General Forum

 Hey everyone, so I am a completely new to the whole trading and stuff online raquet, especially when it comes to shipping the cards.  So, I humbly ask you veterans, what is the best way to ship cards to people within the USA?  Fedex or USPS? What if it's one card? Ten cards?  50 cards?  Envelopes, boxes, or bubble mailers?  I need some guidance on this.  I am completely lost here.

Since I work for UPS, UPS! (Just kidding.)

 Thanks for the tips; you've pretty much nailed it!  

I've gotten a few sellers to refund my shipping charges when they sent things in an inferior way (in a couple cases even damaging cards - in which case, I got them to refund me completely). Taping cards in just sleeves to cardboard is annoying - you need a scapel to perform surgery on the tape so you don't bend your card.

Top loaders are the fully rigid holders that if they bend, they're broken. There are "semi-rigid" loaders (generally called "Card Savers") which honestly, are complete junk and cannot be trusted in a bubble mailer alone. One BIG dealer on ebay uses them exclusively, but when he ships, they are always between two heavy-duty corregated cardboard pieces. I've also gotten cards almost folded in half in card savers! (They weren't protected in the flimsy cardboard mailer.)

Yes, as Billy says, thanks for asking to make sure you do it correctly. There's really nothing more annoying than getting a great deal, and then they arrive damaged because of the shipping.

a few good suggestions (vroomed post there is excellent. I too have delt with having to perform surgery on tape) there but please NO TAPE. Unless you use "painters tape" or FRESH masking tape (ancient "dry" masking tape is a nono) or if you have paper or something else protecting the card from the tape, even in the proper toploaders a card can slip up to the edge and kiss the tape. It doesn't happen often but it can. And NEVER tape one of those "cardsavers" closed, those are the plastic sleeves that look like the plastic ID badge holders. Many sellers on Ebay and Sportlots use those (and PWEs) with the tape combination and I have had a couple of near dissasters a few times with a few cards some of them vintage.

My worst experience with a cardsaver fortunately had no damage but it was a high-value card that I got for a steal. http://captkirk42.blogspot.com/2010/11/white-whale-of-iron-man.html

I have blogged about cardsavers a couple of other times including that one above. http://captkirk42.blogspot.com/search/label/cardsaver

 I have received things in a rigid top loader which were damaged.  The post office machinery that the flats go through can smash anything that is rigid and not perfectly flat.    Yes, they do go through but again, occasionally can be smashed/cracked which damages the card.

One way to tape either a top loader or penny sleeve is to simply cut a small piece of paper, fold in half to cover the opening and tape it to the loader front and back.    Have done this numerous times with no complaints.    Also, to facilitate pulling a penny sleeve out of  a top loader is to tape a narrow strip of paper to the penny sleeve and leave excess paper hangin out so the person can simply pull he paper and the penny sleeve comes right out of the top loader.   No worry about someone mangling the card in the top loader.

I would say never use PWE's unless agreed upon with the trader. Anything other than an envelope is consider non-machinable, which is the safest way to go. Toploaders, perhaps a team bag, and even a cheap bubble mailer at least. I also like it when people fold the toploader up inside a piece of paper. It makes the package "harder" and secures the card without using tape.

Just my 2 cents....