Tips for selling cards on eBay

[rhu]

Hi everyone, I couldn't see an appropriate place to ask this so thought I would just ask in my own little corner of UC here

I've been selling a few decks on eBay to raise a little cash for PCDB v2, but I'm struggling with how I should package the decks! I sent the first couple in jiffy bags (£1.24) and then sent another couple today in jiffy bags with extra bubble wrap to keep them safe and it cost me an extra £2 per deck to send them (£3.20!)

Any tips on how to best package playing cards to keep them secure and at a low cost? Any tips welcome!

[ecNate]

Is the problem with buying materials or postage? I'm not sure how your postage works over there, but in the US they provide flat rate boxes for free which helps offset costs, especially when sending in bulk. The jiffy bags you mention work most of the time for me, especially when they use another bubble wrap inside or wrap in a portion of a corrugated card board box. Reuse of materials can really help here - cut up old boxes to wrap with or custom make one for exact size, reuse old jiffy bags, etc. The simple answer is premium packaging costs can be reduced through reuse and alternative materials, but that often increases costs for premium postage as you add more bulk and weight. It's too bad they don't make band aids in metal tins anymore, I think some of those might have fit a card nicely. I wonder if Altoids or other mint tins might be the right size? That is assuming you or a friend are addicted to them. Cassette tape cases would have been nice, but too small and would have to somehow remove the 2 stops. If you can find in the right size those could then just be put into a jiffy bag and keep things quite safe.

If you are trying to raise funds for new PCDB I would again encourage you to allow for direct donations. Perhaps having the existing charity button be used as a tip jar as a show of appreciation for your time, but then a paypal to you for direct costs (providing ongoing updates to unpaid costs would also help - server hosting, domain renewal, licenses, etc).

[dazzleguts]

I have sold many decks through ebay. It sounds like you are dealing with the extra weight taking the package to a higher shipping category? Or is it the size of the package that's bumping it up?

If it's the weight - I hate to say this since I dislike using plastic, but the plastic bubble mailers are lighter than the paper ones. Perhaps with enough difference to accommodate the extra weight of bubble wrap.

If it's the added thickness of the bubble wrap then thin foam sheeting can be used as added protection instead (may also reduce weight). I also often wrap a deck in cardboard, inside the bubble mailer, if the weight will allow it, and that is thinner than using extra bubble wrap.

This works in Canada, don't know if it would apply for you: If the decks are opened, and have a tuck that opens at both ends, the cards can be taken out of the box and divided into packets, with the box flattened. This makes a package that is under 2 cm thick and fits into a cheaper mail category. That includes protective cardboard around it all, but no bubble mailer.

Hope something in there helps.

[volantangel]

Ok so heres my piece, i typically reuse all my bubble mailers and whatever envelope/boxes i get. I dont use bubble envelops above 3 decks as they dont really fit and too heavy a weight would cause damage if the package is dropped. To me the key to protecting the deck is how to deal with the corners, how i try to do it is to not let the corners be the actual corners. I take a postcard or two to "wrap" around the deck, this helps to extend the length of the deck so the corners dont actually come into contact with anything. And this method barely adds any weight =)

[nECr0MaNCeD]

Ok, so I will chime in. Like others I reuse everything. I have used flat rate boxes from the post office a couple times but avoid this as they can only be used for priorrity mail and I try to send first class as it is far cheaper. I am nearly out of boxes so I did some looking and we have a company here called Uline. Small boxes that can be used for 1 or 2 decks are 23 cents a piece or $23 for 100 boxes. My job throws away tons of buble wrap so I just "rescue it from the landfill and reuse it. Look to see if you have a company in the UK/EU like Uline.