Strictly Short–Team bags, Use Them!

Debating over shipping methods with other traders is the logical equivalent of debating PCs verses Macs, iPhones verses Androids, or Slytherin verses Gryffindor.  It seems everyone is as passionate about their personal shipping methods as they are about these other topics. I find that there are many positive points within each argument. No method is the correct method.  Instead of preaching my preferences as correct, I’ll spend some time sharing the methods that have worked for me with the hope that you’ll find what’s best for you.

A little while back  I covered International shipping from the US to Canada, and the costs associated with that. This short will revolve around an interesting product that I was turned onto called team bags. These awesome inventions got their name from original sport card purpose, holding team sets of cards.  You’ve seen these before if you’ve received orders from any of the major online card retailers. They can be purchased from Amazon for roughly $3 per 100.

These bags can be used to protect your cards more than a top loader alone can, and they allow you to cleanly pack a stack of cards with one top loader.  When shipping more than 2 or 3 cards, the weight of your envelope can be an issue and make shipping very costly if you attempt to load up multiple top loaders into an envelope.  Thickness of your envelope is also a major concern when shipping many cards.  My shipments usually only include 1 top loader, a stack of unsleeved cards, and a team bag.

When shipping a large number of envelopes out accidents are bound to happen.  I personally feel that it is my duty as the sender to ensure the cards get to the receiver and have found that the protection of the team bags is worth the effort and cost.  I recently a received a message from a receiver in Canada who’s envelope was mangled in the mail, but the team bag and the cards were intact. The receiver praised my shipping methods and attributed his cards arriving safely to the use of team bags.

Once I started using team bags, I found myself increasing the number of cards I was willing to send to users. I actually find it easier to ship using them.  Gone are the days of jamming cards into top loaders.  I’ve received some amazing feedback from others who I’ve informed about them and am curious to hear about your experience with them. or if you might have other methods for shipping larger stacks.

That’s all for now, and remember… Drive a Tranquil Bargain Friends.