Postage Rates Rising: Tips For Selling Baseball Cards
The United States Postal Service (USPS) has raised its postage rates for small packages once again. Recently you could ship a small bubble mailer first class for $2.67 ($2.61 through EBay and PayPal). The rates have now risen to an even $3.00 when going to the post office (the online discount remains $2.61 - for now - using EBay and PayPal). The time has come to save collectors by skipping the bubble mailer.
What does that mean for baseball card sellers and traders? An obvious rise in cost in what was already a difficult price when selling low dollar cards. The standard practice in the hobby has been shipping a baseball card in a penny sleeve inside a top loader (taped with masking tape) and sandwiched between light cardboard for extra measure inside a bubble mailer.
But if you want to buy a card online that is worth $0.75 or $1.00 or even $2.00, do you want to spend $3.75 to $5.00 for a card worth far less than that? Possibly in some cases, but most likely not.
Enter the plain white envelope (PWE). Over the years the PWE has received a bad rap in the baseball card hobby. In some forums, collectors are threatening negative feedback over sellers shipping in a PWE. That's a different story for a different day as the use can be abused (charging $3.00 shipping and sending in a white envelope).
After selling on Sportlots for several years, Set Filler Cards began to dabble with selling less expensive cards on eBay at discounted shipping prices utilizing the PWE. With the exception of a few items not received, it has come with success. However; there is a right way to do this.
Tips To Shipping Baseball Cards in Plain White Envelopes
1) Be honest and upfront with your shipping method. Don't overcharge! First, let your buyers know you will be shipping economically in a plain white envelope. Most importantly, do not overcharge. $1.00-$1.50 is a good shipping charge. You have to take into consideration the postage ($0.49), top loader & penny sleeve ($0.08), 10% eBay shipping fee ($0.10-0.15), plus your time & fuel.
2) Package securely. Use a penny sleeve inside a top loader. Tape the top of the top loader with masking tape (do not use scotch tape on a top loader). Sandwich between pieces of cardboard. Wrap a piece of copy paper around secured card.
By shipping this way, you as a seller will be able to move low dollar cards while buyers will have an outlet to purchase cards without paying triple the cost in postage alone.