How to safely ship Pokémon cards

Shipping a card collection is straightforward if you treat packing as the first line of insurance — because it is. The goal is a package that could be dropped twice from waist height and arrive with no shifted or bent cards.

Why bubble mailers fail on valuable lots

Bubble mailers are fine for a single sleeve card in a toploader going to a buyer who knows what they're getting. They are not appropriate for binders, raw stacks, or anything over $50 in value. The reasons:

- **Compression.** Binders and thick stacks compress under mail sorting machine pressure, bending cards against each other. - **Insurance claims.** Carriers will reject a claim on a bubble mailer for cards worth more than a few dollars. "Insufficient packaging" is the most common denial reason. - **No rigidity.** Without a rigid outer shell, any point impact bends cards.

Use a cardboard box for anything over $30 or more than 20 cards.

The right packing sequence

1. **Sleeve individual cards.** Any card worth more than a few dollars goes in a penny sleeve, then a toploader or card saver. 2. **Group in team bags.** Bundle 10–20 toploaders into a team bag and tape the bag shut with painters tape — not packaging tape, which pulls on toploader surfaces. 3. **Anchor the bundle.** The team bag bundle should not be able to shift inside the box. Use bubble wrap, foam, or crumpled kraft paper to fill all empty space. 4. **Label the inside.** Write your name and contact info on a slip inside the box. If the outer label gets damaged, the package can still be returned.

Insurance: what to know

- Buy insurance equal to your agreed declared value, not a guess. - Signature confirmation is not the same as insurance — both are worth getting on anything over $100. - Photograph your packing steps before sealing the box. If you file a claim, "insufficient packing" will be denied without photos proving otherwise. - Keep the tracking number and your buyer thread. The thread is proof of the agreed shipment terms.

Common mistakes

**Reused boxes.** A box that's been compressed once has weakened corners. Use a fresh box for any lot over $100.

**Tape on toploaders.** Regular tape pulls finish off toploader surfaces and can damage card edges if a toploader cracks. Painters tape only.

**No inner cushion.** Cards should not touch the outer box walls. There should always be at least a half inch of cushion material on every side.

What to send us

Ship only after we've agreed on the lot value, logistics, and insurance amount in writing. We'll confirm the address and any specific packing requests in the same email.