OK, we're trying to ready some stuff for GenCon, and one of our products is a package of characters, all filled out on fancy character sheets. To keep this message short, and the responses on topic, we're not looking for critique of the concept of selling pre-made characters for a game--our game's pretty unusual, and this is in response to fan requests, so it's a reasoably good idea.

What I am looking for is suggestions on the packaging. In addition to the characters (40 sheets of letter-size paper), we have a nice color cover we can use, commissioned precisely for this (we intend to put them up on RPGNow, also, when we get a few other issues sorted out). But i'm at a bit of a loss as to how to inexpensively package them for hardcopy sale.  Ideas we've had:

Clear document envelopes: kinda spendy to very spendy (depending on specific style), maybe not very attractive packaging, but practical--reusable (by the consumer) and lets the pretty "cover" show.
Report covers: you know, those clear sheets with a pressure-fit slide-on clip for the "binding".  Also, the only solution we've thought of that would make it easy to browse.  problem is, i've yet to find one that claims it can handle more than 20pp, and i suspect that means they will be prone to failure--and certainly can't be counted on to last once the consumer gets them.
Paper envelopes: cheap but ugly. Product doesn't show. Cover is lost, unless we manually glue the covers to each envelope, which would be messy and time-consuming and probably not very professional looking.
Synthetic (cardboard-like) document wallets: fairly durable and reusable, very spendy, can be easily used to store other things (instead of or in addition to), Really overkill (as in, much larger capacity than needed), and, again, opaque.
Something else?

I'm leaning towards the clear document envelopes, but part of the problem is cost--anybody know where we can buy in modest quantities (50-100) for $0.50/ea or less?  Otherwise, anybody have a better solution, or further pros/cons on any of the options above?

nat barmore
on behalf of
The Impossible Dream
<http://www.tiltingatwindmills.net>

Can you get it printed onto perferated paper? So there's a thin margin, a tear-along-line and then your character sheet?

Character sheets say "pad me" to me. It's a simple step and the cover can be the top pad. Then shrink wrap the product to hold it all together. Have samples of the character sheets out for people to see but give them a prestine plastic wrapped copy.

This will be a lot cheaper than a 50 cent folder. Wich will mean you can sell it for less and make more.

Chris Engle
Hamster Press

Well, Office Depot or Office Max can supply you with very cheap clear plastic folders, maybe a dime a piece (at least they were the last time I bought a few hundred of them).  They have about 30 different varieties or so for various sizes and shapes.  I'd suggest checking these kind of stores first.  Cheaper than that, though, you're on your own. :c)

I really like Resonantg's idea and that's probably what I'd go with.  But, if you're looking for other options, here's a couple that come to mind:

   2 (or 3) hole punch the sheets and feed them into a corporate file folder (like a manilla folder but with little bendable studs that go through the holes in the sheets)
   I believe that kinkos will actually print them as a pad with perforated edges (as was mentioned)
   Several packaging/shipping/office stores sell little cardboard shipping boxes that you can put them in (but would have to glue on the cover)
   My favorite idea though, which is a bit more involved but very high on the classy scale, I've seen a number of companies who bundle their sheets loose with a card stock 11x17 wrap around that doubles as a GM's screen.  That whole thing would still use your artwork (for the player facing side) and adds value to your package.

Greg

Have these guys send you samples of the 9" x 12" bags.

You can get a 1000 ziplock bags of this size for like $52 plus shipping.

That's like 6 cents each.  They'll look fine.

If you are going to use them for distribution you might consider shelling out extra for polypropylene (crystal clear) bags.  They are just a few bucks extra:

http://www.gtzip.com/ziplock/polypro.html

Definitely how I would market these stuff.  Probably a heckuva lot cheaper than shrinkwrapping.  Most finishing services have a $50 setup fee in Boston for almost anything they do.  For the price of the setup you could have a 1000 bags that you could use for almost any loose leaf distribution you ever do.

Hope that helps.

Uline has always been favorite supplier for any kind of packaging materials.  The bag category ( http://www.uline.com/Group_5.asp ) has clear ziploc bags for as little as $40 per 1000 (check the 2 mil reclosable bags) but you'll see that there are plenty of other options.

You can also get shrinkwrap materials, which would be my recommendation, since shrink wrapping looks very professional and is cheaper in the long run per unit (about $.02 per bag), but you do have to get a bar sealer and a heat gun (these can be bought retail at about $150-$200, but eBay always has some excellent deals).  The only concern with shrinkwrapping is that if your character sheets are too flexible, the whole package may sort of bow into a U-shape.  A cardboard insert did the trick with my GM screens (and the way it thickens the package seems to help them sell better too).

I also see that Staples carries a variety of sheet protectors at about $.05-$.10 each, but I don't know if they'll be thick enough for what you need to do.

eBay is worth checking out regardless of what method you choose.  So many of these items come in quantities of thousands that people often have a few hundred left over that you can pick up very cheaply.

Thanks for all the great ideas. It looks like i was a little unclear: this isn't 40p of the same thing, this is 40 different pages, that is, 40 pre-made characters, all fancy-like, on character sheets. That said, only one or two of the ideas seem impractical in that regard--the vast majority would work.

As for distribution: other than selling them at the occasional convention, we're figuring only through RPGNow. We're not interested in trying to accurately gauge demand in order to print up a large stock of them all at once.

I had looked at Office Max, and it didnt' look like the plastic envelopes were that cheap--I'll have to look again.

As for a GM's screen: it's a setting/supplement for an existing system, and super-rules-light (plus very freeform), so i'm not sure what to put on a screen. Though we had a good laugh about a GM's screen that has pretty artwork on the outside, and the entirety of the "rules summary" on the inside being "Wing It" in 6" letters. We might just do that, anyway...

Downside of shrinkwrap: nothing for the customer to store the character sheets in between games.

Put

ziplock bag 9x12

into Ebay's search engine and you'll find a number of people with small quantities of this stuff for dirt cheap.  Perfect for small scale convention sales.

I really like this idea of having a large pack of character sheets for player and GM use. Shrink wrapping indeed presents a few problems as people have mentioned, and indeed does not provide storage for later use. The perfect binding "tear pad" option is nice and looks clean until you use it and start tearing characters out from within the pad, and again you have the same storage problem.

Crystal zip lock bags are a nice option also, but honestly organizing them and taking them in and out of the bag all the time would get a bit annoying. I have tried a similar storage method by placing game notes in a large envelope and it's a hassle, anyone who's ever been in the comic trade and dealt with polly bags knows this.

My idea is this: Pre 3-hole punch the character sheets, shrink wrap them with the unpunched cover art with a backing board and display your demo copy in a nice 3-ring binder with slip covers (the kind of binder which has a plastic sleeve on front and back which you can place the cover art) Have a handful of binders available to sell should someone want to buy a binder immediately, but realistically, just about every gamer I know has extra binders laying around and they make nice, clean looking displays. Plus if you supplement this product with the release of "pack 2" or a "villains pack" etc, you'll be able to sell it with dividers and they can simply slide them into the binder.

This will also reduce the cost of your product without reducing it's perceived value.