A Note To All USA Traders

[sports4-ever]

Dear Mods:
If acceptable please leave this post in the Hockey Card trading section, as I believe it will have the most positive benefit with regards to cross border trading.


Fellow American Card hobbyists:
It is very unfortunate that so many USA traders have stopped trading with us, your neighbors to the North due to the latest increase in postal rates. Recently I have completed two trades with American citizens.

1) The first was with a very helpful gentleman from Madison Wisconsin. He sent 6 cards in total. Three cards in each top loader, and wrapped them in between two solid cardboard pieces (of the cereal box variety). He then mailed them out in a plain white envelope. The cards were as well protected as in any bubble mailer. His total cost of shipping was $1.82 to Ontario, Canada ....

2) Trade number two, was with a relatively new trader from Massachusetts. His parcel contained 3 cards, in three separate top loaders, protected by a small covering piece of bubble wrap. It was mailed in a Brown 6 X 9 inch paper envelope and the total USA postage stamp was $1.15 again to Ontario, Canada.

I'm just bringing this up to point out that it is still possible to trade with Canadians at a reasonable cost and increase the viewership or amount of traders that can help with your needs and vice versa. I for one, am quite confident that cards that are protected in this fashion will arrive in the same condition as when they were mailed. Lets continue to enjoy our passion for this great hobby, by keeping the opportunity to trade with each other intact .....

[debtriddin]

Hi

I just got 2 packages from the US. The first one was one card in a top loader in a long white letter envelope folded in half . The card was well protected. It cost 6.55. The second came in a fairly large bubble mailer and contained 3 cards all in one top loader. The bubble mailer is about 8x10 . Probably didn't need that big of a mailer. That cost 2.50. Not sure how they got categorized to determine price. But it shows there are ways to get cheaper postage.

Cheers Mike

[RGM81]

This is fairly well-known information. centrehice has posted a reinforced PWE thread in this area which has been very helpful for several traders.

[odjickfan]

PWE shipping is good on lower-end deals, except with jersey cards. Because of the window for the jersey and the thickness of the card, those are more prone to bending marks.

[MW Connection]

PWE is fine on the cheaper cards up to about 50 bucks. As long as the buyer is honest when it arrives it all works well. It is basically the honor system.

[centrehice]

PWE works as well when you pay the Non-Machinable surcharge, which guarantees that the letters don't go through a machine sorter in the USA. When they go international, then at times they are on their own.

[gmoney41685]

Unfortunately, the PWE method has not worked for me at the half dozen PO's that I have been to in my area. They all say the top loader is too rigid to be machine sorted. I have not tried the Global Forever stamp with the extra stamp method yet though. I just hate to have it come back and be out the extra couple of bucks on top of having to spend $7+ to then get it to it's destination.

[centrehice]

Unfortunately, the PWE method has not worked for me at the half dozen PO's that I have been to in my area. They all say the top loader is too rigid to be machine sorted. I have not tried the Global Forever stamp with the extra stamp method yet though. I just hate to have it come back and be out the extra couple of bucks on top of having to spend $7+ to then get it to it's destination.

Did you not read my post above yours? PWE Method, It works, you have to pay a .20 cent surcharge. You don't have a machine problem, you have belligerent clerk problems.

The Global Forever Stamp carries no significance. When you drop a PWE into a Mail Box with a Golabal Forever stamp on it in the USA, it goes through a Machine Sorter, unless you pay the surcharge so that it does not.

PWE's work, I've sent out well over 2,000 of them since 1999 on eBay.

[gmoney41685]

I read your post just fine. No need to be snotty. I'm sharing my experiences, it's not like I'm lying here to argue with you. Your experiences don't change mine. I've literally been to every PO within 5 miles of my 35 mile commute and they all say the same thing. Not one of them has offered a $.20 surcharge as an alternative to paying $7+. If they did, I would have taken it and would have made a post agreeing that this works. As many others have said in many other threads on this topic, it depends on the teller/PO you go to. I was simply giving people warning to not expect this to be 100% effective. I don't make a habit of telling people how to do their jobs and I'm not arguing with some miserable 50 year old lady that just wants to get through the line of customers so she can get back to her Cosmo magazine, that she doesn't know what she's doing. I also can't go behind the counter and just do it yourself. I'm glad for you that you have been successful doing it this way, but I'm not sure how what worked 15 years ago is necessarily relevant as things change. Perhaps that is part of why this works for you, you have a repertoire with your PO and they allow it. I don't and I can't go back to when I was 14 and build one for myself. What do you suggest I say to the clerk the next time I try to do this and they say no? Perhaps being constructive instead of condescending would be a more productive approach if you truly wanted to help those of us who this doesn't work for. Believe me, I would love to be able to do this.

Did you not read my post above yours? PWE Method, It works, you have to pay a .20 cent surcharge. You don't have a machine problem, you have belligerent clerk problems.

The Global Forever Stamp carries no significance. When you drop a PWE into a Mail Box with a Golabal Forever stamp on it in the USA, it goes through a Machine Sorter, unless you pay the surcharge so that it does not.

PWE's work, I've sent out well over 2,000 of them since 1999 on eBay.

[centrehice]

I am not being snotty.

All USPS computer tills have a "Non-Machinable" surcharge button. This is for sensitive letters that don't need to be sent as packages, but still need to arrive intact. It's not a USPS policy problem, as the service is available.

I will state this again. Your problem is a USPS Clerk Problem. What worked 15 years ago? That comment was not necessary. I still ship out tons of cards via PWE. I have another going out today. I do this all the time.

You cannot send more the 5 cards together this way, as then you have a thickness problem. If you don't care what happens to the card, then throw on a Global Forever Stamp and drop it in a box.

NB: Just because you send the PWE without a surcharge does not mean that it will automatically get damaged. That is a fallacy, and a lie.

With 1 or 2 cards and one Top-Loader, nothing bad will happen to the cards. If you try to send more than 4, then you are looking for damage if it has to be machine sorted.


Now if you are trying to use a Bubble Envelope instead of a PWE, then of course you are going to encounter resistance.

What do I propose you do? Get creative. Use a PWE and a Global Forever Stamp.

Call the Post Master at your local, and make a point of telling him that the Non-Machinable service exists. My Post Master did not know that his staff even had a Non-Machinable Surcharge, his employes and I had to tell him this. They often don't know, or cannot be bothered.

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