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Photo shipping - tubes, toploaders, or other?

So I've been mailing 8x10 photos for decades. Throughout that entire time, I've always shipped my photos in 8x10 plastic toploaders. Those things are just about indestructible. I've had one get run over and no problem to the photo. So many postal workers have shoved them into mailboxes despite them saying DO NOT BEND over the years, and yet in the end I think I've had only a couple get damaged.

My question is, as a buyer do you find this simple, effective method suitable? I ship in a poly mailer soft envelope with the photo inside the hard plastic. I can obviously include cardboard on each side but with that comes a cost. I ship 100s if not 1000s of photos per year.

Simply put, how much value do you find in that or so long as the item shows up, you're happy? I recently received an order of photos shipped along with some posters and all in a poster tube. HATED THAT> Please never send me anything like that again lol. Now I am forced to do the work of flatting these things out for a few days. With that said, I've had a seller say they were 100% successful with 0 damage shipping that way. Wondering how others feel the 'best' way to receive an 8x10 photo purchase is, keeping in mind everything has a cost and as a business owner, that cost gets passed onto the buyers.

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Permalink Reply by Rich on June 8, 2015 at 9:19pm

I've had some sellers ship in the plastic toploaders with nothing else, and I guess now that I think about it - none of those have ever been bent or damaged. Personally, if I'm mailing something, I use both the plastic sleeve and two pieces of cardboard on either side, just to be sure. Or sometimes I get the flat, fairly stiff photo mailers and use those along with the toploaders.

I've ordered 11 x 14s from moviestore.com and moviemarket.com several times. They're always shipped in a thin plastic (poly?) sleeve (i.e. not a heavy PVC toploader), between two pieces of cardboard. They always arrive in 100% perfect shape. I've also ordered 11 x 14s from Stateside Stills in the UK. Those tend to be slightly heavier duty photos, but they're shipped in a tube. They've also always arrived in perfect shape, although there is the issue of having to then flatten them.

To answer your other question, I do value careful/thoughtful packing. I've had a couple less fortunate issues in ordering some vinyl records from the UK recently, so I do appreciate it when sellers consider packing their items to avoid all possible damage.

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Permalink Reply by Gratefulphish on June 9, 2015 at 12:35am

If by top loaders, you mean the really heavyweight plastic ones that are virtually impossible to bend, then that is the way I prefer to get small handbills, or photos like you are describing. Some people just put them in a thin poly bag with a cardboard backing, and while there is rarely if ever a problem with them, if it was something of real value, I would go with the top loader. I also sandwich between cardboard. Are you mailing things by regular mail or Priority Mail?

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Permalink Reply by Michael Kasmar-AutographPros.com on June 9, 2015 at 7:14am

Both. When Priority I use the slightly rigid Priority mailer envelopes.

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Permalink Reply by Gratefulphish on June 9, 2015 at 10:21pm

When you send via priority, weight doesn't matter at all, as long as you can tape the envelope shut, even if the flap doesn't quite make it across the gap. So, I will put 3-4 layers of cardboard in there, in which case a cheap polybag with a cardboard back is more than sufficient. If it was particularly expensive, I would cut a piece out of the thin paneling that I use, that pretty much guarantees no bending.

If I was just sending a lesser item through regular first class mail, where weight does matter, one of those solid top loaders should do the trick.

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Permalink Reply by Scott Paul on June 9, 2015 at 8:43am

I just recently got an autographed photo from an eBay seller for a bit over $50. He used a couple pieces of cardboard taped together to mail it. The only problem the photo was 5x7 and he used cardboard that was 8.5x14.5 inches which meant it got folded nicely in the middle during mailing leaving a crease in an otherwise great photo. I suspect if he had even used 8x10 cardboard it might not have gotten folded. The autograph was not affected and it was one I wanted so I kept it and have no intention of ever selling it. The fold is very quite visible. I prefer for priority mail it be shipped in boxes not mailers since I have rural delivery here and usually it goes through numerous post offices. The autograph I mentioned was shipped from Pittsburgh (about a 4.5 hr drive from me) so logically our wonderful postal service sends it to Bakersfield, CA then to Los Angeles, CA then to Harrisburg, PA and finally to me. The "rigid" plastic protectors are good and always am glad to have them but from now on for an expensive autograph I will contact the seller to pay extra for a box. Trading cards in those protectors seem to do fine since they are small. So I suppose to answer your question it depends on the autograph if it is $15 or $250. I think most would be willing to pay more in shipping to have it shipped in a box. It does add an extra layer of work for the seller but I am agreeable in paying.

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Permalink Reply by Gratefulphish on June 9, 2015 at 10:23pm

If you fit things in a regular Priority Mail envelope, which you can fit 2-4 pieces of cardboard, depending on thickness, they never bend them. I also write "Please Don't Bend, Thank You" on both sides. I have never had a single problem at that size.