How to safely ship cards

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YankeeBob63

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The biggest gripe I have with online trading is getting a package and finding out it was poorly packed. The result: dinged corners and damaged cards.

There are many ways to pack cards so that they make it to their destination in one piece.

Single Card
You can use a regualr envelope or a bubble mailer for extra protection. Place the card into a penny sleeve, place penny sleeve into a toploader. Now the most important part pinch the top of the toploader and seal it with some scotch tape, folding over the edges of the tape to make it easier to remove. This prevents the card from escaping during it's trip and getting damaged. If you are going to use a regular envelope don't just throw it in and send it on it's way. Make sure to either wrap it in a sheet of paper or tape the toploader to the inside of the envelope. A semi-rigid card holder ("Card Saver") works best, as many USPS automated sorting machines eat the thicker top-loaders.

Large Lots
There are various ways to send larger lots of cards. My method is as follows. First I break the cards down into piles of 25 or so and wrap them with old wax wrappers (u can use regular paper, tissue, newspaper) this helps keep the cards in a tight bunch. Next I tape the pile to a toploader using good packing tape, I make sure to tape vertically and horizontally (the pile should not be able to move it's now nice and centered on the toploader. Next I place a second toploader on the other side of the pile and tape both toploader together making a sandwich. I then slide the toploader sandwiches into a bubble mailer and off they go. Sometimes for extra support I will place a piece of cardboard inside the bubble mailer to make the package nice and sturdy.
Try to keep the piles the same size so that when you place them into the bubble mailer you have a nice flat surface. I save all my old toploaders so I have plenty when it comes time to pack up cards for a trade.

Another way of sending large lots is to place the cards into a plastic case. Everyone should be familiar with these cases. Tape the case shut and place it into a bubble mailer and off they go. Pretty easy to do, but unless you have a stockpile of old cases it can get expensive. I've also experience receiving broken plastic cases in the mail, which in turns damages the cards.

Starter Sets or 300+ cards
Best way to ship a large amount of cards is to put them into a 300,400,500,600 count box you can pick them up at your local shop. You can ship them in those boxes but there is no protection. I place the smaller box into a slightly larger box and pad the sided with newspaper.

The most important thing to do is place a note along with cards so that the other person knows who they are coming from. Members of this site don't forget to add your screen name.

Remember to spend a little extra time packing the cards you send out and you will always have great trades. Also spend the extra money and insure packages with a high value.
 
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Don't worry guys i am all about trading undamaged cards. I carefully inspect them to make sure There are no Dents, Scratchs, And bends, on the card.
And then i send the card off making sure it has good protection.
 
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