Do you want to save $1.83?

[frankbmd]

If you are a "Luckey Collection" collector, please disregard this thread.

But if you are a "beater" collector on a budget, who likes his cards raw, keep reading. If you are not spending an arm and a leg for the cards that you buy and eventually sell, the post office may be able to help you with your bottom line. This tip was mentioned here in passing initially by "buymycards" Rick on the board and it really does work. Yeah, it requires a little extra work on your part to ship an ungraded card, but if you are shipping a lot of cards valued at $15 or less (or even more), the $1.83 savings begin to add up.

So what the heck am I talking about.

You're selling a cheap card and you and your buyer don't want to spend $2.54 to ship it.

First find an envelope that is larger than a toploader.

Place the card in a penny sleeve and put it in the top loader.

Find a piece of cardboard the thickness of the top loader and cut it to the size, or slightly smaller than the envelope.

Put the top loader on the cardboard and trace around it.

Cut out the toploader plug from the cardboard and place the top loader in the defect. Secure with a couple pieces of tape.

Place it in the envelope. As long as the envelope is less than 1/4 inch thick, it will ship for 71 cents.

If you put only the toploader in a larger envelope, the post office may put it through the shredder. The firm envelope must be hand stamped.

This has worked fine for me and I endorse the technique. i discussed posting this with Rick and he said go for it. I promised to take the "heat" for posting it if he promised to take the "kudos".

And to reassure celoknob, the Scoops buyer, and mybuddyinc, the Perdue buyer, a full refund is guaranteed if it doesn't work.

I'm sure they will give a Rebel Yell if it doesn't.

[ullmandds]

I was just planning to bring my ticket stub from last nights twins victory over the tigers to my local superamerica today when I fill my little motorcar with petrol.

Seeing as the twins amassed 16(I think) hits last night...that's .16 off per gallon of petrol today...seeing as my little car has an 11 gallon tank or so and I'm 3/4 empty...I'm looking to save 1.46 or so today.

And I don't even have to go to the post office!

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

I was just planning to bring my ticket stub from last nights twins victory over the tigers to my local superamerica today when I fill my little motorcar with petrol.

Seeing as the twins amassed 16(I think) hits last night...that's .16 off per gallon of petrol today...seeing as my little car has an 11 gallon tank or so and I'm 3/4 empty...I'm looking to save 1.46 or so today.

And I don't even have to go to the post office!

And I don't have to go to Minnesota.

[bnorth]

Great tip Frank. I personally spend the $2.54 so seller/buyer knows item/payment was shipped from the tracking #. I know that the tracking is actually completelly worthless but I have horrible luck with stuff showing up on schedule. So far with 1000's of payments/cards shipped/received I have never lost a single item but on a regular basis it takes 3 weeks to 2 months for my stuff to show up.

[egbeachley]

I just throw a taped shut top loader with penny sleeve (backwards to prevent touching the tape) into an envelope and add 4 pieces of tape, 1 on each side, for edge support to prevent shredding. Takes no time at all, costs 71 cents, and have never had a problem.

Why spend the extra 3-4 minutes (or more), the need to find cardboard materials, and spend an extra $2.00 or so? If ever someone says they didn't receive it, I'll refund immediately and still be up $1000's.

Time and money well saved!

[celoknob]

Don't worry Scoops. Frank knows what he is doing and I''ll see you soon.

[mybuddyinc]

Frank,

I have NO doubt of successful arrival. Why ??? Because I've been sending "less expensive" cards out this way for years. It works perfectly (even to Canada !!!). I have NEVER had a problem.

I have even gotten emails from net54 and ebay members applauding how clever I am

Unfortunately my writing skills aren't as clever

Fun, Fun, Scott

[tonyo]

Originally Posted by frankbmd

If you put only the toploader in a larger envelope, the post office may put it through the shredder.

Thanks for the tip Frank!

What does " put it thru the shredder" mean?

Tony

[ValKehl]

Frank,
You are "right on" - I have been using this method for some time.

For anyone who is not aware, the 71 cents postage is the combination of 49 cents for First Class Mail plus a non-machinable surcharge of 22 cents.

In addition to doing everything Frank described, I also use a red magic marker and print "Non-Machinable" on both sides of the envelope to help ensure that a postal clerk doesn't run it through a sorting machine, which will likely ruin the card inside the envelope.

Val