Ryan Barone (@ballcardgenius on TikTok, 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. Join his 8,600 followers on TikTok! hello@ballcardgenius.com; Last Time Ago LLC dba Ballcard Genius.
Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. As I am a part of the eBay Partner Network and other programs, if you follow these links and make a purchase, I’ll receive commission. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
As a lifelong collector, I can say there aren’t many products that really get me excited and/or change the way I go about my card day—maybe three things. One is VaultX folder that I put my insert cards into, and the other is the Market Movers platform.
The last, and the focus of this post is the thermal label printer.
Why? What is a Thermal Printer?
As a quick intro, a thermal printer uses heat to print instead of ink.
But the major benefit for those in the sports card hobby is that labels are printed on peel-off paper that can be easily placed onto packages.
That is, without the need to cut out the label from the printed piece of paper, and then sticking it to the package using packing tape.
So, print, peel, stick, and off you go.
Which Printer is Best? Cost?
Honestly, I can’t tell you which is best. I can tell you I have a Jaden’s Thermal Printer and I love it.
I purchased it on Amazon, and they’re currently $79.99 with a Prime membership (which is a lot less than I paid!).
This price might come with labels but you’ll want to do your own research. I ended up buying 500 labels for about $20, which will last, well, for 500 cards sold.
@ballcardgenius I love selling more cards and items on ebay but i also dread packing them all for shipment. A thermal printer gets rid of a ton of frustration and makes shipping tolerable. I’ll earn commission if you make a purchase #smallbusiness #thermalprinter #tiktokshopping #ad @Jadens printer
♬ original sound – ballcardgenius
So, let’s say you spend about $100 for the printer and the labels, and then sell 500 cards. You price per card comes to $.20.
Other thermal printer options include Rollo and Dymo.
What is the Thermal Printing Process?
When you sell a card on eBay or any other platform that requires you to do the shipping, there isn’t much that changes up to the point of printing. For me, personally, this is how I go about it:
Go to eBay and go through the label purchase process. Once you’ve made the purchase, instead of “print” I go ahead and “download the label” and save it to my files on my phone. This is usually best for me because I’m typically shipping multiple cards at once, and I’m not ready to package them when I purchase the label.
Then, I open up the Jaden’s app, and then click “File Printing” to find the label I already saved to my files. From there I just click “Print” and then seconds later the label prints.
Once the label is printed, simply tear at the perforation and then peel the label from its backing.
Then, take the sticker and place it on your semi-rigid mailer (for eBay Standard Envelope) or bubble mailer.
All said, if you’re selling a lot of cards and the thought of shipping is just too much to bare, consider a thermal printer. Aside from the benefits mentioned above, naything that encourages collecting of cards or inspires making more money with them is great in my book.
