Good point and good idea! I put affiliate links to all the supplies mentioned in the video in the description. Appreciate the support and for top loaders, I recommend looking at larger bulk orders on eBay for the best prices. Thanks!
Bought the A4 envelopes through your affiliate link. Thank you for a quality video! This is what I'm sending my friends when they want to see a good routine!
Enjoy following your journey on tcgplayer. Nice to see you have your packaging system already set up - took me 3 months of iteration to finally get packaging where I like for various amounts of cards.
Great video! I moved to shipping shields because I was having an issue with mailing top loaders in the middle of the envelope. Now I place the order vertically on one side of the envelope so there’s no issue with bend and I’ve had no problems at all. Also, it’s not as aesthetically pleasing, but to lessen my shipping costs, I moved to stamps and I bought third party tracking through lettertrack, just for peace of mind on orders I don’t want questions on whether they were delivered or not.
@ NP. Give it a try before investing much into it though. I got 250 transactions off the jump and it’s not that great. I add it to orders around $10-20 but the scanning kind of sucks and it’ll never say “Delivered” because it can only go as far as the destination post office. The tracking has been super spotty at best too. I’ve been searching for a service that’s more consistent, but there aren’t many.
@@aschmiddy7 yes, its wild that TCG Player doesn't have some type of shipping options like eBay or Etsy, I'm new to TCG player as a seller but I've done over 25 sales so far and wish there was a way to provide tracking on most orders. if its under 20-30 cent I would do it for all orders over $5
I think both the envelopes and boxes look very good, but a couple of things come to mind. The box for the sealed product, if its too snug it could easily get damaged in the corners during shipping (I do live in a different country than you so maybe having your packages tossed around is not a problem there). Having more room with a buffer of crushed paper helps with that. And the envelopes, in case you have any cards in simple sleeves outside the top loader, the surface would be easily scratched with pressure. Simplest example that comes to mind: in the building I live in the doorman receives our packages and they write some control stuff in all the mail. Customs also writes things in the envelope sometimes. I've had pen pressure markings in cards before because there werent any thick layers between the cards and envelope. Anyway, maybe these are just very specific situations you don't need to worry about, and you did say you never had any problems, but thought I'd share my two cents! Thank you for your videos, I'm enjoying them very much.
While your method of packaging singles is not for me, do appreciate seeing a different way of doing things. BTW, the clean look is very nice. A couple reasons why I use #10 envelopes: -It’s the perfect size for standard packing slips. The larger packing slip is easier to read if the customer wants to double check their order. Sometimes I’m the customer and I always double check the packing slip when I order cards. -Tall letters are easier to remove from some old mail boxes. I had an order get lost in my mailbox. I used to have an old style small mailbox where the mail gets dropped in from the top (came with the house). Any short mail was difficult to remove. One of the cards I ordered from TCGplayer was left in my mailbox for three days. No one noticed it when getting the mail. After that incident I replaced my mailbox. If it happened to me it probably happened to other buyers as well. As a seller I do not want customers messaging me because their mailbox is outdated.
I’ve done thousands of orders an I have never used a non-machinable stamp. I just follow Rob‘s methods and I haven’t had a problem in a couple years now. You can even put up to 51 cards in a PWE with no problem
I have put 60 something cards in a PWE. As long as they’re in penny sleeves, in a card saver 1 and stacked right, you will have no problem with one stamp and a couple of additional ounce stamps
@vervastar pretty sure he's talking about Rob with rnggames which is another seller that had a RUclips channel. Definitely worth watching if you like this channel.
Honestly I don't know if I'll make a video dedicated to it, but maybe if I can integrate it into another one. Once you buy the thermal printer, it has instructions based on the device you're using to format it correctly, so what I do may not be 100% applicable to everyone. Though for printing the stamps on Stamps.com, I just select an A2 envelope and run it through that!
This is great stuff and if you're a big time seller, this is worth it. For me, I do a good job packaging (more layers than yours with good stiffness) but i'm confident my shipping costs are min-maxed better than this.
What does it cost you to ship the envelopes? And how do you do it for anything less than the 4.36 I'm seeing on USPS and PirateShip? Thanks for the great content!
My small envelopes are $0.69 through Stamps.com. For the larger envelopes, I use the first-class mail option for large envelopes which starts at $1.50 based on weight and does not have tracking. Just packed up 30 cards that way this morning and it came to $2.04.
Okay I get the 2 vertical got the 6x4 envelope, but how do you do the bigger envelope can you go into more detail? atm i use the Ebay Trading card envelopes kits which support upto 24 sleeved cards and still under the 3oz but its $0.46 a kit plus postage so looking for something over 24 cards and your flat enevolpe look like a great solution for my bigger cheaper options
Considering this was loaded a day ago I wonder if he has bought from me. This is how I package my card orders but use blue painters tape in a couple spots like over the top loader opening and then stick the team bag to the back of the envelope to keep from moving.
Great minds think alike! I have never received any orders packaged this way, but kudos for doing it in a clean, well put together way! Making TCGPlayer better one envelope at a time 😅
@GameVitamins yes and honestly very simple cost effective way to look professional. I only sell on ebay and it's super easy to print the 6*4. I hope this video reaches many tcgplayer sellers because most are fine but look like a teenager mailed it lol
I think you mentioned it in the video, but did you say that you don’t worry about non-machineable postage on the envelope until you stack about 6 cards? Great content btw. This was the video that got me to subscribe. And I’m also following your Karlov stuff. I snagged boxes when they were around $95. Those surveil lands were undervalued.
With the way I stack them, I don't worry about it until I hit about 2 stacks of 10 cards since anything less than 20 and be split up to be thin enough to not worry 👍 I'm glad you're enjoying the videos. And nice buy at $95 on Karlov!
@GameVitamins Thanks for the reply! Last question for ya, have you ever had issues stacking more than one top loader? I just shipped out my first dozen orders this weekend after starting my shop and I’m a bit nervous with the envelopes lol. Appreciate all the info! 🙏
Hey! I have been watching your videos and the content is awesome man! I love the set breakdowns and the business theory behind everything… I was wondering if you by chance have a quick link to the best label stickys (white) to replace the blue painters tape. Amazon link you use? I am finally getting low on my last roll and need to switch to the RNG Gamez professional look.
thanks brto love it.... i have a question while watchingf and you always answer in the next sentence! Sorting my zendikar as we speak! never sold a thing online, but I might want to! what scanner do you use? tcg player?
Really appreciate that! I currently use the TCGPlayer app to scan everything in. Just be careful to watch for the set as sometimes it gets that wrong. That's why I purposefully only scan one set per "collection" on the app. For example if you're scanning in Zendikar and nothing else it's really easy to sort by set and if a single card is not Zendikar, you know it scanned it incorrectly and you can change before you upload to TCGPlayer.
Do customers comment on using a thermal label for the invoice? I really like the idea. I have a friend who tried it and received negative reviews as the customer wanted a sheet of paper. Thanks for the great content!
Hmm no negative comments, I've gotten positive reviews saying my stuff was packed well! Maybe that guy was just picky... always going to be some people like that. Especially this weekend where I packed well over 100 orders without the thermal labels it would have been a real process. Makes it so much easier!
@@GameVitamins Thanks for the quick reply! I agree probably someone a bit too picky. Your packaging looks great and I'm going to use it as a baseline for myself. Thanks again and good luck!
This is legit next level stuff, haven't seen anyone think about shipping it in a invitation typ smaller envelope! how necessary are teambags tho for orders under 24? and also he said it cosst about 11cents per oder to ship right? all mats used in vid
I'm glad you enjoyed it! I always do it for extra protection, but that choice is up to you I suppose. As of right now my material and stamp cost is $0.93 total. If I remember correctly that might have been when I referenced using printed paper vs thermal labels, because the cost of a thermal label is definitely cheaper than printing paper for order slips. All materials I use are linked in the description! Thank you for watching.
Good content, some constructive feedback. Video: Consider adding chapter breaks, your setup getting better and each video, add chapter/sections breaks in the video would help playthru. Booster Boxes - 1. Use USPS Flat Rate Bubble Mailers either to ship, or co-pack to protect if you do box. 95% time, just box into the mailer - customer is happy UNLESS it is a vintage box. Also, you'll get better rates putting your hard edge box into a poly bag. See "BOX IN BAG" rates. Shipping - PirateShip > Stamps - great rates and 100X better UX, easy to copy paste tracking back to TCG and integrates with eBay if you sell there. Presets great too, but same as Stamps. Beyond that, love it all. Great presentation on the Kraft envelopes.
Always appreciate the feedback! Right now my videos are a bit off-the-cuff but on structured ones I'll definitely add some chapters in the future so it's easier to skim through 👍 Thanks for the tips on the shipping with the box in bag idea. I'll definitely look into that. I don't deal with vintage, but on real high value stuff I would definitely level up the packing to ensure no damage. I should have mentioned that I do use PirateShip for the boxes and packages I send via UPS. I'll have to play around with it on the envelope side of things. I'm glad you're enjoying the videos though!!
I don't think you're being weird or anything by putting a lot of thought and care into the unboxing experience. From my experience of buying cards from TCG they almost always ship like shit. Poorly packaged, basically zero protection and just don't inspire confidence. The experience of opening a package of cards which you've been waiting potentially 2 weeks for and it looking like its from a legitimate business vs some random Joe blow make all the difference. 11/10 Nick. Definitely going to steal all of your methods in this video :) MAWAHAHAHAH!
Well thank you very much, I'm glad I'm not the only one that pays so much attention to packaging. And I'm also glad you're stealing the methods haha, we'll all be making TCGPlayer a better buying experience one package at a time!
Probably shipped like shit because most people are at best breaking even to sell you the few singles of value they got opening boxes. Honestly if I get a card undamaged I'm happy with the transaction
The most frustrating thing I've dealt with when ordering from other sellers regarding packaging is the varieties of taping methods. Sometimes the tape sticks to all of the sleeves and top loaders making it not easy. then they seal them with clear tape, the worst. this packaging looks easier to open. For those labels you use to affix the top loader to the packing list, do they stick or do they peel off cleanly like painters tape would? My preference, blue painters tape if something is going to be taped poorly.
The labels don’t stick like the tape does, they seem to peel away nicely from the plastic and thermal label backing. Agreed though, some people just way over do it
This randomly popped up. I was going to go with the OG method that everyone else shares but I may transition to this. Do you have a pricing list of what it costs you per shipment?
Hey, might be worth trying out! I bought large bulk amounts to keep costs as low as possible, but mine come out to: Stamp is $0.69, envelope is $0.08, sleeve, top loader and teambag $0.09, label stickers, $0.01, thermal label x2 is $0.08. All in $0.95!
10 - 12 cents per printed page? Lol sounds like you really need to invest in a much more efficient laser printer. You're right everything looks clean and very professional. I've watched a lot of the youtube videos on packing cards and I don't understand why no one is talking about just printing the address directly onto the envelope. I'll admit it doesn't look as clean as a nice thermal printer label but when packing lots of orders it does save a lot of time not having to put labels onto the envelope plus saves you a couple of cents on the label. Lots of programs can take the shipping CSV directly from TCGPlayer and use those to print all of the labels directly onto the envelopes.
The only downside with printing directly onto the envelopes, at least for my situation, is that it doesn't alleviate the need for a packing slip, so I'd then need to print a slip anyway, or still do a thermal label. And yes the printed page cost I got was based off of the printer and ink calculations for the one I have -- so this may be better for other printers, I can't speak to others. Anyway, for the time being I'll keep rolling with this, but there might be other options to explore down the line! Thanks for checking it out
Have you done a video where you talk about your earnings per hour? I used to sell a lot of cards on ebay, but it was just so time consuming to pick, pack and ship all the orders. It was fun at first, but once it got to 10-20 orders per day, it was a hassle.
I haven't gone over that yet. I figure in the early stages it's not even worth calculating because it would be abysmal and if I am comparing it to my day-to-day business it's certainly "not worth my time". But I enjoy it, and as time goes on and I scale some of my methods I'll probably discuss that more so people can get a real picture.
@@GameVitamins I'd love to see that analysis. I have thousands of cards, but it just doesn't feel like a reasonable return on my time to sell them. If I assume that I could list, pick & pack a card in 2 minutes, the upperbound would be 30 cards per hour. And this rates assumes that the buyer is already getting a more valuable card so there's effectively a zero time cost for addressing the envelope. This means any card I sold under $0.50 would be less than $15 per hour which is less than McDonalds pays in my local area. For reference, I am a Harvard grad who has been a VP at two different companies before retiring. My goal hourly rate is a tad higher than what I could earn working at McDonalds. It would be quite interesting if you track this from the beginning and then measure how it grows overtime as your systems get more efficient.
Wait. How do you get your thermal working for that size on stamps? Do you just select 4x6 then adjust the size? I can't remember why I couldn't do it that way.....I'm going to need to revisit that now. Did you pay for the stamps office to adjust the sizing? **maybe it was because I'm trying to get it to fit an A10?
You’ll want to select an A4 envelope and boom you’re good to go! **Also I did forget that you'll need to create a custom printer setting to print the PDF invoices/packing slips out in a 4x6 size too.
It’s pretty much the same, because using a website like stamps.com gives you a discount to $0.69 for shipping but a thermal label costs about $0.04. If you were able to print directly onto the envelopes it may be cheaper but then there’s ink cost too.
This is super specific, but how do you make it aesthetic with 30-50 cards that has total value of like $6 (Slightly above the $5 free shipping of Level 4 TCGPlayer)?
So with large orders I figure it's going to be a bit of a wash.. just packed up a large order like that this morning. I put all the cards into penny sleeves, then distribute across a couple team bags. Then I'll use my labels to attach them to the packing slip and put them all in a bubble mailer. Then I'll put the bubble mailer in the larger envelopes I mentioned. I use the first-class mail option for large envelopes which starts at $1.50 based on weight and does not have tracking. Just packed up 30 cards that way this morning and it came to $2.04. It's not the cheapest, but it looks very professional and those really large card orders with low dollar value are far and few between for me, so I still want them to look good!
@GameVitamins hmm... Any specific reason why you'd put them into individual bubble mailers instead of packaging them with the team bags and use one big bubble mailer?
Pro seller here since 2019 So you aren’t including a printed packing slip in all orders? Instead the smaller one printed on 4x6? Nowadays the packing slip has the address printed directly to fit inside a window envelope so you have no waste with any thermal printing an address (I used to print addresses on smaller thermal then adhesive onto envelope). The security window envelopes are not expensive and you save all the time creating envelopes with their new way of printing the address right where it needs to be
That's correct, the main reason I do it is because I don't need to spend any time folding slips, I attach the cards and slip it into the envelopes. I can't argue that they are set up to be pretty bulletproof though -- I just prefer the look. But as I always say, everyone has the methods that work for them!
I charge the customer for shipping -- since I'm level 4 on TCGPlayer I can have shipping be included on orders of $5 or more which I've played around with and then adjusted my prices up to try to recapture the shipping cost. Depends on your preference though!
Hmmm in Canada I'm not entirely sure on the selling side. eBay certainly has a share of the singles market as well so I'd say that'd be a place to start.
I use stamps.com so I'm not sure about Pirateship, but it's USPS first class mail. I go under the 4x6 roll option, then select FCM Large Envelope. It's longer in one dimension category so it qualifies. It does go up with weight, but it's still cheaper than tracking if it's a low value order!
Thank you for this awesome video, I found it very useful. Not sure if it would be of benefit, but I put up a video this morning on how I was able to convert my tcgplayer packing slips to more conventional 4x6 labels for the thermal printer here: ruclips.net/video/SQtTVWwMPws/видео.html
A few people have commented about that, so I'm sure it will be helpful! I probably should've covered that in this one, but didn't want to get too into the weeds. Thanks for checking it out and making something to explain it!
I’ve done thousands of orders an I have never used a non-machinable stamp. I just follow Rob‘s methods and I haven’t had a problem in a couple years now. You can even put up to 51 cards in a PWE with no problem
And people dont realize after 7 cards you don’t need a toploader. Toploaders are for rigidity not protection. Penny sleeves into a team bag folded over and you are good. Also don’t forget to affix the cards to the middle of the packing slip. The cards can’t move from side to side or else they will screw up the sorter as it grabs the edge of the envelope.
@@uckluck 3.5 oz can go through no problem. make three vertical stacks of 17 cards. Just search RnG gamez shipping cards. He goes through the process step by step.
Great content!! Do you have an affiliated link to purchase the materials?
Good point and good idea! I put affiliate links to all the supplies mentioned in the video in the description. Appreciate the support and for top loaders, I recommend looking at larger bulk orders on eBay for the best prices. Thanks!
@GameVitamins eBay tip is great thanks.
Your videos have really helped on my journey to level 3 seller on TCGplayer. Keep up the good work
Appreciate it! Level 4 is right around the corner 😎
There is a lack of recent card shipping tutorials. Great job 👏
Thank you!
Bought the A4 envelopes through your affiliate link. Thank you for a quality video! This is what I'm sending my friends when they want to see a good routine!
@@brooksnorthcutt heck yeah, thank you! I’m glad you liked it 😎
Great content man, was literally just thinking about this earlier today
Thank you very much! Shipping is a necessity to make it all work, gotta put some work into it 👌
Enjoy following your journey on tcgplayer. Nice to see you have your packaging system already set up - took me 3 months of iteration to finally get packaging where I like for various amounts of cards.
Thank you very much! I'm sure there will still be some evolution in mine as well, but for now I have definitely liked this method.
Great video! I moved to shipping shields because I was having an issue with mailing top loaders in the middle of the envelope.
Now I place the order vertically on one side of the envelope so there’s no issue with bend and I’ve had no problems at all.
Also, it’s not as aesthetically pleasing, but to lessen my shipping costs, I moved to stamps and I bought third party tracking through lettertrack, just for peace of mind on orders I don’t want questions on whether they were delivered or not.
Thank you for this info on letter track! .18 cents to provide tracking is amazing!
@ NP. Give it a try before investing much into it though. I got 250 transactions off the jump and it’s not that great. I add it to orders around $10-20 but the scanning kind of sucks and it’ll never say “Delivered” because it can only go as far as the destination post office. The tracking has been super spotty at best too. I’ve been searching for a service that’s more consistent, but there aren’t many.
@@aschmiddy7 yes, its wild that TCG Player doesn't have some type of shipping options like eBay or Etsy, I'm new to TCG player as a seller but I've done over 25 sales so far and wish there was a way to provide tracking on most orders. if its under 20-30 cent I would do it for all orders over $5
@@COMPL3TLYINSAN3 same. I believe eBay bought TCGPlayer too, so you’d think they’d have something set up for sure.
I think both the envelopes and boxes look very good, but a couple of things come to mind. The box for the sealed product, if its too snug it could easily get damaged in the corners during shipping (I do live in a different country than you so maybe having your packages tossed around is not a problem there). Having more room with a buffer of crushed paper helps with that.
And the envelopes, in case you have any cards in simple sleeves outside the top loader, the surface would be easily scratched with pressure. Simplest example that comes to mind: in the building I live in the doorman receives our packages and they write some control stuff in all the mail. Customs also writes things in the envelope sometimes. I've had pen pressure markings in cards before because there werent any thick layers between the cards and envelope.
Anyway, maybe these are just very specific situations you don't need to worry about, and you did say you never had any problems, but thought I'd share my two cents! Thank you for your videos, I'm enjoying them very much.
While your method of packaging singles is not for me, do appreciate seeing a different way of doing things. BTW, the clean look is very nice.
A couple reasons why I use #10 envelopes:
-It’s the perfect size for standard packing slips. The larger packing slip is easier to read if the customer wants to double check their order. Sometimes I’m the customer and I always double check the packing slip when I order cards.
-Tall letters are easier to remove from some old mail boxes. I had an order get lost in my mailbox. I used to have an old style small mailbox where the mail gets dropped in from the top (came with the house). Any short mail was difficult to remove. One of the cards I ordered from TCGplayer was left in my mailbox for three days. No one noticed it when getting the mail. After that incident I replaced my mailbox. If it happened to me it probably happened to other buyers as well. As a seller I do not want customers messaging me because their mailbox is outdated.
I’ve done thousands of orders an I have never used a non-machinable stamp. I just follow Rob‘s methods and I haven’t had a problem in a couple years now. You can even put up to 51 cards in a PWE with no problem
whos rob?
I have put 60 something cards in a PWE. As long as they’re in penny sleeves, in a card saver 1 and stacked right, you will have no problem with one stamp and a couple of additional ounce stamps
@vervastar pretty sure he's talking about Rob with rnggames which is another seller that had a RUclips channel. Definitely worth watching if you like this channel.
I do Rob’s method as well. No issues.
@@vervastarRNG Gamez is Rob
Would you be able to make a video on how you setup and used your thermal printer with TCGplayer?
Honestly I don't know if I'll make a video dedicated to it, but maybe if I can integrate it into another one. Once you buy the thermal printer, it has instructions based on the device you're using to format it correctly, so what I do may not be 100% applicable to everyone. Though for printing the stamps on Stamps.com, I just select an A2 envelope and run it through that!
this is goated. you did all the research and compiled it so well. thank you 🎉
You're very welcome! Glad you enjoyed it
Thank you, this is a great video! I love the professional packing presentation!!
I'm glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
This is great stuff and if you're a big time seller, this is worth it. For me, I do a good job packaging (more layers than yours with good stiffness) but i'm confident my shipping costs are min-maxed better than this.
Everyone's got their preferred methods! This just allows me to pack cards very fast which is nice. Thanks for checking it out 😎
remember to apply insane amounts of glue and tape so that the recipient's hands are gunky right when they unwrap the item
Pro tip! I usually don’t share this secret, but the customers love this 👌
What does it cost you to ship the envelopes? And how do you do it for anything less than the 4.36 I'm seeing on USPS and PirateShip? Thanks for the great content!
My small envelopes are $0.69 through Stamps.com. For the larger envelopes, I use the first-class mail option for large envelopes which starts at $1.50 based on weight and does not have tracking. Just packed up 30 cards that way this morning and it came to $2.04.
Okay I get the 2 vertical got the 6x4 envelope, but how do you do the bigger envelope can you go into more detail? atm i use the Ebay Trading card envelopes kits which support upto 24 sleeved cards and still under the 3oz but its $0.46 a kit plus postage so looking for something over 24 cards and your flat enevolpe look like a great solution for my bigger cheaper options
Considering this was loaded a day ago I wonder if he has bought from me. This is how I package my card orders but use blue painters tape in a couple spots like over the top loader opening and then stick the team bag to the back of the envelope to keep from moving.
Great minds think alike! I have never received any orders packaged this way, but kudos for doing it in a clean, well put together way! Making TCGPlayer better one envelope at a time 😅
@GameVitamins yes and honestly very simple cost effective way to look professional. I only sell on ebay and it's super easy to print the 6*4. I hope this video reaches many tcgplayer sellers because most are fine but look like a teenager mailed it lol
I think you mentioned it in the video, but did you say that you don’t worry about non-machineable postage on the envelope until you stack about 6 cards?
Great content btw. This was the video that got me to subscribe. And I’m also following your Karlov stuff. I snagged boxes when they were around $95. Those surveil lands were undervalued.
With the way I stack them, I don't worry about it until I hit about 2 stacks of 10 cards since anything less than 20 and be split up to be thin enough to not worry 👍 I'm glad you're enjoying the videos. And nice buy at $95 on Karlov!
@GameVitamins Thanks for the reply!
Last question for ya, have you ever had issues stacking more than one top loader?
I just shipped out my first dozen orders this weekend after starting my shop and I’m a bit nervous with the envelopes lol. Appreciate all the info! 🙏
Hey! I have been watching your videos and the content is awesome man! I love the set breakdowns and the business theory behind everything… I was wondering if you by chance have a quick link to the best label stickys (white) to replace the blue painters tape. Amazon link you use? I am finally getting low on my last roll and need to switch to the RNG Gamez professional look.
Nevermind!! Just saw the comment about the materials and found your links! Looking forwards to more videos.
There ya go! Glad you’ve been enjoying them 😎
thanks brto love it.... i have a question while watchingf and you always answer in the next sentence! Sorting my zendikar as we speak! never sold a thing online, but I might want to! what scanner do you use? tcg player?
Really appreciate that! I currently use the TCGPlayer app to scan everything in. Just be careful to watch for the set as sometimes it gets that wrong. That's why I purposefully only scan one set per "collection" on the app. For example if you're scanning in Zendikar and nothing else it's really easy to sort by set and if a single card is not Zendikar, you know it scanned it incorrectly and you can change before you upload to TCGPlayer.
Do customers comment on using a thermal label for the invoice? I really like the idea. I have a friend who tried it and received negative reviews as the customer wanted a sheet of paper. Thanks for the great content!
Hmm no negative comments, I've gotten positive reviews saying my stuff was packed well! Maybe that guy was just picky... always going to be some people like that. Especially this weekend where I packed well over 100 orders without the thermal labels it would have been a real process. Makes it so much easier!
@@GameVitamins Thanks for the quick reply! I agree probably someone a bit too picky. Your packaging looks great and I'm going to use it as a baseline for myself. Thanks again and good luck!
How do you determine the weight of your packages for your shipping label? Did you buy a scale for at home?
Yes! I bought a small scale and leave it on the counter to weigh larger orders. You can also assume about 1oz per 10 cards + packaging weight.
@@GameVitamins Thank you!!
This is legit next level stuff, haven't seen anyone think about shipping it in a invitation typ smaller envelope! how necessary are teambags tho for orders under 24? and also he said it cosst about 11cents per oder to ship right? all mats used in vid
I'm glad you enjoyed it! I always do it for extra protection, but that choice is up to you I suppose. As of right now my material and stamp cost is $0.93 total. If I remember correctly that might have been when I referenced using printed paper vs thermal labels, because the cost of a thermal label is definitely cheaper than printing paper for order slips. All materials I use are linked in the description! Thank you for watching.
Good content, some constructive feedback.
Video: Consider adding chapter breaks, your setup getting better and each video, add chapter/sections breaks in the video would help playthru.
Booster Boxes - 1. Use USPS Flat Rate Bubble Mailers either to ship, or co-pack to protect if you do box. 95% time, just box into the mailer - customer is happy UNLESS it is a vintage box. Also, you'll get better rates putting your hard edge box into a poly bag. See "BOX IN BAG" rates.
Shipping - PirateShip > Stamps - great rates and 100X better UX, easy to copy paste tracking back to TCG and integrates with eBay if you sell there. Presets great too, but same as Stamps.
Beyond that, love it all. Great presentation on the Kraft envelopes.
Always appreciate the feedback! Right now my videos are a bit off-the-cuff but on structured ones I'll definitely add some chapters in the future so it's easier to skim through 👍
Thanks for the tips on the shipping with the box in bag idea. I'll definitely look into that. I don't deal with vintage, but on real high value stuff I would definitely level up the packing to ensure no damage. I should have mentioned that I do use PirateShip for the boxes and packages I send via UPS. I'll have to play around with it on the envelope side of things.
I'm glad you're enjoying the videos though!!
I don't think you're being weird or anything by putting a lot of thought and care into the unboxing experience. From my experience of buying cards from TCG they almost always ship like shit. Poorly packaged, basically zero protection and just don't inspire confidence. The experience of opening a package of cards which you've been waiting potentially 2 weeks for and it looking like its from a legitimate business vs some random Joe blow make all the difference.
11/10 Nick. Definitely going to steal all of your methods in this video :) MAWAHAHAHAH!
Well thank you very much, I'm glad I'm not the only one that pays so much attention to packaging. And I'm also glad you're stealing the methods haha, we'll all be making TCGPlayer a better buying experience one package at a time!
Probably shipped like shit because most people are at best breaking even to sell you the few singles of value they got opening boxes. Honestly if I get a card undamaged I'm happy with the transaction
I'm multitasking here while watching your video. Did I miss where you mentioned to include the packing slip?
Hahah yes I believe you did, I stick the cards to the back of the packing slip and slide it all into the envelope. Fits perfectly!
That looks great! What size is the box that perfectly fits one play booster box? Did you get them from Amazon or uline? Thanks!
Nvm just saw the affiliate link haha. Thanks!!
You got it! All supplies linked 👌
The most frustrating thing I've dealt with when ordering from other sellers regarding packaging is the varieties of taping methods. Sometimes the tape sticks to all of the sleeves and top loaders making it not easy. then they seal them with clear tape, the worst. this packaging looks easier to open. For those labels you use to affix the top loader to the packing list, do they stick or do they peel off cleanly like painters tape would? My preference, blue painters tape if something is going to be taped poorly.
The labels don’t stick like the tape does, they seem to peel away nicely from the plastic and thermal label backing. Agreed though, some people just way over do it
This randomly popped up. I was going to go with the OG method that everyone else shares but I may transition to this. Do you have a pricing list of what it costs you per shipment?
Hey, might be worth trying out! I bought large bulk amounts to keep costs as low as possible, but mine come out to: Stamp is $0.69, envelope is $0.08, sleeve, top loader and teambag $0.09, label stickers, $0.01, thermal label x2 is $0.08. All in $0.95!
Again, great content.
I appreciate that, thank you!
10 - 12 cents per printed page? Lol sounds like you really need to invest in a much more efficient laser printer.
You're right everything looks clean and very professional. I've watched a lot of the youtube videos on packing cards and I don't understand why no one is talking about just printing the address directly onto the envelope. I'll admit it doesn't look as clean as a nice thermal printer label but when packing lots of orders it does save a lot of time not having to put labels onto the envelope plus saves you a couple of cents on the label. Lots of programs can take the shipping CSV directly from TCGPlayer and use those to print all of the labels directly onto the envelopes.
The only downside with printing directly onto the envelopes, at least for my situation, is that it doesn't alleviate the need for a packing slip, so I'd then need to print a slip anyway, or still do a thermal label. And yes the printed page cost I got was based off of the printer and ink calculations for the one I have -- so this may be better for other printers, I can't speak to others. Anyway, for the time being I'll keep rolling with this, but there might be other options to explore down the line! Thanks for checking it out
Have you done a video where you talk about your earnings per hour? I used to sell a lot of cards on ebay, but it was just so time consuming to pick, pack and ship all the orders. It was fun at first, but once it got to 10-20 orders per day, it was a hassle.
I haven't gone over that yet. I figure in the early stages it's not even worth calculating because it would be abysmal and if I am comparing it to my day-to-day business it's certainly "not worth my time". But I enjoy it, and as time goes on and I scale some of my methods I'll probably discuss that more so people can get a real picture.
@@GameVitamins I'd love to see that analysis.
I have thousands of cards, but it just doesn't feel like a reasonable return on my time to sell them.
If I assume that I could list, pick & pack a card in 2 minutes, the upperbound would be 30 cards per hour.
And this rates assumes that the buyer is already getting a more valuable card so there's effectively a zero time cost for addressing the envelope.
This means any card I sold under $0.50 would be less than $15 per hour which is less than McDonalds pays in my local area.
For reference, I am a Harvard grad who has been a VP at two different companies before retiring.
My goal hourly rate is a tad higher than what I could earn working at McDonalds.
It would be quite interesting if you track this from the beginning and then measure how it grows overtime as your systems get more efficient.
yall are super smart, even these comments. So much valuable information. thanks!@
I'm glad you're finding value in it all, thank you!
Wait. How do you get your thermal working for that size on stamps? Do you just select 4x6 then adjust the size? I can't remember why I couldn't do it that way.....I'm going to need to revisit that now. Did you pay for the stamps office to adjust the sizing? **maybe it was because I'm trying to get it to fit an A10?
You’ll want to select an A4 envelope and boom you’re good to go! **Also I did forget that you'll need to create a custom printer setting to print the PDF invoices/packing slips out in a 4x6 size too.
@@GameVitamins I had an issue with this on my end as well, for whatever reason A4 was not an option, but A2 is an option and that is close enough!
Question: are the thermal printed labels cheaper than $0.73 stamps? If so, I need to switch!!
It’s pretty much the same, because using a website like stamps.com gives you a discount to $0.69 for shipping but a thermal label costs about $0.04. If you were able to print directly onto the envelopes it may be cheaper but then there’s ink cost too.
This is super specific, but how do you make it aesthetic with 30-50 cards that has total value of like $6 (Slightly above the $5 free shipping of Level 4 TCGPlayer)?
So with large orders I figure it's going to be a bit of a wash.. just packed up a large order like that this morning. I put all the cards into penny sleeves, then distribute across a couple team bags. Then I'll use my labels to attach them to the packing slip and put them all in a bubble mailer. Then I'll put the bubble mailer in the larger envelopes I mentioned. I use the first-class mail option for large envelopes which starts at $1.50 based on weight and does not have tracking. Just packed up 30 cards that way this morning and it came to $2.04. It's not the cheapest, but it looks very professional and those really large card orders with low dollar value are far and few between for me, so I still want them to look good!
@GameVitamins hmm... Any specific reason why you'd put them into individual bubble mailers instead of packaging them with the team bags and use one big bubble mailer?
Pro seller here since 2019
So you aren’t including a printed packing slip in all orders? Instead the smaller one printed on 4x6? Nowadays the packing slip has the address printed directly to fit inside a window envelope so you have no waste with any thermal printing an address (I used to print addresses on smaller thermal then adhesive onto envelope). The security window envelopes are not expensive and you save all the time creating envelopes with their new way of printing the address right where it needs to be
That's correct, the main reason I do it is because I don't need to spend any time folding slips, I attach the cards and slip it into the envelopes. I can't argue that they are set up to be pretty bulletproof though -- I just prefer the look. But as I always say, everyone has the methods that work for them!
Where do you get the blank white labels? I have only been able to find the sheets on Amazon.
Link in the description for the roll of labels/stickers! I got them on Amazon.
Great content, sorry if I missed it, but are you paying for shipping or would the customer?
I charge the customer for shipping -- since I'm level 4 on TCGPlayer I can have shipping be included on orders of $5 or more which I've played around with and then adjusted my prices up to try to recapture the shipping cost. Depends on your preference though!
Is there a way to do this without tcg player i live in Canada tcg allows me to buy not sell.
Hmmm in Canada I'm not entirely sure on the selling side. eBay certainly has a share of the singles market as well so I'd say that'd be a place to start.
Where do you go to get the $1.50 UPS letter rate? Checking Pirateship it does not have it available, or I am missing something
I use stamps.com so I'm not sure about Pirateship, but it's USPS first class mail. I go under the 4x6 roll option, then select FCM Large Envelope. It's longer in one dimension category so it qualifies. It does go up with weight, but it's still cheaper than tracking if it's a low value order!
I assume he meant USPS?
I put a 5 dollar bill in with my orders. I value my customers
Hahah where can I buy your cards??
If you don't use at least a entire roll of tape I don't think you can be considered a pro 😂
I'll get there one day! Haha
Thank you for this awesome video, I found it very useful. Not sure if it would be of benefit, but I put up a video this morning on how I was able to convert my tcgplayer packing slips to more conventional 4x6 labels for the thermal printer here: ruclips.net/video/SQtTVWwMPws/видео.html
A few people have commented about that, so I'm sure it will be helpful! I probably should've covered that in this one, but didn't want to get too into the weeds. Thanks for checking it out and making something to explain it!
I’ve done thousands of orders an I have never used a non-machinable stamp. I just follow Rob‘s methods and I haven’t had a problem in a couple years now. You can even put up to 51 cards in a PWE with no problem
Can you send a link of Rob’s method?
ruclips.net/video/y2cybvXQ1Kw/видео.htmlsi=0sbZqA2B7vwLN2sV
And people dont realize after 7 cards you don’t need a toploader. Toploaders are for rigidity not protection. Penny sleeves into a team bag folded over and you are good. Also don’t forget to affix the cards to the middle of the packing slip. The cards can’t move from side to side or else they will screw up the sorter as it grabs the edge of the envelope.
@@TealGaming-fb8bs how does 51 cards not weigh over 3oz and get refused on both thickness and weight lol
@@uckluck 3.5 oz can go through no problem. make three vertical stacks of 17 cards. Just search RnG gamez shipping cards. He goes through the process step by step.