Best way to ship strategy guides?

lolwut?

lolwut?

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How do you guys usually send them? I've only shipped one and I bought a "size 4" bubble mailer, taped 2 slabs to each side of the guide and sent it on it's way. I don't know if there's a better way however. I ask because I have someone interested in a couple of guides, and I don't really know how I would send 2 out together.

Thanks in advance
 
For shipping 1-4 guides (depending on thickness) I use a plastic #5 bubble mailer, which keeps guides from getting wet. I pack cardboard top and bottom over the stack, which is what you're doing with your guides, and that helps them from getting bent in shipment. I found the #4's were a little snug for some of the bigger/thicker guides, like the hardback LE's. I also mark the bubble mailer on both sides with DO NOT BEND in large print, as some postal carriers or workers will bend a bubble-mailer package, unless they're told not to. The cardboard helps prevent that as well.

For more guides than would fit in a bubble mailer, I use a box and pack it with some packing material, such as paper, airpack or bubble wrap. Some of the larger sized Amazon.com boxes work well in that respect. If I've received guides from another CAG, I recycle the box and use it again, if it's in good shape.

Shipping is media mail w/DC, unless otherwise requested for priority mail. If priority mail, then the flat-rate mailers are pretty good for large numbers of guides.
 
I don't sell/ship a whole lot of guides, so I'll just pick up a size 5 from Target or something. Good point on the DO NOT BEND warning, I have to remember that for the future; I figured the cardboard would prevent that from happening (it was a very stiff parcel).
 
[quote name='lolwut?']I don't sell/ship a whole lot of guides, so I'll just pick up a size 5 from Target or something. Good point on the DO NOT BEND warning, I have to remember that for the future; I figured the cardboard would prevent that from happening (it was a very stiff parcel).[/quote]If you only have a few guides you'd be shipping out, then picking up singles or small packs of bubble mailers is worthwhile. As I've been shipping a number of guides over the years, I figured I'd stock up for a while with the box from ULine.com .

Office Depot and Office Max are pretty ugly for picking up bubble mailers on a per-unit basis. Walgreens and Walmart are places you should check for bubble mailers as well.

If you can find a plastic bubble mailer, it'll be a little more than a paper bubble mailer, though it'll do a lot better on moisture and water protection.

I put the DO NOT BEND as big as possible on the side of the mailer that doesn't have the shipping label (as I use printed ones from Paypal shipping) and again above and below the shipping label on the side with the label. The cardboard reinforces this thought in their mind, so it works well to keep them from getting damaged in shipment.
 
I usually use a guide sized mailer to ship out a single guide or a flat rate priority mail box from the USPS for larger lots(12 or more). With the smaller lots, you use cardboard on either the top or bottom of the guide(s), though I usually put it on both sides.

I used to use TONS of tape, to the point that my packages looked like they were mummified, but a single strip or two on the open end of a mailer is fine.
 
How do you guys normally ship them? I just recently started shipping guides, and they go up to $6 each with DC..
 
[quote name='trezzi']How do you guys normally ship them? I just recently started shipping guides, and they go up to $6 each with DC..[/quote]

Use Media Mail to ship guides. It takes longer but that is the method that is the cheapest. I sent out my first LE guide today and I used a #5 bubble mailer.

I've had a roll of stamps since forever and it never dawned on me that I could use them to pay for shipping. I told the lady at the post office and she just asked for the roll of stamps. The total including Del Conf was like $4.03 (LE guide). I had to use 10 stamps but free is free. I got the stamps as a gift (no need to ask).
 
[quote name='trezzi']How do you guys normally ship them? I just recently started shipping guides, and they go up to $6 each with DC..[/QUOTE]

Either go with Media Mail or get yourself a Priority Flat Rate Envelope. Those are the perfect size for almost all non-HC guides. HC guides fit in there, but are very tight.
 
[quote name='darkslime']Media mail in a manila envelope with a piece of cardboard on each side so it doesn't bend.[/QUOTE]

I just sent out a cardboard mailer with the one Doublejump sized guide(smaller sized)earlier today with the guide inside of it wrapped in a smaller Gamestop plastic bag(makes it slide into the mailer easily).

But I forgot to write DO NOT BEND on the package.:bomb: Hopefully, the postman who is delivering it doesn't take it as a personal challenge to try and bend up the package. It's really friggin' stiff, so hopefully they just put it in the mailbox as it is.
 
USPS.com won't show media mail as an option when I select large envelope. Do they count #5 poly mailers as packages?
 
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