How to Ship Sports Cards with eBay Standard Envelope (Fastest & Easiest Way)
Vložit
- čas přidán 2. 10. 2023
- Join the discord: / discord
This video will teach you the fastest and most efficient way to ship sports cards (and trading cards) with the eBay Standard Envelope (ESE).
First you sort your orders awaiting shipment by buyer. Then you pick the cards (I use a BCW modular sorting tray, linked below) and sleeve them as you pick. The card at the bottom of your sorted orders list should be at the bottom of your pile.
Once your cards are picked, you print your invoices on your laser printer and your ESE directly on to your envelopes with the Epson ET-3830 printer. While everything is printing, you start putting the cards into semi-rigid card holders (while preserving their order).
After all that is done, all you have to do is go down the stack of cards/invoices/envelopes and use painters tape to secure the semi-rigid to the invoice and stuff the envelope. Work through your orders like an assembly line.
Wanna buy my cards? Check out my eBay store: www.ebay.com/str/paulcarlcard...
Here are links to the other tools I use for my eBay store:
EPSON DS-510 ADF Scanner: amzn.to/3W0VPVh
EPSON V600 Flatbed Scanner: amzn.to/3H2T9Sr
EPSON ET-3830 Printer (saves time by printing ESE labels directly on to number 10 envelopes AND the ink is so efficient it's cheaper than buying thermal labels!): amzn.to/3PIqSog
Brother HL-L2340DW Compact Laser Printer (for invoices): amzn.to/3QbGZv3
BCW Modular Sorting Trays: amzn.to/3F1NDxl
If you want to try Kronocard, here are links to the basic plans to get you started (if you grow fast like I did then they will give you prorated refunds when you upgrade mid-subscription cycle):
Kronocard Pro Lite (Allows you to use the AI to identify and pre-fill card details): paulcarl--kronozio.thrivecart...
eBay Connector Starter (Allows you to list cards directly to eBay from Kronocard): paulcarl--kronozio.thrivecart...
Kronocard Export Add-On (Allows you to export the images and data into a CSV which can be modified to easily upload your cards to your own website, eBay, or other marketplaces that allow csv product imports): paulcarl--kronozio.thrivecart...
ha, "I'm a marketer by trade." I was wondering why I've always done invoices and thank you notes even though many others don't, and that must be why! It really does help with repeat buyers and maintaining 100% positive feedback by being professional.
Yeah! Criminally underrated.
Love it! Great video
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Your letter is a fantastic touch!!
Thank you!
7:14 - This is my line of thinking as well. Not only does my packing list help in double-checking that I picked the right item, but I also put a checkmark next to the item as a last self-check, then scribble a quick 'Thank you for your order' on the bottom. These things (hopefully) subconsciously remind a customer that an actual human being is on the other side of the transaction.
Absolutely! I try to make every touch point with customers special and on-brand.
Very Good
Thanks! Appreciate you watching and commenting.
Printing label directly on envelops is super cool didn’t realize you could. Just so people know though most people with a UPS account can get the 4x6 label thermals for free. You don’t need to buy them at all. This printing right to the envelope is still faster though but you don’t need to assign a cost to labels
Cool, thanks for commenting! Didn’t know UPS had the hookup.
You're a certified genius! I more than greatly appreciate all the video's you make and inspire me to keep trying to make this work. I'm wondering how you merge all your scans into player lots?
Thanks, I appreciate you watching and the compliments! For my lot scans, I have a desktop app I made to automate it. Working on turning it into a webapp so that more people can use it.
I will be first in line! @@paulcarlcards9050
When eBay standard envelope began I printed directly onto envelopes using my laser printer and I had about half my envelopes not get "origin processing" scan or other scans along the way. Ever since I switched to thermal labels I have had maybe 5% without an "origin processing" scan. Seeing that you're having success printing directly on the envelopes I may switch back when i run out of labels and get a more modern printer with a better DPI.
I was worried about them scanning in too. I tested 10 orders with the envelopes and waited for them to be scanned delivered before I went all in with it.
Thermal labels also have the advantage of being water resistant.
Hey Paul, I appreciate the hustle. I am averaging 7.2 cards sold per day over a 90 day period so no where near your volume but you've given me somethings to think about as I get bigger. I love printing directly to envelopes, it makes so much more sense vs labels.
I respect the Thank You note reasoning, I don't do it but I've also noticed that over half my business is repeat customers too. Have you thought that maybe its the type of cards that you are selling at reasonable prices that is driving the repeat business and not that extra piece of paper?
Thanks for your comment!
Sure, the cards and the pricing definitely play a role. But that note takes it beyond just increased repeat eBay business.
How many people get to the point where they exchange Christmas gifts with a buyer (or seller) they met on eBay?!? That’s just insane. A thank you note sparked that.
How many eBay sellers can text someone and say “Hey I got about 100 cards for you, just sent the invoice. Found that XYZ card you wanted too!” and get paid for them, no photos or anything? Thank you notes created these opportunities.
I’ve written thank you notes religiously for my entire life. In my main business, customers always get them. When customer A refers customer B to me, B gets a thank you note and A also gets a thank you note for the referral. Then, when customer B refers customer C to me, the entire chain gets another thank you. It’s so much fun to write to customer A and say “hey, you remember referring customer B to me? Well B just introduced me to C and it’s all possible thanks to you”.
As I sit here and type this, I look around and everything I have is because a customer paid me. It almost overwhelms me with gratitude. It makes the process of writing (or signing in the case of cards) these thank you notes somewhat of a spiritual experience.
People can buy my cards from anyone but just a small extra effort, mindfulness, and personalization can make people so happy that they would rather wait to buy the card(s) until I’m the one they can buy them from. I think the fact that the notes are genuine and that they transform a transaction into a connection is why they work so well for both me and my customers.
@@paulcarlcards9050 That is a really inspirational story! I too feel the joy when I'm able to connect a customer with a card they have been looking for. You take it to the next level with the human connection. Wow. Do you have a spreadsheet or something to track the Customer ABC chain or is that all in your head?
@@AtomicZombieAndroid it’s all in my head. I work alone and don’t outsource anything so I keep my client base pretty small. At this point in my career I only work with clients who I’ve worked with in the past or their referrals. I rarely work with a company that isn’t already in the loop unless it’s something I’m really excited about and interested in.
Great Video. Thanks! One question, I have sent cards before in the semi ridge holder and the #10 envelope. The cards were damaged when they went through the sorter. I did not have them taped in the middle, but on the edge. Is this why they were damaged do you think? Thanks.
Thanks for watching! It’s tough to say without knowing more info. I could see an overfilled semi-rigid having problems. Not sure if having it on the edge or not can cause hiccups but I always had mine in the middle.
Dang, wish I would have watched this video a few months ago. Just bought a scanner for my cards and we bought a new printer a few months back. I can't really justify buying a new printer and we frankly don't have the space for it. This is a great video though, appreciate it!
Happy to help! I honestly don’t even use it that much any more since I’m doing lots now. Back to peeling for me. 😝
I struggled for hours yesterday trying to get the label to line up on the envelope.
First it printed super small in the middle and then the best I could do is get the width to print correctly but it still prints in the middle of the envelope.
Also I have a very similar style printer with HP Smart Tank 6001.
Printing in the middle of the envelope shouldn’t be an issue as long as it’s big enough to read/scan. What I did when I first started using this method was send 5 orders with my printed envelopes and then watched until they got the delivered scans without any issues. Then I did all my ESE orders this way. Hope this helps.
@paulcarlcards9050 thank you. This was my very first sell so I'm nervous it maybe won't get delivered. I read that the tracking for the ESE isn't quite like a package tracking.
Yeah, it isn’t. ESE is scanned by the sorting machines, not the carriers. Here’s my boilerplate response for any issues with it:
Hi, I’m Paul. Thanks for reaching out. Your order was shipped via eBay Standard Envelope which has weird tracking compared to a normal package. If it was marked as delivered today then you should expect it in 1-3 days because the eBay Standard Envelope gets scanned as delivered at your local sorting facility, not when it’s actually delivered at your door. This is because the sorting machines do the scanning instead of the postal carriers. Give it a day or two (3 at the latest) and you should have it in your mailbox. If not, please reach back out. Best wishes, - Paul
@paulcarlcards9050 thanks for this. I actually checked recently and seen it got its first two scans at a local facility.
Awesome, glad to hear it! Now you can really let it rip
Ive been trying to decide how to best organize inventory. About 43 sec in you mention Chrono card method. Do you have any other videos on this? I knew there had to something better than organizing by sport set and year.
Yeah! When you list with Kronocard you choose the Box number, row number, and tab letter to tell it where you’re putting the cards you’re scanning. You can do this manually too if you list another way. This data goes into your eBay custom label.
So when you sell a card, you can see where they all are and go get them easily by going to the right box, row, and tab. I try to keep tabs at 50 cards or less for singles and for my lots I do one lot per tab.
Note Kronocard info here: czcams.com/video/rCCAqu0svLE/video.htmlsi=OH-bkjA37i1dLy04
Thanks for commenting! Hope this helped.
@paulcarlcards9050 yes thanks. Is it comparable to what I hear mentioned alot Card Dealer Pro?
Nevermind I found your video comparing the two
@@runningdrills yeah, I think CDP also has something similar (figured I’d answer for anyone else reading).
Hey Paul thx for the content. I’m slowly trying to sell off my childhood collection on eBay. Very low volume seller but I’ve had numerous issues with cards being lost in the mail using the eBay standard envelope method. Is this common or am I doing something wrong?
Thx
You’re welcome! It does happen. I just refund and then I do the insurance claim to get my money back (if I remember or if it was for enough money to make it worthwhile).
Sometimes ESE will be marked as delivered early and the actual envelope won’t get there until a day or two later. I use this message as my boilerplate customer service in those scenarios:
Hi, I’m Paul. Thanks for reaching out. Your order was shipped via eBay Standard Envelope which has weird tracking compared to a normal package. If it was marked as delivered today then you should expect it in 1-3 days because the eBay Standard Envelope gets scanned as delivered at your local sorting facility, not when it’s actually delivered at your door. This is because the sorting machines do the scanning instead of the postal carriers. Give it a day or two (3 at the latest) and you should have it in your mailbox. If not, please reach back out. Best wishes, - Paul
You can automate “typing” a message like that with Text Replacement your iPhone (probably a similar Android feature or app) or a desktop app like FastKeys.
Without knowing how you ship I can’t give any feedback on that.
Thanks for commenting, hope this helped!
@@paulcarlcards9050 thx so much! I’ve just eaten a few $0.99 sales but had a couple $5-$10 ones I tried to do the claim on but forgot. I guess it’s part of it. Thx again for your response.
Have you had any issues with the ink bleeding? I know some people claimed this doesn’t work because ink bleeds in bad weather. Could you share your experience? Great video
Haven’t had any ink bleeding issues. I was originally worried about that too and only sent out 10 orders this way when the printer first came in. Waited for them to all be delivered before I did all of my ESE orders this way.
The ink probably would bleed if it got rained on or something but I always put my orders inside the post office since sometimes pickups from the blue boxes get skipped/delayed.
Hope this helps!
Thanks for the feedback, that helps so much
@@stunninersly my pleasure!
Had wrong day selected for the premier lol. Sorry for anyone that affected.
I am curious about two things: First, if you apply any force with your thumb or finger such as could happen with the mail carrier or customer, does the address not smear and get on the fingers? Second, what happens when it gets wet? I would venture a guess that at least 10 days a year we get mail that is wet due to rain or snow. I can't help but wonder about liquid making a mess of the address as I have seen with some addresses printed with ink jets.
1. Haven’t had any issues with smearing even when I’m handling the freshly printed envelopes. If you tried to smear it with the pressure then probably you could? I dunno for sure.
2. I don’t know.
Sorry I don’t have more concrete answers on these questions. Haven’t had any experience with these problems
@@paulcarlcards9050 I would be curious to know what brand of envelope you use. The ones I use have this wax like covering to them. I tried printing directly on one once with an inkjet and it smeared. I was in a hurry so I put it to the side instead of throwing it way. About month later I went to throw it away and it still smeared.
I use plain old #10 envelopes from BJs. You can get 500 for $16 there.
You can get labels free with a free ups business account, just an fyi.
Yeah, I know. They give those away for customers to use for their UPS shipments and I’m not gunna steal labels from UPS to ship my ESEs.
I was just getting ready to rant about the thank you notes because I'm sorry but people are right that's a total waste of time buddy! Think about it I'm sure you have gotten a order with one of these in it as so have I and what's the first thing that you do? You wad it up and throw in the trash! I've been doing this for over 35 years And I have never put a thank you note let me rephrase that! A waste of time!! thank you note in one of my orders ever! And I've never read one and have never had any use for one! No I'm sorry I take that back! I'm wrong! I did use 1 one time! I had a booger in the corner of my nose and a had cut my booger nail off the day before and could not reach it and that's the only time I had any use for one of these thank you notes! But people don't want to see stuff like that they don't care about stuff like that all they want is to get to there card that's just another piece of cardboard that they have to walk over and throw in the trash. 35 years!!!! No thank you notes!! Waste of time!!😊
If you’re talking about the generic, I personalized notes then I agree with you. But a well written note with the customer’s name handwritten and your name handsigned, maybe a little extra PS handwritten.. these get read and generate repeat business.
In my eBay messages and feedback, tons of customers comment on the thank you notes and tell me how much they appreciated it.
But yeah, if you’re just throwing in a poorly written “thank you” on some postcard advertisement then of course it doesn’t do anything. That’s a lazy waste of money.
But if you actually have a brand, a personalized and well-written thank you note is one of the best ROI activities (whether you sell cards, cars, homes, widgets, anything).
Nice, glad to finally find the queer way
Ok