I'm with you on the postal employee issues. It's like they got rejected from a government job like the FBI that they really wanted, so they have to power-trip in a different fashion to live with themselves. It's amazing the stupid things they will find to justify returning mail. I'm glad I'm not the only one who believes in trying very hard to not make anything stand out even when there is nothing wrong with it. Often doesn't matter - if the USPS employee is having a bad day, it's coming back.
I have used my Rollo for 2 years with thousands of labels printed and never had no issues. Also if you are selling cards for under $20 you can send them in a top loader just charge that in the shipping price. I only pay 10 cents per toploader so I just add that into the shipping price. Cards that sell for under $5 I buy 100 of the thick index card for $1.25 and put the card in a penny sleeve which I literally pay 1 penny for and put it in between to index cards and put 4 tiny pieces of painters tape on each side then put it in a folded printing paper which is about 3 cents and ship it like that for 80 cents with the 60 cent option. Or if you want to really save money you can put the stack of envelopes in your regular inkjet or laser printer and have the label printed directly on the envelope.
My dislike of top loaders is a pure business decision based on nothing but data, money spent and claims received, no emotion involved. As is most of my packing method, yours sounds like it works great as well, but may possibly be more labor intensive. I am going to bet you are a sports card seller as your methods definitely sound pretty standard for what most sports card sellers do.
Never had any issues ? Thanks for the Tip just started my TCG account & I want the most economical way to ship the cheap cards like that are less than $1
Your label for Standard Envelope looks like the image is smaller than 100%. Do you scale it down for some reason when printing? When I print mine out, they take up the entire 4x6 label.
I only use top loaders on higher end cards and better rookies, which is about half my inventory. The rest is in card savers. That's just me and that's how I would want cards sent to me. I never thought to put the label on the back of the envelope to seal it even better....genius!
I would be interested to know how often your top loader standard envelope orders go missing or otherwise have a delivery problem? How many per thousand?
And that is why I always suggest you ask for one if you want one. From a financial aspect for the seller they make no sense, they increase lost items, cost a huge amount of money in bulk and usually get thrown away by the buyer.
Those are pretty good as well, I have just found that the card savers have exceptions in the postal system slightly more often than the gaming sleeves with extra cards do. Meanwhile card savers, top loaders or gaming sleeve with extra cards all three basically prevent all damage, so at that point it is down to the other problems they might have getting delivered.
@@onefootflipper Wrong... if you throw a single card in a toploader or cardsaver it ships every day of the week PWE. Never had a saver or loader returned and i get 50+ pwe packages a week no issue. Single stamp postage, charging 1.27$ for shipping covers all materials cost plus a small profit and leaves the cost of the card.
@@boukunmtg8969 This video isn't about shipping plain white envelopes with stamps. This video is SPECIFICALLY about using the ebay standard envelope service which is a metered mail service that tracks off the sort machines and orders shipped in top loaders have a high problem rate in that service. If I was using stamps then I would just use top loaders.
@@onefootflipper This video is showing other sellers a cheap shortcut way of shipping that is not anywhere close to industry standard. Makes you look like an inexperienced seller.
@@boukunmtg8969 Feel free to make a video explaining why your method is better, including all the financial aspects, and I will lead people to it. - Also, how many cards do you ship on ebay per year. Ebay, not tcgplayer.
Great video. I was thinking of getting into cards. I’ve done postcards but use the cardboard sleeve for those. I feel like the card profit margins would be thinner so I like your way of shipping them.
I am getting out of them because I am doing better in other areas and also when the card market goes bad the whole card market seems to go bad at once, both sports, gaming and non-sports. However a lot of people sell them because they love them or simply to help fund their own hobby. At the low end it is a direct grind of time into money and every single penny counts.
Zebra's been in the game for decades. I used them in industrial settings for custom labelling on pallets of boxes. Box after box, day after day... One bit of advice... make sure to use labels that are the width of the print head. I ruined a 5" print head printing 4" labels on it. The blank 1" somehow destroyed itself when there wasn't a label in the way.
Yep, I went with what I knew. We used Zebra at the shop when I worked there, I see Zebras on the counter at stores. I never see Rollo anywhere. It was never even in the running.
Yeah, I have 5 USPS offices within a 15 mile radius of my house. Every single one of them, regardless of the card being in a top loader or a card saver return around 25% of my cards for additional postage. Considered non-machinable. Talked to managers, they don't care what eBay tells you that you're allowed, it's subjective to the clerk. Shipped at an out of state office. 100% returned. If you don't mind it taking your card(s) two/three weeks to get to your customer ship eBay standard. Or charge the extra $.50 and package the card 100% safely as non machinable.
@onefootflipper I started with a top loader. Basic top loader, card in penny sleeve with a piece of tape over it. Forward their invoice/packing slip so it doesn't have to be included in the envelope. That's it. About a 40% return for additional postage. Then, I went to a card saver 1 and 2. A bit more flexible. About a 22% returned for additional postage rate. Always dropped off at the post office in person. During the drop-off, I have literally watched multiple clerks bend the envelopes upwards of 45° to check for rigidity. I've also had them process at drop-off, only to have my customer or myself charged on the back end for the additional postage. Again, this may be an issue in my area, but I will never ship eBay standard again. Which is unfortunate.
@@RobTraz555 I think your main problem here is that you are giving them to a person. My envelopes went from all getting returned to my house in bulk to arriving over 99 percent of the time when I stopped putting the card in the middle and started dumping them into a mailbox rather than giving them directly to the post office.
forgot to add this as well. any advice on how to ship chrome/prizm cards that have a natural slight warp to them. they make up about 5-10% of my inventory. thanks for anything you can pass along.
I do chrome/prizm cards the exact same way, except that I only put one card on either side of them to account for the extra thickness. I got your ebay message but I don't answer youtube related questions through ebay, feel free to comment on videos or instagram message.
can't help but feel like this is satire with the goal of misdirecting possible competition but I know it isnt. it's true that "this works" and it will definitely save you a LITTLE money (you can get nice toploaders for 6 cents a piece with an equal amount of soft sleeves for free my guy) but this is a guaranteed way to not stand out at all and make it obvious to your customers that you do not appreciate them at all and they are just a number to you. that "$1000" you would have spent on toploaders (pretty sure I saw you claim it would be $300 a month on a forum post-which one is it?) would have probably done wonders for your business in ways that you cannot even concieve because you look at this business through the same lens as most. there's also many good ways to ship toplaoders inconspicuously but sadly it does require original thought. cutting corners and maximizing profit is working GREAT for most industries right now 😆
If you see me mention different savings on toploaders in different sources it is likely because the current price of top loaders has changed and my number of cards sold in the last year is not the same as the last time I did the math. Top loader prices have fallen dramatically in the past 18 months as the overall card market has declined and created less demand for them. You couldn't get those cases of 1000 cardboard gold top loaders for $70 back when I made this video. I also no longer source or list single cards. It just isn't a great business outside of the boom times. My store just remains up until it stop selling enough every month to pay the store bill, at which point I will shut it down and sell the remains off in lots.
@@onefootflipper this video is nine months old, not 18, and I've gotten those prices or better for the last 7 months (since the first time I looked hard enough). the business IS good, just not good for anybody who only cares about booms and cutting corners. I am actually so glad to see more and more people stop doing it so I can pick up the broken pieces and regain the trust of all the eBayers turned off by all these "card flippers". most people seem to forget they provide a service first, and a product second. you not being aware of that is why your page will devolve into not being able to even cover fees, not the business itself.
My card store is just a relic now. I have another store that isn't cards. Cards are no longer my business. The card store still clears $300-$600 a month after all expenses so there is no reason to shut it down. I talked about the cost of top loaders in online forums for a long time before I ever made that video. Honestly the economics of the low end card business are so bad that I have no interest in being in that business anymore. I am competing against people who value their time at nothing, people who lose money on every order and lowly paid card shop employees from sleepy stores who fill orders during times they would otherwise be completely idle. I do however encourage you to absolutely make your own video showing and explaining your methods, I will even shout it out in one of my videos and put a link to it in the description of this video right here. - Also, am I correct in assuming you are a sports card seller and not a gaming card seller? Gaming card sellers have been moving away from top loaders for a long time, I only seem to get one about half the time when I order a gaming card.
I'm not involved with sports cards at all - 99% Pokemon. And you couldn't be more wrong about the economics. I don't lose money on any card order I send out. I aim to break even on the very "worst" 1-card sales(still an opportunity for a good impression and a good review), but there are about a dozen different reasons why most people buy several cards from me at once and most importantly, why most people make me their go-to after they see how much I care about their card the first time. I don't know what to tell you other than you're just mimicking what most say, because you handled your singles operation just like most others do. If I got a single packaged like this, I'd leave a positive review but never buy again, just like I usually did during my time as a customer. Pokemon singles, LOW END singles are paying my bills right now and that's as simple as it is. I'm really not trying to be a jerk but I'm just tired of all the one-sided misinformation from most people. It's akin to people still trying to argue modern collecting is inferior to vintage, or that you should be selling bulk by the 100 mystery style with an ultra rare LOL You were actually a big inspiration for me to fully commit to my store because I knew how wrong everyone truly was @@onefootflipper
The Pokemon thing actually completely explains it. The low end modern Pokemon customer has been in my opinion the single pickiest class of customers I ever had. Tiny percentage of my card business, but responsible for 90 percent of the cases opened on my card account. If I was a Pokemon specialist I probably would be using top loaders on everything. I seriously suggest you make a video on how to pack Pokemon cards for standard envelope. I will absolutely endorse it. I agree the mystery pack thing is terrible.
So u should not use top loaders for any type of card? What about post cards..I see a lot of people putting them in penny sleeves then top loaders...seems like a lot of extra supplies for a 5 dollar or so post card😂
I only use a top loader when someone's order comes with a laundry list telling me how to ship their card, then use the top loader and block them from future sales. I put postcards directly into an envelope with nothing else.
DON'T LICK THE ENVELOPE!!! 07:32 instead use your SHIPPING label on that side to seal the envelope. I've been doing that for YEARS on the small items that I ship EVERY DAY. Try it.
Yep. they provide a tiny bit more safety which doesn't really matter because the order is insured anyway, and cause a lot of headaches with delivery. I stopped using them and never looked back.
3:09 What model is your Zebra printer, and does it use ink or toner and how much does it cost to replace the ink or toner. I'm using a Brother Printer for labels that uses toner, and the cost of the toner cartridge's is expensive for it's lifespan.
@@brianwhite3428 Standard envelope has tracking and has insurance for the value of the cards as sold. It is only available on single cards up to $20 and multiple card orders valued at up to $50.
Anything Zebra. As a card seller you are going to do 10 times the volume of regular sellers and you don't want a consumer focused printer like a Rollo. A used Zebra off ebay will outlast a new Rollo.
So I have a card listed for 13 $ using the eBay standard envelope, but I have multiple quantities, a buyer bought 2. But I’m only getting one label option when I purchase the label. I can’t put both cards in it because that totals for more than 20$ correct ? And if so , can you explain or make a video on how to split orders from the same buyer ? I’m so stuck right now, I have both cards for him but one label. I can’t generate 2 labels
I use top loaders and a cardboard envelope (cheaper than the eBay ones just a tad thinner) all my cards ship at 1 Oz standard envelope. However after you video I’m Considering getting rid of top loaders and cardboard envelopes. My rollo has printed out 1500+ labels a month for the last 2 years with basically no issues. We have a different philosophy here, but I am considering your views.
Thank you for making the video. Definetly a different way to pack and ship. I will try it. Have you ever run into the issue of your standard envelopes not being scanned in the sorting machines using this mehod?
There are always going to be some of these that just seemingly teleport to their destination, regardless of how you do standard envelope. However those are a tiny fraction of 1 percent.
My biggest tip on that is that you can still use standard envelope on those by shifting some of the item price into the shipping cost. Ebay doesn't seem to care how much you charge for standard envelope, and I will charge up to $10 for it in order to not light money on fire with package shipping on those cards in the $20-$30 range.
I have never actually tried it with standard envelope. I always lot my sealed packs up or actually open them depending on what they are. I feel like it would have a very high exception rate. I should make it through the machines about the same as a top loader, but the thickness would stand out to post office employees more than a top loader does, and I dropped top loaders because of their high rate of issues. If I had huge numbers of them to sell then I would make a second account and sell them nonmachinable stamp and envelope, which is what I did at the card store when I ran their ebay.
I have a ton of sports cards I do not plan to grade that I know I could sell many for $3 or so. Can you show a video of what you tell ebay when you do the standard envelope? You could hide your details and customers details but I just want to see what you tell them since I normally pay ebay $4 or more to send 1 graded card with tracking. My other question is say I buy 1 ungraded sports card from you and you just will throw in 3 or 4 junk cards with it just to help protect it? Does any customer say anything about that or do you say you will do that first? Top loaders are expensive so your idea is cool.
I sometimes get thanks for the bonus cards in my feedback. I had one customer think he got the wrong order because he didn't pull the cards out of the sleeve, but that was one customer out of over 20,000. - As for what you tell ebay, standard envelope is just one of the options you can select from the drop down box when listing or shipping orders from the appropriate categories, there isn't any special trick to it.
@@onefootflipper Thank You very much for your fast reply. I have a rollo would I need to print the label sideways? The post office would still be able to read it I guess either way. So I assume there is no tracking? How can you prove to ebay or your customer you actually sent it? Thank You again for everything.
@@onefootflipper I pay almost 27 cents each for top loaders and I buy directly from China too. Where would you recommend buying gaming card sleeves online? I doubt your costs way 27 each. I know some could just add it to the shipping but your review of your way sounds better to me.
@@collectibleinvestor I use a zebra printer but Rollo should be fine. It is actually tracked through the automated post office system, just not hand scanned.
@@collectibleinvestor I honestly never have to buy them because I get so many used ones from collections I have purchased. But any bulk standard sized gaming sleeves you can find should work. A quick search on ebay found this seller who is a few cents per sleeve in bulk. Be sure and get the Magic/Pokemon size and not the Yugioh or "Japanese" size. www.ebay.com/itm/374595515124
It is very category dependent. I have never had a single claim of any kind from a sports card customer either on my ebay account or when I ran the ebay account for the card store. However Pokemon, Yugioh, Transformers, literally anything going PWE to a shipping forwarder, those were different stories.
i use non machinable stamp about a buck and in the last 3 years maybe 3 or 4 got lost so they say there is no tracking so its the honesty program plus i used top loader
hello i purchased a zebra lp-2844 but i just can't get my computer to print on the zebra. my default is adobe pdf but it never prints, any advice on what program to use or settings?
I’m also an eBay seller and have been experimenting with sending mine as non machinable which is only a .40 cent increase. Any envelope shipped through eBay standard envelope goes through a machine. Could possible damage it. So far I’ve had 0 returns or defects. Spending extra on shipping but eliminating the problem of returns or damages when seller get the card. I do on the other hand ship lower end stuff with no top loader because you have to profit on the littles too
Nonmachineable defeats the tracking of the standard envelope. If it is still getting scans then it is still going through the machines. There is no hand scanning of those envelopes. I have shipped about 30,000 standard envelopes since they came out and I experimented with various things in large numbers at the beginning and nothing had a higher success rate than what I do in this video. 20 cents for a top loader and 40 cents for nonmachinable times 30,000 is $18,000. That is how much more I would have spent doing that. I had less than $100 total damage claim on cards out of all those orders combined and the insurance paid out on all of them.
@@onefootflipper I just tried this method Benjamin mentions. You're right though, no tracking when NM. Will certainly go this route going forth for standard 20Pt cards. At what Pt. do you recommend to jump to bubble mailers? I ship 55-79Pt cards hockey cards. I can foresee 100+ simply not working and could easily be damaged through machine rollers.
ps I am similarly using a lot of base cards along with the sale item simply for protection and packaging. The added half an oz or less is nothing for the added safety and the customer loves it.
i asked the community about this a few days ago, and one user showed me your breakdown in written form. i did a few orders and i was correct with everything except the card placement. i did every other side, but i placed the cards horizontally instead of vertically. i do not have double sided tape, so i simply just taped mine down as well. after getting 5 items back this past saturday with postage due, even though 150 others went out last week without issue, it's time for a change. i do appreciate you mentioning usps employees have their own rules as well. all five came back after i left a not so favorable review of a sorting center's policies.
Horizontal makes it much harder for the envelope to go around the corners on the sorting machine. Also want to make sure you are not using top loaders, particularly if you are getting postage due returns, which I got quite frequently with top loaders, but only got once in the last 20,000 orders after I stopped using them. You might want to consider changing where you are dropping them off for a while in case you are somehow on someone's radar right now.
@@onefootflipper well, apparently i am now being "targeted", i received another 8 items back yesterday after receiving 5 on saturday, even though i've shipped 100s and 100s of items all exactly the same way, but strangely enough, not 1 item has been returned that had a stamp on it that were shipped the exact same way...i have no answers right now...
Question I just tried to post a cheap card on eBay and the standard envelope option was not available anymore. I even looked at card I had listed already with this shipping option went to revise it and it shows no shipping selected, although I think it is still there when I cancel the revision. I was wondering if they had done away with this option in the past few days or can you be blocked from using it. Thanks
Took me awhile to find it but if u mark your package dimensions as I don’t know and turn them off eBay standard envelope will then appear in your shipping options.
eBay will give you a QR code for packages instead of printing.I think this is what he was asking about.I have not shipped any cards yet so I don’t know if they will give a QR code to take to the post office for them to scan and print you a label for free.
I sell cards from $2 and up. Nearly a year since the last damage claim. This is also the number 1 card shipping video on TH-cam. Feel free to make your own showing how too loafers are better somehow.
By all means you research different ways to ship cards, do 1000 test shipments each way and then make a video about what wins and then let that video become the number 1 card shipping video on youtube.
This kind of video is frustrating because it shows how little you know about the TCG and CCG space. Dont be a cheapskate, you can buy cardsavers for 8c a piece or toploaders for 15-20c a piece. Dont throw the cards loose in the envelope. Youll lose more money on returns from damaged cards by usps than the 8c you save by being cheap. This isnt a pretty look dont show the world how cheap youre being let alone teach others to take shortcuts.
I have shipped 20,000 orders this way, had about 10 damage claims, the insurance paid them all. Nowhere in this video did I say to throw cards loose in the envelope. Using top loaders would have added $3000 to my costs. This is about business and making money, not about looking cool selling nickel cards on tcgplayer.
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I'm with you on the postal employee issues. It's like they got rejected from a government job like the FBI that they really wanted, so they have to power-trip in a different fashion to live with themselves. It's amazing the stupid things they will find to justify returning mail. I'm glad I'm not the only one who believes in trying very hard to not make anything stand out even when there is nothing wrong with it. Often doesn't matter - if the USPS employee is having a bad day, it's coming back.
A big reason why I try to never go inside the post office and tell people to never, ever hand their package to that person behind the counter.
I have used my Rollo for 2 years with thousands of labels printed and never had no issues. Also if you are selling cards for under $20 you can send them in a top loader just charge that in the shipping price. I only pay 10 cents per toploader so I just add that into the shipping price. Cards that sell for under $5 I buy 100 of the thick index card for $1.25 and put the card in a penny sleeve which I literally pay 1 penny for and put it in between to index cards and put 4 tiny pieces of painters tape on each side then put it in a folded printing paper which is about 3 cents and ship it like that for 80 cents with the 60 cent option. Or if you want to really save money you can put the stack of envelopes in your regular inkjet or laser printer and have the label printed directly on the envelope.
My dislike of top loaders is a pure business decision based on nothing but data, money spent and claims received, no emotion involved. As is most of my packing method, yours sounds like it works great as well, but may possibly be more labor intensive. I am going to bet you are a sports card seller as your methods definitely sound pretty standard for what most sports card sellers do.
Never had any issues ? Thanks for the Tip just started my TCG account & I want the most economical way to ship the cheap cards like that are less than $1
@@CasperTheFriendlyGhost777 Still no issues, even 4 months later.
@@keithdefreitas3399 sweet thanks ! Where do you get top loaders for 10 cents 😂
Thank you for the video! Only just started selling cards and this is a god send! Going to subscribe and watch all your other videos now!
It definitely works.
Your label for Standard Envelope looks like the image is smaller than 100%. Do you scale it down for some reason when printing? When I print mine out, they take up the entire 4x6 label.
It is my envelopes that are large.
I only use top loaders on higher end cards and better rookies, which is about half my inventory. The rest is in card savers. That's just me and that's how I would want cards sent to me. I never thought to put the label on the back of the envelope to seal it even better....genius!
I would be interested to know how often your top loader standard envelope orders go missing or otherwise have a delivery problem? How many per thousand?
Some top loaders are too rigid. Often, get rejected by USPS. Never had an issue with sleeve, card saver and quality 4 x 6 envelope.
This is why ebay card sellers get looked down on. A top loader isnt asking to much
And that is why I always suggest you ask for one if you want one. From a financial aspect for the seller they make no sense, they increase lost items, cost a huge amount of money in bulk and usually get thrown away by the buyer.
I would give bad feedback over the way you ship.
Top loaders make the PWE too big to ship
@@TotallySearchI've also had issues with them cracking from the rollers at the PO
this was the best break down of the standard envelope that i've heard. awesome video
This definitely works.
Penny sleeve, card saver, security envelope!!! No problems.
Those are pretty good as well, I have just found that the card savers have exceptions in the postal system slightly more often than the gaming sleeves with extra cards do. Meanwhile card savers, top loaders or gaming sleeve with extra cards all three basically prevent all damage, so at that point it is down to the other problems they might have getting delivered.
@@onefootflipper Wrong... if you throw a single card in a toploader or cardsaver it ships every day of the week PWE. Never had a saver or loader returned and i get 50+ pwe packages a week no issue. Single stamp postage, charging 1.27$ for shipping covers all materials cost plus a small profit and leaves the cost of the card.
@@boukunmtg8969 This video isn't about shipping plain white envelopes with stamps. This video is SPECIFICALLY about using the ebay standard envelope service which is a metered mail service that tracks off the sort machines and orders shipped in top loaders have a high problem rate in that service. If I was using stamps then I would just use top loaders.
@@onefootflipper This video is showing other sellers a cheap shortcut way of shipping that is not anywhere close to industry standard. Makes you look like an inexperienced seller.
@@boukunmtg8969 Feel free to make a video explaining why your method is better, including all the financial aspects, and I will lead people to it. - Also, how many cards do you ship on ebay per year. Ebay, not tcgplayer.
Great video. I was thinking of getting into cards. I’ve done postcards but use the cardboard sleeve for those. I feel like the card profit margins would be thinner so I like your way of shipping them.
I am getting out of them because I am doing better in other areas and also when the card market goes bad the whole card market seems to go bad at once, both sports, gaming and non-sports. However a lot of people sell them because they love them or simply to help fund their own hobby. At the low end it is a direct grind of time into money and every single penny counts.
Zebra's been in the game for decades. I used them in industrial settings for custom labelling on pallets of boxes. Box after box, day after day... One bit of advice... make sure to use labels that are the width of the print head. I ruined a 5" print head printing 4" labels on it. The blank 1" somehow destroyed itself when there wasn't a label in the way.
Yep, I went with what I knew. We used Zebra at the shop when I worked there, I see Zebras on the counter at stores. I never see Rollo anywhere. It was never even in the running.
Great info, but now all I want to do is enjoy and oregano burger while watching the flying Elvis’s and I don’t even know what either is.
I can't believe I only wore that hat in 1 video.
Yeah, I have 5 USPS offices within a 15 mile radius of my house. Every single one of them, regardless of the card being in a top loader or a card saver return around 25% of my cards for additional postage. Considered non-machinable. Talked to managers, they don't care what eBay tells you that you're allowed, it's subjective to the clerk. Shipped at an out of state office. 100% returned. If you don't mind it taking your card(s) two/three weeks to get to your customer ship eBay standard. Or charge the extra $.50 and package the card 100% safely as non machinable.
Please, describe how you package them and if you hand them to a clerk or dump them in a mailbox.
@onefootflipper I started with a top loader. Basic top loader, card in penny sleeve with a piece of tape over it. Forward their invoice/packing slip so it doesn't have to be included in the envelope. That's it. About a 40% return for additional postage. Then, I went to a card saver 1 and 2. A bit more flexible. About a 22% returned for additional postage rate. Always dropped off at the post office in person. During the drop-off, I have literally watched multiple clerks bend the envelopes upwards of 45° to check for rigidity. I've also had them process at drop-off, only to have my customer or myself charged on the back end for the additional postage. Again, this may be an issue in my area, but I will never ship eBay standard again. Which is unfortunate.
@@RobTraz555 I think your main problem here is that you are giving them to a person. My envelopes went from all getting returned to my house in bulk to arriving over 99 percent of the time when I stopped putting the card in the middle and started dumping them into a mailbox rather than giving them directly to the post office.
I don't sell/ship cards but I still really enjoyed the video. I learned a lot.
Well if you ever get any now you will know what works for sure. I have shipped about 20,000 orders that way in the past few years.
Thanks for the tutorial
Great tips! I'm going to use it! You also helped save me money by recommending Pirate shipping and using personal credit card. Awesome! Thank you!
Yep, all that adds up.
forgot to add this as well. any advice on how to ship chrome/prizm cards that have a natural slight warp to them. they make up about 5-10% of my inventory. thanks for anything you can pass along.
I do chrome/prizm cards the exact same way, except that I only put one card on either side of them to account for the extra thickness. I got your ebay message but I don't answer youtube related questions through ebay, feel free to comment on videos or instagram message.
can't help but feel like this is satire with the goal of misdirecting possible competition but I know it isnt. it's true that "this works" and it will definitely save you a LITTLE money (you can get nice toploaders for 6 cents a piece with an equal amount of soft sleeves for free my guy) but this is a guaranteed way to not stand out at all and make it obvious to your customers that you do not appreciate them at all and they are just a number to you. that "$1000" you would have spent on toploaders (pretty sure I saw you claim it would be $300 a month on a forum post-which one is it?) would have probably done wonders for your business in ways that you cannot even concieve because you look at this business through the same lens as most. there's also many good ways to ship toplaoders inconspicuously but sadly it does require original thought. cutting corners and maximizing profit is working GREAT for most industries right now 😆
If you see me mention different savings on toploaders in different sources it is likely because the current price of top loaders has changed and my number of cards sold in the last year is not the same as the last time I did the math. Top loader prices have fallen dramatically in the past 18 months as the overall card market has declined and created less demand for them. You couldn't get those cases of 1000 cardboard gold top loaders for $70 back when I made this video.
I also no longer source or list single cards. It just isn't a great business outside of the boom times. My store just remains up until it stop selling enough every month to pay the store bill, at which point I will shut it down and sell the remains off in lots.
@@onefootflipper this video is nine months old, not 18, and I've gotten those prices or better for the last 7 months (since the first time I looked hard enough). the business IS good, just not good for anybody who only cares about booms and cutting corners. I am actually so glad to see more and more people stop doing it so I can pick up the broken pieces and regain the trust of all the eBayers turned off by all these "card flippers". most people seem to forget they provide a service first, and a product second. you not being aware of that is why your page will devolve into not being able to even cover fees, not the business itself.
My card store is just a relic now. I have another store that isn't cards. Cards are no longer my business. The card store still clears $300-$600 a month after all expenses so there is no reason to shut it down. I talked about the cost of top loaders in online forums for a long time before I ever made that video. Honestly the economics of the low end card business are so bad that I have no interest in being in that business anymore. I am competing against people who value their time at nothing, people who lose money on every order and lowly paid card shop employees from sleepy stores who fill orders during times they would otherwise be completely idle. I do however encourage you to absolutely make your own video showing and explaining your methods, I will even shout it out in one of my videos and put a link to it in the description of this video right here. - Also, am I correct in assuming you are a sports card seller and not a gaming card seller? Gaming card sellers have been moving away from top loaders for a long time, I only seem to get one about half the time when I order a gaming card.
I'm not involved with sports cards at all - 99% Pokemon. And you couldn't be more wrong about the economics. I don't lose money on any card order I send out. I aim to break even on the very "worst" 1-card sales(still an opportunity for a good impression and a good review), but there are about a dozen different reasons why most people buy several cards from me at once and most importantly, why most people make me their go-to after they see how much I care about their card the first time. I don't know what to tell you other than you're just mimicking what most say, because you handled your singles operation just like most others do. If I got a single packaged like this, I'd leave a positive review but never buy again, just like I usually did during my time as a customer. Pokemon singles, LOW END singles are paying my bills right now and that's as simple as it is. I'm really not trying to be a jerk but I'm just tired of all the one-sided misinformation from most people. It's akin to people still trying to argue modern collecting is inferior to vintage, or that you should be selling bulk by the 100 mystery style with an ultra rare LOL You were actually a big inspiration for me to fully commit to my store because I knew how wrong everyone truly was @@onefootflipper
The Pokemon thing actually completely explains it. The low end modern Pokemon customer has been in my opinion the single pickiest class of customers I ever had. Tiny percentage of my card business, but responsible for 90 percent of the cases opened on my card account. If I was a Pokemon specialist I probably would be using top loaders on everything. I seriously suggest you make a video on how to pack Pokemon cards for standard envelope. I will absolutely endorse it. I agree the mystery pack thing is terrible.
So u should not use top loaders for any type of card? What about post cards..I see a lot of people putting them in penny sleeves then top loaders...seems like a lot of extra supplies for a 5 dollar or so post card😂
I only use a top loader when someone's order comes with a laundry list telling me how to ship their card, then use the top loader and block them from future sales. I put postcards directly into an envelope with nothing else.
DON'T LICK THE ENVELOPE!!! 07:32 instead use your SHIPPING label on that side to seal the envelope. I've been doing that for YEARS on the small items that I ship EVERY DAY. Try it.
I also put my labels on the rear. I normally use self sealing envelopes, the traditional ones were just a box I got for free.
George Costanza's fiance approves this message 😂
I have beef with the lady at the post office because of TopLoaders
Yep. they provide a tiny bit more safety which doesn't really matter because the order is insured anyway, and cause a lot of headaches with delivery. I stopped using them and never looked back.
I hate my lady lol
3:09 What model is your Zebra printer, and does it use ink or toner and how much does it cost to replace the ink or toner. I'm using a Brother Printer for labels that uses toner, and the cost of the toner cartridge's is expensive for it's lifespan.
I use the 2844. It is thermal, it doesn't use toner or ink. It uses thermal labels.
Nice! Thank you so much :)@@onefootflipper
I just started listing cheap sports cards on eBay, but I haven’t sold any just yet. Would you recommend charging at a 1 oz or 2 oz rate for shipping?
I charge 84 cents for standard envelope regardless of the order size. It takes a LOT of cards to actually get over 1 ounce.
That's why it's a good idea
To insure the cards
Even if the cards are worth less than $5.00
Standard envelope has free insurance built in.
@@onefootflipper
But how much can you insure the cards?
And what about tracking?
@@brianwhite3428 Standard envelope has tracking and has insurance for the value of the cards as sold. It is only available on single cards up to $20 and multiple card orders valued at up to $50.
The post office won't even take my cards if they're in a top loader. they said it's to solid for the machine
That is why I say don't use them, and never ever hand them to an employee.
What model of printer would you recommend? So many to pick from. Thanks in advance
Anything Zebra. As a card seller you are going to do 10 times the volume of regular sellers and you don't want a consumer focused printer like a Rollo. A used Zebra off ebay will outlast a new Rollo.
Can I use a small bubble mailer but still have the shipping be for the $1 envelope shipping?
No.
So I have a card listed for 13 $ using the eBay standard envelope, but I have multiple quantities, a buyer bought 2. But I’m only getting one label option when I purchase the label. I can’t put both cards in it because that totals for more than 20$ correct ? And if so , can you explain or make a video on how to split orders from the same buyer ? I’m so stuck right now, I have both cards for him but one label. I can’t generate 2 labels
The insurance limit is $20 per card, $50 per order. As long as you can generate the label you are fine.
@@onefootflipper thank you !
Which Zebra model number do you recommend for printing labels?
2844 all the way.
So what did you use the binder page for?
You use a cut up binder page if you are putting in multiple lumps of cards.
You use the binder as a protection for the cards and to keep the cards as aligned as possible.
I use top loaders and a cardboard envelope (cheaper than the eBay ones just a tad thinner) all my cards ship at 1 Oz standard envelope. However after you video I’m
Considering getting rid of top loaders and cardboard envelopes. My rollo has printed out 1500+ labels a month for the last 2 years with basically no issues. We have a different philosophy here, but I am considering your views.
I was also partial to the zebra because I was already familiar with it.
you can ship cardboard envelopes with the .50 cent ebay PWE option?
thank you for the information!
You bet!
Thank you for making the video. Definetly a different way to pack and ship. I will try it. Have you ever run into the issue of your standard envelopes not being scanned in the sorting machines using this mehod?
There are always going to be some of these that just seemingly teleport to their destination, regardless of how you do standard envelope. However those are a tiny fraction of 1 percent.
@@onefootflipper thank you. Much appreciated
If you have any tips on selling cards over 20$, they would be much appreciated. Thanks for the knowledge.
My biggest tip on that is that you can still use standard envelope on those by shifting some of the item price into the shipping cost. Ebay doesn't seem to care how much you charge for standard envelope, and I will charge up to $10 for it in order to not light money on fire with package shipping on those cards in the $20-$30 range.
@@onefootflipper that is very useful thanks man.
every thing made sense until the end when you said this isn’t different than stamp and envelope? how is it different
The difference is that this gives you a delivery record that ebay will respect in a dispute.
My problem is the post office is losing the shipments.
If they are losing them on the regular then you are making them too thick or with too much of a bulge.
So shipping with a postage stamp is not ideal. I should use the eBay label?
Yes, cheaper, has insurance and protects you from fake claims.
Any advice on shipping a cheap wax pack? Supposedly it can be done via eBay standard shipping, but I can't find advice on how.
I have never actually tried it with standard envelope. I always lot my sealed packs up or actually open them depending on what they are. I feel like it would have a very high exception rate. I should make it through the machines about the same as a top loader, but the thickness would stand out to post office employees more than a top loader does, and I dropped top loaders because of their high rate of issues. If I had huge numbers of them to sell then I would make a second account and sell them nonmachinable stamp and envelope, which is what I did at the card store when I ran their ebay.
Thanks for sharing this. Are you still able to send at the 1 ounce rate?
Yes, I almost never have to go to the 2 ounce rate unless they get something like 15 cards.
I have a ton of sports cards I do not plan to grade that I know I could sell many for $3 or so. Can you show a video of what you tell ebay when you do the standard envelope?
You could hide your details and customers details but I just want to see what you tell them since I normally pay ebay $4 or more to send 1 graded card with tracking.
My other question is say I buy 1 ungraded sports card from you and you just will throw in 3 or 4 junk cards with it just to help protect it? Does any customer say anything about that or do you say you will do that first?
Top loaders are expensive so your idea is cool.
I sometimes get thanks for the bonus cards in my feedback. I had one customer think he got the wrong order because he didn't pull the cards out of the sleeve, but that was one customer out of over 20,000. - As for what you tell ebay, standard envelope is just one of the options you can select from the drop down box when listing or shipping orders from the appropriate categories, there isn't any special trick to it.
@@onefootflipper Thank You very much for your fast reply. I have a rollo would I need to print the label sideways?
The post office would still be able to read it I guess either way.
So I assume there is no tracking? How can you prove to ebay or your customer you actually sent it?
Thank You again for everything.
@@onefootflipper I pay almost 27 cents each for top loaders and I buy directly from China too. Where would you recommend buying gaming card sleeves online? I doubt your costs way 27 each.
I know some could just add it to the shipping but your review of your way sounds better to me.
@@collectibleinvestor I use a zebra printer but Rollo should be fine. It is actually tracked through the automated post office system, just not hand scanned.
@@collectibleinvestor I honestly never have to buy them because I get so many used ones from collections I have purchased. But any bulk standard sized gaming sleeves you can find should work. A quick search on ebay found this seller who is a few cents per sleeve in bulk. Be sure and get the Magic/Pokemon size and not the Yugioh or "Japanese" size. www.ebay.com/itm/374595515124
I have shipped over 800 cards with pwe and never had anyone say they didn’t receive it.
It is very category dependent. I have never had a single claim of any kind from a sports card customer either on my ebay account or when I ran the ebay account for the card store. However Pokemon, Yugioh, Transformers, literally anything going PWE to a shipping forwarder, those were different stories.
i use non machinable stamp about a buck and in the last 3 years maybe 3 or 4 got lost so they say there is no tracking so its the honesty program plus i used top loader
That is exactly what I used to do.
why did you stop @@onefootflipper
Thanks. I sell a few cards. Always looking for a better way
Any time!
hello i purchased a zebra lp-2844 but i just can't get my computer to print on the zebra. my default is adobe pdf but it never prints, any advice on what program to use or settings?
Adobe PDF means to save it as a file and has nothing to do with the Zebra printer. You will likely need someone to help you set it up in person.
I’m also an eBay seller and have been experimenting with sending mine as non machinable which is only a .40 cent increase. Any envelope shipped through eBay standard envelope goes through a machine. Could possible damage it. So far I’ve had 0 returns or defects. Spending extra on shipping but eliminating the problem of returns or damages when seller get the card. I do on the other hand ship lower end stuff with no top loader because you have to profit on the littles too
Nonmachineable defeats the tracking of the standard envelope. If it is still getting scans then it is still going through the machines. There is no hand scanning of those envelopes. I have shipped about 30,000 standard envelopes since they came out and I experimented with various things in large numbers at the beginning and nothing had a higher success rate than what I do in this video. 20 cents for a top loader and 40 cents for nonmachinable times 30,000 is $18,000. That is how much more I would have spent doing that. I had less than $100 total damage claim on cards out of all those orders combined and the insurance paid out on all of them.
@@onefootflipper thanks for your reply. I’ll definitely be following your footsteps with my next shipments!
@@onefootflipper I just tried this method Benjamin mentions. You're right though, no tracking when NM. Will certainly go this route going forth for standard 20Pt cards. At what Pt. do you recommend to jump to bubble mailers? I ship 55-79Pt cards hockey cards. I can foresee 100+ simply not working and could easily be damaged through machine rollers.
ps I am similarly using a lot of base cards along with the sale item simply for protection and packaging. The added half an oz or less is nothing for the added safety and the customer loves it.
@@cazschiller I sell very few sports cards so I don't have much experience with thick cards and standard envelope.
i asked the community about this a few days ago, and one user showed me your breakdown in written form. i did a few orders and i was correct with everything except the card placement. i did every other side, but i placed the cards horizontally instead of vertically. i do not have double sided tape, so i simply just taped mine down as well. after getting 5 items back this past saturday with postage due, even though 150 others went out last week without issue, it's time for a change. i do appreciate you mentioning usps employees have their own rules as well. all five came back after i left a not so favorable review of a sorting center's policies.
Horizontal makes it much harder for the envelope to go around the corners on the sorting machine. Also want to make sure you are not using top loaders, particularly if you are getting postage due returns, which I got quite frequently with top loaders, but only got once in the last 20,000 orders after I stopped using them. You might want to consider changing where you are dropping them off for a while in case you are somehow on someone's radar right now.
@@onefootflipper well, apparently i am now being "targeted", i received another 8 items back yesterday after receiving 5 on saturday, even though i've shipped 100s and 100s of items all exactly the same way, but strangely enough, not 1 item has been returned that had a stamp on it that were shipped the exact same way...i have no answers right now...
Question I just tried to post a cheap card on eBay and the standard envelope option was not available anymore. I even looked at card I had listed already with this shipping option went to revise it and it shows no shipping selected, although I think it is still there when I cancel the revision. I was wondering if they had done away with this option in the past few days or can you be blocked from using it. Thanks
This could be a lot of things. I use shipping rules from business policies and it doesn't care what I attach to anything.
Took me awhile to find it but if u mark your package dimensions as I don’t know and turn them off eBay standard envelope will then appear in your shipping options.
@@VintageTheresa Thanks I finally found out that marking the dimensions 6x4x0 will also work.
@@VintageTheresa Are you doing ebay from your phone?
@@onefootflipper yes
Can you use QR code for the white envelope like I use for bubble mailers
No, you need a way to print them yourself. I use a used Zebra printer with 4x6 labels.
eBay will give you a QR code for packages instead of printing.I think this is what he was asking about.I have not shipped any cards yet so I don’t know if they will give a QR code to take to the post office for them to scan and print you a label for free.
@@allywilkeforsenate You dont get a QR code for ebay standard envelope,you have to print the label yourself.Learned that today
Hahahahahaha what a joke jamming cards into a sleeve obviously you sell .50 cent cards 😆😆😆🤦
I sell cards from $2 and up. Nearly a year since the last damage claim. This is also the number 1 card shipping video on TH-cam. Feel free to make your own showing how too loafers are better somehow.
hey man I love your vids
I love that you love them.
Most ghetto way of shipping cards I've ever seen
By all means you research different ways to ship cards, do 1000 test shipments each way and then make a video about what wins and then let that video become the number 1 card shipping video on youtube.
I am in business to make money, not provide yugioh players with free top loaders for their 99 cent cards that were fully insured in the first place.
This kind of video is frustrating because it shows how little you know about the TCG and CCG space. Dont be a cheapskate, you can buy cardsavers for 8c a piece or toploaders for 15-20c a piece. Dont throw the cards loose in the envelope. Youll lose more money on returns from damaged cards by usps than the 8c you save by being cheap. This isnt a pretty look dont show the world how cheap youre being let alone teach others to take shortcuts.
I have shipped 20,000 orders this way, had about 10 damage claims, the insurance paid them all. Nowhere in this video did I say to throw cards loose in the envelope. Using top loaders would have added $3000 to my costs. This is about business and making money, not about looking cool selling nickel cards on tcgplayer.
Lmao. Worst advice ever.
Over 40,000 cards personally shipped this way in the last 3 years. My last damage claim was nearly a year ago.
I sent you an email 📧
Wow, you found my real email!