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sandyrusty
Posts: 4,614
Joined: Dec 2014
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Wednesday, March 14, 2018 7:35 AM | |
Yesterday, I sent out 3 trades. I packed all 3 in bubble mailersbut for each one, I minimized the thickness of the package. By doing so, they all fit through the post office's measuring tool (I think it is 3/4" or thereabouts) therefore they all went out as letter mail. They could have been as wide as 9" and they still would have gone out the same way. None of them cost me over $3, either to the US or in Canada. No customs declaration (that automatically makes it parcel mail and rises the costs) and no hassle from my good postal clerk I have found.
I believe, other than the tracking which we have to pay extra for in Canada, the post offices on both sides of the border use very similar methods.
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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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olerud363
Posts: 287
Joined: Feb 2017
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Wednesday, March 14, 2018 10:58 AM | |
I follow the same method for mailing from up here in Canada, both in Canada and to the USA. Taking a little extra time to package the cards flat make a huge difference in cost. The padded envelope needs to be 2 cm or less thick to go through as lettermail.
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Canadian member collecting John Olerud, Toronto Blue Jays team sets, and Topps base sets. Always open to trading! Cardboard Corner
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wbaker01
Posts: 646
Joined: Oct 2017
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Friday, March 16, 2018 12:44 PM | |
I stopped going to the post offive here in the States to mail cards. Too much tme waiting in line, being charged different prices for the same size/weight package on different weeks and what finally did it for me was to see one of my bubble mailers get launched 25 feet across the room into a postal cart after the postal employee put postage on it...
I bought a digital scale, stamps and use paypal for anything larger than a PWE...Only time I go to the post office now is to drop things off..
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ranfordfan
Posts: 4,975
Joined: Jun 2014
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Friday, March 16, 2018 2:59 PM | |
I recently bought from a US seller on eBay who accatually drives across the border to mail his Canadian packages, saved me money big time!! Thanks to C2C for finding that out for me btw. =)
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C2Cigars
Posts: 11,342
Joined: Oct 2014
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Friday, March 16, 2018 3:42 PM | |
US letter thickness limit is 1/4".
I just recently sent a trade to a Canadian member. If I had put all the cards in one mailer it would have been a parcel and cost $10.00 postage. I split the cards into two photo mailers and kept them "letter rate"; total postage was $3.22. It saved me $6.78.
Edited on: Mar 16, 2018 - 3:49PM -------------------------------
Someday my cards may double in value and then be worth half of what I paid for them.
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dsorek
Posts: 639
Joined: Mar 2014
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C2Cigars
Posts: 11,342
Joined: Oct 2014
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spazmatastic
Posts: 5,905
Joined: Dec 2014
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Friday, March 16, 2018 11:27 PM | |
I don't do PWE trades at all after having some freebies I sent to a set collector get stolen. The 4 cards couldn't have been worth more than $3, but someone slit it open and took the cards out while putting the protection back in it. The envelope was delivered with nothing but the toploaders and team bag inside of it. Since they were freebies, I know the receiver wouldn't have lied about that.
I always ship in bubble mailers now, even small trades. I prefer the peace of mind that comes with having tracking for US packages and always ship them as 1st Class Parcel just for the tracking number. Shipping to Canada is different though. The tracking number isn't going to mean much once it crosses the border. So shipping as an envelope or large envelope is much cheaper for smaller trades without needing to fill out a customs form or bother with tracking numbers. At a USPS location, the cost is $1.15 for a small flat envelope or $2.50 for an envelope no more than 3/4" thick. I just sent a 4x6 bubble mailer to Canada as a large envelope b/c the thickness was too much for a small envelope, but still qualified as a large envelope. In the US to another US location, that package would have been a 1st Class Parcel and cost a dollar more b/c it's rigid and can't be machine-processed.
If I'm shipping a large amount of cards to Canada though, I'd rather go big and ship them all at once as a package. It saves time and packaging materials to ship everything at once instead of a bunch of envelopes separately. JMO.
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NO PWE's EVER!!! PLZ PM me 1st before sending any offer. ONLY selling cards as of March 2024. No trades or purchases right now. _______________________________________________________________________ Largest total PC card collections by Team, then Athlete (as of 3/22/24): STL Cardinals (MLB) - 8810; Carolina Panthers - 2888; GB Packers - 1790+ cards Mark Martin (NASCAR) - 2038 cards; Jimmie Johnson (NASCAR) - 1875 cards; Jeff Gordon (NASCAR) - 1594; Ricky Rudd (NASCAR) - 839; Ozzie Smith (MLB) - 707
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Bounty13
Posts: 736
Joined: Dec 2016
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Saturday, March 17, 2018 2:28 AM | |
I'm not sure how you can ship a bubble envelope for less than $3.50 now. The requirements for a 'large envelope' are less than 3/4" thick, but if the envelope is rigid or causes more than 1/4" variation in thickness it's classified as a package. Not sure how bubble envelopes are being shipped as a small or large envelope, they've always been classified as packages.
Edited on: Mar 17, 2018 - 2:29AM -------------------------------
danmarinocards.com $ BUYING Marino I Need $
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mzentko
Posts: 2,464
Joined: Jun 2012
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Saturday, March 17, 2018 7:52 AM | |
paypal postage is still 2.66 and up for first class package
mark
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