Last Updated on August 6, 2016 by Dave Farquhar
If you sell cards, odds are at some point you’re going to have to mail a baseball card. You can mail a card cheaply and give it good protection.
One would think people would realize sticking a baseball card in an envelope in between two pieces of cardboard cut from a Federal Express overnight envelope and wrapping a sheet of typing paper around the package isn’t enough protection for a baseball card in the mail.
Even if you write “Do not bend. Deliver Flat.” on the envelope.
Doing it right isn’t too hard, doesn’t cost a lot, and your customers will appreciate it.
Ideally, you should first slip the card into a toploader–a hard plastic slipcase designed for trading cards. In quantity, they cost less than a dollar apiece. You can buy them online, at shops that sell baseball cards, and in some cases, even shops that sell comic books.
Next, cut a couple of squares of corrugated cardboard large enough to more than cover the card. Turn the squares so the flutes run perpendicular to each other. Now try gently to bend it–you’ll see it puts up a good fight. Place the card in between the cardboard sandwich, and close it with some tape. It’s best to use a bubble mailer or a photo mailer, but a regular envelope will do. Think about adding at least a third piece of corrugated cardboard if you’re going to use a paper envelope.
You don’t have to use UPS, Fedex, or anything else. Plain old cheap First Class Mail from the US Postal Service is fine. And as much as people like to rip on the Post Office, in my experience they lose fewer than one package out of a thousand. I shipped thousands of packages in the 2005-2011 timeframe.
But that’s it. That’s all it takes to mail a baseball card. And the bundle will ship for around a dollar.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.