Low End Cards, Plain White Envelope - The New Norm

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Hi all,

Is shipping low end cards in a PWE the new norm?

Seems like every card worth under $20 I got recently has been shipped in a PWE with base cards for protection. None have come damaged which is good.

Personally, I do not mind PWE. With costs going up on everything, the seller has to make a few bucks, right?
 
I do not and will not use a PWE. The cost of bubble mailers from the $1 store make it so this is not needed. I get a a 2 pack of 9.5"x13.5" bubble mailers for $1.75, I cut those into 8 useable sections. I get 10 pack of 5.75"x9.5" kraft envelopes for $1.25. So under $3.50 after tax. So roughly $0.45 in packaging for 8 shipments, plus $1.94 stamp ($2.20 after tax) I am all in $2.65 to ship most cards as they are under 100g.
 
PWE is the only affordable option for a canadian now for low-end trading with people in USA. I always tell people in advance, and when we both agree on it, I ship with PWE.
I have a preference for bubble-mailers for deals inside Canada, but again it depends on the value of the deal, and there is always communication with my trading partner before using PWE.
 
I bought a card recently on eBay for $5 USD. Shipping cost $11.11 USD. I really wanted it, and was willing to pay the $16+ so, whatever.

I get the card in the mail. Took over three weeks to get to me. It was the brown cardboard envelope from eBay / DHL. Inside, the card had been sent in a PWE (well packaged, reinforced) from the seller to the eBay shipping center. Postage on the PWE: 68 cents.

If that seller had shipped to me direct, they could have done so for less than $2. Yes the lose tracking / guarantee from eBay - but how many sales do they lose by using eBay shipping plan?

Honestly, they could have charged $3 for shipping (which is about double what it costs) and had the card up for a $10 BIN instead of a $5 auction. They'd have made a lot more money.

The cost of sending a bubble over the boarder has gone up a lot, so for anything lower end - I'm not surprised that's become normal. The only time I've ever had a card show up in rough shape in a PWE was when it was packaged loose, wrapped in the eBay receipt. I've got no problem with it.
 
I have received a few PWE “ebay standard envelope” shipments where the cards were creased and received a few where they are in fine shape. Personally i hate it.

And to the above post about overcharging for shipping, i have had several instances where the shipped obviously overcharged by quite a but for shipping and i message them and ask how they can justify charging $xxx when it only cost them $xxx for actual shipping. I do this before i leave feedback… even had one seller reply with “are you asking me to justify my shipping cost that you knew when you bought the item” and i replied with “i absolutely am”. Feedback wasn’t the nicest from me.
 
warsawknuckles said:
I have received a few PWE “ebay standard envelope” shipments where the cards were creased and received a few where they are in fine shape. Personally i hate it.

And to the above post about overcharging for shipping, i have had several instances where the shipped obviously overcharged by quite a but for shipping and i message them and ask how they can justify charging $xxx when it only cost them $xxx for actual shipping. I do this before i leave feedback… even had one seller reply with “are you asking me to justify my shipping cost that you knew when you bought the item” and i replied with “i absolutely am”. Feedback wasn’t the nicest from me.
Click to expand...

The card alone in the pwe without any protection is a bit cheap. Inside Canada, when I use PWE, I put the card in sleeve/taped toploader/taped teambag/PWE, and when shipping to USA, I put the card in a taped sleeve between 2 thin cardboards in the PWE. So far, everything went to destination correctly.
 
[old man voice]
Back in the mid to late 90s, PWEs were quite common. I used to ship a card in a toploader, then use comic backing board around it, then into the PWE. Not a single complaint.
[/old man voice]
 
SNobles said:
I do not and will not use a PWE. The cost of bubble mailers from the $1 store make it so this is not needed. I get a a 2 pack of 9.5"x13.5" bubble mailers for $1.75, I cut those into 8 useable sections. I get 10 pack of 5.75"x9.5" kraft envelopes for $1.25. So under $3.50 after tax. So roughly $0.45 in packaging for 8 shipments, plus $1.94 stamp ($2.20 after tax) I am all in $2.65 to ship most cards as they are under 100g.
Click to expand...

Or even easier, I buy these bubble mailers for 49 cents each on Amazon and ship for $2.52 (in Alberta, no sales tax).

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B08QZCY3KY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
 
I always ship in bubble mailers with cards protected by cardboard. I buy the 4x8 (000) in a 500 count from Uline. I think it works out to about 22 cents an envelope. (That price might have gone up a bit since the last time I bought them)
 
For me... talking low end cards...

Protection is easy in either case, arguably the same if done right as described above.

Postage cost is the mystery and frustration, I would love to see why it costs more to process and ship for the differences in packaging.

Insurance and tracking for low end cards and "buyer protection" and "global shipping system" is -- I believe -- a scam and/or scare tactics by eBay Canada post, USPS.

Oh yeah, when I reached 1000 feedback on eBay (mostly buying), all I could think was how much shipping did I pay?
 
warsawknuckles said:
I have received a few PWE “ebay standard envelope” shipments where the cards were creased and received a few where they are in fine shape. Personally i hate it.

And to the above post about overcharging for shipping, i have had several instances where the shipped obviously overcharged by quite a but for shipping and i message them and ask how they can justify charging $xxx when it only cost them $xxx for actual shipping. I do this before i leave feedback… even had one seller reply with “are you asking me to justify my shipping cost that you knew when you bought the item” and i replied with “i absolutely am”. Feedback wasn’t the nicest from me.
Click to expand...

I'll just mention with my prior post: I don't believe it's the seller who is over charging me for shipping. It's eBay. The seller opts into eBay shipping program, and that shipping program charges me whatever it's going to cost. For the seller, it doesn't matter if that's $2 or $20 - it's all the same on their end, and they don't see it.

After I pay, the seller is responsible to sent the card to eBay's shipping wharehouse. I think it has to get there in a set amount of time. Their envelope doesn't even get opened, just put into a new one.

eBay is shipping through a courier, and that cost is whatever it is. eBay & DHL are both making money on the transaction though, I'm sure.

Thing is, with delivery confirmation requirements to avoid easy charge backs (I sympathize with sellers who have dealt with "never got it" lies) this is the easy out for them. No fuss, no work (they don't have to get the tracking themselves), and no chargebacks. If I file a claim, and win, it's the courier's fault, not the sellers.

I understand, 100%, why sellers opt into it - but it's a rip off for buyers, and eBay knows it.

odjickfan said:
The card alone in the pwe without any protection is a bit cheap. Inside Canada, when I use PWE, I put the card in sleeve/taped toploader/taped teambag/PWE, and when shipping to USA, I put the card in a taped sleeve between 2 thin cardboards in the PWE. So far, everything went to destination correctly.
Click to expand...

I'm with you on that. I don't trade or sell enough anymore that it's an issue with me shipping - but I have NEVER got a card in a PWE / top loader / reinforced with cardboard - and had it come bent.

On top of that, I do send out quite a few TTM autograph requests. I send the card(s) (1 or 2 at a time) in a PWE, inside card savers (return envelope included as well). I have never got a card back that was bent doing it that way, and it had to be shipped twice (from me to whomever I wrote to, and then them returning it)

Hector4Hockey said:
Postage cost is the mystery and frustration, I would love to see why it costs more to process and ship for the differences in packaging.

Insurance and tracking for low end cards and "buyer protection" and "global shipping system" is -- I believe -- a scam and/or scare tactics by eBay Canada post, USPS.
Click to expand...

I think the postage costs from Canada Post or USPS - They've gone up considerably, because the postal services are making less (losing more?) money year after year. They don't want to increase the price of sending a letter, but bubble mailers & parcels have gone up - because of the number of small businesses or people earning money online by selling goods.... and they're taking their cut.
 
Like Q said - was the norm back in the day.

Just got three cards in a PWE today from a member here. We mutually agreed to give it a shot as a $6 sale with $10 postage made zero sense. Cards arrived in perfect condition. I wouldn't be a fan for a significant card (value or personal reason due to lack of tracking) or frankly anything with a window (game used, etc due to thickness difference leading to creases), but in a situation like this it was a perfect alternative.
 
I always use bubble mailer to ship but have purchased a few low end inserts or base that was shipped in PWE. As long as the seller states it in the listing, I'm ok with it.
 

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