The USPS site is horribly organized; nowhere on the calculate price section did it mention that packages/First Class parcel must have a 3/4 inch minimum thickness. The crazy thing is, I used the same padded yellow envelopes that were delivered to me when I purchase cards from online places such as TCGPlayer, and they use First Class parcel mail with delivery confirmation!

Another tip is to add a little something to the package to expand it little, like a styrofoam packing peanut or a small piece of cardboard. Both add almost no weight and will help make it thicker and/or more rigid. The 3/4 inch rule only means one portion of the package needs to be that thick, not the whole thing.

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Wisconsin - smells like dairy air!

It really just depends on who is behind the counter, and how strict they want to be.

I've started just wadding up a walmart/target/grocery plastic bag and stuffing it into the bubble envelope with the cards. It makes your item parcel thickness and adds almost no weight. $2.95 domestic at the window.

Hodja

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[16:17] <@BrassMan> what do you need new tech for?
[16:18] <@BrassMan> gush is unrestricted

Problem solved.

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Originally posted by AGO:
I try to print off paypal. Normally shipping is $1.60.

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Under 3oz on PayPal multi-order shipping is $1.69 for shipping as a First Class Package/Parcel, which includes tracking. So yeah, vastly cheaper than anything you will get at the counter.

__________________
Wisconsin - smells like dairy air!

So you print shipping labels off paypal using your balance?

__________________
"He fights you not because you have wronged him, but because you are there."

[16:17] <@BrassMan> what do you need new tech for?
[16:18] <@BrassMan> gush is unrestricted

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Originally posted by Sovarius:

So you print shipping labels off paypal using your balance?

Where can one get the cheapest bubble mailers? I am buying 10-packs at walmart for a rate of 50 cents a piece.

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Balance, bank account, credit card...whatever is linked to your account. Just look for the multi-order shipping link.

You will need a postal scale, but they can be found for pretty cheap. We had a non-digital one that I used for years and it was always very accurate. I recently splurged on a digital one, but that was mainly because I've been moving some heavier merchandise on ebay recently. With the savings compared to the post office though, it paid for itself pretty fast.

As for mailers, ebay is usually the cheapest option. I tend to use size #000 for cards. You can usually get them in groups of 100 for about $15. Yes, you have to buy in bulk...but 100 mailers of this size really does not take up a lot of space.

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Wisconsin - smells like dairy air!

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Originally posted by iccarus:
You will need a postal scale, but they can be found for pretty cheap.

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Wouldn't you just put the weight into the paypal info when setting up the label?

edit: Obviously i know you would need a scale to get the weight, but i meant to ask, how would anyone know if you were lying?

Is #000 bigger or smaller than #00?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Sovarius:
Wouldn't you just put the weight into the paypal info when setting up the label?

edit: Obviously i know you would need a scale to get the weight, but i meant to ask, how would anyone know if you were lying?

Is #000 bigger or smaller than #00?

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When you drop them off at the counter, they do actually have to scan the DC number into the system and will sometimes check the weight while they are doing it. My local clerks add in the drop-off stuff during down time when there's nobody in line. It actually does happen!

#000 (4x8) is smaller than #00 (5x10). I believe 000 is the smallest sized padded mailer they make. Even if it's not, it is the smallest size you can fit a PayPal shipping label on.

@achaye - In terms of labels, I just print mine on standard printer paper, trim them, and then tape them down. Just make sure you don't cover the bar code. You can buy actual peel and stick shipping labels in the proper size, but that's more of a convenience thing.

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Wisconsin - smells like dairy air!

Bubble mailers came to 8.9¢ ea on ebay. Bought a box of 250. Still have a few left. Made things so much easier when I started selling a bunch of stuff.

My digital scale was $15-$20. It was in the food utensil section as a food scale, works fine and it was the style I wanted. Goes up to 10lbs. The price doesn't change until 4oz and pretty much any package was 3oz or under so it really isn't necessary unless you are mailing a bunch of cards.

Through paypal multiorder shipping I've never ran into any thickness requirement problems. Just stick the label on and drop it in my mailbox or on the post office counter.

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Originally posted by harbingerofthevoid:
I don't know if it's a new thing but, the USPS has the 'does the package cause more than a 1/4" in variation' clause as well. I usually print my own labels but I had to send a bubble mailer to Canada recently. Sandwiched the cards between top loaders. She charged me the variance charge. So instead of the usual ~$2, it cost ~$7

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quote:

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Originally posted by harbingerofthevoid:
I don't know if it's a new thing but, the USPS has the 'does the package cause more than a 1/4" in variation' clause as well. I usually print my own labels but I had to send a bubble mailer to Canada recently. Sandwiched the cards between top loaders. She charged me the variance charge. So instead of the usual ~$2, it cost ~$7.

So off topic sort of, people that say "i wont trade to Canada unless it's worth the postage" have it backwards now. It's more cost efficient to have a trade small enough to toss in a PWE and drop in a mail box than to have a fistful of cards in a bubble needing a customs slip and a trip to the USPS.

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If you pre-print your labels and pre-apply you own postage, you by-pass a lot of the variance in service you experience at the counter in a PO.

When you find Canadians who'll be okay with the waiver of lost/stolen/damaged mail, then you're good. But some MOTL'ers just won't budge from that (Canadian or not). When someone sends first to me via PWE, I'm super happy. I love doing trades via PWE because it's cheap and easy.

Not advocating cheap and easy for all, because it won't work for everybody.

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Originally posted by caquaa:
its sounds like there are two different things being described. If there is a thickness variation, it typically gets sent nonmachinable or as a package (no idea which). Doing something like throwing a packing peanut into the envelope will do this. The other thing is simply the thickness; if it is over 1/4" thick then it will go as a package instead of an envelope. I'm trying to find something more sturdy than a PWE or offers more protection, but not quite as thick as a bubble mailer. The flat photo mailers are what I'm leaning toward, but I've heard there is an issue w/ them being too rigid. Gotta find time to talk to a postal employee one of these days I suppose.

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In the same vein, advice for the Post Office doesn't always apply to all. As mentioned by someone else, it might not even be helpful to "talk to a postal employee" because postal employees are different. I have never had to use a packing peanut to add the stupid 1/4" requirement to my bubble mailers. What works for one person might not work another MOTL'er.

It's as if each postal employee has their own set of policies and how they interpret whether they are following the official procedures or not. I've been to a PO where the same employee has given different answers to the same question.

quote:

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Originally posted by iccarus:
@achaye - In terms of labels, I just print mine on standard printer paper, trim them, and then tape them down. Just make sure you don't cover the bar code. You can buy actual peel and stick shipping labels in the proper size, but that's more of a convenience thing.

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If you don't want to ship using paypal labels, you can actually ship PWE nonmachineable insured (50 bucks) for cheaper than delivery confirmation (and yes, they will have to keep track of the insured letter internally so you/they can prove it was delivered).

quote:

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Originally posted by achaye:
Oh I was asking more of, where would I actually navigate on the Ebay site to purchase the actual shipping service (and then of course I will print the labels myself)?

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quote:

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Originally posted by mm1983:
My post office charges me .66 to send a playset of cards in a toploader in PWE. It passes for weight to be shipped with a .46 stamp but because the toploader is what they call "too rigid" it will not pass through the sorting machine.

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