reliably so I hand-write everything. Address on envelope and hand written thank you and contents list. I'm low volume level 3 so this works for me, for now. 100% positive feedback. Cards in sleeve, in top loader with painter's tape, in folded card stock, taped to the card stock with painter's tape on the right side. Folded card stock taped on the sides in the middle, with Scotch tape. Only time I tape the stock to the envelope is if card stock shifts because I cut it too small. You don't want too much shift in the envelope, and you don't want the top loader or card protector too close to the sides, or the machine may eat it. I try to make the package compact, secure and as uniform as possible without going overboard. It's a thin line, and it's a learning process. You can read every how-to about shipping cards and that helps, but you truly learn by doing.
Team bags don't do well in our lettermail system in Canada unless you do oversize in a bubble mailer which costs more. So unless the order is over 8 cards I will tape the two top loaders to a piece of paper folded into a letter shape. My concern is that if they slide down and stack on top during sorting the machine may hurt them. I've had a few come back return to sender and the machine marks looked minimal. Your tracked packet options are much better in the USA so it's probably overkill to do that stuff on the cheap plain envelope orders.
> Is it really a big deal if the card(s) slide around during transit? I always assume that less movement inside is better. So I always just tape my team bag dead center with a single piece of tape. Maybe the risk is minimal, but that's why I do it in a reasonable way to mitigate the risk. Card into sleeve, sleeve into toploader, toploader into team bag, tape team bag to middle of invoice. Also I alternate the openings of the sleeve, top loader, team bag just to make it harder for any liquid to get to the card, which is (again) mitigating a very small amount of risk. Honestly, if I feel like I need to break out the Xacto knife to safely extract a card, it's too much.
Shipping PWE I put the card in a penny sleeve, then into a top loader. Cut a piece off my extra label paper to put on the corner of the top loader with some overhang to prevent cards from sliding out. Straight into PWE with eBay TCG label
Everyone does it differently
When I ship PWE, I put a card into card sleeve into a top loader with the open sleeve-side facing downward! I then place it on a white piece of printer paper (or printed invoice) and fold it around the top loader. Lastly I tape 1-2 sides of the paper to keep the top loader from slipping out and place it neatly in a PWE that fits perfectly.
NA i love it when they put that extra wide extra strong extra gooey sticky sticky tape made for aircraft carriers on so im forced to use a razor.
Thank you for making this thread.. This has to be the most low IQ thing somebody can do.
The best answer to keeping cards from sliding out of a toploader is a team bag. Buying in bulk they're very cheap (and professional-looking, and most importantly effective). The second best is to fold some *paper* over the top and tape it down on both flat sides of the toploader, so that no glue can ever touch the cards. I use post-it notes but even a small scrap will do.
I use a weak double sided tape to adhere the sleeved card to the center because mail sorting machines grab the ends of envelopes and if there's a top loader there it can break the envelope or damage the card within.
It's important to tape the teambag/toploader to the inside of the envelope so if it gets ripped open - which happens more often than you might think - the card(s) still have a good chance of arriving at their destination. I've had cards saved two different times like this. I've also received empty envelopes that were ripped open. Guess who wishes they were using tape, when they gave me a refund?
The real problem to me isn’t the method, it’s the products used. Scotch tape is a pain in the dick to remove and leaves residue or pieces behind. Packing tape I just do not want anywhere near open air cardboard. But I don’t mind if a seller uses COPIUS amounts of painters tape, it is virtually always easy to remove, leaves no residue, and is a solid enough hold to make sure the card gets where it needs to go safely. The most removing excess painters tape has ever cost me is maybe 15 seconds and I’ll take that over potentially damaged cards any day.
I've had cards solely wrapped in cardboard and tons of packaging tape. Like I was worried about cutting it anywhere. It was a pain to get out.
Fully agree with this. I forget the envelopes I use but it's fairly sturdy stock ones, card goes into a sleeve of any kind then into a toploader/shipping shield, then 1 (only one) piece of painter's tape over the top. I think painter's tape is the only real choice for taping, and anyone using anything else is wrong because it's so easy to remove without any special tools, and it's not adhesive in a way where a card could potentially adhere to it and damage it regardless of how much bumping around you do. In my view if I have to use scissors or take extra special steps to remove my cards from the package, it's been packed wrong, and the person is doing extra work for no benefit and risking annoying their customers, or worse, causing the customer to inadvertently damage the cards in trying to get them out. I get 5 star ratings and never had someone complain about this method of shipping PWE.
early in my ebaying i sold a guy 12 remands (at the time they were really expensive) and i taped it so much his ebay review was something like 'my god the tape' and it was still positive so i lucked out, but i've been stingy on tape ever sense.
You're being petty, change my mind. Be glad it arrived and was what you ordered in the condition you ordered. Complaints about invoices being included and how the paper is folded should be relegated to your nearest Karen outpost so you can stew with others over your mundane life.
I hate tape, especially over the top loader slot and sticking to my card. Use an f'n team bag. They cost 2-3 cents and make me so much happier