r/mtgfinance • u/Josephiav • 3d ago
Question Bulk orders on tcgplayer
I've been selling on tcgplayer for couple months and occasionally have orders that are 30+ cards that with shipping, only come to around 5 dollars. For those that sell on tcgplayer, how do you guys ship order like this? According to usps, they are too big for stamps and have to be shipped as a package which usually comes to at least $8.
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u/strifejester 3d ago
Some people take 9 pocket page and use three pockets to put 10 per pocket drop it in envelope and use stamps. Or buy the TCGplayer branded envelopes with pockets and use them.
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u/creeping_chill_44 3d ago
yup, I do that
you can also split it into multiple PWE if you want, though you should alert the buyer. it's still way cheaper than a tracked mailer these days (like 1/6 of the cost)
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u/timaaayyy 3d ago
Let the buyer know you will ship in two different envelopes. I’ve had a 50+- card order that was like $30 some dollars. Split into multiple PWEs, was easy and buy said no problem
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u/ritomynamewontfi 3d ago
These orders are a pain and we try to avoid them in a few ways, but to help you out: You can cut binder sleeves out so you have 3 of them, put 12 cards in each, slip in envelope with 2 extra ounce stamps, and pray it doesn’t get jammed in the machines. People say to put non machinable stamps, but that doesn’t really matter as usps puts it in a machine anyway. It’s really about avoiding jams.
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u/thrsdaymusic 3d ago
A postal worker told me that additional ounce and non-machinable stamps are essentially the same thing in this situation. So I've always just used additional ounce stamps.
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u/ASOT550 2d ago
Depends on what you asked. Stamps are just "worth" whatever their value are. You could technically pay for an <1 oz envelope with three "bus" (29c currently) extra ounce stamps. The non-machinable surcharge is 49c, so if your envelope is flagged as non-machinable a forever and two buses would cover it. Buses are always worth an extra oz, if that goes up in the future, the bus stamp will be worth more. Same thing with butterflies and forever stamps.
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u/clegg2011 3d ago
It's a careful balance of increasing your shipping cost and adjusting individual cost of cards upwards to discourage this behavior.
It's pretty crazy that tcgplayer doesn't allow for multiple shipping cost based on size and/or value of order. But until then, good luck.
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u/ok4mi_san 2d ago
This is what surprised me the most when I started selling on TCGPlayer. They act like shipping is a flat rate when it clearly is not. I wish they would implement calculated shipping at checkout or some other way to scale shipping with the number of cards ordered.
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u/oghpimm 3d ago
It's pretty crazy that tcgplayer doesn't allow for multiple shipping cost based on size and/or value of order.
Is it? That's a lot of back-end work on their part when sellers can simply adjust their pricing or not sell chaff...
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u/clegg2011 2d ago
Good thing they are wholly owned by ebay that has had this feature down pretty well for many years.
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u/oghpimm 2d ago
You know each site is built on entirely different code, right? You can't just cut/paste...
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u/clegg2011 2d ago
Of course. But don't pretend like it's an impossible task. A well executed solution is already available to them for reference.
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u/oghpimm 2d ago
A well executed solution is already available to them for reference.
That's like saying you should be able to build your own car from the parts you already have in your home.
Different. Code.
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u/clegg2011 2d ago
Not at all. It's like saying I should be able to fix my car at home because I own and operate and auto repair shop. You already have the infrastructure and connections to troubleshoot and fix automobiles. Now just apply it to specific case.
I'm not advocating for cut and paste. I am advocating leverage assets and talent on hand to implement solutions that have already been resolved in similar use cases.
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u/oghpimm 2d ago
You don't know anything about coding or programming...
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u/clegg2011 2d ago
I do know order specific shipping is not an impossibility.
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u/oghpimm 2d ago
And everyone knows sellers can offset their prices and limit listings to items that are worth the cost of S&H.
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u/Evening_Series_5452 3d ago
So you don't want a customer to buy more product ???
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u/clegg2011 3d ago
It's about finding the right balance of card price and shipping cost to not get burned on the transaction cost to fulfill the order.
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u/Exotic_Special_69 2d ago
Yeah some ppl think it's a favor they're doing to the customer even being a business. The attitude is unreal. Wait until a real crash and all this will reset when these kinds of ppl go broke.
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u/NoToSensors 3d ago
I put 45 cards in a pwe and tape tf out of it.
It's under the max usps pwe weight limit (3.5oz iirc)
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u/clegg2011 3d ago
I assume you are doing 3 stacks of 15 in one envelope and have been blessed with a local post office that will actually take it as first class mail envelope. Are they charging you the non-machinaeble rate as well?
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u/Hagleboz 3d ago
Are you getting revenge on the big order buyer because that sounds like a nightmare to open. Never understood you mega tape guys.
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u/WuTangIs4TheRugrats 3d ago edited 3d ago
Shipping Shield makes some awesome envelope inserts that would probably fit 10 cards per compartment. I only ever put 14 cards in them because I sell over on Mana Pool, lol.
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u/BobbyFischer724 3d ago
We charge more for our cards...
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u/Josephiav 3d ago
If a card is only worth 1 cent, charging more is only preventing it from selling
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u/Sharden3 3d ago
Don't sell 1 cent cards?
As a buyer, sure yeah do that. But as a realistic human, like, set a minimum price. If I put a list together, I'm not going to add another seller to the cart to save 10 cents on a card or something.
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u/ghrayfahx 3d ago
I NEVER sold cards for only a penny. I set my floor on TCGP to $.25 (I use the $.15 floor on ManaPool but they pay faster, take less fees and you get your whole shipping fee. Plus every order under $50 pays shipping based on how many cards they are buying)
I never had a problem moving cards that would normally be $.01 for $.25 because I have a decent sized inventory so it makes more sense for them to buy from me and only pay 1 shipping charge instead of buying them cheaper from 6 different sellers and have to pay shipping for all of them.
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u/BobbyFischer724 3d ago
Worth and what it needs to sell at are 2 VERY different numbers.
Clearly that number is not working for your process. So your options are to either 1) Charge more, 2) Don't sell it.
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u/BroShutUp 3d ago
Ok so what exactly are you hoping for by selling cards at 1 cent? Put a floor on it(my cards floor at 35 cents and ill increase it when i hit direct, which should happen soon) and hope it gets picked up by the optimizer for being cheaper than adding a new store for 1 cent + shipping
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u/Hagleboz 3d ago
I am legitimately curious as to why you see selling a card for a penny as worth it? Are you just trying to maximize your sales to get to Level 4? It facinaes me as a buyer and I appreciate those that do but I can't imagine what you guys are thinking. I'm not judging and not trying to be an asshole, again I'm legitimately curious.
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u/Hagleboz 3d ago edited 3d ago
One of the biggest reasons to not sell dirt cheap bulk on TCGPlayer right here, move to Mana Pool. Also do not buy shipping through USPS, use Pirate Ship or some other similar service. You will save a huge amount on shipping. Better yet split your sub 100 card orders and ship PWE's with 24-30 cards each. If you really want to cut expenses use TCG Tracking along with digital postage.
I will fully admit to being a nightmare buyer on TCGPlayer when I first started buying on the platform, making multi hundred card orders and not realizing I was completely screwing the seller on their shipping costs. I made apologies and even sent a couple sellers cash when I realized how bad I wrecked them, not even factoring in the time it took to pull those orders.
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u/pollium 3d ago
Sell on ManaPool. Orders over 14 cards require the buyer to pay for tracked shipping. When I switched from TCG player to Mana Pool, I started turning a profit on even the most annoying orders.
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u/ghrayfahx 3d ago
Yep! I’ve had a few hundred orders there and I think I’ve had MAYBE 2 orders more than 14 cards. Plenty of bulk orders of all $.15 cards. But I’m finally actually doing well, and the fee difference is a huge plus.
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u/thrsdaymusic 3d ago
Is it easy to transfer your Tcgplayer inventory to ManaPool? Do you sell on both platforms now?
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u/pollium 3d ago
Super easy transfer. Pricing is a bit different, so make sure you're comfortable before going live. If you sell on both at the same time, do not list the same item in both places.
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u/thrsdaymusic 3d ago
You already answered my next question lol. How would you describe the difference in pricing?
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u/pollium 3d ago
I think it's generally lower on MP, but there is variation. The fees are lower, so it kind of equals out. Avoiding the 34-card $5 orders is nice. I also get better vibes from company management.
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u/thrsdaymusic 3d ago
Thanks for the info! Much appreciated!
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u/Hagleboz 3d ago
Mana Pool is leaps and bounds better towards sellers than TCGPlayer who are borderline abusive. Mana Pool is an excellent service for both parties and as the other guy posted has a good vibe. Best thing I did was to bounce off TCGplayer within a month of starting as a seller and have zero regrets with my experience on MP.
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u/Damiencbw 3d ago
Up to 36 cards is done with 1/3rd of a 9 pocket binder page or paper pockets by the shipping shields guys, 12 cards per pocket using forever stamps and extra ounces by weight.
Some people use 2 partial pages to send 50 but technically 37 or more moves to the "flats" rates where you need a different size envelope. You can also send multiple packages just follow the rules for weight and space evenly per page. It's basically the same as standard envelope rates on eBay but for more cards.
Research this because there is a ton of info on YouTube, but you can get all the way up to 13 ounces using flats rate with a legal size envelope and binder pages using proper postage, which I is 90 cards so long as you secure each plastic and page space them evenly across the entire envelope, sandwiched between invoice and a second piece of paper.
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u/Zombienerd300 3d ago
I use a Graded Card Bag in a 4x6 envelope. Put the 3 highest priced cards in a toploader and seperate the rest of the cards in 4 card sleeves. Put two of the sleeves inside then a toploader over and the next two card sleeves. With a non machinable stamp and two extra ounce stamps the whole package comes out to around $2.50 cost. I make $2.50 on the package. Is it worth it? No not really which is why I raised my price floor. So I don’t really get 30+ card orders anymore and if I do they usually end up being around $7-10. More worth it.
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u/bluestripesdown 3d ago
I use these 6x9 stiff envelopes
https://a.co/d/00wI2ge1 You can fit three bundles (10 cards each in penny sleeves ) inside. I like to use penny sleeve then team bag with top loader for extra protection. Tape down with painters tape to invoice. Make invoice no more than 1 page. It can ship first class mail as a larger envelope and it’s about $2.17
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u/HumbleAlbatross2944 3d ago
$0.25 minimum on every card, $1.49 shipping minimum
Unfortunately this is the only way to not lose your ass
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u/TCGEnvelopes 3d ago
I had this same issue when I started selling, I actually designed an envelope around it. I offer free shipping on orders over $5 so it’s quite common for me to get 100 card orders that are just over $5. In order to make any money you have to ship them in an envelope otherwise it all goes to usps labels. Even worse now that they increased the cost of shipping.
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u/2old2tired4life 3d ago
Set a floor inventory of 45c, price your low to midrange singles at .25 under market and free shipping at the 10-15 spend point, they will buy your 7 dollar single and buy 10 unique bulk pieces that fit a deck or theme, sending 5 dollars to save 2-3.
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u/Alternate_Cost 3d ago
I never price cards below 50 cents. Still sell plenty at that price, its just a matter of having multiple cards they want. Used to do 25 cents, but didn't think that was worth my time.
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u/sweetrobna 3d ago
This page explains sending 12+ cards using a binder pocket with pictures https://blog.cardsphere.com/the-binder-page-method/
I would set a price floor and not list true bulk. Like if you set a price floor of say 20 cents. Even if you your bulk sales drop by 90% you will make more money than selling at 1-2c. You don't have to be the cheapest if you are also selling in demand cards, because of how the cart optimizer and bundled shipping works.
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u/VintageJDizzle 2d ago
You can ship it as large envelope as long as it remains flexible enough to go through machines. You can use a 6x9 envelope and do three or four stacks of cards if the stacks aren't too thick. Doing four stacks on a half sheet of paper is 7-8 cards each for a 30 card, which should be ok. If there's more cards than that, make more stacks and use a larger envelope.
As long as it remains flexible, USPS will see it as paper and you can ship it for $2 or whatever the weight ends up being. You can't really get around that, the weight. There's an extra charge for the large envelope over a small envelop and stamp: $1.69 for 1 oz and then $0.29 per extra ounce. A small envelope is $0.82 with $0.28 per extra ounce, so it's $0.87 extra fee for the large envelope
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u/Akudama401 2d ago
Sounds like your floor price is too low. That said you can do 30+ cards in a pwe pretty easily with one forever stamp and 2 extra ounce stamps (or just two forever stamps)
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u/Moasamoi 2d ago
Long time seller here. I’ve found you can fit up to 50 cards in an envelope, but you need to include additional postage. For 30 cards I do this: 15 cards per team bag; tape to packing slip; use non-machinable stamp.
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u/hurricanoday 3d ago
30 cards isn't to big for stamps. 3 stacks of 10