Shipping Best Practices

It is important to take steps to ensure that your items are properly protected and arrive at their destination in good condition. The following best practices will keep your items safe in transit and reduce the need to file insurance claims.

Specifically, insurance requires items to be “packed sufficiently to withstand normal rigors of transit”. The following best practices will ensure the items are safe in transit and ensure that you have met and exceeded your obligations.

If a seller chooses not to take these simple common sense precautions, options to help them in the event of a lost or damaged package become very limited. Ultimately it is the seller's sole responsibility to make sure their customers receive the item that was purchased in the condition in which it was listed.

  1. For items below $2,000, shipping is at the sellers discretion, but preferred couriers are FedEx, USPS Registered Mail, USPS Express Mail or UPS. Media mail is not an acceptable form of shipping. Items over $2,000 must be shipped USPS Registered Mail, USPS Express Mail, or Fedex. UPS is not acceptable for items over $2,000.
  2. Regardless of the chosen courier, sellers are strongly encouraged to both insure their shipments for the full purchase price, to save proof of shipment and to require a signature at the time of delivery. All packages over $500.00 require signature upon delivery.
  3. After shipping, sellers are required to add tracking details to their items directly in the MySlabs platform within 3 business days from the time of sale. This is the respectful, courteous thing to do as it automatically lets their customers know that things are moving along as expected. If you choose not to purchase tracking or do not upload it in your transaction history tab to properly notify customers of shipment you risk account suspension and effectively forfeit all protection in the event of a claim. In the event of a canceled sale or refund, sellers should add "Canceled" or "Refunded" into the tracking box before publishing.
  4. To the best of the seller's ability, remove anything indicating that valuables are being shipped, in particular any company logo or shipping label that contains a return address that would indicate sports cards or collectibles were inside.
  5. Please continue reading the specific best practices for the collectible type you are shipping below
    1. Cards
    2. Comics
    3. All others

Cards

  1. Raw cards should be contained in a hard plastic sleeve/case during transit.
  2. As a best practice MySlabs recommends 2 layers of packing such as a bubble mailer within a box, a box within a larger box, and so on. Bubble wrap, packing peanuts, cardboard layers, etc. are all highly recommended. No one likes damage during shipping and the resulting return requests that come as the result of poor packing.
  3. Boxes and cases shipped solely in the original factory packaging risk damage that may be unacceptable to the buyer and run a higher risk of being stolen through the delivery process.
    1. All wax shipments should be packaged securely inside of an exterior box.
  4. Slab should be in a cardboard box surrounded by packing peanuts, packing paper, bubble wrap or similar for higher valued, insured items. Thick, rigid cardboard cut to slightly over the size of the item and inserted on top and bottom of the card, then shipped in a bubble mailer can be used for lower valued items.
  5. Minimum packaging requirements:
    1. Toploader
      1. minimum thickness of 1" when shipping higher valued, insured items in a box
      2. minimum thickness of 3/4" if using bubble mailer method
      3. place painter’s/masking tape across the top to ensure the card doesn’t come out or be placed securely in a team bag. Do not use scotch tape or packing tape as they will leave a residue that may harm the item.
    2. Magnetic
      1. minimum thickness of 1" when shipping higher valued, insured items in a box
      2. minimum thickness of 3/4" if using bubble mailer method
      3. Painter's/masking tape should be used
    3. Sealed
      1. minimum thickness of 1" when shipping higher valued, insured items in a box
      2. minimum thickness of 3/4" if using bubble mailer method
    4. Card boxes
      1. Place the card box in a second cardboard box
      2. Fill space on either side of the box to make sure there is no room to move
    5. Other
      1. Raw and graded card lots should be shipped dependent on size, in accordance with the guidelines above but should have allowances based off of singular items meaning a 3 slab shipment wouldn't need a 3" box as you could fit them just as safely and securely in a USPS priority box as you could with a raw card set of say 400 cards should be shipped more in accordance with how one would ship sealed wax.

Comics

  1. As a best practice MySlabs recommends 2 layers of packing such as a bubble mailer within a box, a box within a larger box, and so on. Bubble-wrap, packing peanuts, cardboard or foam-core board layers are all highly recommended. No one likes damage during shipping and the inevitable return requests that come as the result of poor packing.
  2. Higher-valued slabbed books should always be placed into a cardboard box and surrounded by packing peanuts, packing paper, bubble-wrap or similar. Higher-valued raw books should also be shipped this way provided that they are first surrounded by thick, rigid cardboard or foam-core board (cut slightly larger than the size of the book).
  3. Lower-valued books (slabbed or raw) may be shipped in a bubble mailer provided that they are first surrounded by thick, rigid cardboard or foam-core board (cut slightly larger than the size of the book).

All Others

  1. Wrap the item in at least 1” of bubble wrap.
  2. Place the item inside a box, surrounded by protective packing material (such as packing peanuts).
  3. Place the item inside a second box, filling any space between the two boxes with protective packing material (such as packing peanuts).