Picture Guide: How to Efficiently and Properly Ship Pokemon Card Bulk (for 3500 and above)

 For newbies to shipping bulk Pokemon cards, there are imperative mistakes waiting to happen. Simple mistakes such as using rubber bands increase the chance of damaged bulk cards during an already risky shipping process.

What Not to Do

 For a few examples of unsafe shipping, look at the pictures below. Each of these pictures have problems, albeit varying in severity.

Package Loosely

 For protection, this package featured crumbled pieces of paper a midst piles of cards. I recommend paper as a means of protection, but only if the box is completely filled with cards, leaving a gap to be filled. Since the paper did not fill up all empty space, the cards had room to shuffle around during shipment. I threw away many that were bent beyond saving.







 This package shipped very nicely. The sender tightly packed all the cards into two shoe boxes, which then went in a larger box (an expensive but acceptable way to ship). However, the two shoe boxes were inside a much larger box, giving a lot of room for the shoe boxes to move around. One moved around a bit too much, and a side broke. I opened this package to find a two shoe boxes surrounded by an avalanche of cards. To fix this problem, the seller could have put more bubble wrap in the large box to limit open space.


Use Rubber Bands

 Paper and rubber bands were the main method of protection in this package. While the paper reduces the harm of rubber bands, it does not negate the effect. Secondly, the paper does not completely cover the cards. When I opened this package, some cards had slipped out the side. These cards were not ruined when they slipped out, but the rubber band bent the remaining cards inside the paper.

 What all of these sellers did do correctly was send extra cards, so I still had receive the amount of cards I bought after recycling the ruined cards.

How to Ship (With Pictures)

 A flat rate medium box is ideal for shipping bulk for up to about 4,600 cards. The cards fit instead these boxes almost perfectly, and most important, it's the cheapest option! A medium flat rate box filled with bulk will weigh approximately 18 pounds, which would cost an upwards of $45.

Put a Piece of Paper Wherever Cards Touch

 Put the first pile in on the corner of the box, making sure to put all cards facing up as to not annoying the person who will have to count the bulk. When you put in the second stalk, put a piece of paper in between the piles so they don't rub against each other. Paper also keeps the piles organized and together.

 Two piles of bulk must have the short side of the card parallel to the short side of the bulk so everything fits, and the third pile must have its shorter side against the longer side of the box.

 Between additional columns, put a piece of paper in every place cards touch. Cardboard also works here because it will not limit how much bulk fits in a box.




 After all the bulk is in, it should look somewhat like this:

Wrapping Up

 First off, fold the paper at the top so the box can close and to prevent the cards on top from sliding around.

 There should be an extra space near on end of the box. Do not fill this area with extra cards! Any cards here are at great risk for getting damaged. Instead, slip paper in to prevent the neighboring cards from moving around and bumping into the side.

 Lastly, if there is a lot of space between the bulk and the top of the box, fill that space with bubble wrap, paper, used code cards, or anything of the like.

 At this point, the box is ready to ship. I tend to put a couple of pieces of scrap paper or newspaper on top just in case water seeps in through the top.

 For smaller boxes, still try to implement this method, it is not specific to Medium Flat Rate boxes. Enjoy packaging!