Would like opinions on how to ship/how you guys ship/pricing, etc...

goose3

I'm going to start selling some PSA cards on Feebay soon.

When you purchase/sell do you prefer to use/receive your card in a box or a bubble mailer?

Will the USPS occasionally crush a PSA holder if it's in a bubble mailer?

If a bubble mailer works just fine, I'm thinking charging 2.00 plus actual USPS insurance for shipping. Is that fair?

Now if I end up with a pricey card or few, I think I would bump the 2.00 up to 4.00 and put the item in a priority box and still charge for USPS insurance.



I am thinking that charging the 4.00 for priority plus insurance is just too much to have straight across the board.


thoughts?

I have a bunch of 4x7 bubble mailers that I currently use for coins.

jerster

I always use cardboard surrounding the card, in an old bubble mailer( rec'd when ibought a card off ebay before), then placed in another bubble mailer to mail. No damaged cards ever. This will work for 1-2 psa cards. 3 + may be too thick and I may end up using a 400 count box. In any case, materials would be no more than 25 cents + whatever it costs to ship.

I usually charge $2.50 total for shipping. If they want insurance, they pay for it extra at USPS rates.

The $2.50 I charge is perfect for covering the cost of the packaging, plus delivery confirmation if I need it + I may still have a few cents left over which usually covers the ebay listing fees.

Much better than paying $5 for someone to slip it into a tiny bubble mailer with no other protection.

My two cents.

Wondo

I would be hesitant to ship just in a bubble mailer without further protection (cardboard pieces). I have received too many cracked holders. Anything over $100 should be in a video box priority imho.

Good luck, Mark!

Griffins

$4.50 for shipping, goes priority insured in a USPS video box. Up to 8 cards for the same $4.50 or maybe a buck more for extra insurance.
Most of my sales are for cards over $100 though. Once the insurance gets to about $800. it's better to ship registered.

Kurtman9

I prefer 6"x 8" padded mailers for 1-3 slabbed cards. I always use the cardboard sandwich technique and have never had a problem. $2.50 to $3.00 is good amount and add insurance to that if purchased. Over 3 slabbed cards should go in a box with packing material like bubble and/or peanuts.

goose3

do you guys mandate insurance on all ebay items you sell?

I generally do on coins because there are way too many oportunists out there waiting to scam someone and claim they never rec'd an item, and it's fairly easy for them to hose a seller on Paypal as well.

Griffins

<< <i>do you guys mandate insurance on all ebay items you sell? >>



I do, and include it in the shipping cost.
I figure as a buyer it is my responsibility to get the payment to the seller, as a seller it is my responsibility to get the item to the buyer. Insurance covers me for that if it doesn't make it there.
I also feel that as a seller it is my responsibility to leave pos feedback as soon as the item is paid for. I hate sellers that say they will leave feedback after I do.

pandrews

<< <i>do you guys mandate insurance on all ebay items you sell?

I generally do on coins because there are way too many oportunists out there waiting to scam someone and claim they never rec'd an item, and it's fairly easy for them to hose a seller on Paypal as well. >>



delivery confirmation is what you need to protect you from scammers.. insurance is good for the buyer, because if the card is damaged or if the slab cracks, you can get a refund from the USPS and in turn refund the buyer..

Ripken

Agreed...cardboard sandwich..bubble mailer for 1-3 cards. Box for more than that..wrapped in bubble. Use delivery confirmation..at your expense (stamps.com will include it at a better rate if you sign up with them).
Shipping around $3 s/h for first item. I charge 1/2 that for each additional item bought which covers EBay & Paypal fees, supplies, etc. I'll cap it for numerous purchases. Insurance at buyer's option. don't mandate it...I hate that. Let the buyer decide on the risk and keep your s/h at least fairly reasonable but enough to cover your costs. Just my 2 cents.

Wabittwax

Honestly I like shipping PSA cards in a 400ct box. I have a ton of small bubble mailers that cost me 12 cents each when I buy them in quantity but they aren't very good protection for a PSA card that is worth more than a couple bucks. They ship ok 99%+ of the time but sometimes an idiot at the Post Office will try to feed it through their machines and the PSA holder becomes a crumbled mess. I have larger bubble mailers that cost me about 20 cents each if I buy them in quantity and they work really nice. 400ct boxes only cost about 35 cents each when you buy them in quantity and they are by far the safest way to send. I need to reorder shipping supplies soon and I'm debating on going with all boxed shipping. 15 cents extra isn't bad for that kind of protection.

goose3

Steve....


got a link for these "boxes" on feebay?




what do you charge for shipping? Am I wrong but in order to purchase Delivery Conf.....doesn't the item have to go via Priority Mail?

goose3

Steve....


got a link for these "boxes" on feebay?




what do you charge for shipping? Am I wrong but in order to purchase Delivery Conf.....doesn't the item have to go via Priority Mail? I don't use priority mail for coins because honestly I think it is one of the biggest farces that the USPS has going.

spacktrack

You can use Delivery Confirmation with First Class mail but it is more expensive...something like $.55 instead of $.45 for Priority. May have changed now with the rates going up.

Wabittwax

This auction is a great one. With shipping to my address in Ohio, these would only cost me 27 cents each. That's considering that you win it for $14.99.

WC

Goose - since you appear to have a large volume of vintage cards to grade - and sell - please learn from my mistakes.

If you can be patient - or have enough for a bulk submission - do this - rather than making multiple submissions. The s/h and grading costs will eat you alive.

Study your graded cards very closely. Keep some around as models for future submissions. This is the one thing I did right. Get your superstars graded regardless of condition. If you have a mantle/aaron/mays/williams/koufax from the 50's - get them graded - a PSA 3-4 still has decent value.

Your pre-submission examination of cards will come in handy with your commons. Again - do whatever you can to qualify for the bulk submission - or wait around for monthly specials. Many of the commons from the 50's have incredible value - especially in the PSA 8+ range. If you pull a PSA 9 (or especially a rare PSA 10) in card from the 50's - it will bring in a nice premium to SMR. Study the Graded commons market as best you can - for a while the '57 commons market was hot - not sure about other years.

The population report info is ok - but if you have a low pop card that is lower than a PSA 7 - it won't sell at a premium - the combination you want is a a High Grade (8+) in a low pop.

.....I started a couple of years ago with a complete 1957 set - with a bunch of extra stars and commons from 1955 - 1963. I started submitting my higher grade commons out my entire collection - doing a lot of cherry picking (10-20 cards at a time) - and got some real nice grades - I pulled several 1957 psa 8s and even a PSA 9 1957 Orioles Team card that sold for $450 on ebay (not a bad premium). My mistake was that I had about 125+ cards total that I should have had graded with one of the bulk submissions - not 10-20 cards at a time. The down side is that the ungraded cards did not reach their full potential.

Many guys on this board have a lot of knowledge on cards - so ask questions - or just read the posts that interest you.

I do have an unpopular theory on the Graded card market. I believe that as prices on high grade cards go up - more and more of them come to the market place. I can site my own example. I had a very nice raw Mantle sitting happily in my closet in a protective cardholder. I saw the prices these cards were selling for - got it graded - came back a PSA 7 - and now it is in somebody elses collection. I bought it 30 years ago at a fraction of what it sold for!! I also think there are a bunch more vintage cards out there that are yet to be graded (like yours). So the market for these isn't going to keep going through the roof. There is a market for them - but it won't just keep rising and rising because new volume is constantly being created. I will grant that the volume of vintage PSA 8+ cards is not growing nearly as fast as the lower grades - but it is still growing.

I saw where a 1981 PSA 10 Donruss Rickey Henderson sold for $350 - outrageous if you ask me - great for the seller - but I'm glad I wasn't the buyer!!!


Good luck!

My dad has a complete set of nice, raw 1955 Topps baseball sitting happily in a safe at his house. Some day - if I inherit them - I'll probably get them graded - but hopefully it will be a years from now!!!

WC