shipping and packaging recommendations?

[Matt Wilson]

So it looks like I'll have the books in a day or two, and I need to figure out the best way to ship 'em.

Mostly I'm concerned with packaging quality. Anyone having good results with a certain kind of setup? Bubble mailer or regular envelope with cardboard inserts? Any other options?

Also, if you've shipped outside the US, what's your preferred service?

Thanks in advance!

[Valamir]

Hey Matt, I figure PTA should be about the size of Uni.

For Uni I use the half size bubble mailers.  If you're careful you can fit two in one for those occassions where people buy 2 copies at once.  I've had no complaints about arriving damaged.

If you buy them in bulk (in boxes of 25-50) at an office supply store you can get them for about 30-50 cents apiece (depending on brand and store sales) rather than the buck plus if you buy them individually at the post office.

I don't recommend going with the absolute cheapest generic mailers.  They're often a pain to actually use.  The bubbles are often stuck together and you have to pry apart the edges and corner from the inside.  Also there's no lip to the envelope, the bubble wrap is just pasted in so there is a definite edge of bubble inside the envelope that you have to navigate around carefully to avoid bunging the corners.  The slightly more expensive ones are worth avoiding the hassle.


Uni clocked in at 5.5 oz including mailer (6oz is the next breakpoint) so the savings between first class and media rate is only about a dime, so I send all of the domestic orders first class.  

I use standard Air Letter Post to ship international.  Its truly amazing how fast that gets delivered.  I think 3 days to Denmark is my record.  The rates are all regional standardized so pretty much everywhere in Europe is the same rate.  Most of Africa is the same rate.  Most of South East Asia is the same rate and most of Latin America is the same rate.  Makes it pretty easy to figure out international shipping costs.

When setting shipping rates I took the actual postage rate, the price of the mailer, and the Paypal fee and rounded to the next higher dollar

For me domestically that came to 1.52 postage + .50 mailer + .82 paypal fee rounded up to $3.00 SH domestic.  

For Europe it worked out to $4.80 postage + .50 mailer + 1.12 paypal.
I've only been charging $6.00 shipping to Europe which means I'm eating about 50 cents a copy, but I figure they have to pay so much for shipping anyway its not that big a deal.  I might up the SH to $7.00 after my next printing.  We'll see.

[Malak]

Get hold of the proper self-sealing card mailers that Amazon use. They are worth their weight in gold. You'll need to find a commercial packaging company, you dont' often find them high street stationers.

[GregS]

If you're not afraid to charge a little more for shipping you can always use the Post Office's Priority Mail.  It's usually 2 day delivery and comes with free packaging in a number of very cool configurations.  Cost is a little over 3 bucks.

Hit your local post office or their website for more info.

[jdagna]

My books are 8.5x11 and weigh at exactly 2 lbs, so you might find some different options work best for you, but here's what I do:

For packaging, I bought cardboard mailers designed for books.  Basically, you can fold them up around the books and tape them closed.  Here's the source I bought them from: http://www.uline.com/Browse_Listing_1301.asp  (U-Line is a great source for all supplies, by the way).  The advantage is that they hold 1-5 books securely and cost less than $0.60 each including shipping to me.  I've never had any problems with these (even when one package got returned to me after spending 2+ months wandering the postal service).  I also use Priority Mail or Global Priority Mail envelopes for some shipments, just because they're free from the post office.  Both of these solutions mean I don't need peanuts or bubble wrap or anything else.

When it comes to international shipping, I can't beat Global Priority.  It's cheaper than air mail (at $9 per flat-rate envelope, which holds one book, plus a supplement or GM screen), even if I'm sending several books.  I have only had one complaint about a corner getting dinged, and that from a customer who has a three-year track record of complaining about EVERYTHING.

[Matt Wilson]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone.

Ralph: thanks especially for the bubble envelope tip. I was hoping there was a cheaper option than the post office.

[Valamir]

Hey Justin, great tip on Uline.  I just squirreled away that url for when I need to do Robots & Rapiers.

Once you get above a pound Air Mail gets prohibitive very quickly, but under a pound its cheaper than Global Priority Flat Rate.

[Luke]

BW materials are a lot bigger, but the best service I've found is the USPS Flat Rate Priority Mail envelopes. They're blue and white cardstock. $3.85, two to three days.

For international, I use Global Priority. Red and gray envelopes, $9 flat rate. Might be too much for you, but the service is incredibly reliable.

-L

[Paul Czege]

My Life with Master is 7" x 8.5", which means it fits perfectly into any standard envelope you'd use for 8.5" x 11" sheets if I insert it with the spine toward the bottom and tape the excess envelope over as a big flap. And that's what I've done. I've been buying them in packages of twenty from K-Mart for $2.19. I've been snagging clean pieces of corrugated cardboard from work, and cutting them down to use as stiffeners in the envelope. And I've used clear mailing tape on all four edges of each package. Hundreds of copies have shipped this way, both domestically and internationally, and I've received no complaints. It costs me $1.52 in postage to send a single copy of the game first class like this to a U.S. customer. I've been charging $2.25 shipping and handling, which covers the postage, plus the envelope, tape and mailing labels.

My issue with the USPS flat-rate envelopes is regular and continued disappointment at the delivery condition of games I've purchased from eBay when the seller has used them for shipping. They are made of a shoddy recycled cardstock, which tears easily. If a whole edge isn't blown open, then the corners are completely torn to shit. And on the rare occasions the contents aren't dramatically exposed to the elements somehow, then they're creased from the postal carrier folding the whole damn envelope length-wise in order to stuff it into my curbside mailbox. And the postal service prohibits taping the edges to make the envelope more resistant to their abuse. If you tape the edges, and the package weighs more than a pound, they charge you the same higher rate based on delivery zone as if you'd packed it in your own envelope.

Paul