jtomp
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posted on December 3, 2008 07:24:04 AM new
I have some post cards to list, and since I now use Paypal I need to put delivery confirmation on them. How do post card dealers manage that - Previously, I mailed in an envelope with cardboard reinforcement but that is not thick enough for a delivery confirmation. Any advice would be very helpful.
Thanks,
Jane
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neglus
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posted on December 3, 2008 07:46:39 AM new
I generally don't use DC. I only use when the $ is high. Otherwise, I just refund if buyers claim they don't receive (doesn't happen very often).
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http://stores.ebay.com/Moody-Mommys-Marvelous-Postcards?refid=store
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photosensitive
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posted on December 3, 2008 08:18:03 AM new
Since the selling price my postcards is not too high I use the envelope and cardboard option. Knock on wood...I have never had a problem with a shipment. Some card mounted photographs I sell are quite expensive. I either send them Priority in the small box or in a padded envelope with something to pad it out to the required thickness. It should not be packing peanuts or bubble wrap since I am told that they can compress to less than the required thickness.
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
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roadsmith
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posted on December 3, 2008 08:32:34 AM new
jtomp:
You said, "since I now use Paypal I need to put delivery confirmation on them."
I'm just curious--did someone tell you that you have to do that?
_____________________
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pixiamom
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posted on December 3, 2008 08:52:50 AM new
PLEASE don't use corrugated cardboard to thicken them up! It wreaks havoc with the machines and can really mangle the cards. I, like Neglus, see DC as unwarranted. Very few of my cards do not arrive, and I gladly refund, knowing that I've saved a bundle by not paying for DC on the vast majority that arrive safely. I buy insurance for the few that sell for enough that would sting if I had to refund.
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photosensitive
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posted on December 3, 2008 09:02:31 AM new
I have lots of left over acid free board from the center of mats that I cut down to stiffen the envelope. Corrugated cardboard is the spawn of the devil! Especially if the item is between two pieces with the corrugations running in the same direction.
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
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jtomp
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posted on December 3, 2008 09:13:50 AM new
Hi,
Thanks for the answers. I have heard so many horror stories about Paypal that I have resisted using it for 9 years or so that I have been on eBay. I have seen lots of discussions on this board about delivery confirmation and thought it would be a good idea if practical, but for small change and small envelope items it is not workable. I don't use corrugated cardboard, just nice flat stiff stuff - more cereal box thickness. I am thinking that I will do as suggested and trust to luck on postcards, but perhaps require insurance on anything over 24.99. Ebay used to be fun, but now it seems like I spend most of my time changing things to keep up with the latest rules from the "I have been out of college for a whole year now - guess I will change something at eBay" set.
If anyone else has any thoughts on postcard mailing, I would be happy to hear them.
Thanks again,
Jane
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cherishedclutter
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posted on December 3, 2008 09:17:43 AM new
Previously, I had been blissfully ignorant of the fact that corrugated cardboard is the spawn of the devil.
So, when I wanted to mail a postcard with dc, I would put the post card in a plastic sleeve and put that in between two pieces of corrugated. I would cut another piece of corrugated into small pieces - roughly and inch square and tape several of them together in a stack. that stack would then be taped to one of the "full size" sheets of corrugated. It wasn't very pretty, but it made the envelope thick enough to get DC and it didn't add much weight.
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http://www.rubylane.com/shops/ceeceescollectibles
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photosensitive
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posted on December 3, 2008 09:32:30 AM new
Cherished, I was joking about the devil bit but I have had some bad experiences with paper items mailed to me with corrugated cardboard. In particular I remember a beautiful embossed, die cut calendar that the post office managed to bend right down the middle, along the line of corrugation. It is likely worse with larger items. If you run the ribs at right angles it is less of a problem.
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
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neglus
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posted on December 3, 2008 10:04:47 AM new
It really is unnecessary to put DC on postcard purchases (I use when price exceeds $50). Sometimes you have to assess the cost/risk benefit. I ship my cards inside rigid plastic postcard sleeves inside invitation sized envelopes for one stamp. If I used DC, I would have to package differently - costing me and ultimately the consumer, more. For what? To cover my tuckus in case one $8 postcard (one that cost me considerably less) is lost in the mail? No way. If I think someone is not telling the truth about postcard being lost, I refund and then block them. I have had buyers send the refund back when the postcard eventually finds its way to them. Postcard buyers are good kinds of people.
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http://stores.ebay.com/Moody-Mommys-Marvelous-Postcards?refid=store
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cherishedclutter
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posted on December 3, 2008 10:05:35 AM new
I knew you were joking, (or at least exaggerating) photo.
But, ouch - right down the middle that must have been sickening.
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http://www.rubylane.com/shops/ceeceescollectibles
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pixiamom
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posted on December 3, 2008 10:32:34 AM new
A friend of mine showed me a real photo postcard he bought through eBay. He paid nearly $90 for it. It arrived bent and gashed, the original envelope and corrugated cardboard were torn up, it was repackaged by the post office. The buyer would not give a partial refund, and although he could have returned the card, he couldn't bear to part with it, even in its ruined condition (it was by his favorite photographer).
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roadsmith
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posted on December 3, 2008 10:55:41 AM new
In nearly 10 years of selling, I've never had a package get lost.
When I do use corrugated cardboard to mail magazines or thin books in bubble envelopes, I put one piece of the cardboard one direction, and another the opposite direction. Never had a problem with damaged packages, or I know I'd have heard from the buyers.
Sometimes I use a small piece of that cardboard in a regular envelope, but I have postage put on it at the p.o. and postmarked, so no more machines touch it. (Or am I wrong?)
_____________________
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photosensitive
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posted on December 3, 2008 10:59:10 AM new
There have been cases where I will keep a damaged image if it is irreplaceable. I won a pair of photographs. One was a memorial of a wreath with the picture of a young girl in the center. The other was the photograph of the girl that was copied to make the memorial. It is rare to find them together and there must be no others like them. The seller put them in a manila envelope with NO protection. Of course the old, brittle mounts broke apart. She though because the mounts were stiff there did not need any additional protection. She was very apologetic and refunded part of my bid. I could have gotten a full refund by returning them but could not bear to give them up.
-----o----o----o----o----o----o----o----o
“The illiterate of the future will be the person ignorant of the use of the camera as well as of the pen.”
Maholy-Nagy, Vision in Motion, 1947
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sthoemke
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posted on December 3, 2008 12:27:10 PM new
Use thicker cardboard.
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neglus
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posted on December 3, 2008 12:32:28 PM new
When I do use DC or get insurance I ship inside a padded bubble CD mailer with my plasitc sleeve and that passes the thickness test.
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http://stores.ebay.com/Moody-Mommys-Marvelous-Postcards?refid=store
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dorrie
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posted on December 5, 2008 05:20:15 AM new
Where can the rigid plastic postcard sleeves for the post cards be purchased & how much do they cost? I use cardboard with no bad results, however, a 6" x 9" envelope has to be used, which makes the postage go up.
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neglus
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posted on December 5, 2008 05:58:53 AM new
I used to sell them. Here is an ebay listing that has them at a very good price: http://cgi.ebay.com/50-TOP-LOADERS-4-x-6-for-PHOTOS-POSTCARDS-Toploaders_W0QQitemZ250334507801QQihZ015QQcategoryZ26378QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
If you need in bigger quantities (case of 500): http://www.cardboardgold.com/tl4x6.html
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http://stores.ebay.com/Moody-Mommys-Marvelous-Postcards?refid=store
[ edited by neglus on Dec 5, 2008 06:02 AM ]
[ edited by neglus on Dec 5, 2008 06:02 AM ]
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dorrie
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posted on December 5, 2008 08:30:43 AM new
Neglus,
This is the reply from the Top Loader seller:
Unfortunately
These do not fit 4x6 postcards
They are a little small for the postcards. Only baseball cards
- collectiblesupplies
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pixiamom
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posted on December 5, 2008 08:39:52 AM new
I buy mine from here
http://www.bcwsupplies.com/prod-TLCH-6x4.htm. I was unhappy with the last lot -- I got side-loaders which BCW substitutes for top-loaders at will and they don't fit in my envelopes as well (less wide than the top-loaders and a tad longer).
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neglus
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posted on December 5, 2008 09:53:50 AM new
Dorrie - are you selling 4X6 (continental sized) postcards or standard sized? I mostly sell standard sized pc's with the occasional continental thrown in. My sleeves don't fit 100% of the continentals, but they fit most of them,
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http://stores.ebay.com/Moody-Mommys-Marvelous-Postcards?refid=store
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neglus
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posted on December 5, 2008 09:58:44 AM new
Pixia - you are getting what we call sideloaders because that is what you ordered! 6x4 toploaders would open on the long side and 4x6 toploaders open on the short side!
http://www.bcwsupplies.com/prod-TLCH-4X6.htm
The 4x6 toploaders fit perfectly inside an invitation sized envelope (A6) and can be mailed for 1 oz postage.
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http://stores.ebay.com/Moody-Mommys-Marvelous-Postcards?refid=store
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dorrie
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posted on December 5, 2008 02:04:16 PM new
Neglus,
my post cards measure 5 1/2" x 3 1/2". Presently, I am putting them in a plastic bag or sleeve then putting them between cardboard. The cardboard adds to the weight making the postage more expensive.
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