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I have just won the bubble mailer -vs- box argument...
coin22lover
Posts: 3,456 ✭✭✭
On the rare occasion that I actually mail a coin, I always use boxes. I have always been a big fan of boxes for coins, and have never liked bubble mailers one bit. My opinion has always been looked down upon in the name of saving a couple bucks. But now, here is conclusive evidence that boxes > bubble mailers. This slab was not cracked before it was shipped. I won't be ruining the seller's day over it, I am just going to enjoy that my opinion has always been right.
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Can't tell from your post but I'm guessing it was shipped in a bubble container??
Yes, a standard yellow bubble mailer.
Any padding or just a slab in a bubble?
It was in one of those sticky cardboard things that you have to pull apart.
I always pack each end with paper also, never any problems.
Probably wasn't thick enough and went thru auto-sorting machine.
I like to keep the ends fattened up to prevent this from happening.
Since the thread earlier this week, I've been making the packages thicker as well.
I get lots of free bubble wrap scavenged from packages at work.
I typically only ship in a bubble mailer if I'm using a priority FR envelope. And when I do, I put the coin or slab in a small bubble and put that in a meduim bubble.
I normally ship coins in a small bubble mailer inside a box. Never had a problem.
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My digital cameo album 1950-64 Cameos - take a look!
...now finish the job and send her in raw for TrueView
Mine are mailed via plastic bubble mailers, not the paper type, with the item packed in a bubble pouch. Been doing it that way for 10+ years, without ever having an issue. Just make sure the mailer is at least 3/4" thick to avoid the automated sorting machines. Cost...$2.61 postage for 3 oz item. Bubble mailers are free, compliments of eBay.
I also prefer boxes, it may cost more but is better in the long run.
However I still use some padding with boxes, (Flat Rate)
If insured and priority padded envelope is packed securel, like some dealers do I never say anything.
Bubble mailers for a coin especially what I consider high priced in a bubble mailer, with no insurance. Sorry I don't go for private sellers so-called self insuring. I know some dealers and maybe some private sellers have private insurance. I might not say anything if it arrives safely in a bubble mailer but probably not buy in the future. So I say no to bubble mailers with at least a value over 500.00. I might have done it on a rare occasion myself. Actually I feel over 100.00 is not good for cheap bubble mailers.
So you eBay sellers be sure to block me, and any private sellers be sure to block me Incoming.....:) because I don't want your cheap bubble mailers with my hard earned money. And yes I will pay for secure shipping. Be well folks.
Anywhere else but here that would sound really nasty.
Small boxes shipped USPS First Class cost the same as bubble mailers. First Class postage is the same price that is.
I mostly use padded mailers, but use a box for items over $350ish. Boxes cost more. In a way, they are like paying for insurance. The money I save using padded mailers adds up, and over time, I can afford an item or two to get damaged and refunded.
Finish cracking it out and get it into a PCGS holder.... right away.
The only broken slab I received in the mail was packed in a box, which acquired a severe puncture wound during shipping. I also received a box with some coins in the round, clear plastic tubes. Two of the three tubes shattered in shipping, but this was a problem with internal packing, not the fact that it was in a box. The only bubble mailer damage I can recall is one from what is now a long time ago when they were irradiating all the mail to kill all the anthrax. It melted some of the packing, which then stuck to the coin.
Keeper of the VAM Catalog • Professional Coin Imaging • Prime Number Set • World Coins in Early America • British Trade Dollars
I mailed my 1st pregnant package to day and asked if it was far enough along to avoid the sort machine! I was told yes so we will see!
Did you write FRAGILE on the outside of the package or did you write BUST COIN INSIDE?
I use boxes for anything worth $100 or more. For me, the added protection and peace of mind are worth it.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
I will be shipping a coin today or Monday... it will be in a box, securely wrapped, with bubble wrap and taped. I have received enough coins to know which methods are best....Cheers, RickO
ATTENTION SELLERS!!! The post office IS NOT a bunch of people individually handling pieces of mail, reading each address, and cancelling the postage by hand. Those days ended decades ago. Instead, it handles millions of pounds of items every day and as such uses heavy equipment just like construction crews.
I have received numerous packages that have hand written messages such as "DO NOT BEND" or "HANDLE WITH CARE" written across them under the foolish idea that the post office actually reads these requests. As a result I've had numerous coin boards destroyed before receiving them. Heck, just a few months ago I received an item that had TIRE TRACKS across the large envelope. COME ON!!!
I too am a big fan of boxes. Even then the box frequently gets damaged, but at least the odds of the item arrived unscathed is much improved.
The only damaged bubble I ever received was found in my flower garden. The package was missing for two weeks and it rained a few times. I do like boxes better.
I always package it with tissue paper or additional bubble wrap within the mailer, and I have had no problems.
YN Member of the ANA, ANS, NBS, EAC, C4, MCA, PNNA, CSNS, ILNA, TEC, and more!
Always buying numismatic literature and sample slabs.
Here's something else to consider: Boxes are free, Priority is usually faster (especially from long distances), it's obviously more secure, and comes with a flat rate so there's no need to weigh it. Also, delivery confirmation is free with Priority.. I am going to convince you all to lose the bubble mailers, if it's the last thing I do!
When I ship my stuff, I get free bubble mailers on https://boxgiver.com/
I've shipped dozens of coins in Safe-T-Mailers inside bubble envelopes, and never had any reported damage. For more expensive coins, I often use a small Flat Rate Priority box in lieu of the bubble mailer. FWIW.
I ship slabbed coins this way:
Inside plastic 3x4 bag
Small Bubble wrap around that
Inside small box
Inside a little bit bigger box
Never had a single complaint.
Or, you can write "CAUTION!!! RARE COIN INSIDE!!!" on the outside of the package and then insure it for ten times what it's worth.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
I would think it wasn't mailed in a Box.
I've gotten several >$1K coins is bubble mailers.
My 1st thought is... moron
My Saint Set
After this experience I would end up using both a box and bubble pack inside. I had a box containing political items shipped to my on May 5. It did not get to me until May 14. It spent a very long time in Knoxville, Tennessee. When it arrived, it looked like this.
Miraculously the items were still inside of the box and were undamaged. One of them was a medal-like piece, an encased mirror that was issued during Zachary Taylor’s 1848 presidential campaign.
Given this experience, I would vote for a box with bubble wrap inside.
BTW, the other item was a William Jennings Bryan "ball bearing" button from the 1900 presidential campaign.
Yes, those are ball bearings around the edge of the button.
I had a slab arrive cracked in a bubble mailer many years ago. The envelope in question had very thin padding. But besides that one time, no problems. It would also seem that it is less likely that a box would be lost in the mail.
And twice, I have had sellers send me raw single common date silver dollars that were just tossed in a regular envelope with no padding at all. Of course, the envelopes arrived empty with slits at the end of the envelope where the coin exited somewhere in transit.
I use the small box to ship coins. 1st they are placed in those sticky corregated mailers then covered with bubble wrap. Box is sealed and wrapped completely in glass reinforced tape. Same way PCGS and ATS ship coins to me. Never had a loss in decades.
Boxes can be damaged, too (see picture above). You are being negligent if you don't ship everything in one of these...
My Post Mistress always ran my bubble package through a cardboard slit to insure it was thick enough not to go through the auto sorter which can damages packages. Since the pandemic, she no longer does this. I don't really care as I know to thicken the package, but someone who does not know to do this could be disastrous for them.
Jim
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest....Abraham Lincoln
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.....Mark Twain
$100 is my "line in the sand" for using bubble mailers only to send coins. Above that, I'll use the bubble mailer as padding and put it into a small box. I've never had a problem.
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