posted on June 12, 2001 04:16:55 PM new
I'll be selling regular size magazines (app 8 x 11) and vintage magazine ads. I'd like to use a plastic cover or "envelope or sleeve". I may also need some lightweight white cardboard for additional support for the single sheet ads. Any suggestions for internet supply locations?
I appreciate your help. Have been selling other collectibles since July 1997.
posted on June 12, 2001 04:38:13 PM new
I just received these from a guy in TN who runs his own business. I'll go look at the box here in a sec and get his name for ya. He's very quick about sending stuff to ya.
posted on June 12, 2001 05:19:27 PM new
Try American Plas-Tech. Their email is www.dandlproducts.com/supplies.htm Their stuff is the most reasonable I've seen. They ship very fast and the stuff is great quality. They sell sleeves and backboards for just about anything.
posted on June 12, 2001 05:36:55 PM new
Before you invest much in top notch materials (acid free backer boards and pricey poly sleeves), consider whether your bottom line will benefit from shipping in these sorts of materials. In my experience, it doesn't.
These materials are designed to protect comics and magazines for long term storage. The buyer can choose to archive his magazines this way if he chooses (I've got some 10,000 magazines, and NONE are stored that way). But as a seller/shipper, your concern is getting the item to the buyer undamaged-- not protecting the item for the next 40 years.
I generally place the magazine in a standard 9 X 12 brown craft envelope, sandwich it between two sheets of stiff cardboard, and then insert the sandwich into a brown craft envelope one size larger (either 10 X 13 or 12 X 15). This will give the package better protection than archival acid-free backer boards, at lower cost.
You might consider offering the poly bag/archival backer board as a follow-on option for your buyers:
"If you'd like your magazine shipped in a poly envelope with acid free archival backer board, please add $2."
posted on June 12, 2001 06:49:11 PM new
magazine-guy:I think you might beable to help me with a packaging problem. I am selling sheet music. Can I send it in a brown envelope or do I need pading? I will be waiting as I have some to send out. Thanking you in advance
In my view, paper collectibles don't need padding. They aren't breakable. They DO need stiff cardboard to prevent the postal guys and gals from trying to cram them into a standard sized mailbox.
So usually this means putting the item (in this case sheet music) in a standard #90 clasp envelope (under 5 cents each at Office Depot and elsewhere), and sandwiching it between two sheets of stiff cardboard. These can be cut from used boxes and the like. Even used Priority Boxes are OK for this, as long as they are inside the outer packing material. Put the whole thing in a slightly larger envelope (about 10 cents at various places).
That's what works for me. A padded envelope doesn't really add to the protection in this case, just to the cost.
posted on June 12, 2001 09:00:49 PM new
Thank you everyone for your replies. Thank you also to magazine_guy. I've read your repsonses many times on other threads and have respect for the business tips you have given on this thread. I did well selling vintage magazines that my husband had kept in very good to excellent condition since he graduated from high school. I sold them this past Jan-April. (I never knew we had these! and I'm regret saying he could keep the money we sold them for! You have no idea what a foolish business agreement I made on that one!) However, we have decided the remaining magazines (in the same collectible field) will probably be better off having their ads removed and sold separately.
Maybe I should be looking for smaller cardboard tubes? I had bought a 1924 magazine ad on ebay from another seller where it was placed in a plastic sleeve or envelope and then gently rolled into a stiff cardboard tube. The plastic was light weight and probably not archival. It was great for protection from any moisture that may have gotten into the mailing tube. The mailing tube was a fraction of the size of the USPS priority triangular tubes. It appeared he dealt strictly in paper advertisements.
Does this additional information alter any
of the suggestions posted?
Thanks again.
First of all, you are absolutely correct. You WILL get more money per magazine if you cut out the advertisements and sell them individually. Each magazine probably has between ten and twenty collectible ads that will sell for $3-30 apiece. If you have a hard time selling them individually, try grouping them together in small lots of similiar products.
That said... let me throw in my 2 cents on packing. Magazine advertisements are about 1/3 of my ebay business. (the other 2/3 is photography accessories). I ship my advertisements in one of two ways. If the magazine is smaller than 9"x12", I use stay-flat mailers. These mailers are obtainable from sources such as:
These specialty mailers are made of sturdy cardboard. I use the self-adhesive kind, so as not to harm the advertisements (the kind with tabs to seal can crease the ads inside). I also buy 3mm plastic bags Quill to insert the advertisents in. As you indicated, this prevents moisture damage in transit. Finally, I notate on the back in large print "Please do not fold or bend". You'd be surprised how many postmen would try to cram these hard-to-bend envelopes into a mailbox if it wasn't for this message on the back!
The other method I use is if I have a magazine ad larger than 12" wide. (like one from Life or Look) At this size, a stay-flat mailer is not practicle (although you can find them this large!) I use mailing tubes for these advertisements, again with the ad ensealed in plastic. I also make sure I tape the ends of the tube securly so that it can not be opened during transit. Again, these tubes can be cheaply purchased from Quill. I hope that this information has been helpful! Let me know if you have more questions.
[ edited by eauctionmgnt on Jun 13, 2001 05:13 AM ]
[ edited by eauctionmgnt on Jun 13, 2001 05:14 AM ]
posted on June 13, 2001 07:37:43 AM new
eauctionmgnt: Thanks for the additional information. That's what I needed. Is this quill location also the same place you get your plastic from? That's my biggest concern. I've sold many a non-paper widget (board games, etc) and have always bubblewraped them, etc but made sure they were in some sort of plastic covering. I've received many a pleasant feedback for that thoughtfulness as the buyer received the item with their other rain-soaked mail.
Yep! Quill is where I get all my shipping supplies from. I order stay-flat mailers, plastic poly-bags, tubes, packing tape & bubble mailers from them (as well as occasional office supplies). They're cheap.... and deliver fast! A great company to deal with!
posted on June 13, 2001 08:20:19 AM new
One thing to consider is what would happen if the package got left (with some other packages) on the buyer's front steps in the drizzling rain. Several hours under that kind of torture and you might wish you had some sort of plastic layer over the product. Good luck in whatever you do.
