General Forum

I usually ship 1-4 cards  or more than 20.   What is the cheapest yet most secure way to send 10-12 cards?  All comments are greatly appreciated (even yours, RanfordFan).

i still use a bubbler. you can put about 6 cards in a thick loader (x2) or just put them in penny sleeves or top loaders and then in a larger plastic bag.. i may or may not put card board on both sides,, depends on size of the bubble envelope. never had any problems and i dont recall paying more than the norm of 2.54ish...of regular cards or 3.50 -dont remember(not the oversiezed one's)--

Thanks.   Last time I used a 4X6 bubble mailer, woman at the window gave me static about it being too small for them to put their postage and stuff on it.    That would make the most sense especialy costwise.  Yes, the next size up bubble seems to be right around $2.54 as you said.     Getting too expense to ship anything without hosing the buyer which I try to avoid doing.

I just shipped 14 cards with 4 top loaders in a 4-1/2 x 6-1/2 cardboard photo mailer. Weight 2.5 ounces. Postage 89 cents (68-cents Butterfly stamp and a 21-cents Penguins stamp).  14 cards in a photo mailer is about the max. More than that and it becomes thicker than 1/4" and would require additional postage. All bubble mailers are considered a parcel, minimum cost $2.45.

C2, that's a great idea.  Never thought of that.   I use those for shipping postcards and any larger cards etc.... I just have to be careful on which day I go to the Post Office.   One woman charges correctly for that envelope, another calls it a "small parcel" and charges more.   I learned the hard way, mailed exactly same thing two days in a row and got screwed the 2nd day.   She had a real attitude.  So I now time my visits according to the schedule of the one that knows what she is doing.

I've run into the "everythings a parcel" type. You'd think they were working on commission.

I put my own stamps on and drop it in the mailbox. I have my own digital scale and know the costs. When I'm away from my scale I just ask the PO to weigh it, then I leave and put on my own stamps. I've never had a mailer returned or anybody tell me they had it arrive Postage Due. And never a damaged card, so far.

If you have a paypal account you can print your own postage. It saves a lot of trips to the post office. if your shipping from ebay you even get a discount. I send all mine out like that and have never had one come back even to Canada. i t prints its own customs form

Yeah, I always print out the postage from eBay. It's discounted. I reuse bubble mailers. Since I buy more than I sell, I never have to buy a mailer. The printed labels fit on any bubble envelope I've used. At first I had the post office weigh my stuff. Now I just look at what I paid for similar amounts of cards before. Never had anything returned. 

For two or three cards I use the plain white envelope, but I use penny sleeves and card savers and a cardboard insert. Never a problem. 

V3

I was going to say use C2Cs idea, I like that one as it seems a good affordable way. I usually use the tired and true bubbler and have paid anywhere from $3 to $12 depending on size, weight, etc.

I ship that amount of cards more often than any other number of cards. I always use a 4x6 bubble mailer and tell the postal clerk I want it sent as First-Class Parcel (which gives a tracking number and makes a it non-machinable package). The normal price for that will be $2.45 in my area, but other locations around the country are slightly higher. No matter where in the US that you ship from, it should be less than $3. The weight needs to be less than 13 oz. though, so don't put a bunch of filler in there. As long as you put your return address high in the top left corner and the "shipping to" address in the center but far to the right, the postage sticker and the tracking number sticker will fit on the BM. I've shipped up to 20 cards in the same package this way for a decade. For the interior packing materials, I use penny-sleeves and top-loaders inside of a team bag. Never had a problem this way!