What to Avoid when Shipping Pokemon Cards with Cardboard

Shipping Pokemon cards with cardboard isn't my style, but is cost effective and about as safe as shipping in toploaders (plastic protectors) if done properly. However, a variety of potential issues can arise if a seller makes these mistakes when packaging cards with cardboard.

This cardboard isn't protecting anything! 

1) Ruined Cardboard

Avoid bent cardboard when sending cards. Cardboard is supposed to prevent the card from being bent, not bend with the card. 

In what I have observed, some postal workers are not gentle with mail, and the written warning "do not bend" does not curb this phenomenon. Only effective shipping - and thus firm protection - does.

2) Sleeves without Tape

I normally do not advocate for tape on the top of sleeves; as a buyer I find tape on sleeves unnecessary (because the toploader should be taped). Depending on how much tape, it can also be tedious for a buyer to remove heaps of tape from sleeves. 

However, it is necessary to tape the top of the sleeve when shipping with cardboard. This is because the possibility of the card slipping out arises. As discussed before, sending cards without protection is a recipe for disaster.

3) Cardboard as a Replacement for other Protection

Some sellers choose to sandwich a Pokemon card without a sleeve between two pieces of cardboard and apply tape of each of the sides. However, this method leaves potential for other problems, no matter how well the pieces of cardboard are taped.

Most importantly, the card is likely to rub against the tape during shipment. While it may seem excessive to worry about a card rubbing against tape, for more serious collectors, pristine condition means pristine, and even the slightest flaw might warrant a refund.

Tell me these cards will stay in place the entire time.

Regular scotch tape sticks, but can easily slip loose. If a card manages to get out of the cardboard protection, the postal service will wreak havoc upon it.

This form of lazy shipping is especially problematic for shipping of multiple cards. It is even easier for cards to get scuffed when there are many, because when there are more cards, more tape must be used to secure the cardboard. Even when the sandwiched cards are sleeved, I would not recommend putting more than five between the cardboard pieces.

4) Small Cardboard

When the cardboard is too short, packagers find themselves bending the sleeve - and card - so the side of the sleeve coincides with the side of the cardboard. If this is done without care, these packagers could find themselves accidentally bending the card trying to protect it. I would recommend having the cardboard at least a quarter of an inch extra long on all sides, though I prefer an extra inch on the bottom and top, as seen in the picture for the third tip.

Always remember when shipping, safe is better than sorry. It is better to use an extra piece of tape and not risk giving a refund for damaged cards. And with that you should be good to ship Pokemon cards using cardboard.

Using Tape to Minimize USPS Returns - No More Smudged Addresses

The Tape Trick - Eliminating Address Smudges

A guide with pictures, by Alex Hedge

The chance of this letter reaching it's destination is slim to none.

Usefulness

You are walking home after dropping off a letter at the post office. You have an umbrella to keep dry, but your letter doesn't. Little do you know, your letter is getting wet - it is on the top of the stack of the pile of letters as it is transported from the post office to a mail truck. You wrote the address in ink and due to the rain, the ink is completely illegible. 

Postal officers do not take precautions to make sure letters do not get wet, but this problem is easily solvable!

Process

Place a piece of tape over the mailing address, so even if it gets wet, the tape protects the ink and the ink will not smudge. Make sure to put a big enough piece of tape. If the tape is too small, the water can still get in and smudge the ink on the outside.

In the picture to the right, a piece of scotch tape was applied to the letter. However, the tape was too small, and water seeped in. To eliminate this problem, use packaging tape or apply multiple pieces of scotch tape.

Water seeped in, but with a bigger piece of tape, the ink remained clear and legible.

It should be noted that this is not effective in cases of flooding. It will only work if the letter gets water from one side, not both. 

On the right is an envelope drenched in water on both sides. The address did not hold up as well as the envelope with water applied only on one side. However, the risk of an envelope being surrounded by water during the shipping process is minimal.

Protection for Shipping Labels

For shipping labels, the address and all other components of the label are printed using printer ink. However, this does not reduce the risk of water-based complications. 

Tracking Number 

This is an A+ package, the tracking number is covered,
and 1/8" of the code was covered.

The tracking number is an important part of the label to tape over because a package can be identified by the tracking number. This is necessary in case of problems with smudged tracking codes, which is not allowed to be covered.

Tracking Code

Ok, lied, but only a little bit. While post offices do not want the tracking code covered, it is acceptable to cover only a small portion. The part covered must be big enough so it can be scanned if the rest is destroyed, but small enough as to not inhibit scanning otherwise. I find 1/8th an inch to suffice.

Note:
Thank you to the postal workers at my local post office for the information and the advice.