Ryan Barone (@ballcardgenius, Card Expert) is a lifelong member of the hobby. He has been quoted in PSA Magazine, and his content has regularly been mentioned in “Quick Rips” (the Topps RIPPED Newsletter) and across other hobby publications. hello@ballcardgenius.com; Last Time Ago LLC dba Ballcard Genius.
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The eBay Standard Envelope is nothing to be afraid of. In what some people see as a restricted, non-protected, untrackable shipping service, others see a benefit, asset, and opportunity to sell more cheap cards than ever before.
If you’re unfamiliar, the eBay Standard Envelope isn’t an envelope at all, but is instead a low-cost shipping label that offers both tracking and insurance/protection.
You can use it for a number of categories, but it is most popular for trading cards.
With it, cheaper baseball card can be sold with about $1 or less shipping. Without it – and having to default to first class or ground advantage – that same card would have to be shipped for $4-$5.
Of course, plenty of cards were sold before the eBay Standard Envelope was introduced, but they were sent in a plain white envelope that didn’t offer any tracking or protection whatsoever.
Given all of that, any time you’re placing a trading card in an envelope without bubble wrap or and that isn’t a bubble mailer, there is going to be hesitation.
But I’m here to tell you there isn’t much to worry about, and this is why.
Success Rate: In 2023, I sold 59 cards with the eBay Standard Envelope. The average sales amount of those cards was $9.28, and only one card was disputed as never showing up and was thus refunded.
Shipping Insurance: Even better, each card that is sent via eBay Standard Envelope is protected up to $20. So, for that one that didn’t make it to the buyer, I submitted a claim and days later was awarded a payout days later.
@ballcardgenius How to ship sports cards plain white envelope PWE or Ebay Standard Envelope, with examples—penny sleeve, toploader, team set bag ✅
♬ original sound – ballcardgenius
Easy Packaging: Shipping with the eBay Standard Envelope doesn’t require anything special, and in reality, requires even less than what you’d use to ship first class.
- Penny sleeve
- Top loader
- Team set bag
- Envelope/mailer
That’s it! Place the card in the penny sleeve and then insert into a top loader. Some people choose to tape the top of the top loader, but you don’t have to.
Either way, placing the card in a team set bag is a good idea.
In this video on the left, I received 5 different cards shipped, and every single one of them nailed the packaging.
- Some used painter’s tape on the top loader, some didn’t.
- 4 used a team bag and one that didn’t wrapped in paper
- 3 used plain white envelopes, 2 used more rigid options
- All cards arrived well-protected
More Sales: Which is more appealing to buyers, a $3 insert card with $1 shipping or that same $3 with $4.50 shipping. It’s a question so easy to answer I almost feel silly for asking it. With many buyers sorting their eBay results by price (which includes shipping), they might not ever see your card if you’ve listed with first class shipping. So, if you’re looking to increase your sports card sales, I highly recommend the cheaper option.
Better Collecting: While most of this is from the seller’s point of view and their benefits, if you’re a collector, the eBay Standard Envelope is your friend as well. Especially if you’re a set collector, player collector, or rainbow chaser, after to spend $5 on shipping for every little card isn’t sustainable for most people.
