Cheap ass trader question

Maklershed

Maklershed

CAGiversary!
Feedback
77 (100%)
I just started trading this week. This is the first time I've ever sent stuff through the mail as big as video games. It seems the average price of shipping stuff I'm encountering is $3.50 (first class, dc, envelope). I'm assuming there's a cheaper yet equally effective way to ship stuff and I was just wondering what the rest of you fellow cheap ass traders do (and how much it costs you).



p.s. Remember to check my list to see if you're interested in anything. Especially if you have GBA or DS games.
 
How much are you spending on your envelopes?

Postage and retail DC will run you about $2-$2.50 (or less) for a single game in a bubble mailer. So I'm guessing you are paying $1 per mailer? That's pretty high, but it can be hard to buy just a few at a reasonable cost. (I buy them 50-100 at a time and pay < $0.20 per.) You can buy maybe 10-20 at Staples for probably $0.50 each which will save you a bit, but I could be off on that I haven't priced these at Staples in a long time.

1st class is the cheapest option for a single game generally. Media mail will run about the same cost or more (depending on weight) for one game. If you are sending a bunch of games, Media Mail will be a lot cheaper. But it is a loooot slower.
 
Single game envelopes from Office Depot run me about $0.50 each.
Delivery confirmation is $0.55.
For a single game, First Class is the best option and usually runs between $1.29 and $1.98 (depending on how far it is traveling).
For multiple games, Media Mail is the more cost efficient choice, but is much slower. It usually costs me $1.42 and up.
Priority mail will go for $3.85 which is the most reliable service if the buyer is willing to pay for it.
From my experience, most of my games are sent First Class and most of my guides go Media w/DC, but it always varies.
 
shipping a ps2/xbx/gc game will cost $1.52 for first class shipping.

you can buy the envelopes on ebay, they are about 15 cents each if you buy a hundred of them(so yeah that would be about ten bucks)

or get them at a drugstore(longs or whatever) and they are pretty cheap.(i think i recently bought 25 for about 3 or 4 dollars)

and if you are careful, when you open an envelope that someone sent you, you can re use it and print out a mailing label of someone you are sending something to and put it on top of the TO: place of the envelope and no one will know that you reused it.
 
[quote name='dracula']

and if you are careful, when you open an envelope that someone sent you, you can re use it and print out a mailing label of someone you are sending something to and put it on top of the TO: place of the envelope and no one will know that you reused it.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I do that sometimes though envelopes are pretty hard to save. I reuse boxes all the time and recommend people use the box that I used to send me my stuff (since I usually pack it nicely with peanuts/fillers). There's a box I have that's been used in three transactions and it's still in decent shape!:D

About envelopes, iit's a hard decision... I can buy loose envelopes for $59 at drug stores. With shipping and DC, the total for shipping ends up under $3.20 for me... that's not bad, it's a $1 less than Priority and its usually just as fast as Priority as well.
 
[quote name='dracula']shipping a ps2/xbx/gc game will cost $1.52 for first class shipping.[/QUOTE]

Not always. It can vary, depending on where you live and where you're sending to.
 
Buy some bubble wrap, a tube of kraft paper, some 2" scotch tape, and a permanent marker. You're set.

If you don't want to buy bubble wrap, use a couple of those plastic bags you get from the grocery store.
If you don't want to buy kraft paper, ask for paper at the grocery store instead of plastic, and cut them up.

One game can be shipped first class for like 1.50 [plus the DC charge if you get it] depending of course on distance and how you pack it.

If you ship Priority, go to USPS.com and have them send you all the supplies [except for the padding/packing material]. Buy and print the postage/labels online, for no additional charge, and free DC. You can fill out a form on the website for them to pick up Priority Mail packages at your doorstop, for free. No human contact whatsoever, and ultraconvenient.

It always amazes me when I see people calling themselves "cheapass" then spending 2-3 bucks to pack/ship an item, not even counting postage.
 
[quote name='dtcarson']Buy some bubble wrap, a tube of kraft paper, some 2" scotch tape, and a permanent marker. You're set.

If you don't want to buy bubble wrap, use a couple of those plastic bags you get from the grocery store.
If you don't want to buy kraft paper, ask for paper at the grocery store instead of plastic, and cut them up.

One game can be shipped first class for like 1.50 [plus the DC charge if you get it] depending of course on distance and how you pack it.

If you ship Priority, go to USPS.com and have them send you all the supplies [except for the padding/packing material]. Buy and print the postage/labels online, for no additional charge, and free DC. You can fill out a form on the website for them to pick up Priority Mail packages at your doorstop, for free. No human contact whatsoever, and ultraconvenient.

It always amazes me when I see people calling themselves "cheapass" then spending 2-3 bucks to pack/ship an item, not even counting postage.[/QUOTE]

Cheapass is in the eye of the beholder. I decided a long time ago that I didn't want to do bubble mailers and would ship everything in boxes, mainly because I've seen the USPS do their damnest to jam the average bubble mailer/padded mailer into a mailbox, regardless of it fitting or not. I recycle just about every single box I get from EB/GS/whomever, as well as picking up boxes to use for shipping, plus bubble wrap and packing peanuts. Survived multiple issues with the USPS manhandling the boxes without a single lost/damaged game.

I'd rather spend the time and the to put it into a box with some padding around the game, since once it leaves my hands, it's out of my control. I don't count the packaging costs into my sales, because that's an implicit business costs for me, and from anyone that's dealt with me, they know I'm not in it for the money. If I was, I'd be on eBay. My stuff makes it there intact because I assume it's going to be a football on the way to the receipient.

Not everyone is as anal about packaging as I am, and that's OK. The only time I had an issue with a game being shipped to me by an individual was an asshat on eBay.

My suggestion to the OP is to use what works best for you, be it a box, padded envleope or the like, though do remember that it's your responsibility to deal with the outcome if it's damaged in shipment, since the first thing the seller is going to do is come knocking on your door for a resolution to the problem. I plan for anything being possible, which is why I use box + packing peanuts/bubble wrap. Again, just my preference.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']Cheapass is in the eye of the beholder. I decided a long time ago that I didn't want to do bubble mailers and would ship everything in boxes, mainly because I've seen the USPS do their damnest to jam the average bubble mailer/padded mailer into a mailbox, regardless of it fitting or not. I recycle just about every single box I get from EB/GS/whomever, as well as picking up boxes to use for shipping, plus bubble wrap and packing peanuts. Survived multiple issues with the USPS manhandling the boxes without a single lost/damaged game.

I'd rather spend the time and the to put it into a box with some padding around the game, since once it leaves my hands, it's out of my control. I don't count the packaging costs into my sales, because that's an implicit business costs for me, and from anyone that's dealt with me, they know I'm not in it for the money. If I was, I'd be on eBay. My stuff makes it there intact because I assume it's going to be a football on the way to the receipient.

Not everyone is as anal about packaging as I am, and that's OK. The only time I had an issue with a game being shipped to me by an individual was an asshat on eBay.

My suggestion to the OP is to use what works best for you, be it a box, padded envleope or the like, though do remember that it's your responsibility to deal with the outcome if it's damaged in shipment, since the first thing the seller is going to do is come knocking on your door for a resolution to the problem. I plan for anything being possible, which is why I use box + packing peanuts/bubble wrap. Again, just my preference.[/QUOTE]

And this, my friends, is why this man is the #1 trader on CAG. Not just in terms of his rating, but how he handles each and every trade whether it's for a newb or an experienced trader. The only trader that rivals him in terms of quality of packing is BigLebowski. Scarface is a very good packer too! ;)

I reuse everything I get from people/stores unless it gets torn up or really damaged. I will use bubble mailers, but I will try to bubble it up too if possible. EB boxes are the best for 1-3 games. I think I have only had a problem once with a damaged game and it was sent media mail. I almost never use media mail now unless it's requested as a cheaper option.
 
I think bubble mailers are fine, but making your own bubble mailer out of bubble wrap, kraft paper, and tape is asking for trouble IMO. Even if it gets there fine the buyer/trader on the other end is going to have a bit of a 'WTF is this packing job about' moment when they see the package. Simply not worth the time to make sure you tape up every bit of the edges IMO (you miss a bit and that game is going to fall out in transit.)

dracula - I haven't seen bubble mailers on eBay as cheap as $0.15 each (lot of 100) shipped. I checked a few of the big sellers and the best I found was just over $0.20 each shipped. Let me know the seller's id and I'll use them next time I need some mailers. I got them from a seller that also does eBay auctions (but from their non-eBay site) at 100 for about $0.17 or $0.18 each shipped.

And anyone that has a local store that sells bubble mailers in smallish packs at 3 for $1 or better is very lucky. I wish I had something like that.

I used to recycle mailers that I got from ebgames, trades, etc. But now that I do more eBay sales it's so much nicer to just pick a pristine perfectly sized mailer out of the box. I'd say if you trade/sell stuff just a couple times a month, scrounging for mailers is a good alternative. But once you start mailing stuff 3+ times a week you should pony up $20 or so for some (100) mailers.

Oddly enough I've had 2 packages damaged in transit and they were both boxed.
 
[quote name='dtcarson']Buy some bubble wrap, a tube of kraft paper, some 2" scotch tape, and a permanent marker. You're set.

If you don't want to buy bubble wrap, use a couple of those plastic bags you get from the grocery store.
If you don't want to buy kraft paper, ask for paper at the grocery store instead of plastic, and cut them up.

One game can be shipped first class for like 1.50 [plus the DC charge if you get it] depending of course on distance and how you pack it.

If you ship Priority, go to USPS.com and have them send you all the supplies [except for the padding/packing material]. Buy and print the postage/labels online, for no additional charge, and free DC. You can fill out a form on the website for them to pick up Priority Mail packages at your doorstop, for free. No human contact whatsoever, and ultraconvenient.

It always amazes me when I see people calling themselves "cheapass" then spending 2-3 bucks to pack/ship an item, not even counting postage.[/QUOTE]

I think you're crossing the line from CheapAssGamer to just plain cheap, ass.:lol:
 
Maybe I just take better care of my packages than other people. Out of hundreds of sales on ebay and Half.com, and a couple trades on various boards, I have never had a problem with my shipping methods. If someone says "WTF?" about my method, I'd say, "Did it get there quickly and safely?" To which they would have to respond, "Yes". Results, not appearance. In fact, when someone opens one of my packages, I would expect the comment, "Wow, this wasn't going anywhere."

I'll certainly reuse materials and boxes if they're in good shape, it would be silly not to. I haven't been getting boxes from places much recently, or if I do, they're too big to use for a single game; I've been mostly getting envelopes which get torn up in opening them. And of course reusing a torn up envelope that is obviously recycled looks pretty sad as well.

I personally don't like when I get something just in a bubblemailer. The two or three sheets of bubblewrap I use provides vastly more protection than a skintight onelayer thin bubble envelope, and I always feel lucky it made it to me intact.
 
I'm sure you must create the DIY mailer pretty well if you've never had a problem in 100s of mailings, but I'd hate for everyone that sends stuff to go this route. Remember the CAGer who didn't even bother to seal up the one flap on a real mailer properly so he had the game fall out in transit? (You might not remember or have seen the thread on that, but it did happen.) Imagine if someone with that level of attention to detail decided to start creating their own envelopes using paper, bubble wrap, and tape. Bad idea.

I still say it's worth spending a little bit on real mailers to save yourself the time and effort of custom creating mailers, but to each his own.
 
The real mailers are much better.

I use mailers for games with cases (GC/PS2/Xbox/DS/PSP/Genesis) and Priority Mail boxes (or regular boxes, if I get them or find them around the house in nice condition) for games in boxes (NES/SNES/GB(C/A)/N64) or for multiple games.

I don't always use DC on eBay, but I ALWAYS use DC on here and other trade sites.

That is an interesting method of packing, but it's a little too risky for little ol' me. It would give people another excuse to try to put a virtual boot in my ass. Naive college student = target, after all.
 
Anyone know video games can be shipped using media mail or not? The other day I was at post office to mail a couple of magazines. I want to use media mail but the lady wouldn't let me. I ended up using parcel post to mail the magazines. Anyways, she told me that computer discs can't be shipped using media mail either. So I was just wondering if video games fall under computer software or is it closer to DVD/CD which can be shipped using media mail.
 
[quote name='mookiemeister']Anyone know video games can be shipped using media mail or not? The other day I was at post office to mail a couple of magazines. I want to use media mail but the lady wouldn't let me. I ended up using parcel post to mail the magazines. Anyways, she told me that computer discs can't be shipped using media mail either. So I was just wondering if video games fall under computer software or is it closer to DVD/CD which can be shipped using media mail.[/QUOTE]

Some would say yes, since one definition of media mail included recorded CD/DVD materials, while another didn't.

If the USPS starts cracking down on it, so much for EB & GS using it on their "cheap" shipping.
 
Sorry to invade your thread but has anybody ever used the Priority flat rate envelopes? I was wondering if they're eligible for Delivery Confirmation?
 
[quote name='Ziv_Zulander']Sorry to invade your thread but has anybody ever used the Priority flat rate envelopes? I was wondering if they're eligible for Delivery Confirmation?[/QUOTE]

Pretty sure they are, since I've recieved items with them with DC's on them.
 
[quote name='wubb']I'm sure you must create the DIY mailer pretty well if you've never had a problem in 100s of mailings, but I'd hate for everyone that sends stuff to go this route. Remember the CAGer who didn't even bother to seal up the one flap on a real mailer properly so he had the game fall out in transit? (You might not remember or have seen the thread on that, but it did happen.) Imagine if someone with that level of attention to detail decided to start creating their own envelopes using paper, bubble wrap, and tape. Bad idea.

I still say it's worth spending a little bit on real mailers to save yourself the time and effort of custom creating mailers, but to each his own.[/QUOTE]

That's very true, but the issue there isn't the mailing material, its the mailing person. I've recieved packages from EB or elsewhere where the flap wasn't totally sealed. And your own example is about someone using a 'real' mailer. I guess the moral is, whatever you use, make sure it's packed securely.

To me, the little bit of effort in making them outweighs the cost and inconvenience of buying 'real' mailers. One time two years ago I spent 20 bucks on supplies, and they've served me ever since, I can go from "You've Made a Sale" to "please pick up my item" in five minutes.

I'm also not incredibly high volume, however. If someone is shipping an item a day or something, I can definitely see a benefit in the 'prepared' packaging materials. With the level of quantity I deal with, its not a huge 'overhead' time expenditure, but for 'pros' I can see how it would be.
 
I am not sure if it has been mentioned in this thread yet, but one small thing you can do to help shipment of games or DVDs is to place a small piece of bubble wrap or folded paper towel/tissue (unused preferably) in the game case. This goes along way to ensuring that the disc stays on its hub and does not come off during transit, only to arrive to you rattling around in the case all scratched up.

One of the worst sounds in the world is when you receive that game, pull it out of its packaging and hear it rattling around in there.

Anyway, that's my $0.02.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top