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Bubble mailers and purchase price

djspanndjspann Posts: 541 ✭
in Trading Cards & Memorabilia Forum
Do you think there is a point at which bubble mailers are no longer good enough to ship a card?

To take it to the extreme, suppose you purchased the Honus Wagner at the latest Memory Lane auction, and it showed up in a bubble mailer. Would you say, "How lovely, the card is here.", or would you nearly have a heart attack, then say, "A bubble mailer?!"?

Unfortunately, this didn't happen to me, but I did just receive $900 worth of cards in a bubble mailer. The cards are fine, but with this much money involved, I expect a great deal more care in shipping. Sure, bubble mailers are generally fine, but if there's $900 in there, I'd feel much more comfortable if the cards were shipped in a box and maybe in cardboard/bubble wrap on top of that. The cards I received today were basically in an envelope inside a bubble mailer, but there were all slabbed.

I'm very happy with the cards, but I was a little up tight when I saw the bubble mailer...


Doug

Comments

  • Alfonz24Alfonz24 Posts: 3,114 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Not too bright from the seller's point of view. I hope it was insured for $900.

    #LetsGoSwitzerlandThe Man Who Does Not Read Has No Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read. The biggest obstacle to progress is a habit of “buying what we want and begging for what we need.”You get the Freedom you fight for and get the Oppression you deserve.
  • djspanndjspann Posts: 541 ✭
    It wasn't insured, but it did have delivery confirmation. image


  • earlycalguyearlycalguy Posts: 1,247 ✭✭
    the $900 point is about where it becomes cheaper to use registered mail over first class with $900 of insurance.
  • jimq112jimq112 Posts: 3,511 ✭✭✭
    I send anything over $500 registered, I figure if somebody is spending $500 with me I can afford to blow $10 or $15 to make sure it gets there safe. You wouldn't believe the way we (usps) take care of registered packages compared to even insured ones.

    To send $900 worth of cards not insured is crazy and asking for a paypal chargeback.
    image
  • BoopottsBoopotts Posts: 6,784 ✭✭
    About 300$ is my cut off. Anything less than that and I'll send them with the bubble mailer. More than that-- or if my Spidey Sense is going off, and I have a hunch the buyer is going to be a pain in the ass-- and I use either a priority box w/ insurance or registered mail.
  • NathanSrNathanSr Posts: 509 ✭
    Back to your question. Yes, just a bubble mailer is irresponsible. The seller should have gone with stacked slabs wrapped in bubble wrap, surrounded by packing peanuts all inside a box. image

    NathanSr
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  • tennesseebankertennesseebanker Posts: 5,433 ✭✭✭
    Two graded cards is my limit for a Bubble mailer. And if those cards are over $50 bucks I will then usually go to the priority video box. If it is over approximately $150 I will use my own descrection as to who the buyer is.
    $900 without insurance is just idiotic.
    image

  • GoDodgersFanGoDodgersFan Posts: 1,392 ✭✭✭
    This is unreal for the amount of $$$ involved. For me, transactions over 50.00 requires insurance.

    I rather be safe than sorry.

    Tom
  • sagardsagard Posts: 1,901 ✭✭✭
    If the seller was sending the cards in a bubble mailer, insurance wouldn't matter. The PO would reject it for insuffient packaging unless they lost it.

    Boxed and insured.
  • packCollectorpackCollector Posts: 2,786 ✭✭✭
    for $250 and under , I use a bubble mailer with cardboard on both sides of the card. Over $250 , I use a box.
  • ctsoxfanctsoxfan Posts: 6,246 ✭✭


    << <i>Two graded cards is my limit for a Bubble mailer. And if those cards are over $50 bucks I will then usually go to the priority video box. If it is over approximately $150 I will use my own descrection as to who the buyer is.
    $900 without insurance is just idiotic. >>



    This is exactly what I do. Those Priority video boxes are fantastic for shipping cards - and you can ship up to 7 slabs in one box (wrapped in bubble wrap) for the 1LB Priority rate (a little over $4 with DC).
    image
  • Brian48Brian48 Posts: 2,624 ✭✭✭
    The little crack on the upper right border was the result of a the card being shipped in an undersize bubble mailer. The seller was an idiot in my opinion. I'm lucky there was not any more damage.

    image
  • djspanndjspann Posts: 541 ✭
    I received another high $ card today in a bubble mailer...at least this time, it was shipped with insurance.

    Once again, it arrived fine, but I couldn't believe it -- it was a $750 card in a small bubble mailer with one other card.

    This was a relatively rare card, so to me, simply the preservation of it would be important to any collector. Shipping it with insurance in just a bubble mailer makes me think that the seller doesn't respect the hobby much.

    Still, I'm happy to have the card, but I'm sad to see the carelessness.


    Doug
  • storm888storm888 Posts: 11,701 ✭✭✭
    Bubble mailers are ONLY satisfactory when the slabbed
    card is double wrapped in cardboard-box cuts.

    Folks Who Bite Get Bitten. Folks Who Don't Bite Get Eaten.
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