You’ve made a sale on eBay or Facebook of an expensive card…congratulations!
But now the nerves kick in as you figure out how to make sure the card gets there safely. After all, if something happens, you’ll have to refund the money and potentially lose the card!
For shipping an expensive sports card, I’m usually going to put it in a box, perhaps a small flat-rate box, and then pay for insurance and require a signature confirmation.
There’s more to talk about, so let’s dive in!
How Expensive is the Card You’re Shipping?
For me, I handle this differently. In my mind, there are three categories of “expensive”
- $10 – $500
- $500 – $5,000
- $5,000+
Those are just guidelines—obviously the lines sometimes get blurred based on situation or the desire of the buyer!
How Do I Ship an Expensive Sports Card?
Ship Lower-End Expensive Cards ($10 – $500)
For cards in this price range, I’m usually not doing anything too crazy.
First, I put the card in a bubble pouch. If it’s a raw card, I’m putting a few commons on either side of it. If it’s a slabbed card, make sure it’s in a graded card sleeve (here’s the brand I use).
Graded cards are a tad too big for my bubble pouches, but a piece of blue tape works well to seal it up here.
Then, it’s going inside a bubble mailer, and I ship it out First Class.
99.9% of the time, this works great.
Ship Medium-Expensive Sports Cards ($500 – $5,000)
I’ve got a few differences here with going up a level:
- I’m going to send it in a box instead of a bubble mailer. The card will get there fine in almost any way you send it, so truthfully, it’s more about perception. The box is more sturdy and the buyer wants to feel like you’re taking care of his card.
- Provide more information to the buyer. I’ll usually send them a message to confirm that I’ve sent it off, and provide them with a tracking number. They can see all that on eBay, but it’s an extra level of good service. If you’re selling away from eBay, this step is absolutely essential.
- Buy insurance and require a signature. With cards this expensive, I’m going the extra step to protect myself. Since eBay will side with the buyer almost every time, you don’t want to get screwed over on a massive card. If it’s lost, you have insurance. If the buyer tries to pull shenanigans, you have the signature confirmation to help you document what happened.
Ship Very Expensive Sports Cards ($5,000+)
This is where things start to get interesting, because fraud here can really hurt you!
In this situation ($5k+) cards, I prefer having someone else handle the shipping for me. What I mean by this is that I’m using a consignor to sell and send out the card for me. That way, I don’t have to worry about doing it myself.
The other option would be to use an auction house like Goldin. They’re extremely reputable so you can have the peace of mind that you’re getting a lot of eyeballs from high-end buyers and that the actual delivery of the card will be handled well.
However, if I am going to be shipping the card out myself, I’m going to do whatever I can to make the buyer happy!
That starts with reaching out and contacting them directly to find out what they would like.
I’ll suggest priority in a flat-rate box, and then insurance + signature confirmation. Most people seem to be fine with that, but not always. Some will insist on overnight because the less time a card is in transit, the less can go wrong…plus they’re excited to get their card!
Another option that many find popular is to go with another shipping service, like Fedex or UPS. They usually have quicker shipping, which like overnight shipping keeps the card in their hands for less time (meaning less time for mess-ups).
Again, be extremely transparent about what’s happening! Let them know when you’re planning to ship it, and then let them know when it has shipped. Let them know what the tracking number is so they can keep an eye on it. After it’s been delivered, follow up to make sure everything made it there safely.
This might seem like overkill to some people, but in the long run, that type of customer service pays for itself. A good reputation online means everything. If you want to do a deal on Facebook, you’ll want other people to be able to vouch for you.
On eBay, you want to keep your feedback as pristine as possible because no one wants to get scammed.
=> See my complete list of which products I use to ship out my cards!
What About Shipping Cheaper Sports Cards?
I sell a decent volume of cards on eBay and most of them are under $10! In my experience, the best way to do this is through eBay Standard Envelope and send it PWE (plain white envelope).
While that’s my preference, many sellers refuse to do anything less than first-class shipping. However, I’ve only had a few minor problems in hundreds of PWE sales, and people are more likely to buy a $3 card when I charge $1.50 shipping as opposed to others charging $4+.
You can also read my in-depth article about this: