Knowing how to keep your cards safe when mailing them can unlock more possibilities and opportunities for your collecting.
Here are three reasons why you might need or want to ship your cards.
Grading
There are plenty of reasons why getting your trading cards professionally graded and authenticated makes sense, including the potential for increased value, proof of legitimacy, and long-lasting protection from environmental damage. To reap these benefits, you’re most likely going to have to ship your cards.
Check out Fanatics Collect's grading and authentication partnerships:
Vaulting
The benefits of using a professional trading card vaulting service are wide-ranging. The best professional trading card vaulting services go far beyond enhanced security and storage space. For example, the Fanatics Collect Vault includes free insurance, high-res imagery, appraisals, digital portfolio access via web and mobile, streamlined pathways to buying and selling collectibles, and more.
While you can have cards you purchase elsewhere shipped straight to the Fanatics Collect Vault on your behalf, you’ll also want to know how to mail cards safely from home to enjoy the benefits of vaulting.
Learn more about Fanatics Collect Vault storage:
Sale or trade
Whether you’re looking to make a profit on past purchases, need to unlock funds to procure a grail that’s eluded you, or want to initiate a trade with another collector, shipping your cards safely is a huge part of opening up new avenues to add to your collection.
Want someone else to handle shipping logistics for you? Learn more about selling on Fanatics Collect:
The best way to ship your cards
The reason why you’re shipping your trading cards, their level of protection, and even their perceived value are all factors in figuring out the best way to ship your trading cards safely.
In general, you have three goals to keep in mind when figuring out the best way to ship your trading cards:
- Protect the cards via sleeves and cases.
- Choose a sturdy packaging method.
- Keep the cards from moving around while in transit.
Keeping those three overarching goals in mind, here are some things to consider depending on the circumstances under which you’re shipping your trading cards.
The best packaging for shipping trading cards
The best packaging for shipping trading cards is the method that balances protection, size, and cost.
At a minimum, you should use a padded mailer or envelope. While normal household envelopes and manila envelopes might be more convenient, they offer little-to-no protection for your trading cards.
While padded mailers or envelopes can do the trick, boxes can often be the safest route to travel when it comes to shipping your cards. The key with boxes is finding a middle ground. You don’t want to stress the box by cramming it to capacity. However, you also don’t want to leave too much room for cards to slide around or pay more than you have to for a box that's bigger than you require. Find one that provides enough room to fit all your cards and a bit of buffer in the form of bubble wrap or another trusted packing material.
Tracking and insurance
It’s important to consider tracking and insurance when you ship your trading cards.
Tracking and insurance can take much of the stress and guesswork out of shipping trading cards. Some shipping methods include tracking and insurance in the cost. Other times you might have to pay a bit extra for one or both.
It’s important to remember that insurance fees will vary based on the estimated or known value of what you’re sending. Costs will generally go up as the level of coverage required rises. While it can be enticing to cut corners and report the value of your cards to be lower than it is, realize that this means you’re also capping the amount of coverage for which you’ll be eligible if something does happen to them.
It's also highly advised to use a method that provides tracking. This is a low-cost service that adds some peace of mind while your cards are in transit.
The best way to ship your cards for grading
Most grading companies have similar requirements regarding how you ship your cards. You will generally need to store them in pliable, plastic penny sleeves (also called soft sleeves) and semi-rigid plastic card holders. This tried-and-true combination protects your cards and ensures they don’t slide out while in transit.
The best way to ship graded trading cards
One of the major benefits of getting your trading cards graded by a professional service is that they’ll be put in a sturdy slab that offers robust protection. This removes the need to put your collectibles in any other type of sleeve. However, wrapping the slabbed cards in a protective material such as bubble wrap is still advisable.
General trading card shipping tips and options
Here are a few other options for sending your trading cards safely through the mail.
Just as they play a huge role in at-home protection for your cards, top loaders can also help you mail your trading cards safely. Of course, they need to be paired with a penny sleeve first. Placing a small piece of tape across the top of the top loader can help ensure the card doesn’t fall out. However, a safer (though slightly costlier) option is to put the top loader in a team bag. Then sandwich it between two small pieces of cardboard and masking tape the cardboard at the edges to help the card stay within.
Team bags can be a strong shipping aid in a variety of circumstances. As discussed, they can help keep your top-loaded collectibles safer and also prevent slab scratching when sending graded cards away.
Being able to mail your cards away safely and confidently can help you get the most out of your collecting experience. Armed with these tips and some tools of the trade, you can help keep your cards better protected as they travel.